Halifax £1 per day charge for using authorised overdraft? Will others follow?

PaulJM wrote: »

Well I don't know enough about your situation, but I've received the same letter from the Halifax, after 20 years of being with the bank. It's pretty disgusting actually. I probably don't go more than £300 into the overdraft - it's more convienience than anything - I know they're inefficient things - but that could mean £30 odd quid a month! I usually pay £3.50 for this!!! Argh!!

i totally agree from other threads on here I was made to feel bad more not managing my finances better but occasionally we do go overdrawn impulse shopping, unexpected bills etc and from being charged something like 28p and most 50p a month were now about £10 a month in charges its disgusting so I am in the process of switching.

Natwest dont charge for using a overdraft daily

laura-uk wrote: »

My dad has recently received a letter telling him that as of December he will have to pay a charge of £1 for every day he is in his authorised overdraft on his account with Halifax.

I am a recent graduate looking for work with a Graduate Royalties account with RBS - does anyone know if it is it likely that the other banks will bring in something very similar? I am quite worried about this, as I do not know how long it will take me to find a stable job and get out of my overdraft - if they do follow suit I'm going to be in big trouble... my authorised interest-free overdraft has a limit of -£1200, and I'm currently around -£1000!

And if RBS did do the same, is there anything I could do about it to avoid getting in more and more of a mess?

Atm natwest dont charge you a daily fee but im not sure how easy it would be to obtain such a high overdraft from them. Maybe try alliance and leicester who currently dont charge overdraft fees for the first 12 months and always match your current overdraft if your doing an account switch

jambosans wrote: »

Well if you want to jump ship you have to repay your overdraft. And if you have to pay your overdraft, the once negative issue with the account can be regained as a big positive in the form of a £5 Reward. I can understand people wanting a buffer of an overdraft, but these changes, in my opinion, are not exclusive to HBOS (they may be the first), other banks have yet to show their hand.

As I've mentioned in my original post - I'm not (these days) a habitual resident of my overdraft facility - so repaying it isn't generally an issue for me. What I am is an agency worker, a supply teacher who has irregular work patterns and either a good income, or none - and when times get tight, occasionally I drop into my overdraft by a minimal amount (we're talking £100 maximum).

I'm not careless with money - I resent the insinuation that I am (last time I was in overdraft was probably about 8 months ago) - but I do keep a wary eye on the potential issues if I DO go into it - as happens on occasion when times get tight. I could sit there with an I'm all right Jack attitude - but I don't like where this is headed - I particularly detest the "we're not paying you interest anymore" line also included in the leaflet, and I'm not someone eligible for the reward account anyhow.

All Halifax have done with this is to alienate a large chunk of their customers. As I said - we get married at the start of next year - and we've discussed finally getting round to merging our bank accounts into one (plus our individual savings pots) - it just means that out of the two separate banks we go with - we won't be going with Halifax (who I've always defended - their call centre staff are nice and not overseas automatons, and the one issue I've had with them is the glacial speed with which they clear cheques into accounts), but will probably switch to my fiance's bank - so they'll have lost a long-term customer with the changes (thank God they'd already sacked the Howard adverts).

There's no need to troll and attempt to make those who use authorized overdrafts feel like social pariahs - but a company making drastic changes to a pre-arranged facility on a bank account deserves to be publicly hammered for it. People on here generally manage their finances well - but yes, people dip into overdraft facilities - cars break down, house moves happen with the ensuing initial expense, companies mess up and charge your account twice in error - all things that can whack someone into an overdraft over a short-ish period of time - and if that's a pre-arranged facility someone's had the forethought to set up on their account ready for such an eventuality - why are you sitting there hammering them for it? Hammer those who ride their overdraft facility up to the limit every month - who bounce over the authorized zone before payday each month, whose account is never ever in credit by all means - but the responses to people who are quite angry with the smug attitude with which Halifax have done this are not really justified.

dizziblonde wrote: »

I'm not careless with money - I resent the insinuation that I am (last time I was in overdraft was probably about 8 months ago)

If you would like to quote the section of my reply where I insinuated you were careless with money, I would be happy to address. As far as I'm concerned, I did not insinuate anything.

dizziblonde wrote: »

but I don't like where this is headed - I particularly detest the "we're not paying you interest anymore" line also included in the leaflet, and I'm not someone eligible for the reward account anyhow.

So you're losing out on 0.1% AER, a current account was never the place to save and earn mega amounts in interest. If you're not eligable for the £5 Reward, then perhaps Halifax are not offering the service you need, which includes a cheap overdraft. If you fund £800 or more in a calender month, Co-Op offer a £200 interest free overdraft. Other banks offer debit interest overdrafts (subject to status obviously) with no minumum funding, however to bring this back to my original point, how long do you expect the status-quo of an overdraft being a cheap buffer is going to last?

dizziblonde wrote: »

As I said - we get married at the start of next year - and we've discussed finally getting round to merging our bank accounts into one (plus our individual savings pots)

So potentially your joint incomes would qualify for the £5 Reward.

dizziblonde wrote: »

There's no need to troll and attempt to make those who use authorized overdrafts feel like social pariahs - but a company making drastic changes to a pre-arranged facility on a bank account deserves to be publicly hammered for it.

That's a little harsh, and completely unfounded to accuse me of trolling, when I've merely been providing a subjective view on the subject.

dizziblonde wrote: »

why are you sitting there hammering them for it?

I'm not "hammering" anyone, and from your defensive response, my reply has clearly hit a nerve. Let me just clarify why I have been responding to those who "dip" into their overdrafts. In my opinion, these people have very little to complain about, if they seldom use their overdraft, then they can avoid being effected by these changes. I also try to highlight the positives that will benefit these posters (admitadely not you personally) but the argument comes back to an overdraft being regarded as some sort of "right", that should always be there at low cost. If you like having an overdraft as a "buffer", there's nothing wrong with that, however, to get all up in arms when Halifax increase what it costs for you to borrow from them, seems like an over reaction. Overdrafts are profitable for banks, however with the no doubt reduction in bank charges, banks will have to introduce other means to sustain revenue and the free-in-credit model, and charging more for borrowing makes sense.

dizziblonde wrote: »

Hammer those who ride their overdraft facility up to the limit every month - who bounce over the authorized zone before payday each month, whose account is never ever in credit by all means - but the responses to people who are quite angry with the smug attitude with which Halifax have done this are not really justified.

Well those people will find this change unavoidable unless they can repay the debt in full (which in many cases they cannot). Whereas people who enjoy the luxury of a buffer are (in most cases) able to budget a little tighter, and avoid overdraft use completely. That's why I think they need a little "reality check" as to how much worse this change is going to be for those genuinely struggling with debt. So please don't lecture me on who I should or should not reply to.

Also, I would just like you to note (not for self-gratification purposes) that I have contributed heavily to the general discussion around this issue, as opposed to people like you who decide to chime in with your two cents and flame me.

I absolutely do not intend to come across as angry or smug. Short and perhaps a bit curt, certainly, but I'm not angry. I think the tone of this reply illustrates nicely the extent of what could be described as an "angry" reply (although I can assure you, there is no ill-feeling). If I got angry at every poster on MSE who posted something I disagreed with, I wouldn't have lasted very long.

Ok so I just recieved this letter as well, and after being with Halifax for twenty years , Im not to fussed to switch my bank, I have roughly £2000 passing through this account a month. I rarely dip into my overdraft by ten or twenty pound a month, nothing major. But to be charged £1 a day sucks and feels like a slap in the face. So this is the question, what bank would be best to switch my account to?