Bank makes me overdrawn?!

Hello. I need some advice please. My bank let a direct debit go through last year,( Nov/Dec),, which made me go into unauthorised overdraft. (£5 a day). Now we've been getting £80+ charges a month because we can't get out of it,and they charge us every month for going over,because of their original charge. They say it's in the terms and conditions, and basically unlucky. We can close our account, but then have to pay them £350 back. They've put us in this position, and we can't get out of it. Any advice? Pleeeease
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  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598
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    What would had hapeend if the bank didn't let the DD go through ?

    Why leave it so close that the DD meant you went over your overdraft ?
  • Dobbibill
    Dobbibill Posts: 4,133
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    Hi Sammie007, Welcome to the forum.

    The DD was something you would have set up. Should it not have gone at that time? What changed during November/December to mean the funds weren't there for the DD, assuming this had been set up for a while?

    Have you asked them to refund any/some of the charges to help you? Some banks do this if it's a first time.

    Have you asked if there is any other help they can give you to get out of the overdraft, like a 'control' feature. Alot of banks also over this nowadays.

    How much spare money do you have to throw at this debt as soon as possible each month?

    Which bank is it?
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  • Kim_13
    Kim_13 Posts: 2,314
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    Banks will have the option to remove your reserve limit, which would prevent an unathorised overdraft except for a minority of payments they can't stop (a direct debit could be stopped, however you'd be hit with unpaid item fees every time they had to stop something.)

    If you can't get out of it you should at least get an authorised overdraft set up as this will be cheaper, though having had an unauthorised one for so long, this may not be accepted. Likewise it may well have harmed your chances of switching to another bank.
  • Ben8282
    Ben8282 Posts: 4,821
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    Your bank did you a favour by paying the dd and now you are complaining. If the dd had not been paid then you would have had a late payment marker for whatever it was for and charges/adverse credit entry from your bank for the unpaid dd.
    I could understand if the overdraft had been for a very short time, but how come you have remained more or less permanently overdrawn paying £80pm in charges for several months? How did you intend to pay whatever the dd was for? or did you not intend to pay and default?.
  • jackanory ...........
  • Super_Whiskey
    Super_Whiskey Posts: 246
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    The charges will have been agreed to when you opened the account so there's not much you can do on that front. Going forward you could try speaking to the bank's financial difficulties team to see what they can do to help you out. And then once you're out of it, get some sort of overdraft control in place because from the sounds of it, you might be better off paying a one-time missed payment fee rather than getting overdrawn again,
  • tempus_fugit
    tempus_fugit Posts: 1,189
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    The bank didn't make you overdrawn, you did by creating a direct debit that there were not funds in the account to cover it. The only way out of it is either to cancel the direct debit and stop using the service that it pays for, cut back on something else to enable you to get out of overdraft or find some extra money from somewhere.
    Retired at age 56 after having "light bulb moment" due to reading MSE and its forums. Have been converted to the "budget to zero" concept and use YNAB for all monthly budgeting and long term goals.
  • Sammie007
    Sammie007 Posts: 5 Forumite
    It was my car insurance, and the person I'd spoken to was supposed to have changed the date,but apparently didn't. So I'd have maybe got a £15 charge.
  • Sammie007
    Sammie007 Posts: 5 Forumite
    Wow. Well,I thought I may have got some nice answers. Not sure about the jackanory remark. My insurance was supposed to take the direct debit out on the 15th of the month,as we changed it because I'd got made redundant the month before, but took it out on the first of the month. They did me no favours whatsoever. I'd have rather paid a £15 charge. My insurance offered me a free month as a gesture of goodwill. And being jobless and benefit less,it's very hard to pay it off. I'm sure we did one month but still got charged. But I'm unsure on why they can take me over my limit in the first instance.
  • Sammie007
    Sammie007 Posts: 5 Forumite
    Why be rude? Is it necessary? I'm more insulted it's from a man u fan too...
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