Halifax - bounced Direct Debit charges

Maharishi

Hi there, little problem with the above named bank...

I have a current account with them (basic - no overdraft etc) and today I got an email stating that they are going to charge me £35 for a bounced £10 DD from Monday 11th Aug (yesterday).

I knew that the DD was coming and so deposited £10 (bal was zero) in the morning, in cash, in order to meet the impending request BUt Halifax say that it comes in in the wee hours and as the money was not in the account then, it is automatically returned and the charge levied.

I called them and explained that;

a) I had put the money in
b) That for the last 18 months I have had no work and am currently being helped by the CCCS

Despite that, he was unable to make a 'goodwill' gesture as I had had one once before.

I said that if he wasn't able to help me with this disproportionate charge that I would close the account. He said that the charge would still come off and that the account cannot be closed when it is in the red, and that charges would continue to be applied resulting in a spiral effect at which time Head Office would get involved and my credit rating could become affected...

I explained I wasn't 'particularly bothered' about my CR (CCCS should have been a big hint there), but all he could do was ask Customer Services to contact me within the next 7 days to discuss it further.

What can I do? I just want to draw out the tenner and walk away from the thieving scumbags. Would they actually actively pursue me for £35 and stick loads more on as time goes by??

Please help as it is worrying me somewhat.

Kindest,

Maha

borgbaiter

hi

unfortunately they will add on charges and interest and when it becomes considerable they will persue you for it. if possible cancel the DD, pay the charge, close the account and then put in your claim for a bank charge refund. it will be put on hold but oneday you may get something back.


Borgbaiter

Maharishi

borgbaiter wrote: »

hi

unfortunately they will add on charges and interest and when it becomes considerable they will persue you for it. if possible cancel the DD, pay the charge, close the account and then put in your claim for a bank charge refund. it will be put on hold but oneday you may get something back.


Borgbaiter

I have deleted my 2 direct debits on the account as of yesterday while I waited for (sage) advice from this forum. I also withdrew the £10 balance to take it back to zero.

The £35 charge is not due to be applied until Aug 26th, and as I said previously, it was generated by computer and sent by email (as I bank(ed) online), so not really £35 worth of effort there...

I am still waiting for the Customer Services call - which could take up to 7 days. Apparently that is what they do if you wish to challenge the charge. I don't know if I will be able to be more persuasive with the next representative. The lad yesterday was pleasant but obviously had a severe restriction as to what he could and couldn't sanction which is why I didn't give him a lambasting.

I guess that I am not the sort of customer they want as I only use the account to pay 2 direct debits per month. No cash in/out. No cheques. No overdrafts.

If anyone else can add some advice here I would be obliged. I am hoping that when the call comes I can just get the charge waived and close the account in order to draw a line under the whole matter. Does anyong think that they wouldn't write off £35 just to get rid of me and have a quiet life?

Thanks again,

M

Mark7799

Maharishi wrote: »

I
If anyone else can add some advice here I would be obliged. I am hoping that when the call comes I can just get the charge waived and close the account in order to draw a line under the whole matter. Does anyong think that they wouldn't write off £35 just to get rid of me and have a quiet life?

Thanks again,

M

The best advice is from borgbaiter in the previous post. I would only add that in the future, make sure money is in your account to cover any payments the working day before they are due or you may find yourself in the same situation again.

Maharishi

Thanks Mark. Easier said than done as I haven't been able to work since Feb 2007 making keeping and putting money into the account precarious to say the least...

One thing that I forgot to mention here is that when a direct debit is called, if there are insufficient funds on the first call, (in the early hours), it is normally called again later that same day before a 'fail' is generated. As I had money in there before the 2nd call, the fail shouldn't have occurred. And subsequently neither should the charge either!

This information was given to me by one of their telephone representatives, so should be accurate. However, the money didn't go on the second time (if it indeed occurred), so something is not quite right here.

M

borgbaiter

hi

i wish you luck and i fully agree the bank should refund you.

its hard to rely on what any bank operative says on the phone as many times they contradict each other, indeed often they contradict themselves in the same conversation. i realise £35.00 is a lot of money but if the court case drags on for years then how much would the amount become. if some deal is done in the test case on a reaonable charge being £5 you would still be left with a substancial debt at some future point in time.



Borgbaiter

Maharishi

borgbaiter wrote: »

hi

i wish you luck and i fully agree the bank should refund you.

its hard to rely on what any bank operative says on the phone as many times they contradict each other, indeed often they contradict themselves in the same conversation. i realise £35.00 is a lot of money but if the court case drags on for years then how much would the amount become. if some deal is done in the test case on a reaonable charge being £5 you would still be left with a substancial debt at some future point in time.



Borgbaiter

I can see where you are coming from Borg, but it grips me that they are just being grasping c**ts.

M

PROLIANT

Be more careful next time take it as a lesson learned, DD's require cleared funds at least on banking day before they are due out so make sure you have the coin in your account at a least 1 day before it is due out.
Swallow hard and pay the £35 charge, if you are in dire straights financially and can't afford this fee then refer to your credit councillor before this gets out of hand.

borgbaiter

hi

different banks have different policys about when and in what order they process debits and credits. you will need to check your terms and conditions to be sure. Alliance and liecester for instance change all processing at the end of the day to process all outs before any ins.



Borgbaiter

Maharishi

borgbaiter wrote: »

hi

i wish you luck and i fully agree the bank should refund you.

its hard to rely on what any bank operative says on the phone as many times they contradict each other, indeed often they contradict themselves in the same conversation. i realise £35.00 is a lot of money but if the court case drags on for years then how much would the amount become. if some deal is done in the test case on a reaonable charge being £5 you would still be left with a substancial debt at some future point in time.



Borgbaiter

Little update...phoned them yesterday and asked why I am still waiting for a service call when told that it would be within 7 days (10 days ago). Nice man said that the previous operative was wrong to escalate the charge challenge as 'we don't do that'. Also said that the 2 calls in a day for direct debits ceased before last Xmas - so - seeing as I was fed incorrect information, he got the charge reversed. Result!!

Thanks to all who helped here.

M