Overdrawn by 43p - Natwest slap on £28 'maintenance charge'

lotto-dreamer

genieuk wrote: »

When I phoned to see if I could get my charges refunded, I noticed someting new on my online account "reserve amount". I queried this saying I nor husband had signed up to anything, was told oh know thats for if you go over you overdraft limit we will honour anything upto a 1000pounds and charge 22 for the privilege. So then I asked why I had been charged 30 oh well this is all new, stiil wasn't really happy changes to my account without being notified.

Think they need some common sense

They also need to use plain English and stop being devious and using euphemisms to confuse the punters - "reserve amount" is ambiguous as is "maintenance charge" - which should jolly well have been called "penalty for going over your limit" ! "Maintenance charge" sounded like they were revamping the account or something :rolleyes:

Richard019

Any wrote: »

Sorry, I meant Solo.
I am EU worker that is why they refused to give me normal account. (I am married to English though..) At least that is what I think after seeing a few posts on Credit Cards where there is similar complaint and the people having the same problem are also foreigners.

That explains the difference then, I did think using an example from over 10 years ago (when I joined) was going to be going a bit too far.

Neillgb

richt71 wrote: »

I got one for £28 as a direct Debit went out at 4am and money wasn't credited until 9am the same day leaving me 7p overdrawn...yes a whole 7p! Had a big arguement with my branch manager who refused to refund saying I should have realised DD could be taken anytime after midnight and credits only showed up after the bank was open. So I just filed court papers. I'm sure a judge will want a laugh.

Good luck with this.

It's a very good example of how the banks use the system to fleece their customers and, of course, is quite ridiculous.

You might like to offer a settlement, based on a rate of 25%pa for being overdrawn 7p for 5 hours you owe them 0.0000099p by my calculations. Send them a cheque. Might even be worth contacting the financial media as this is so ridiculous!!!

philgee

Lyncroft wrote: »

I remember many years ago taking some money out at the bank and the cashier had a smirk on his face as he handed it over. Clocked it but thought nothing else of it. Anyway, that transaction took me a couple of pence over and I was slapped a fee. I managed to get it refunded. Always been extra careful since but it was my fault.

It might have been your fault, but the cashier should have warned you!

I got stung by the Halifax earlier this year for going a couple of quid overdrawn (cheque hadn't cleared in time, my fault but cleared the next day). When I rang up, they refunded the charge immediately.

marshmallow79

Lyncroft wrote: »

I remember many years ago taking some money out at the bank and the cashier had a smirk on his face as he handed it over. Clocked it but thought nothing else of it. Anyway, that transaction took me a couple of pence over and I was slapped a fee. I managed to get it refunded. Always been extra careful since but it was my fault.

This would never happen now the system wouldn't allow the cashier to issue money you don't have in your account.

Neillgb

philgee wrote: »

It might have been your fault, but the cashier should have warned you!

I got stung by the Halifax earlier this year for going a couple of quid overdrawn (cheque hadn't cleared in time, my fault but cleared the next day). When I rang up, they refunded the charge immediately.

Yes, why not a quiet word, "Mr/Mrs X you do realise that this withdrawal will take you overdrawn." Nope they couldn't care less, more profit for the bank and of course the majority of people just take it!!

natweststaffmember

lotto-dreamer wrote: »

For going over his limit (unknowingly and purely accidentally) by 43p my son has been charged £28.

He was sent a statement by Natwest saying they would be deducting a £28 'maintenance charge' without any explanation of what it was for so he had to go to the bank to query it.

He was told it was for being 43p overdrawn.

Although this is probably a good lesson for my son about the banking system in general- the maintenance charge seems totally disproportionate to the 'crime'.

He is a student and works part time so this charge is a big deal in terms of his earnings.

Has anyone had a one-off charge like this and written to Natwest with any success? Any help would be much appreciated.

Apologies for the late arrival on this thread. How old is he? You mentioned he was a student, has he got the student account? How much is his overdraft facility? Has he ever received a previous charge on the account?

lotto-dreamer

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Apologies for the late arrival on this thread. How old is he? You mentioned he was a student, has he got the student account? How much is his overdraft facility? Has he ever received a previous charge on the account?

He has had the same account with Natwest since he was about 11 - a current plus account (with a Solo card)

He is 20 and in his final year at college now and works part time so there is usually a regular but modest amount going in. He does not have an overdraft facility.

He has never had a "maintenance charge" before. When he received the 'pre-advice' note there was no explanation of what a "maintenance charge" was and what it was for, just that £28 was to be deducted on 30th Sept.

As I said, I understand that he went over his limit (although it was unintentional) but I do think for going over by 43p a charge of £28 does seem excessive.

natweststaffmember

I agree with you to a degree except he did overspend on the account. Personally, as it was a first charge I would probably look at a refund and possibly putting a small overdraft facility on the account to make sure that he did not breach the overdraft, or in his case no overdraft, again. It may seem harsh, but where should a bank draw a line in an account going over an overdraft facility or into minus? If they said £1 then someone who went 1p over that amount would complain that they were only 1p over, and it escalates like that. As I said, I would expect the bank may refund it as a first offence, but if it was repeated, say next month, they wouldn't. I hope he they were lenient on this occasion.

lotto-dreamer

natweststaffmember wrote: »

....It may seem harsh, but where should a bank draw a line in an account going over an overdraft facility or into minus? If they said £1 then someone who went 1p over that amount would complain that they were only 1p over, and it escalates like that. ....

Yes, he's learnt a harsh lesson.

However, he could easily have paid the 43p in very quickly - with whatever interest the bank required - as soon as he was notified/telephoned. One telephone call would have done the trick.

Instead, Natwest sent a notice through the post - with no explanation of why- it just stated

"..charge of £28 .. Amount we will take........"

Out of interest -what is the breakdown of the £28 maintenance charge? What exactly does it cover?