So What is the Best Bank???

14wrence

Hi,

It seems the banks have cottoned on to us reclaiming back our fines so have now cleverly opted to charge us instead for a "service" when we go overdrawn. These charges are now even more extortinate. Once these charges start they can put you back over your overdraft, and a viscious cirlce begins. It did to me, I have literally paid £300 in service charges over the past month, and it all started by going about £8 over with alliance and leicester. Then I started transfering from my Barclays and this is what happened.

Therefore to help us all to find the bank that is the fairest, I thought if we can all jot down any charges our banks make here, we may be able to choose the best one.

If people started to close accounts with the most unfair of them, then I think they would buck there ideas up. classic consumer action.

I can start the ball rolling:

Barclays - Charge £8 as a fine for unpaid outs, and £22 every 5 days you use their over the overdraft service.

Alliance & Leicester - Charge (it seems to be anywhere from) £20 to £30 as fines for different things, and £5 a day for being even a penny over your limit.

ShelfStacker_3

Lloyds changed their fee structure from £30 per overlimit to a £15 charge and then a charge for every subsequent day. They then had the gall to claim this was fairer.

Seeing as I know this stuff inside out: HSBC charge £25 if you go over your limit over £10, as you're deemed to have "informally" arranged an overdraft facility. Monthly charges are capped at the highest overlimit balance each month (e.g. if you go overdrawn by £50 in total over 5 seperate transactions (each supposedly incurring a £25 fee) you're only charged £50, tops.) If you've requested (formally or informally) an overdraft in the previous 6 months and apply for an increase in your limit the same fee will be charged. Overdrafts are now annually reviewed, and if you've requested an OD (again, formally or informally) in the 6 months prior to the review, a £25 arrangement fee will be applied to renew your overdraft limit (no limit on the account, no yearly fee). HSBC claim this will either be revenue neutral or actually cause them a loss, make of that what you will.

14wrence

Although none of these charges appear fair in my eyes, that seems to be much better than Barclays and especially better than A&L. (Who are awful by the way).

Does anybody know what Co-op bank is. They make out they are the peoples bank after all.?

rottie

my 1st time ive posted anything on here so i apologise in advance:o
i know exactly what you mean with a&l,the past couple of months for me has been an absolute nightmare.i bet ive paid £600 in charges over past 3 months,and you cant get in front.it started something like a couple of quid short for a d.d so got charged £25 straight away,then £5 a day till your account back in credit,then lo n behold u get your statement saying youve got £45 pound charges coming out of your account on the 3rd of month,for beng over your overdraft limit,which then swallows up two d.d funds so you get charged 2x £25 pounds immediatly,and so on and so on.i rang them and asked them if they could take the charges on the 10th of the month when i get paid to save me going over my overdraft and incurring more charges.i'll let you guess what the answer was.and so i continue trying to rob peter to pay paul,some days i feel like giving up,but i wont let them get the better of me,i am biding my time when we can reclaim our charges,i will be due back around 3k from them,and i will then go to another bank and tell them to stick their's where the sun don't shine! lol:D

Extant

The fee of £22 from Barclays is if you hold a Personal Reserve Service and use it. You are not required to have a reserve and can cancel at anytime, if you so wish to.

If you do not want to use the Personal Reserve Service, a buffer of £15 applies before you are charged. If you exceed that buffer, your transactions will be returned as unpaid and a fee of £8 applied to your account, per transaction. If you make a guaranteed payment (i.e. a debit card payment using a Visa Delta/Debit card or a guaranteed cheque) then the transaction will be paid and a guaranteed transaction fee of £8 applied.

This, for example, is in contrast to the previous policy, where the guaranteed payment would be returned and a £35 charge levied.

It also provides greater clarity as to what you can spend, removing the complaint of "but you let me go overdrawn by X..."

Further, £8 is within the £12 amount set as a fair charge in precedent.

14wrence

Thanks Barclays manager. Your bonuses have not been in vain.

To be honest, I have never had a problem with Barclays ever and I have banked with them since old enough to hold a current account. But then this £22 a week thing came into play.

Now that I know I can cancel this, I again think this seems ok, and that so far it prooves Barclays are the up there as a fairer one amongst the others, and thankyou for the advice.

I guess my only quarm would be, why they changed me onto this service, without asking me first?

Rottie,

I feel for you, a similar thing happened to me, I was luckier than you in I managed to cap it before it got too bad. But not until being £200 out of pocket. They are unreasonable, and unfair, and like you say would not even wait until you got paid. From what i have experienced and read, I would not advise anybody to bank with them. I wont be doing so soon.