Overdrawn charges... but not overdrawn !

stingylolo

Hi

Am after some advice please, don't know much about banks.

Basically, I post some stuff, leave the post office a cheque, they fill it and I pick up the receipt next day. sometimes the post office misses printing a couple of receipts so I have to wait until the cheque clears to transfer the money from the websaver because I keep money for posting separate from my current account.
Month has been a bit tight, so on a couple of occasions there was less money in my account than what I needed to pay for the cheque. But when they take the payment first thing in the morning, I was there on my computer at 7am transfering the amount into the current account.
But on two occasions I have been slammed with a £35 overdraft fee. They've actually paid my cheque, so I am not in trouble with the post office.
But somehow my husband and I were under the impression that due to fluctuations on the accounts during the day as long as you weren't overdrawn at the end of the day it was ok. Even going back on my statements it doesn't even show a negative balance or that I was overdrawn anywhere on them.

I have been warned now, I will make sure there's always plenty of money to cover for future cheques, but really I would like my £70 back because really it's not like I have cost the bank anything. I have never been overdrawn in the past, and on their banking help pages they don't say anything that can relate to this problem.
Has anyone been in the same situation, or would have any advice? I know I have made a mistake, but I find this really unfair. £70 because I owed money to the bank for a couple of hours is really painful !

ShelfStacker_3

Depends which bank you're with. HSBC and Lloyds, IIRC, have the "close of business" policy, many others don't.

You might have fun getting your charges back though; it's usually in the T&Cs that you shouldn't write cheques when there aren't enough funds to cover them, and at any rate you did go over your OD, even for a brief period.

stingylolo

Well... that's the thing though -- according to my statement I didn't.
My bank is Halifax.
All they say is that you should ensure that there is enough money in your account the night before to cover any amounts taken out the next day.
I had a payment transfer organised on those days as well. They went out at the same time.
Once I made a payment transfer from a websaver, but because I forgot about it there wasn't enough money. They just cancelled it. Why is it that because it is coming from my current account they didn't do the same? This wasn't a direct debit or anything, just a voluntary payment to my card.

rb10

Have you spoken to them? Chances are, if it's your first charge, that they'll refund it. Ask them to call you at http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/callback.asp

stingylolo

Thanks. The callback service seems to be mainly for people applying for accounts. I think I will just write a letter and hope that they will be nice !

jonesMUFCforever

Have you written cheques out which have been presented for payment before your credits have cleared?

I would suggest that you apply for a planned overdraft facility to cover instances like this.

opinions4u

The Halifax web site is fairly explicit:

"Remember that you need enough money in your account at the end of each day to cover any payments that are due to go out the next day. If you bank online with us, you can transfer money from other accounts right up to midnight. For other amounts you pay into your account (for example, cheques or payments made at a cash machine) you'll need to allow time for the money to reach your account. For cheques this can take several days."

http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/understandingcharges.asp

This might not be what you want to see, but the message is that you should get the funds in and cleared the day before a payment is due.

Despite this, I strongly recommend a polite call to them to ask nicely for your £70 back. If you haven't made a habit of being charged they may well say yes.

Good luck!

stingylolo

Thanks
I do feel like I am responsible and this is my mistake. I should have transfered some money the evening before, then if it was too much I would have returned it to the websaver.
I am just hoping that they will understand that I made a mistake, although I find this a bit unfair that if you make a mistake yet you sort it out the same day you still get landed with such a massive charge. After all it can happen to everyone.
That will definitely teach me a lesson, maybe the overdraft is a good idea. I never asked for one before because I don't trust myself to not tuck into it. I think it's better that when I see I have no money left to spend then I don't spend it. Obviously then, an overdraft facility would have not turned this into a problem in these two cases.
Thanks for your help all of you. I will write to them and hope that they will understand this was just a mistake from my part.