Natwest...Sneaky Tricks to Get Charges??

Mark7799

I wish this was a message that MSE would promote as much as it promotes reclaiming. It's so important for everyone to keep their own track of their finances and to learn how accounts operate.

ShelfStacker_3

I wish this was a message that MSE would promote as much as it promotes reclaiming. It's so important for everyone to keep their own track of their finances and to learn how accounts operate.

Yes, but "be responsible for your finances" tends to get fewer supporters then "there there, it's not your fault. go and get all your money back off those nasty nasty banks". I mean, I totally agree with you; it's just frightening the number of people who don't think it's important to leave money aside to pay bills and whathaveyou, instead just spending what's in their account and hoping the bank will cover any shortfall.

EDIT: Actually, I was a little unfair - Martin does state in his reclaiming article that the best way to deal with bank charges is not to get them in the first place. Doesn't seem to do much good though...

Mark7799

I'm not even advocationg going that far;)

All I'm suggesting is encouraging people to keep their own records of their finances so they know how much they've got at any given time - it's the first step towards taking control.

PROLIANT

Mark7799 wrote: »

I wish this was a message that MSE would promote as much as it promotes reclaiming. It's so important for everyone to keep their own track of their finances and to learn how accounts operate.

I will second that.
It is all just a simple method of addition and subtraction..and awareness.

wannabedebtfree_2

ixwood wrote: »

Do people really sail that close to the wind that a small sum like £100 can mean incurring charges? Scary.

We got paid a day or 2 late by work a while back and LOADS of people had issues with charges etc. It's shocking that some people are so financially incompetent.

Maybe those people don't have the luxury of having a buffer zone of saved money, when I work out my months bill I at some points go just a few pounds under my overdraft, so any unexpected outgoings cripple me completely and I have to panic and rearrange everything to fit it in, so yes if my wages were late and my direct debits started leaving I would incur numerous charges, this is not necessarily due to my financial imcompetence but due to the fact that I am working so damn hard to pay off my debts as quickly as I can that I leave myself with no room to breathe...........and no my debts were not incurred through me wasting my money but through just trying to survive in an expensive world.

PROLIANT

wannabedebtfree wrote: »

Maybe those people don't have the luxury of having a buffer zone of saved money, when I work out my months bill I at some points go just a few pounds under my overdraft, so any unexpected outgoings cripple me completely and I have to panic and rearrange everything to fit it in

Well my money is calculated down to the last £1.00, wages go in....DD's and one trip to the post office see's to it that I have £200 per month to live off, that is food, toiletries, bus fares and smokes...I role my own and it cost's me £40 per month including papers and filters.
Sometimes I go in to my £100 overdraft with my bank for cash flow reasons, I am currently looking for a part-time job to up my income a little so I can enjoy my life and go out and stuff, working just to pay bills is depressing.

Mrs_Ryan

Sometimes bank charges arent necessarily the fault of the account holder.

I had 8 separate refunds form NatWest as bank error was admitted every single time. My largest refund was 75 pounds which was closely followed by another for 60-odd plus a compensation payment as they messed up so badly. (Paying cancelled cheques, which they knew had been cancelled then bouncing them, not bothering to cancel direct debits when requested... need I go on?!)

And Ixwood, not everyone is rich enough to have loads of money spare each month. I earn a fairly decent wage but theres nothing left at the end of each month - not bad budgeting, necessity!