What would be a fair amout to charge?

adolphin1

On the contrary, people are taking responsibility for THEIR money, that is what this is all about.
What would you think it costs to send a standard letter out to say you haven't enough money to pay for a D.D?

AverageJoe_4

is there an echo in here...??

adolphin1

Sorry, I'm really interested to hear what the original postie thinks, he's really got me going!

arunadasi

dunstonh wrote: »

I think we should perhaps move to the more continental european system and consider it theft. We wouldnt have this mess if we had the same attitude as say the French.
.

I don't know about the French but I'm from Germany and I can vouch for the fact that there is no such thing as a "European system". If the money is not there you just cannot go over the limit, the direct debit is not paid, end of story. If they ALLOW people to go overlimit how can it possinly be theft? Lock the door, for goodness' sake!
If the banks DO allow you to go over the limit then it is hypocritical to scream "theft" and charge £35.
Let's just be honest. This is a lucrative money-making scheme on the part of the banks. They do it because they CAN: they have access to our accounts and the excuse to dip their hands into OUR money was just too hard to resist.
We do take responsibility for our money. On a tight budget everything is calculated very closely. But just one little unexpected flaw, taking you over by a pound or two, can let loose an avalanche of charges and disrupt everything; and that one avalanche can upset a budget for years to come, since it s almost impossible to catch up.
There are reports here of £700 charges a MONTH. How can that possibly be deemed fair?
How is that not simply.... stealing?
As Natweststaffmember said, if there had been a reasonable charge of say £3-5 nobody would ever have objected. It's the fact that they are literally driving people who are already struggling (otherwise they would not be at their financial limit) into catastrophic circumstances. That is what has raised the outcry.

arunadasi

Another thing is that very often I have seen charges on my statement without a reason. No explanation. And when I questioned the charge, they say they have looked into it and it is correct. This is like a thief being simultaneously the judge.

I'm looking for a new bank and I saw this on the Lloyds website:

From 2 November 2007, if your account goes over its limit, you’ll have until 3:30pm the same day to pay in enough money to cover all your payments so you can avoid overdraft fees. The money should be ‘cleared funds’ and there are easy ways of paying this into your account.

See, that is what I call reasonable and fair. I could live with that. If I knew that there was a danger of going overdrawn I would act immediately; get money from my husband's account and pay it in at the counter, for instance.

adolphin1

Hear hear, someone after my own heart! Thank you!

bengal-stripe

arunadasi wrote: »

If the money is not there you just cannot go over the limit, the direct debit is not paid, end of story.

Well, not quite so easy.

German banks cannot charge you for bounced DD, abuse of debit card etc. That has been decided by the highest court (Bundesgerichtshof) many years ago. There is no pecuniary incentive for the bank to keep up with a ‘disorganized’ customer. Go (or even try to go) over your balance more than once, they will kick you out in next to no time. (An EC card (debit card has a floor limit, you can easily abuse it if you want). Once a bank has closed your account, it is virtually impossible to get another one, Without a decent ‘Schufa’ (credit reference agency) entry, no bank will touch you. They do not have to, as there is no legal requirement to open a bank account (even one with restricted services) to all comers.

I suppose it is rather a better system to keep the punters on their toes, than the current English one. Here people now seem not to be bothered about incurring charges, but rely on getting them back, claiming sometimes more than once.

And.......German bank accounts are not free. Even "free accounts" with a minimum paying-in requirement only will only give you a limited number of bookings. Exceed them, and you will be charged for every additional entry.

I suppose, old Dr Johnson was a good judge of human character:

"Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."

The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) by James Boswell
September 19, 1777, p. 351, often misquoted as being hanged in the morning

melorablack

bengal-stripe wrote: »

Well, not quite so easy.

German banks cannot charge you for bounced DD, abuse of debit card etc. That has been decided by the highest court (Bundesgerichtshof) many years ago. There is no pecuniary incentive for the bank to keep up with a ‘disorganized’ customer. Go (or even try to go) over your balance more than once, they will kick you out in next to no time. (An EC card (debit card has a floor limit, you can easily abuse it if you want). Once a bank has closed your account, it is virtually impossible to get another one, Without a decent ‘Schufa’ (credit reference agency) entry, no bank will touch you. They do not have to, as there is no legal requirement to open a bank account (even one with restricted services) to all comers.

I suppose it is rather a better system to keep the punters on their toes, than the current English one. Here people now seem not to be bothered about incurring charges, but rely on getting them back, claiming sometimes more than once.

And.......German bank accounts are not free. Even "free accounts" with a minimum paying-in requirement only will only give you a limited number of bookings. Exceed them, and you will be charged for every additional entry.

I suppose, old Dr Johnson was a good judge of human character:

"Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."

The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) by James Boswell
September 19, 1777, p. 351, often misquoted as being hanged in the morning

Now I think that would be a much better system!!!
:T:T:T

daisy555

i think that maybe up to £5 would be a fair amount, if you go over , or for an unpaid dd, but, i know quite a few people who have been overdrawn by only 12 or thirteen pence, and for that, they got charged £35, so where is the fairness in that? not only in the banks greed, did it charge them that, but also interest on top!!
i think most people wouldn't mind if it were only £5, but really, it just makes the poor, poorer, as usual, as they wouldn't have gone overdrawn etc in the first place , if they had the money!! so , then , they have to find the money for the charges, first, and then the direct debit as well!!

Doshamento

About £3, I would say. And this would be to account for either computerised or manual administration.

Unless any banking organisation can provide a full, itemised breakdown on how much it actually costs to a court of law, then I refuse to believe that any sort of levied charge for anything over £12 is acceptable and fair.

(let alone £25, £30 or even higher..........shock horror!:eek: )