What would be a fair amout to charge?

Once_bitten

There needs to be some sort of deterrent to stop people going overdrawn. May be what will happen is that the charges will be set at a nominal fee but T&Cs will be tightened making it clear that for repeat offenders overdraft facilities etc will be withdrawn

natweststaffmember

Once_bitten wrote: »

There needs to be some sort of deterrent to stop people going overdrawn. May be what will happen is that the charges will be set at a nominal fee but T&Cs will be tightened making it clear that for repeat offenders overdraft facilities etc will be withdrawn

If the charges are fair, then why tighten up terms and conditions?

Once_bitten

Times have changed. Financial instituations are as much concerned with not losing money as they are with making it. If and when charges are reduced what is their incentive to keep people who are constantly in the red

Personally I think the ability to withdraw money over your overdraft limit should be removed

arunadasi

Once_bitten wrote: »

Times have changed. Financial instituations are as much concerned with not losing money as they are with making it. If and when charges are reduced what is their incentive to keep people who are constantly in the red

Personally I think the ability to withdraw money over your overdraft limit should be removed

Exactly. But if they do allow it it should ot be a money-making enterprise of itself. THAT is the disgrace. The fact that what they owe me in charges is more than my present overdraft plus credit card debt shows that I have indeed managed my money well. It is MY money, and I want it back!

dunstonh

It is MY money, and I want it back!

Shame you didnt think the same way when you were taking their money without permission.

arunadasi

I was not "taking their money without permission".
They gave permission.
Contrast German banks. They don't give permission, so you can't go over the limit. End of story.
And do you sincerely think it is fair, to punish a few pence with £38 and more, and then to charge for the charge?

bengal-stripe

arunadasi wrote: »

Contrast German banks. They don't give permission, so you can't go over the limit. End of story.

Of course you can.

If you hold an EC card (debit card), the card can be used for transactions without authorisation (I believe, up to 200 Euros).
Also many shops still use “Bankeinzug / Lastschrift”, a one-off direct debit (cheaper than an electronic debit card transaction.)

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lastschrift

Bounce those more than once,and you will be out on your ear: the bank does not like abuse of the system and will get rid of you.

Once that happened, you are probably unable to open another account at all.

Nathan_Spleen

dunstonh wrote: »

Shame you didnt think the same way when you were taking their money without permission.

Shame you don't understand that you cannot go overdrawn without the express permission of your bank.

Also the OFT does not consder the £12 credit card default charges are ''fair''. If you actually read the report you'd know this.

arunadasi

bengal-stripe wrote: »

Bounce those more than once,and you will be out on your ear: the bank does not like abuse of the system and will get rid of you.

Once that happened, you are probably unable to open another account at all.

That's not my experience.
In earlly 2008, before we sold the house and things were very tight, we got into a tight place and many of our DD's bounced all at once. They did not close our account. Is all your knowledge form wikipedia, or have you actually lived there?

Edited to add: OK, I read that wikipedia article and it does not say what you claim. I've never heard of that happening, so I don't know if it's true or not. It certainly wasn't true in our case.
Where the German banks are strict is in their credit scoring; once you're in the Schufa you're there for a couple of years, even after the debt is paid off.

arunadasi

Nathan_Spleen wrote: »

Shame you don't understand that you cannot go overdrawn without the express permission of your bank.
.

Not only that; they WANT you to go over that limit, because it's a nice little money-making side business!
Nothing like them grabbing handfuls of money out of my account. Many of the charges haven no explanation whatsoever, and if you ask for an explanation they don't give it. That is abuse of power.