bank account you can't go overdrawn on

jenny2009

Is there a bank account that you can have an ATM card and set up direct debits from but if you do not have enough money in the account the direct debits will not be paid and there will be no penalty?

i.e you go to an ATM put your card in it and request £50 and you have only £49 in your account so it says insufficient funds and spits your card out. You get no penalty or fees for that.

Similar with a direct debit requesting £50 and you only have £49 so it sends it back insufficient funds BUT you don't pay a fee for the direct debit being rejected and you still have £49.

So you can never go in the red.

I was penalised because a direct debit was requested a year later by mistake but refused because of insufficient funds but I had to pay a fee of £12.

I managed to get it back as a favour but it was not my fault and if the company who made the mistake and admitted it was a mistake had not requested the direct debit I would never have been penalised in the first place.

Jenny

Aegis

I'm fairly sure that if you ask for an account with a nil limit (not zero overdraft, the phrase nil limit is very specific) from HSBC, it means that your account cannot go overdrawn at all and will always stay in credit or exactly at zero.

However, it will cause all sorts of questions to be asked about your ability to handle your own finances if you ever come to request another product from the bank.

td_007

While basic bank accounts do not have overdraft facility and provide an ATM card - you will always be hit for bounced direct debit/cheques etc.

So you will not go overdrawn with such an account i.e. you cannot withdraw more than what is there in your account or try to pay for something that costs more than the money you have in your account - but unfortunately will unable to escape the fees

YorkshireBoy

jenny2009 wrote: »

Is there a bank account that you can have an ATM card and set up direct debits from but if you do not have enough money in the account the direct debits will not be paid and there will be no penalty?

Yes. See the HSBC basic account (Aegis referred to above)...

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/current-accounts/more/basic-bank-account;jsessionid=00006Drg6c_E3zl02FZD3NlfgfW:11j5bgs6c

A word of warning though...HSBC operate a 'three strikes and you're out' policy on this account. Once bitten...?