Online banking gives too much priority to "Available" instead of "Actual" balance IMO

peachyprice

oxenryd wrote: »

Exacly !!!
I also would like to add: Just read the whole screen !!

The next thing will be that banks should show your balance in red if it's overdrawn or black if in credit.

It's as if people hate banks but want them to still hold their hands at the same time.

Now that is a good idea

djm1972

BarclaysManager wrote: »

The banks were giving out free £50 notes, but I got a damn papercut off one! Compensation!

And that's useful to the conversation how?

djm1972

oxenryd wrote: »

I also would like to add: Just read the whole screen !!

The next thing will be that banks should show your balance in red if it's overdrawn or black if in credit.

Not everyone has time/can be bothered to read the whole screen - they just home in on where they are guided to; but actually, that's a really good idea - only i've not been overdrawn since using online banking so I don't know if they (NatWest or Cahoot) don't do that already...!

LemonGrove

djm1972 wrote: »

And that's useful to the conversation how?

I was wondering that, I basically think he was meaning that banks offer us a service to help us out - online banking - then when we find something we don't like about it we still complain.

djm1972

LemonGrove wrote: »

I was wondering that, I basically think he was meaning that banks offer us a service to help us out - online banking - then when we find something we don't like about it we still complain.

I see your / their point; but the analogy is closer to BarclaysManager handing out fake £50 notes and then people cutting themselves on them.

In other words, they want to be seen to be doing something to help us, but ultimately it's just another opportunity to SHAFT us.

dzug1

djm1972 wrote: »

Not everyone has time/can be bothered to read the whole screen - ...!

In that case they deserve all they get.

oliviasmummy

vet8 wrote: »

What I find a pain is when it says you have £500 in your account and you try to transfer £300 and it then says "insufficient funds"!! because the money has not actually cleared. I cannot see why they cannot tell you what you have really available at this moment.

thats what the available balance is for

djm1972

dzug1 wrote: »

In that case they deserve all they get.

That's not the case at all.

It is a very significant component of HCI (Human Computer Interaction) and User Experience (UX) to ensure that a user of any computer system is guided to the most critical information and IS NOT expected to read everything.

Taking it to extremes, let's say there was some small print at the bottom of your online banking screen that said that all values displayed were +£2000 from the actual value.

Would you consider that fair?

Framps

Similar but not quite the same...

I'm with HSBC and they only show you one balance online... I ended up transferring 10k out of my current a/c and into savings, only to get an overdraft fee later on as the credit was an uncleared cheque.

The uncleared cheque in question was actually issued by HSBC itself, which was their moronic attempt to pay me funds for an account that I had closed earlier in the month. Rather than transfer the funds electronically into my linked current account, some idiot had decided that I might prefer to wait a few days for a cheque... so funds that were in an HSBC account, were then repaid to me on an HSBC cheque, which was deposited at an HSBC branch - HSBC keeps the funds interest free for several days and then charges me a fee because it takes three days to clear (I transferred it on T+1)!!

When I raised this with one of their "client relationship" drones, I am referred to the small print of their internet service which states that balances include cheques which have not cleared...

Unsurprisingly I'm in the process of transferring my accounts elsewhere.

Laurenbelle

I have to agree here with not being able to make everybody happy, i work in a contact centre where when someone asks for the balance we are told to tell them the balance without the overdraft included. Some people are happy with that and some people get irrate saying thats not what they want, they want to know what is available to spend. I suppose its depends on the reason behind the call. People could also change the information they want depending on what tme of the month it is. I really think banks need to offer a crystal ball with the employment package!