Halifax overdraft charges...new!

opinions4u

PROLIANT wrote: »

Such a shame the banks have went this way, they should keep the £35 penalty and penalise the idiots that cant manage their money until they learn and put the "able to count" folk back on the 15% APR overdraft rate so as not to get charged a huge fee for the use of a small overdraft.

To be honest, I only ever slip in to my arranged overdraft through laziness.

I'm quite happy with the new set up. It pays me an extra fiver (better than 23p in interest) and makes me ensure I never go overdrawn, saving me a handful of coppers in interest too.

I'll simply push more of my spending on to a cashback credit card and clear the balanace in full monthly. Making even more for myself!

Comyface wrote: »

Call me a cynic but these new fees are fees for services provided (overdraft) rather than penalty charges. Does that mean they won't be subject to the 'unfair penalty charges' ruling (when it arrives!)? Is this why HBOS are going down this route I wonder?

Of course that's why they're going down this route. They're not being cynical, they're responding to changes in regulation/legislation as any business would.

At the end of the day current accounts have costs attached to them. Plastic cards, cheque books, cash machines, standing orders/direct debits, branch networks, call centres etc. It is not unreasonable to expect a bank to make a profit out of providing these things.

BigAndy_79

One thing to note is that if you fund an URCA with £1000 when these new terms come into place, you will get the £5 reward, as opposed to the 2.5% variable interest rate that is currently in place for any balance of up tto £2,500. This effectively means that the account will cost you just £7-50 for all the features and benefits if you're funding by £1000 or more for the month. That alone may well appeal to many people....