MSE News: Reaction to Halifax's changes

JoseChungsDoomsday

opinions4u wrote: »

The OP posted 6 months ago and is employed by the site. I see no lecture.

If, however, the previous poster (#165) had the right account then they would benefit from the fiver. I think they would like it. If the same poster had read the very clear communications about charging structures they could have saved themselves £4.

Well, you've firmly put me in my place. You know full well I was talking about post #165.

And in your second paragraph there is another lecture. The person missed this and didn't like getting charged and voiced their dislike for it. This rate of charge is not liked by them and the £5 per month is no substitute.

You are keen to harp on about your beloved fiver and when anyone doesn't like the £1 daily charge they are idiots in your eyes. Anything to protect your free money.

<sebb>

rb10 wrote: »

Did you choose not to read the letter that they sent you last year? This letter told you exactly what you'd be charged under this new system for being overdrawn.

I am fully aware that this is my own fault. I didnt read the letter because I dont normally have any use for an overdraft. I just assumed wrongly, that a bank wouldnt be able to charge you the equivalent of thousands of percent APR for an agreed overdraft. That's why I havent bothered to complain to try and get the fee back because it was my own fault. That being said, I totally disagree with the policy and therefore dont feel I want to bank with them anymore.

As for the reward account, I first tried about 2 years back to get it changed. They said they would, then wrote to me saying because my account was so old I needed to fill in some extra forms. I chased this after a month when I heard nothing and they said they didnt get the forms. So I filled in another set and heard nothing back. A couple of months later I called them and the said that I didnt need to fill in any forms, they would do it over the phone. Again nothing happened. I kept forgetting about it and chased every couple of months. Every time I was told they would do it the next day, and they never did. I called again today and was promised that they would change it tomorrow and phone me to confirm. They also say they have no record of my calls or any forms being sent to me! The reward account may be attractive, but I cant seem to get access to it, so I'd rather get an account elsewhere.

opinions4u

JoseChungsDoomsday wrote: »

Well, you've firmly put me in my place. You know full well I was talking about post #165.

Of course I did. But you were ranting and it brought a smug smile to my face. Life is dull, so thank you.

And in your second paragraph there is another lecture. The person missed this and didn't like getting charged and voiced their dislike for it. This rate of charge is not liked by them and the £5 per month is no substitute.

So you think that £5 is no substitute for £4. Well I'll let you know I would willing swap £4 for £5. Any time.

You are keen to harp on about your beloved fiver and when anyone doesn't like the £1 daily charge they are idiots in your eyes. Anything to protect your free money.

I don't like the £1 charges at all. But they have been clearly communicated. They are (for most) easy to avoid and for many who do pay them they are often outweighed by my beloved fiver.

Toodle pip.

rb10

JoseChungsDoomsday wrote: »

I don't think the OP came on here to get lectured. They don't like the overdraft structure, get over it. You like your £5, good for you.

I am sorry if you did not like my post; however, it was made with the best of intentions to try to help the above poster.

JoseChungsDoomsday wrote: »

Some people would rather look to where your £5 comes from - £1 per day overdraft fee that effects thousands.

I doubt that the overdraft fees will cover the £5 Rewards - although people whose accounts are overdrawn are vocal on here, they are the minority. Halifax attracts (in general) people who keep their accounts in credit rather than those who are overdrawn.

JoseChungsDoomsday wrote: »

these boards seem to attract a certain type of people - the best account is where you get money for nothing. Others think the best accounts come from a bank with a good overdraft policy and good customer service.

<sebb>'s post made it clear that s/he has not used an overdraft for at least five years. Therefore, the best account for them is not necessarily one with a good overdraft policy, but the one where you can get money for nothing (along with good customer service, as you mention). And I believe that Halifax is probably this bank. I'd rather end up with £5 most months, and occasionally just £1, rather than £0 always, and occasionally paying a few pence in interest.

If <sebb> can move onto the Reward account (as I said in post 165, the best way of doing this now is probably via their complaints procedure), then even if the odd four-day error occurs, they are still significantly better off than elsewhere.

Obviously everyone's needs are different, and maybe for your own usage Halifax is not the best - if you tend to live in your overdraft, then this is probably the case. However, for someone like <sebb>, then they'd probably struggle to find an account elsewhere that's better than Halifax's Reward account.

rb10

<sebb> wrote: »

I am fully aware that this is my own fault. I didnt read the letter because I dont normally have any use for an overdraft. I just assumed wrongly, that a bank wouldnt be able to charge you the equivalent of thousands of percent APR for an agreed overdraft. That's why I havent bothered to complain to try and get the fee back because it was my own fault. That being said, I totally disagree with the policy and therefore dont feel I want to bank with them anymore.

As for the reward account, I first tried about 2 years back to get it changed. They said they would, then wrote to me saying because my account was so old I needed to fill in some extra forms. I chased this after a month when I heard nothing and they said they didnt get the forms. So I filled in another set and heard nothing back. A couple of months later I called them and the said that I didnt need to fill in any forms, they would do it over the phone. Again nothing happened. I kept forgetting about it and chased every couple of months. Every time I was told they would do it the next day, and they never did. I called again today and was promised that they would change it tomorrow and phone me to confirm. They also say they have no record of my calls or any forms being sent to me! The reward account may be attractive, but I cant seem to get access to it, so I'd rather get an account elsewhere.

Definitely follow the complaints procedure that I linked to in my previous post. It should be a 10-second job to switch from a normal current account to a Reward one.

I'm sure that once you complain they will be able to sort it out quickly - I can't imagine any reason why it wouldn't be possible.

alan8253

I'm unemployed and on benefit (about £65 a week). I've got a £1250 overdraft limit and I'm currently about £1100 overdrawn (with not much prospect of this going down much in the near future). Before the new charges I was paying less than £20 a month in charges, now I'm paying £30/31. What are my options? Don't say get a job, cus I'm currently (hopefully temporarily) sick with a heart problem.

dizziblonde

Very little options - they've got you captive and they know this. I'm in the final stages of switching everything of mine away from Halifax because of it all (sorry guys - I'm not funding your free fivers), but I've been put in the position where financially I can afford to do so thankfully.

Not much help I guess - unless you can persuade another bank to take you on with that level of overdraft which I doubt any will do without a proven income going in. It sucks - but you'll get the "oooh live beyond your means, your fault, my precioussssss free fivers" brigade jumping on you in this thread sadly. Hopefully at least the people voting with their feet will send some message to them about this change for those still trapped in it.

alan8253

Thanks dizziblonde, I vaguely thought as much, just wanted to make sure. Thanks.

hixey101

I'm wondering if someone could give me some advice.

I have a Halifax current account which was recently automatically switched from a student account a year after I graduated from university. I am about £1900 into the overdraft.

I recently set up another current account in order to try and avoid the new Halifax overdraft fees when the account was changed in July. At the end of July I paid £26 in overdraft charges.

I am in full time work and £1384 goes into my Alliance and Leicester account each month. I need to pay a certain amount (I think £500) into this account each month to keep it going.

What should I do to reduce the amount of overdraft fees I pay? I cannot get a credit card as my credit rating is shocking and I cannot take advantage of the Alliance and Leicester 0% overdraft interest rate because they said I need to prove my old account has been in credit for at least 3 days in the last month. And clearly I cannot do this as the numbers don't add up.

Is there a way I can transfer my pay from A & L to Halifax at a certain time of the month and then back into A & L? :S

opinions4u

What should I do to reduce the amount of overdraft fees I pay?

If you have a poor credit rating, your options are truly limited.

With you owing around £2000, the amount you will pay in £1 a day charges is about the same that you would have paid in interest under the old charging structure.

Some points to consider:

1) Change the account to a Reward account and transfer £1k a month in to it to ensure that you get the £5 rebate.
2) Always fund the account. Failure to do so could lead to Halifax demanding repayment of the overdraft on demand.
3) What's your plan to repay the debt? Have you considered an eBay sale? Have you visited the Debt-free Wannabe part of this forum for ideas?