Nationwide direct debit rip off by hours!

Dontneedthis

I had 3 DDs due to come out of one of my Nationwide accounts on the 1st. It was a Saturday, funds were there but not taken out. Checking the account via online banking on Monday, a bank holiday, funds still there. Decided to shift some money from another account (instant transfer) as the balance would be a bit low after the debits had come out.Checked the account yesterday and noticed I had made an error and transferred money out of the account instead of in to it :mad:.. Promptly corrected the error and put the money back. At that time no mention of any returned debits. Checked it today...3 returned direct debits yesterday. it was therefore a matter of hours that the account was minus funds. Nationwide say they are going to charge me £30 each so £90 down as the money should have been there the day before...well it was, the original funds were still there on the Monday afternoon, not however on the Monday evening but was replaced on the Tuesday which was when they now state the debits were returned. I'm wondering how they can claim Monday was not a working day so direct debits not paid out in the morning but becomes a working day for the few hours in the evening that the funds were absent. Any help with this one folks ???

Mark_In_Hampshire

Direct debits effectively leave your account at 00:01 on the day of the debit regardless of whether it is a weekend or a bank holiday.

Whether or not they are paid relies on your balance at the end of the previous working day. Your moving money during the day probably wouldn't make any difference.

Dontneedthis

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

Direct debits effectively leave your account at 00:01 on the day of the debit regardless of whether it is a weekend or a bank holiday.

Whether or not they are paid relies on your balance at the end of the previous working day. Your moving money during the day probably wouldn't make any difference.

Well if that was the case and the payments were due on the 1st then why were they not taken out then ? Money was there then. The account has had sufficient funds continually until my error left it short foe a few hours on the 3rd. I might also add that the 3rd was not a "working" day (your italics) so how can a debit charge be applied on the 4th. ?

MrsManda

DDs due out on the 1st, this is not a working day so the DDs will have left the account 00:01 on the first working day which was Tuesday (4th). At this point the money was not in the account as you'd transferred it out on the Monday and had not transferred it back in until Tuesday afternoon.

(I know MIH said they go out regardless of whether its a working day or not but my NW and my Halifax DDs don't, they go out on the first working day on or after the due date - don't know about any other banks)

Notification of returned DDs would not show up on your account until today because the information on your full statement is correct at the close of business (5pm) of the previous working day so the DD went out on Tuesday, got returned and your account statement was updated today.

preable

Call your bank and ask them

Dontneedthis

MrsManda wrote: »

DDs due out on the 1st, this is not a working day so the DDs will have left the account 00:01 on the first working day which was Tuesday (4th). At this point the money was not in the account as you'd transferred it out on the Monday and had not transferred it back in until Tuesday afternoon.

(I know MIH said they go out regardless of whether its a working day or not but my NW and my Halifax DDs don't, they go out on the first working day on or after the due date - don't know about any other banks)

Notification of returned DDs would not show up on your account until today because the information on your full statement is correct at the close of business (5pm) of the previous working day so the DD went out on Tuesday, got returned and your account statement was updated today.

Thanks.Interesting that you mentioned the Halifax. I did once make a mistake on a Halifax direct debit, not having sufficient funds in the account on the day it was due, spotted it and put the money in the account at lunchtime, no problem, no charge. It would seem Nationwide operate differently. Closing the accounts anyway. When they made a major error on my account causing me considerable inconvenience it took 3 letters to get a begrudging apology and no compensation. When I make the first error in 7 years they hit me for £90.

YorkshireBoy

Dontneedthis wrote: »

When they made a major error on my account causing me considerable inconvenience it took 3 letters to get a begrudging apology and no compensation.

Even after you escalated your formal complaint to the Financial Ombudsman? You did make a formal complaint?

When I make the first error in 7 years they hit me for £90.

So will you be contacting them in the hope they'll waive the charge(s), or just closing your account(s)?

Dontneedthis

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Even after you escalated your formal complaint to the Financial Ombudsman? You did make a formal complaint?So will you be contacting them in the hope they'll waive the charge(s), or just closing your account(s)?

I didn't elevate the previous complaint. I'd paid cash into an account over the counter and later on when I was abroad found I was getting all my transactions declined. When I returned it transpired the money had been paid into the account of the previous customer in front of me. Their initial response was that I should have checked the account number on the receipt when leaving so my fault. :mad: Sometimes in your life there are other things going on and I didn't take it further. My mistake.Still its only 2 months ago so in the circumstances I will "exhume" it. Have already asked them to reconsider at least part of the charges but not holding out too much hope. Thanks for the help.

JohalaReewi

Dontneedthis wrote: »

Well if that was the case and the payments were due on the 1st then why were they not taken out then ??

DDs might be due on the 1st but that is not a guarantee that they will be taken on the first. They could be taken anytiime from the 1st. The only stipulation with DDs is that they are not taken early. There is nothing to say they can't be a few days late.

property.advert

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

Direct debits effectively leave your account at 00:01 on the day of the debit regardless of whether it is a weekend or a bank holiday.

Whether or not they are paid relies on your balance at the end of the previous working day. Your moving money during the day probably wouldn't make any difference.

I suggest that is not correct. Direct debits are not "live" items and do not hit your account until the overnight batch process, though there used to be a 3:30pm cut off to get the funds into your account. I think this is now close of business.

It may be possible that with the move to truly instant banking, that they will in the distant future but for the sheer cost saving of overnight batch processing, I believe all automated payments will form part of the overnight process when the bank essentially updates its systems. Thus, cleared funds in an account before close of business or whatever the cut off point is for your bank will still match direct debits going out that day.

What people should be aware of is the dates. Some companies state the date as the time the direct debit will hit their account and not the date which it will leave your account and that date my very well not be the same. For my Sky payments, they state the 28th of the month but the reality is that it is positioned to be in their account on 28th and it has come out from my account as early as 25th (which is the date I use mentally). Even Sky's literature to me and their people on the phone state that it is the 28th, but I know it is not !

property.advert

On another point, if I were the OP I would state that Nationwide did actually have the money in their account (the pooled fund account of all the customer deposits) so Nationwide as an entity and indeed the OP as an individual were never in a position where an overdraft was required because the OP collectively had more no notice required cash available than the sum of the direct debits.

I would expect the OP to be refunded without too much trouble. I wouldn't let it rest for sure.