Has the system for applying bank charges changed?

philoz14

I have had some problems with there being insufficient cleared funds in my account and then receiving "Returned payment" or "Guaranteed transaction" charges.

I have had this explained to me by my bank and I do understand how they work and recently have been able to avoid it happening, although the odd one still slips through from time to time.

However, I don't seem to remember these charges always being applied in the same way. I am almost certain that in the past transactions were totalled up at the close of business each day, if a large payment went out in the morning but an equally large deposit was made later in the day, as long as it all added up at the close of business you were okay. However, now it seems that everything is based on the total at the close of business yesterday and the instant you go past that you receive a charge.

I'm not necessarily saying that the new method is unfair ... at the end of the day (or actually, not at the end of the day! ), I've gone over my limit and that's my problem not the bank's. But am I right in remembering that it used to be done differently ... and if so, even though the new method has now been explained to me after me querying it, should there not have been a bigger announcement made if they were changing their methods?

The majority of queries about charges on this forum seem to stem from the same misunderstanding ... the same lack of explanation of both:
1. the difference between cleared funds and actual funds, and
2. the fact that charges are based on available funds at the close of business YESTERDAY not the amount you manage to bring them back up to by the close of business today.

And finally ... if they manage to make such instant decisions on the value of your transactions and cleared funds when it comes to levelling charges against you ... why does it always seem to take so damn long to process any of the transactions you actually want them to?! :mad: