HSBC Charges when I had money in another HSBC account

shellywelly1983

Hi Everyone, new here finally registered after browsing for years!

Wondering if anyone has had a similar problem or can give me some advice on my HSBC issue. Apologies for the long message!

Basically on the 5th May I went over my agreed overdraft on my account by £200. This was due to tax credits stopping my credits in error due to incorrect address details and I did not find out until I had not been paid a month worth of payment. I work part time and I am on a low income therefore I rely on my tax credits and budget accordingly.

Anyway I finally realised on the 10th May when I checked my online banking and realised I was so overdrawn I quickly transfered all my savings from another HSBC account to my bank account to cover the overdraft.

I recieved my bank statement on 27th may, advising me that HSBC would charge me £125 on 13 June due to the unauthorised overdraft. I wrote to them that day to request them to review the charge due to the fact that the overdraft was not initially my error and also because I had money in my other HSBC account that they could have transfered to cover the arrears or indeed if they had notified me I could have done it myself.

10 June, no reply to my letter so I went into the bank, the greeter told me she had no one available to see me, I explained I had to see someone before sunday when the charges were due to come out of my bank. She referred me to telephone banking. I got through to a call centre in india. The man did not understand me. I explained that they had my money so they should of used that, but to no avail, they advised as a goodwill gesture they would refund me £25 of the £125!! I said that that was not good enough and I should have been informed, the call centre man replied that they have lots of customers and that they can't contact them all. I was getting angry at this point and slammed the phone down. Suddenly someone was able to see me in the bank!

The advisor I saw agreed with me and said that it was in their power to take the money from my savings if I was overdrawn and couldn't understand why it was not taken, she agreed with all my points but then said that the bank can not override the call centre's decision!

So back to square one. I understand why they have bank charges and if I owed them money I would accept the charges but they had £300 of my money in another bank account that would more than cover the overdraft. Now they are going to charge me the £100 (reduced from £125) this will then make me struggle for the next few months and I will most likely go over my overdraft limit because of it.

help?!

Lokolo

But the fact is. You still used your card when there wasn't enough money on it.

Why should the bank notify you that you haven't had enough money in your account? Thats not upto them, thats upto you.

If you want a refund of the charges, you should go to the cause of the problem, the tax credits. Get them to owe you the money. I doubt they will though.

shellywelly1983

But I didn't know the money wasnt going in, I expected this money going in Weekly. I had money in my other hsbc account and the bank advisor said they usually transfer that out and cant understand why they didn't, HSBC had more of my money than I owed them, thats the point I am trying to make. I would be happy to pay it otherwise. Also I check my balance about once a week, It was incredit the week before.

noh

shellywelly1983 wrote: »

........ Also I check my balance about once a week, It was in credit the week before.

Once a day is probably a better idea if you are running your account so close to the edge.

stator

I think you'll just have to lump it. If you write a letter of complaint you might find they waive more than £25 this once, but wouldn't do so again. I would suggest leaving your savings in your current account if you have such tight finances, it's always good to have a margin. At the end of the day I think they were within their rights, despite the fact that you had money in a savings account and so technically they still had more of your money than you owed them, they can't automatically transfer money between accounts like that. If you went into serious debt they might freeze your account and then use that money, but they would do that only as a last restort.

pmduk

In future why not check that an expected credit has arrived. Like you I'm always close to the financial abyss, but knowing exactly what I have available is a great peace of mind.

bryanb

There have been threads on here where folks complain that banks have take money from their accounts to pay debts on other accounts. They can't win really whatever they do (or don't)

HouseHuntr

...........and then there's this thread, another one for the fiction shelves !

Olipro

HouseHuntr wrote: »

...........and then there's this thread, another one for the fiction shelves !

I think that ryanair thread tipped you over the edge didn't it

barbiedoll

Write a letter to the bank, explaining what has happened and why £125 is a lot of money to you and that the charges will put you in financial hardship. Get hold of the name of a senior manager and address the letter to him/her and send it recorded delivery. If this is the first time that you have been overdrawn, explain that you live on a very tight budget and that the overdraft was an error because of the tax credit situation. You may get a refund of the charges if it is your first time. Don't forget to mention that it was very hard to understand the call centre staff but do not be rude about them! Also, complain to the tax credits people and again, send all the details in writing. If you have incurred costs because of their error, you may be able to claim back the money. It's worth a try anyway. Good luck.

Chadsman

I would also write a letter of complaint to the office that adminsters your tax credits saying you will take your case to the ombudsman if they dont reimburse for your loss.