Santander overdraft silliness

winner12

Hi I was told I my overdraft would be withdrawn in june then just before the deadline I recieved a letter to say they had made a mistake and my overdraft would still be available maybe they will do the same to you

noh

djones9960 wrote: »

I don't take it personally. I didn't even take that rude manager personally, I think he may have just been frustrated to have yet another customer venting their spleen at him because the ivory tower people had screwed yet another customer over and the customer care line had told them the problem could be fixed in-branch.

However, pulling the financial rug from under people like this shouldn't be allowed.

Like I said before, they shouldn't give overdraft facilities of £2400 to people if they don't expect people to use them. The fact is, that up until now this has been by far the cheapest credit available to me.

I'd have rather they told me they were going to start charging credit card-style interest than do something like this.

Is the date that your overdraft limit is being reduced one year after you opened the account?

A+L overdraft limits and those from most banks are issued yearly ie the limit expires after 12 months and the underwriters then assess your account conduct and decide a new overdraft limit to offer.

RumPunch_2

I have always had an o/d facility with my hsbc current account. It used to be £1500 and for a while I used to get near that limit. As I have gradually sorted my finances out, I used the facility less and less but it I knew it was there so it was a nice security blanket if ever I needed it.

When my account was last reviewed, my o/d facility was reduced from £1500 to £250. I went in to my branch to query and basically as I hadn't used it for a year they had reduced it. They told me if I needed credit I could use my credit card or have a loan. Although initially a bit fed up, only because some of my DDs are more than £250, I didn't want to withdraw cash on my credit cards and I haven't yet discovered a personal loan where I can decide I want it and have the money immediately, I have now got used to not using my o/d facility at all. I expect they'll probably withdraw it completely at the next review, but, as already mentioned, it is their money.

djones9960

noh wrote: »

Is the date that your overdraft limit is being reduced one year after you opened the account?

A+L overdraft limits and those from most banks are issued yearly ie the limit expires after 12 months and the underwriters then assess your account conduct and decide a new overdraft limit to offer.

Look, I accept that.

Just to make it perfectly clear, my bones of contention are:

That the bank should let me appeal the decision (which I still believe to be wrong, in spite of what most of you are saying) BEFORE the cut in overdraft kicks in.

(This is the most important one) If it does turn out not to be a mistake, that I should have been warned that continuous use of the overdraft even within the limit is frowned upon by this particular bank (remember I came from NatWest, which is the only other bank I have ever dealt with, where it isn't)

That I should be allowed to speak to someone in the department which made the decision and I should be given the reasons the decision was made so I can modify my behaviour accordingly.

That I should have had more warning, not just a letter saying that it would be cut in six weeks.

I don't see why any of this is too much to ask.

ERICS_MUM

In general, overdraft limits that are not used actually cost the banks money, so they will review usage over a period of months and reduce the limit where possible.

RumPunch_2

The point I was trying to make was that I did try and appeal. I rang and was told to go into the branch, I went into the branch to appeal the decision, they gave me a phone number which turned out to be the call centre number anyway. As you mentioned, the underwriters were in the ivory towers somewhere and weren't available.

It seemed to me that I didn't really have a choice, that's all I'm saying. I don't know your situation but you mentioned a 6 week timescale, hope you can sort something out in that time.

zppp

djones9960 wrote: »

Look, I accept that.

Just to make it perfectly clear, my bones of contention are:

That the bank should let me appeal the decision (which I still believe to be wrong, in spite of what most of you are saying) BEFORE the cut in overdraft kicks in.

(This is the most important one) If it does turn out not to be a mistake, that I should have been warned that continuous use of the overdraft even within the limit is frowned upon by this particular bank (remember I came from NatWest, which is the only other bank I have ever dealt with, where it isn't)

That I should be allowed to speak to someone in the department which made the decision and I should be given the reasons the decision was made so I can modify my behaviour accordingly.

That I should have had more warning, not just a letter saying that it would be cut in six weeks.

I don't see why any of this is too much to ask.

I'm afraid you have no recompense here. They have actually been reasonable in the sense that they have given you some notice - some banks are allowed to reduce an overdraft instantly and write to you afterwards to inform you. They have taken a business decision, that is final, unfortunate as that may be.

djones9960

zppp wrote: »

I'm afraid you have no recompense here. They have actually been reasonable in the sense that they have given you some notice - some banks are allowed to reduce an overdraft instantly and write to you afterwards to inform you. They have taken a business decision, that is final, unfortunate as that may be.

I wouldn't go so far as to say 'reasonable'. 'Not completely unreasonable' probably fits the bill better, considering they're cutting the facility to £800 when I already owed £1650 when the overdraft was at it's peak last month; giving me no notice at all I'd have incurred charges instantly, which, if it isn't illegal, damn well should be.

As it stands, they've effectively sent me a bill for £850, on 42 days' terms.

zppp

djones9960 wrote: »

I wouldn't go so far as to say 'reasonable'. 'Not completely unreasonable' probably fits the bill better, considering they're cutting the facility to £800 when I already owed £1650 when the overdraft was at it's peak last month; giving me no notice at all I'd have incurred charges instantly, which, if it isn't illegal, damn well should be.

Of course it is legal. And that is why I have said they are being reasonable giving you notice to give you a chance to pay it off.

djones9960 wrote: »

As it stands, they've effectively sent me a bill for £850, on 42 days' terms.

I suggest that you contact them, and ask them if you can reduce it by paying monthly installments if you cannot pay the £850 within the time frame they have specified.

djones9960

zppp wrote: »

Of course it is legal. And that is why I have said they are being reasonable giving you notice to give you a chance to pay it off.



I suggest that you contact them, and ask them if you can reduce it by paying monthly installments if you cannot pay the £850 within the time frame they have specified.

No, as I stated in the other thread I still have my original £2400 overdraft facility with the NatWest(I've checked), in spite of my wages going to the A+L for a year. I'll simply transfer everything back there.

I'd rather not, as the A+L overdraft facility was seriously cheap. I'm giving Santander until 1 September to sort something out, or I walk.

As to whether it is legal to force someone to have to pay overdraft charges by instantly reducing someone's overdraft limit without warning to below what they already owe, I seriously doubt that would be deemed fair.