overdrafts and charges

HIGHBOB

My partner and I have banked with Barclays Bank for some years now and have never had an overdraft on our account. However they have always allowed us to go overdrawn on this account up to £230.00 knowing that there is'nt an overdraft on it. Therefore we have been occuring charges for going overdrawn and also for unpaid items. How is this allowed and can anyone advise on where i stand ?:mad:

Debt_Free_Chick

You will need to check the terms & conditions of the account.

It sounds like you have been using an unauthorised overdraft facility, which many current accounts have. Especially for a modest amount like £230.

The problem with unauthorised o/ds is the charges! You would be far better off requesting an authorised overdraft of, say, £500. This way, you will probably only pay interest and not charges.

It's not really for the bank to manage your finances. You really ought to know whether a particular transaction is going to take you overdrawn or not.

You say you're being charged for unpaid items too ... so are you actually trying to spend more, whilst overdrawn?

You need to run the account so that it doesn't go overdrawn or arrange an overdraft.

Of course, if you think the charges are unfair, you could attempt to claim them back. But you still need to address the problem for the future.

HTH

grumbler

If you have Visa Delta cards, your bank cannot stop you from getting overdrawn. With Visa Electron or Switch card you are more likely to get stopped from going overdrawn . These cards usually come with basic or children/student accounts, but even with these cards you can get overdrawn when making small purchases. It is your duty to run you account within agreed overdraft limit (or in credit if you don't have this facility).

The_Boss

Of course, if you think the charges are unfair, you could attempt to claim them back. But you still need to address the problem for the future

I'm glad someone said that, as caught up amongst all the "claiming back fees" hype is the fact that old habits die hard. People should also be looking at the way they manage their finances as well as how much they want to claim back, but this bit gets totally forgotten in all the excitement.