Basic bank account charges

simonleblank

Hi, my son has what we believe to be a basic bank account with HSBC. He is going overdrawn each month by up to £95. I thought they did not allow you to go overdrawn? Charges this month are a stagering £93 with interest at £0.70.
Is this normal and is there a bank account that will take his wages and not allow him to go overdrawn please?
I would prefer one without an overdraft limit as he sees this as a target!

Ta Si

jimjames

I assume as he is allowed to go overdrawn that he is over 18 so telling him he has to have an account without an overdraft could be tricky! Unfortunately he is deemed to be capable of making his own decisions (mistakes) so the bank can do what they like if he agrees to it.

Are you really sure its a basic bank account as that shouldn't allow overdrafts?

Mark_In_Hampshire

I have (and have had, for a long time) a Halifax Easycash account which they keep trying to get me to upgrade.

I don't allow direct debits and have had them disable that for security reasons.

If I try to use the debit card and don't have funds, it gets declined.

It never goes overdrawn.

Nessie23

simonleblank wrote: »

Hi, my son has what we believe to be a basic bank account with HSBC. He is going overdrawn each month by up to £95. I thought they did not allow you to go overdrawn? Charges this month are a stagering £93 with interest at £0.70.
Is this normal and is there a bank account that will take his wages and not allow him to go overdrawn please?
I would prefer one without an overdraft limit as he sees this as a target!

Ta Si

Maybe there is another option you could consider.

If your son is only using the account to access his money he could use a savings account with a cash card.
The Santander esaver gives 2.75% interest and has a cash card. You can only withdraw money if the money is there, hence no risk of going into overdraft.
It is not a current account, but you can still access your money at any ATM.
I have an esaver and can pay into the account via BACS/Faster payments, but you should check with Santander whether they will accept a salary being paid in.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest?dd#atm

ses6jwg

Nessie23 wrote: »

Maybe there is another option you could consider.

If your son is only using the account to access his money he could use a savings account with a cash card.
The Santander esaver gives 2.75% interest and has a cash card. You can only withdraw money if the money is there, hence no risk of going into overdraft.
It is not a current account, but you can still access your money at any ATM.
I have an esaver and can pay into the account via BACS/Faster payments, but you should check with Santander whether they will accept a salary being paid in.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest?dd#atm

you shouldnt use it for salary payments its against the t&cs

Azrael_1701

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

I have (and have had, for a long time) a Halifax Easycash account which they keep trying to get me to upgrade.

I don't allow direct debits and have had them disable that for security reasons.

If I try to use the debit card and don't have funds, it gets declined.

It never goes overdrawn.

Just to let you know, there are situations in which an Easycash account can go overdrawn.

jimjames

You might also want to see this link about Basic accounts.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/319736

Beyond passing on the information I'm not sure what more you can do, if your son is considered a reasonable credit risk the bank could still hand out credit cards with high limits or loans without your knowledge or consent.