LLoydsTSB online statement

Edward1965

Hi

On Wed the 24th Nov my bank balance was 0.39p [sad I know], Then on the 25th Nov it was £16.61, Hey great I though, so went out bought a light bulb some food [came to £6 about].

So I thought that's good now I have £10 left to buy some lecky, So today the 26th I woke up, and said to myself, I better buy my train ticket for monday [hospital appointment] My card was rejected, came home logged into LLoydstsb, to see my balance was 0.00, which confused me, Then I transferred £10 from my Internet banking to my cash account, which then said Funds available £2.21.

I went to my local branch, and was talked to like a child, I should write down everything I buy, isn't that the point of online statements. After sitting here for hours with my calculator, and pulling my hair out it transpires, that purchases I made a few days ago Hadn't shown up until now!.

This had left me in a mess, I had to cancel my hospital appointment, I have £1.75 left in my key metre [that wont last until December 3rd [next payment day], and I will also have to walk to the job center on tuesday, only a short 24 mile round trip over the white cliffs of dover.

why did they take and then put money back into my account!

what a Faux Pas.

all the best

slopemaster

Sorry but you really should write down everything you spend.
It's the only way to be sure how much you've got left.

blueberrypie

Edward1965 wrote: »

I went to my local branch, and was talked to like a child, I should write down everything I buy, isn't that the point of online statements.

No. The point of on-line statements is so that you can see what has *cleared* your bank account, not what you have spent. The only person who can possibly know what you have spent and what you will need for the next few days is you. How can LTSB possibly know if you have made transactions which they don't know about yet?

Edward1965 wrote: »

After sitting here for hours with my calculator, and pulling my hair out it transpires, that purchases I made a few days ago Hadn't shown up until now!

Indeed. And that's why you should keep track of your own spending.

rb10

This is because of the way in which retailers claim for card transactions.

At the point of sale (i.e. when you are in the shop), they get an 'authorisation' from your bank. This is basically getting permission from your bank to debit the money from your account. But they don't actually take this at this point. As the bank has promised £x to this retailer, they reduce your available balance by £x.

Then, a few days later, the retailer will generally go to the bank and ask for the money (it's cheaper to get, say, one lump sum of £100,000, than 10,000 individual £10 payments). It's only at this point that the money actually leaves your account, and it appears as a line on your statement.

But ... sometimes, if the retailer is particularly slow at claiming the money, your available balance will go back up again. This happens because the bank believes that the retailer may not claim the money, so they are allowing you to use it again. But this doesn't remove the authorisation that the retailer has to claim the money.

Online banking can only show you what's actually happened on your account. It is not designed to do your budgeting for you. The bank's suggestion of writing down what you spend sounds like a good idea. Additionally, if you have a small overdraft (e.g. £100), then this can act as a cushion if you do make mistakes like this again.

Edward1965

Thanks all

I'll just withdraw cash from now on, at least I'll know how much I have.

all the best

Jake'sGran

Edward1965 wrote: »

Thanks all

I'll just withdraw cash from now on, at least I'll know how much I have.

all the best

Good luck at the Job Centre. Hope you find a job that is right for you and you will be able to save more and, at the same time, learn to balance the books better.

Malory

On your online statement, you should have an availabe balance as well as an actual balance.

Take the available balance (not the actual balance) subtract your authorised overdraft, if you have one, and the money that you have left over is the money that is available for you to spend without paying interest on an overdraft.



ETA: I do not have a Lloyds account but I have online accounts with other banks. I assume they all work the same way. It may take a bit of clicking around to find your available balance.

adindas

I think that is the best method.
Pay in cash

Edward1965 wrote: »

Thanks all

I'll just withdraw cash from now on, at least I'll know how much I have.

all the best

blueberrypie

Malory wrote: »

On your online statement, you should have an availabe balance as well as an actual balance.

Take the available balance (not the actual balance) subtract your authorised overdraft, if you have one, and the money that you have left over is the money that is available for you to spend without paying interest on an overdraft.

Doing this wouldn't have helped the OP, because the transactions had not been deducted from his available balance.

What you describe doing is how a lot of people get into problems, because they are still relying on the bank to tell them how much money they have and how much they can afford to spend. It doesn't take into account transactions which weren't electronically authorised, or pending transactions, or any transactions that the bank could not possibly be aware of (e.g. if the customer had written a cheque) or any upcoming expenses. Keeping track of funds and expenses really is the responsibility of the individual, and expecting the bank to do it for you is asking for trouble.