Help with disproportionate overdraft charge

ju_1980

Hello,

can anyone advise me.

a few weeks back I went beyond my available funds by 62p by using my santander debit card at the supermarket.

I checked my account online two days later and saw that my balance was minus 62p and immediately transferred £20 from my other santander account to bring the balance back into credit.

Yesterday, I have been charged a £25 unarranged overdraft fee for going over by 62p and despite bringing my account back into credit two days later. :mad:

It seems ridiculous to get charged £25 for going over by 62p, I imagine they would have done the same thing if it was 1p. Seriously, banks get away with this?

Is there anything I can do to get rid of this charge? what are my chances?

Also, because of this, I will be requesting an minimum overdraft to have a buffer zone and avoid this happening again. Would now be a bad time to request the overdraft, seeing as my account is in the red? or will that not affect it?

Many thanks.

opinions4u

ju_1980 wrote: »

Yesterday, I have been charged a £25 unarranged overdraft fee for going over by 62p and despite bringing my account back into credit two days later.

Your mistake.

It seems ridiculous to get charged £25 for going over by 62p, I imagine they would have done the same thing if it was 1p. Seriously, banks get away with this?

When you agree to the terms and conditions of an account ... in other words, they are doing what they said they'd do when you signed up.

Personally I think your frustration should be directed at you own error.

Is there anything I can do to get rid of this charge? what are my chances?

Ask them nicely. Season of goodwill and all that.

Also, because of this, I will be requesting an minimum overdraft to have a buffer zone and avoid this happening again. Would now be a bad time to request the overdraft, seeing as my account is in the red? or will that not affect it?

I would wait until just after your next salary goes in.

jambosans

ju_1980 wrote: »

Is there anything I can do to get rid of this charge? what are my chances?

It depends on the bank, there's no harm in contacting Santander, explaining your situation (with a little humility), and they may oblige in waiving the charges. The banks I've dealt with have policies in place for dealing with charges, examples such as yours, will normally qualify for goodwill.

ju_1980 wrote: »

Also, because of this, I will be requesting an minimum overdraft to have a buffer zone and avoid this happening again. Would now be a bad time to request the overdraft, seeing as my account is in the red? or will that not affect it?

Account conduct will effect your internal/ behavioural scoring which will have a knock-on effect to credit applications. It depends how quickly this scenario is taken into account, again, call Santander and ask.

YorkshireBoy

Don't Santander have a fee-free £10 buffer on their current accounts?

If you're not good at managing your money you need a buffer in there. Whether you choose a (relatively) expensive overdraft facility or a (relatively) very cheap permanent deposit from your savings account* is up to you...I know which I'd use if I couldn't manage my money!


* A form of 'self insurance'.

noh

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Don't Santander have a fee-free £10 buffer on their current accounts?

...........

I have seen that mentioned before on here.
Looking at Santanders Interest Rates and Fees information page 6.
It looks as if they have waived the £5 fee for a paid item under £9.99 but have charged the additional £25 monthly overdraft fee.
Nowhere in that document is a fee free buffer of £10 mentioned. It may be an unwritten policy.

YorkshireBoy

noh wrote: »

Nowhere in that document is a fee free buffer of £10 mentioned. It may be an unwritten policy.

Probably is. There are a good few references to it returned from a "santander buffer zone £10" google search though.

noh

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Probably is. There are a good few references to it returned from a "santander buffer zone £10" google search though.

I agree.
According to Santanders fees document the OP should have been charged £5 paid item fee plus £25 monthly overdraft fee a total of £30.
It looks as if the buffer zone fee waiver may have been applied to the paid item fee but not to the monthly fee.

YorkshireBoy

noh wrote: »

According to Santanders fees document the OP should have been charged £5 paid item fee plus £25 monthly overdraft fee a total of £30.

OP hasn't divulged the transaction value that caused the problem though.

If it was between £20 - £29.99 then that would account for the £25 fee stated*. However, it would also mean that a further £25 fee for using an unarranged overdraft will be charged to the account.


* Unless the usage fee is charged immediately, and the paid item fee is billed 22 days after the statement as per the document you linked to? All of which means this could a very expensive lesson learned at £50 for a 62p overspend. :eek:

Bubbapudd

I went 70p overdrawn by accident last month and received charges amounting to £35.00. I called them and the man couldnt have been any more helpful and removed all the charges. Not sure if it was because it was a one off though?

Wasteofspace

As said, you spent 62c you didn't have to spend, so this is a result of your own actions, your unarranged borrowing.

The fee is calculated based on the transaction amount, not the 62c.

Provided this 62c is the only amount in the red you have gone this month, Santander will probably wave these charges as goodwill if you ask them nicely.

The_Boss

Why do people think that breaching the terms and conditions they agreed to by 'only' 62p means they should automatically be refunded? The amount it went over is not the point. It is still a breach of the terms and conditions. Or if it is the overdraft fee, the OP consented to this by going over the limit.

The amount that the OP went into the red is not really important - it could have been 62p or £62, but that's not the point.

That said, hopefully they will refund this as a one off.