Broke & hit with ~£100 overdraft fees (Santander)

Ampa

I have a Premier Current Account, originally opened with Alliance and Leicester (now part of Santander).

I have very limited income (occasional handyman jobs, and regular housing benefit to help with my rent). I use my £300 arranged overdraft every month to plug the gap until the benefits cheque arrives.

In February I didn't get any paying work, buried my head in the sand, and dipped into unarranged overdraft:

Balance of -£435 (ie £135 beyond my agreed limit) for 9 days (1st to 10th) and during that time two two direct debits occurred.

I have been charged...

£25 penalty for each Direct Debit [= £50]
£45 penalty for using unarranged overdraft
£2 for using arranged overdraft
TOTAL = £97

Although I have managed to get a little paid work this month, these charges will cripple me to the point where I will struggle to buy food, and will likely end up in a similar situation next month!

This feels like a downward spiral...

Any advice as to how I should contact Santander and negotiate to have the fees removed or reduced greatly appreciated! I imagine that they will simply say it is my fault - tough luck

Thanks MSEers,

Ampa

zppp

Ampa wrote: »

I have a Premier Current Account, originally opened with Alliance and Leicester (now part of Santander).

I have very limited income (occasional handyman jobs, and regular housing benefit to help with my rent). I use my £300 arranged overdraft every month to plug the gap until the benefits cheque arrives.

In February I didn't get any paying work, buried my head in the sand, and dipped into unarranged overdraft:

Balance of -£435 (ie £135 beyond my agreed limit) for 9 days (1st to 10th) and during that time two two direct debits occurred.

I have been charged...

£25 penalty for each Direct Debit [= £50]
£45 penalty for using unarranged overdraft
£2 for using arranged overdraft
TOTAL = £97

Although I have managed to get a little paid work this month, these charges will cripple me to the point where I will struggle to buy food, and will likely end up in a similar situation next month!

This feels like a downward spiral...

Any advice as to how I should contact Santander and negotiate to have the fees removed or reduced greatly appreciated! I imagine that they will simply say it is my fault - tough luck

Thanks MSEers,

Ampa

I would suggest calling them and asking if they would consider removing some of the fees as a goodwill gesture, and to set up some kind of repayment plan on the account. They may be able to help you with a temporary overdraft if your account is overdrawn at present.

ironlady2022

You are living beyond your means. You need to write out a budget and see exactly where your money is being spent and reduce accordingly. Being in your overdraft long term makes people think it's their money. It should only be used from time to time as you get interest charges and charges for going over too.

DrSyn

1. Investigate if you are able to join a local "Credit Union" . Banks will never tell you about them, of that you can be sure.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/credit-unions

2. Have a look at "The Budget Planner" guide in the Banking & Savings section on this site to see if it can give help.

intranicity

Also, if you have the Premier Account, do you need the benefits? If not, downgrade to one of their standard free accounts will save you £20 a month

jinkster

Is that an eligibility criteria for Premier Accounts with Santander?

ses6jwg

jinkster wrote: »

Is that an eligibility criteria for Premier Accounts with Santander?

The premier current account is free provided you fund it with 500 pounds per month you get free european multi trip travel otherwise £5pcm

Ampa

Thank you for the pointers given by those who replied...

zppp: I shall call today an hopefully negotiate a compromise.

mayling03: Thank you for phrasing this in a positive way. I have calculated my expenditure from my last 12 months of bank and CC statements, and for the first time have a notion of what I actually spend.

DrSyn: Thanks - checking out your suggestions right now.

intranicity & ses6jwg: My benefits plus my small earnings do amount to more than £500 pcm so the account is 'free' but you are right that the perks are useless to me since I've not had a holiday for many years and am unlikely to be taking one anytime soon. Perhaps I should look at changing my account too.

Shall report back to tell of the outcome...

Ampa

Ampa

Just spoke to Santander who will reverse one of the fees of £25, as a gesture of good will since I have never had charges reversed in the past.

The Good: I no longer have to pay a penalty of £97, only £72.

The Bad: Santander will not set up any kind of repayment plan to help me into credit until I am at least £100 over my agreed overdraft limit (ie more than £400 in debt) - a process which would once again incur penalties of at least £45.

Lesson: Stop using overdraft facilities!