TSB returned direct debit charge

jonty1970
jonty1970 Posts: 492 Forumite
Hello.
I was overcharged by Asda (home shopping) by £20, which meant I didn't have enough money to pay a direct debit (£6.99) meaning I was £5.25 overdrawn. I transfered the money from my savings account later that same day to stop me being overdrawn (the bank was closed by the time I realised)

I have just received a letter from TSB, telling me they had to return the direct debit and that they will write to me about any charges I have to pay.

I am supposed to have a "£10 buffer" on my account, to help out at times like this.

The same thing happened last year, again I was overcharged and that led me to be overdrawn, same thing, I put the money back the same day (after banks closing) I rang and they let me off the charges, but said I can't ask again in 12 months.

I am never overdrawn, unless it has been due to being overcharged.

Any ideas how to put this to the bank when I ring up?
Can I ask Asda to pay this charge?

Thanks for any help. I recently lost my job and have to watch every penny and don't see why I should have to pay, because of Asda's mistake!

Edit - it's a normal current account.

Comments

  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 119,401 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Any ideas how to put this to the bank when I ring up?

    Tell them what happened. Banks are usually sympathetic for your first error (some allow one minor error a year) and will refund.
    Can I ask Asda to pay this charge?

    yes you should and you should ask them for a small goodwill compensation amount on top as its the second time its happened and the inconvenience it has caused as well as making you look bad to your bank.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • jonty1970
    jonty1970 Posts: 492 Forumite
    Thank you :beer:

    I know roughly to the penny what goes in and out of my bank and daren't go overdrawn.
    If I don't need it I don't get it! So it really gets on my pip when someone else's mistake causes a blip on my account and possibly a very expensive blip!
  • jonty1970
    jonty1970 Posts: 492 Forumite
    Just rang the bank.
    I am being charged £10 for the returned direct debit.
    The advisor told me to complain to Asda and to get them to pay the charge because it is their fault.
    I asked about the £10 buffer on my account and she said this is only for debit card payments. They only allow up to £10 overdrawn on purchased items, but it is not used for direct debit payments.

    So off to email asda and ask for my £10 back
  • Premier_2
    Premier_2 Posts: 15,141 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    How was it you were overcharged by Asda?

    When you buy from Asda they give you the price it comes to at the checkout and that is the price they ask you to approve payment. If Asda has taken more than approved , COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN to both Asda and your bank.

    However, if it is simply that the amount added up was incorrect, so you approved payment for more than the sum of the individual items purchased, that is not the bank's problem. Take it up with Asda, and explain the extra charges you then incurred. They will probably refund these as a goodwill gesture, but are under no obligation to do so.

    e.g. if you have £50 in your account, you have a DD about to come out for £35 and you approve an Asda transaction of £19.95 - then you will go into debt.

    If you are so diligent to know to the exact penny what is happening, then you should have noticed that the sum of the individual items was only say £14.95 and not £19.95 Asda added them up to be, and not agreed to the transaction. Buy from another supermarket who can add up!
    "Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 2010
  • caulodren
    caulodren Posts: 9 Forumite
    edited 28 March 2015 at 11:04AM
    I was shopping online, i think this is what the customer said and i cant remember where, you purchase an item and if its not available, they substitute it for a more expensive item making the price higher than what it was. I went overdrawn as i had been charged more than what I had originally authorized. I got on to it first thing and didn't get charged. If they haven't got the item they should substitute for either a cheaper item or leave the item out altogether. Its shopping at online stores thats the problem. If supermarkets kept their listings updated and they updated items that were out of stock, then thid would never happen.
  • Nasqueron
    Nasqueron Posts: 10,563 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 28 March 2015 at 11:58AM
    caulodren wrote: »
    I was shopping online, i think this is what the customer said and i cant remember where, you purchase an item and if its not available, they substitute it for a more expensive item making the price higher than what it was. I went overdrawn as i had been charged more than what I had originally authorized. I got on to it first thing and didn't get charged. If they haven't got the item they should substitute for either a cheaper item or leave the item out altogether. Its shopping at online stores thats the problem. If supermarkets kept their listings updated and they updated items that were out of stock, then thid would never happen.

    This thread was last updated nearly 4 years ago!

    Supermarket online shops allow you to reject substitutions so this can be avoided.

    In addition, supermarket online stores are not updated every second, the stock might be there when you order, when they come to pick it, the item has been purchased by another customer - there is no way to stop that beyond a staff member taking the items off the shelf the second they get the order which is time consuming and costly.

    Furthermore, if you were so close to your OD limit that a single change to a more expensive product put you over then your affairs need a serious look at, what if you had an emergency or a sudden cost such as needing a new tyre to drive legally or having to get a taxi to school if your kid was injured etc - try the Debt Free Wannabe sub-forum for help on managing finances.

    Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness: 

    People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.

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