Natwest saying money needs to be in account 4 days before payment due?!

pinkdalek

They are probably doing it as part of their cheesy adverts about customer care and service. Maybe they received many complaints last month following the 4 bank holidays that were quite close together and due to this maybe that is why they are reminding their customers about having funds in the account in time to pay the direct debits. I don't recall receiving a message from them over the Easter/Royal Wedding holiday weekends.

madgagoo

rileydog wrote: »

Sorry YB, comma missing. "...same day, after they've been paid"

So if it is just me... Can you explain to me what the justification would be as to why I should have the funds ready for Friday when they're not due to come out til Tuesday (my payday) which is a regular working day?

The rule is and always has been (the same with other banks as well, as far as I know) that cleared funds should be in the account the working day BEFORE payments are due(i.e. Friday) Natwest are just reiterating this and making it clear in their online banking.

DDs and SOs will show up from Saturday morning but with Tuesday's date and will not debit until Tuesday. The same will also be correct for your salary (meaning you can withdraw it 3 whole days before it's 'due' to credit).

The 14.30 thing means that if you did not have cleared funds in at close of business on Friday then you have up until 14.30 on Tuesday to pay in cleared funds & the direct debits will (probably - no guarantee) be paid. I believe that some other banks (please correct me if I'm wrong) will not pay direct debits in this case & would return them unpaid, even if you paid funds in first thing on Tuesday morning.

I hope that makes sense, it did when I typed it!

gt94sss2

rileydog wrote: »

Thanks for the explanation StClair, that makes complete sense as to why they are saying funds must be in there on Friday for Tuesday payments. Still doesn't make it right in my opinion though

You could try changing to Lloyds or HSBC.

They both won't charge a overdrawn fee if (i.e. in this case) your balance is in credit at the end of Tuesday because of these sorts of issues - i.e. you don't need the money in your account my this Friday.

So they probably operate in the way you think banks should.

However, I think they are the only big banks* to do this - the others work on the same basis as Natwest.

(*Halifax may do it as they are changing to the Lloyds IT systems)

Regards
Sunil

RuthnJasper

I got this message when I logged into my online Natwest banking this afternoon and, initially, had a complete sh*t-fit!

Then I realised that it's OK - the Bank Holiday means that my wages will go in at midnight on Friday, although Direct Debits won't come out until Tuesday - therefore don't overspend wages at the weekend, under the impression that DDs have already been removed and what shows up at weekend balance enquiries is your full, available, balance.

Phew!:o x

LittleMissAspie

When I was with the Co-op bank, a couple of times I had money going in and money going out on the same day, where the money coming out would have put me overdrawn if it wasn't for the money coming in, if you see what I mean. I was never charged as the balance at the end of the day was positive. I don't know if other banks do that though.

rb10

gt94sss2 wrote: »

You could try changing to Lloyds or HSBC.

They both won't charge a overdrawn fee if (i.e. in this case) your balance is in credit at the end of Tuesday because of these sorts of issues - i.e. you don't need the money in your account my this Friday.

So they probably operate in the way you think banks should.

However, I think they are the only big banks* to do this - the others work on the same basis as Natwest.

(*Halifax may do it as they are changing to the Lloyds IT systems)

Regards
Sunil

Halifax do allow this - as long as your account is in credit by 23.59 on Tuesday then you won't be charged an overdraft fee. It's nothing to do with the Lloyds TSB IT systems - they started doing this several years ago.

Note that you do need to have enough overdraft available in order for this to work, otherwise the payment may bounce.

pmduk

pinkdalek wrote: »

They are probably doing it as part of their cheesy adverts about customer care and service. Maybe they received many complaints last month following the 4 bank holidays that were quite close together and due to this maybe that is why they are reminding their customers about having funds in the account in time to pay the direct debits. I don't recall receiving a message from them over the Easter/Royal Wedding holiday weekends.

Anybody using RBS phone banking was given a message at least 3 weeks in advance of the may bank holiday sequence. I'm sure that many people came unstuck, thereby proving that people just can't be told.

Twister84

madgagoo wrote: »

The rule is and always has been (the same with other banks as well, as far as I know) that cleared funds should be in the account the working day BEFORE payments are due(i.e. Friday) Natwest are just reiterating this and making it clear in their online banking.

DDs and SOs will show up from Saturday morning but with Tuesday's date and will not debit until Tuesday. The same will also be correct for your salary (meaning you can withdraw it 3 whole days before it's 'due' to credit).

The 14.30 thing means that if you did not have cleared funds in at close of business on Friday then you have up until 14.30 on Tuesday to pay in cleared funds & the direct debits will (probably - no guarantee) be paid. I believe that some other banks (please correct me if I'm wrong) will not pay direct debits in this case & would return them unpaid, even if you paid funds in first thing on Tuesday morning.

I hope that makes sense, it did when I typed it!

I believe with some banks you have to have the money in your account the working day before the payment is due!


With Natwest/RBS 14:30 pm is when the auto sweep happens - pay in before this time, and funds are guaranteed to be paid - after this time, you're pushing it

The other sweep is at 2:30 am - this is when credits will go in, and regular payments go out.

stclair

zppp wrote: »

The position is very simple for payments with Natwest/RBS.

Cleared funds need to be available the working day before an item is due to debit your account. This is stated in their terms and conditions.

If you don't have funds in the working day before the payment, you can try and cover same day by 14:30 with cleared funds. They try and pay as many items as possible, but this is not a guaranteed service and payments can still be returned. (This is a discretionary window)

I wouldnt call it a discretionary window as the items are always paid providing there are cleared funds in the account by 14.30. That has always been lendings way of being able to help the customer in need.

Also that was the idea of the group introducing act now alerts not long back on the notification it advises the customer they need to pay in before a certain time.

LaurenS1990

I'm so glad to see a thread on this. I also worried when I saw the message this morning but panic is now over :-)

Everyones comments were very helpful!