What are my bank playing at...

jkelly81

How can this happen.

I have a basic account. No overdraft. The sort 16 years old would get.

The bank balance on my account 1 week after payday was £4. Pretty standard for me.

I received a letter in my work telling me some bonus was coming my way. The next day my bank balance was £175. Brilliant, I withdrew it all as I needed the cash.

Three days letter I check my bank. The balance is -330.

When i pull up a statement I can never see a balance of £4 despite me seeing this several times. I see a £160 bank charge and the £170 cash withdrawal and some other transactions which were always there. The reason for the £160 bank charge was due to the same happening last month, money myseteriously appeared which I spent and then learned when next checking my bank (some 3 weeks later) that the money didnt exist in the first place. The fact I was expecting money and knew I only had £4 in my bank meant when I saw money in my bank that I knew it had to be mine. Im glad I got it out before the 160 bank charge but i don't undesrtand why balance is -330 and not -160. Something smells here, I have only had this account 2months and they have got me twice, is this what banks are doing to generate money now?!? I am closing this account and don't intend on paying this back but this adds to my never ending list of debt which all seems to have accrued through crap like this....

dunstonh

We dont have the advantage of seeing your statement. However, it looks like you have failed to take into account transactions in the pipeline and have relied not on a reconciled balance but a daily balance.

Do you know how a bank account works and how transactions are processed?

podperson

Sorry but according to your post - last month money mysterious appeared in your account, you spent it anyway without checking what it was and then got charges as it took you over your limit.
This month - money again appears in your account, you don't know what it's for and the same thing happened last month but let's just spend it again while it's there.
Now you're wanting to close the account and do a runner.
Hmm - and you wonder why you're in debt??

flexrider

Hmm, Out of curiousity who is it you bank with? Is it Santender by any chance

I think on the case in your post what you display is that if your bank is Old Abbey or Santender as there called now i know most banks hold up to 20 days as such to incure any charges to a persons account, They do not take the owed money meaning if you was over on your account anywere from the previous months(no money in your account for example) The charges are rolled on to the following month also.

Was the £4 avilable balance? It would help if you check the TOS of your bank account which would give you a clear indication on how it works. Failing that speak to your bank,An failing there with no luck write a complaint to your banking explaing what you told us good folk on here. With the sentence "im writing also to my banking ombudsman ect" that means then they have up to 8 weeks i think to sort things out before you can contact the finicial ombudsman.

Hope that helps

jkelly81

I discovered my balance was £4 after holding up a queue in the shop trying to pay £8 of groceries on my card. The balance would have been £4 for over a week and then it was up to about £175, so I withdrew £170. The £170 disappeared again, I can't see in my statement my balance ever lanidng at £4, and its now over 300 overdrawn. I wont have any money in this bank for over 2 weeks again so its a nice earner. Bank is RBS. I got this same crap with HBOS. I believe they are now one and the same in either case...this happened for years with HBOS and no one believed me (it probably cost me £5000) and when Id phone and complain they would find some way of making it look like work, sometimes on the phone to them money has myseteriously reappeared, so they clearly have the ability to adjust my balance at any time.

shellsuit

Do you make a note of all the transactions that are due to come out of your account?

This has happened to you for years? With 2 different banks?

Are you sure it's not you making mistakes along the way?

dunstonh

I knew my balance was £4. But now when i look at the statement, its never landed at £4.

Which means your assumption it was £4 was wrong.

I didnt not take into account anything, they are just fixing the figures to ensure i go overdrawn and can charge me.

If you take your tin hat off for the moment and rejoin reality and look at your statement, it will show you the transactions you failed to take into account.

Its happened for five years with my last bank but I eventually moved bank, and now 2 months in with my new bank I am £300 down....thats why im in debt....

Have you considered that its not the banks and its you that is making the mistakes.

My guess is that you are not reconciling transactions and going by cashpoint balances or similar. If you run your account close to zero then it is inevitable you will get bank charges if you do that.

jkelly81

This is as much use as speaking to my bank, dont worry, this time in 5 years this bank will have taken me for 10k and i'll be looking for a 50k loan so i have something to leave in my will before jumping in front of a train. Im saying one thing are youre only reading what you want to read. Something is fishy here...

shellsuit

OK, I get it now. This is a wind up.

podperson

Think it must be yes. Same thing happens for 5 years with 2 different banks - but they couldn't possibly be making mistakes themselves, it must be a bank conspiracy

flexrider

jkelly81 wrote: »

I discovered my balance was £4 after holding up a queue in the shop trying to pay £8 of groceries on my card. The balance would have been £4 for over a week and then it was up to about £175, so I withdrew £170. The £170 disappeared again, I can't see in my statement my balance ever lanidng at £4, and its now over 300 overdrawn. I wont have any money in this bank for over 2 weeks again so its a nice earner. Bank is RBS. I got this same crap with HBOS. I believe they are now one and the same in either case...this happened for years with HBOS and no one believed me (it probably cost me £5000) and when Id phone and complain they would find some way of making it look like work, sometimes on the phone to them money has myseteriously reappeared, so they clearly have the ability to adjust my balance at any time.

Hmm, so from context to what you have said you beleive out of the many millions who use that bank you are joined too they have a vendetta against you and your account. I know how dismayed you may be at this moment but you are on a Joe public forum. No one knows you ect, But we need to hear as much to give you good advice and the rest is up to your self, As for your previous problems with banks i cannot comment on that and im sorry im no help on that one.

Firsty, and dont mind me saying this but to handle anything financial you need to stay calm Thats the whole trick even a professional who works for the banks would tell you that.

In your position i would do the following

1)Request all the charges or owed money in one statement to work out what you have incoming/outcoming in the bank and use microsoft excel ect to determine or forecast the amounts the reason i say that is because you can get to grips with what comes in and out of the account and you do not have to relay on cash machine balances,It gives you a cool head start and compare

Since you mentioned HBOS and RBS there two different banks but are joined by the bank of Scotland and Higher bank of scotland for banking intusions.

When you spend on any of there accounts the money is reserved form your account meaning its is taken from the account on principle and on hold until the payee requests it from your bank or debit card, This can take up to 30 days so it sounds like your balence on your account when asked did not reflect this and push your account over,

I would take a deep breath and talk to your bank to arrange a payment plan with them and explain the finicial hardship this may have on your account. HBOs are good for that when i used to bank with them before i came finicially independent for myself i did the same thing closing the bank account as you have mentioned is not the right way to do anything as they will contact your credit file and mark it as defullt making it even harder to be accepted to another bank account or loan ect,

hope that helps