Cany anyone please help? Santander fee's, £35 for going £4 overdrawn

LittleMissMPB

I think this is the best place to post this message. I could really use some advice. I bank with santander (purely because I can't afford to pay back the overdraft otherwise I would change, so that's £9.50 worth of charges a month anyway).

I just found out that they have charged me £35 for going over my overdraft limit by £4.92. It's the first time I have been over the limit for at least 6months, and they authorised the card payment that took it over the limit. Yes I should have been more careful, but I want to complain about £35 worth of charges and I'm not 100% sure how to go about it.

The fee's are "paid item fee card payment to xxxxx" £25
"Daily unarranged overdraft fee" £10

I understand it's in the T&C's etc, but I honestly thought that if the money wasn't in the account then they wouldn't authorise the payment in the shop. I honestly can't get stuck in the cycle of bank charges every month, causing bank charges the next etc:( as these charges going out once again caused me to go over the limit and now I only have £40 to last until tuesday to feed the family.

Are they likely to help me out at all? I'm guessing they won't want to:( but if anyone has any advice then I would really appreciate it.

exel1966

LittleMissMPB wrote: »

I think this is the best place to post this message. I could really use some advice. I bank with santander (purely because I can't afford to pay back the overdraft otherwise I would change, so that's £9.50 worth of charges a month anyway).

I just found out that they have charged me £35 for going over my overdraft limit by £4.92. It's the first time I have been over the limit for at least 6months, and they authorised the card payment that took it over the limit. Yes I should have been more careful, but I want to complain about £35 worth of charges and I'm not 100% sure how to go about it.

The fee's are "paid item fee card payment to xxxxx" £25
"Daily unarranged overdraft fee" £10

I understand it's in the T&C's etc, but I honestly thought that if the money wasn't in the account then they wouldn't authorise the payment in the shop. I honestly can't get stuck in the cycle of bank charges every month, causing bank charges the next etc:( as these charges going out once again caused me to go over the limit and now I only have £40 to last until tuesday to feed the family.

Are they likely to help me out at all? I'm guessing they won't want to:( but if anyone has any advice then I would really appreciate it.

Banks are sometimes willing to waive charges if you can show that you're usually responsible and stick within your limitations, but that may be difficult considering this is not a 'first offence' of this nature. You really do not have any complaint to make, but that still shouldn't stop you asking and also at the same time ask them to slightly raise your O/D limit if possible. If they agree, do not then use the new limit as a spending target putting you back into the same situation.

It's your spending mentality you have to change. It's not the bank charges each month causing you to go over your limit, it's your budgeting.
I'm sorry if this sounds a little harsh, but you have to take account for your spending.

LittleMissMPB

exel1966 wrote: »

Banks are sometimes willing to waive charges if you can show that you're usually responsible and stick within your limitations, but that may be difficult considering this is not a 'first offence' of this nature. You really do not have any complaint to make, but that still shouldn't stop you asking and also at the same time ask them to slightly raise your O/D limit if possible. If they agree, do not then use the new limit as a spending target putting you back into the same situation.

It's your spending mentality you have to change. It's not the bank charges each month causing you to go over your limit, it's your budgeting.
I'm sorry if this sounds a little harsh, but you have to take account for your spending.

Thanks - to be honest I'm expecting people to be harsh to me. It was my own fault and I do accept that - what I don't understand is how the bank can authorise a card payment when there isn't enough funds in the bank to start with. Again - my own fault I know for not knowing it myself. It's just frustrating when I tried hard to get out of the cycle of charges and have managed to stay without any fee's for 6months and it looks like it's going to start again (this may turn out to be some very expensive electric from co-op):(

There's not really a lot I can do with regards to spending patterns, when you add the outgoings (bills, food shopping, electric - prepay meter) there really isn't much left to 'play' with - maybe £3/4 a month. My food shopping is down to £40 a week. I would be fine until tuesday if I didn't have the phone bill going on Monday and we need electric, we are £1.27 in credit on the meter now and the emergency £5 won't last till Tuesday, or if it does it will be tight. The only reason I haven't cancelled the phone line etc is that BT want over £300 to cancel the contract - we're only paying £25 a month with 11months left on it:(

We were doing okay, we really were, it's just a bad week and come tuesday we will be fine again, I just need to come up with a plan in case I get no-where with santander later.

ChiefGrasscutter

The bank may not know of the payments due:
Some payments are authorised online real time with your bank.
but others are held "off line" for authorisation at a later time by the shop's payments processor.

opinions4u

1. Ring up, apologise, and ask very nicely for the fees to be refunded.

2. Completely review how you manage your money. Try to spend less. Try to get out of overdraft, using it only as a buffer for miscalculation, rather than a crutch for survival.

The Debt-free Wannabe part of the forum can help.

Toe-Jam

Its under £10 so the person in the call centre has the authority to refund it for you.