Santander Charges, are they fair?

jimhuf

Hi
I have heard alot about the bank charges been unfair and my other half got £100s back from when she was a often overdrawn. I never had any charges until this month.

I went over my od for a day or so and i was shocked when santander have sent me a bill for £115!

£15 Daily Overdraft Charge
4x £25 Transaction charges all on items under <£15

I was just wondering if these are considered fair or not? I have contacted them and they helpfully responded saying i need to be more careful with my money. They Removed one charge as an act of good will because in 27 years i had never been over my od. £25 seems a bit steep considering transactions were for small items.

sweetypie2

Hi
me too over drawn by £8 on overdraft and charged £98!!!!:mad: first time ever. been a customer for 30years told them this and was told you have every right to change banks!! customer care????? not likely not a good bank

Premier_2

jimhuf wrote: »

...I was just wondering if these are considered fair or not? ...

Since the decision of the Supreme Court in November 2009, the banks are refusing to meet any claim based on unfairness.
Similarly, no one has won in court since that date using the unfairness argument.
Following the Supreme Court decision, the OFT gave up trying on the basis they didn't think they would ever succeed.

But if you want to try, feel free I suggest you start by reading the MSE guide to reclaiming bank charges in court.

dunstonh

sweetypie2 wrote: »

Hi
me too over drawn by £8 on overdraft and charged £98!!!!:mad: first time ever. been a customer for 30years told them this and was told you have every right to change banks!! customer care????? not likely not a good bank

Most banks will refund on your first error. If the bank isnt refunding it either suggests you went in aggressively or its not your first error or they want shot of you.

joelove

they told me your entitled to one refund every 3 months

AlvinCollis

i am in the same boat. Since the new charging system has beem implemented by Santander i have been charged in excess of £500, on average £150 a month for going over my OD by small amounts. Also i have noticed that debit transactions have not been taken out of my account until up to 6 days after payment, thus i get charges of £25 a time for that. I have been with the bank for 30 years and have never had charges like this. Is there some sort of aggressive policy to actively stitch up customers and charge as much and as often as possible ? I too have complained by phone. The first time they were ok, but after that they were not. I have even had issues ignored via their online service.
So i guess its time to change bank. It seems HSBC may have the least charges.

tommyknocker

It's their way of telling you that they don't value your a/c at all. It's really disgusting that they can apparently get away scot free with levying these exorbitant charges on what are, in effect, very trivial oversights - in the main for petty amounts.

Long standing customers also mean nothing to them. Long gone are the days when banks were 'friendly'.

the_insider

tommyknocker wrote: »

It's their way of telling you that they don't value your a/c at all. It's really disgusting that they can apparently get away scot free with levying these exorbitant charges on what are, in effect, very trivial oversights - in the main for petty amounts.

Long standing customers also mean nothing to them. Long gone are the days when banks were 'friendly'.

The trouble is, these 'trivial oversights' do actually cost the bank money. Following the Supreme Court ruling, there is no limit to the charge that can be applied as long as the customer is made aware of the charging structure in advance.
The easiest way to avoid charges is not spend more than you can afford, and if you do, be grateful that you were able to complete the necessary transaction. All hell would break loose if every card payment or direct debit was declined because people had insufficient funds. The banks are providing a service and they have every right to charge for that service.

Catherine_Johnson_2

AlvinCollis wrote: »

i am in the same boat. Since the new charging system has beem implemented by Santander i have been charged in excess of £500, on average £150 a month for going over my OD by small amounts. Also i have noticed that debit transactions have not been taken out of my account until up to 6 days after payment, thus i get charges of £25 a time for that. I have been with the bank for 30 years and have never had charges like this. Is there some sort of aggressive policy to actively stitch up customers and charge as much and as often as possible ? I too have complained by phone. The first time they were ok, but after that they were not. I have even had issues ignored via their online service.
So i guess its time to change bank. It seems HSBC may have the least charges.

The answer seems obvious really. Don't take or spend money that you don't have! Why do you assume it's ok to take money from the bank that you don't have and don't have authorisation to take? You could save yourself a lot of money just by managing your finances better.

If you've been informed of the charges it's not unfair.

trobinson26

Unbelievable, people who go on about you should manage your money better blah blah blah, WAIT until it happens to you when you genuinely didn't realise you had gone over your overdraft! for example: I have just been charged an astronomical £137.50 for the privilege of going £14.00 over my overdraft, now I completely understand that I should be charged for this in the region of £20 sounds fair, BUT to charge £25 for each individual transaction (one being 79p) when I genuinely had no Idea is absolutely absurd and disgusting that they can actually get away with this. How ANYBODY can defend the banks not only on this matter but in general is beyond me, as soon as i'm out of my overdraft its see you, bye, Santander