Clydesdale Bank /sandander charge- scam

shirl1771

I use internet banking every day to check my available balance. In the past month i have noticed that the 'available balance' is not actually what you have available in your account. Last night at 10.30 I checked online I had £5.20CR ant this morning I was £11.47 DR due to a debit card payment that was debited just before midnight.... There was a time that you could use your debit card and it would come off you available balance instantly, then show on your main balance when the payment was actually paid (2days)
This has now happened twice in the last month which will now cost me £50 in charges .
I called my bank they said I have to keep all my receipts and check when the payment is debited , this can sometimes take upto 60 days.
I have noticed this with my Santander account too, although they say that if you use your debit card it should come off the available balance straight away.

dunstonh

i have noticed that the 'available balance' is not actually what you have available in your account.

Of course it isnt. The bank has no way of telling what transactions have yet to arrive and the processing time for those transactions will vary throughout the day.

There was a time that you could use your debit card and it would come off you available balance instantly,

No there wasnt. Typically it is 3-14 days. Earmarks on some transactions could occur depending on the type of retailer terminal and floor limits but that is no way to run a bank account if you were relying on earmarks.

I called my bank they said I have to keep all my receipts and check when the payment is debited , this can sometimes take upto 60 days.

Good advice from the bank. Although I would have gone one further and warned you that even 60 days may not be enough.

You seem to be calling the fact you are not running your bank account correctly a scam. It is not a scam. It is just poor money management by you. If you learn to keep a running balance of your account and reconcile regularly then you will not suffer these problems.

MonkeyMad

Its such an obvious scam - the banks refuse to employ an army of clairvoyants to determine what you have spent and when, thus leaving you with positive balances that encourage you to spend money you don't have.

Those pesky banksters are going to have to guard against a tide of canny consumers who stop using direct debits and debit cards, and instead revert to cash payments across the counter in order to ensure they know exactly how much money they have got. Not to mention those that will persist on using direct debits / cards but have a pencil and notebook to reconcile their current and future transactions.