Nationwide help please?

downandlow

I have had a current account with Nationwide for many many years, maybe 20 or so, havent put anyting into for the past 6 years, so it was just in credit. i started part time work 6 months ago, so had my wages put directly into it, and took out most of it over the month, this month i went to check my balance and found that it was overdrawn by £87, i dont have an overdraft, so how could they let me take the money out if it wasnt in there in the first place???? I went to the cashier and she said that it wasnt right, so went to see an advisor she said that as i had such a good credit score! that i had was authorsed to take more incase of direct debits coming out, BUT i would be charged for this, i had been charged £20 for january and would also be charged for february too!! i couldnt believe it, she asked if i wanted an overdraft but i said i didnt, she eventually persuaded me, but in the end it wouldnt let me have one anyway because of the charges!!! she said she will write to HO to see if i can claim back the charges!! AARRGGGHHH

So now to my next point, i am going to shut this account down, had enough of Nationwide, so i need another account, where is the best place to go? DH banks with Natwest, and we are in the process of taking Norwich and Peterborough to court for Bank charges, so is there any good high street banks/building societys out there?

I have an appt with A & L tomorrow but i really havent a clue what i should be asking for. I dont earn much per month £500 or so,

Thanks in advance

Paul_Herring

Let me paraphrase:

You had an account, which you hadn't used for years, then expected it to work as if you'd been using it all the time?

You then arrranged for wages to be paid in, but didn't bother checking the balance when withdrawing?

Upon finding yourself overdrawn(!) you went in, and turned down an offer to obtain an overdraft in case you accidentally go overdrawn again.

Now you're complaining about charges.

I'm sorry, but where are Nationwide to blame here?

And how, exactly, do you expect other banks to differ in their treatment of you, when you treat the banks this way?

downandlow

Not quite how i meant it. Surely if there are insufficient funds in the account then it should not let you take any money out??

Also i when i take money out i do check how much there is in the account to begin with, by the looks of it, NW had not updated over the weekend when i had taken money out of another cash dispenser.

I didnt want an overdraft as i dont want to get in anymore debt, but the more the SA talked the more i thought it might be useful, she then asked how much i wanted so i said just the basic amount which was £100, she then told me it had been declined because i had bank charges and my account was overdrawn!

I expect a bank not to let me take any money out if there isnt the funds there in the first place! It is not my problem if there computers are not updated every day, and if i am taking out £10 here and £10 there, i am not always in the no as to what amount i have left in my account.

We had a similar problem with N & P when we used the switch with that card we expected the funds to be taken straight out of the account, with some of the transactions it could take up to a week, in the meantime we could unknowingly use the money that should have been for the swtich payment, thus when the switch payment eventually came out they made an extra charge for going overdrawn!

Paul_Herring

downandlow wrote:

Not quite how i meant it. Surely if there are insufficient funds in the account then it should not let you take any money out??

That may be how banks worked long ago, but now they have the concept of 'authorised overdraft' and 'unathorised overdraft.' The latter is what you use when you would expect the bank to decline the transaction.

Also i when i take money out i do check how much there is in the account to begin with, by the looks of it, NW had not updated over the weekend when i had taken money out of another cash dispenser.

You work out [what you had to begin with] + [wages] - [what you've taken out so far]. If the result is negative, you'll be using the unauthorised overdraft, and will be pay for the privilege.

I didnt want an overdraft as i dont want to get in anymore debt,

Even if it's just a buffer of say £50, it'll stop you being charged for using the unauthorised overdraft.

I expect a bank not to let me take any money out if there isnt the funds there in the first place!

There are a few problems with this:
1) All banks now allow you to use the 'unauthorised overdraft' facility. And everyone pays to use this - in your case £20.
2) [Scenario] You have a £50 DD due to come out tomorrow - it will take your balance to below £10 - are you expecting the bank to refuse you to withdraw money today since it will take you overdrawn?
3) [Scenario] Same as above, only it's a cheque you've written for £50, and you don't know when it will come out of your account.

It is not my problem if there computers are not updated every day,

Well, no, but.....

and if i am taking out £10 here and £10 there, i am not always in the no as to what amount i have left in my account.

Erm - why not???!??!

If this is your attitude to banking today (i.e. expecting the bank to do your day to day budgeting instead of doing it yourself,) then you are going to find yourself paying whichever bank you go to for using unauthorised overdrafts. This isn't a peculiarity with Nationwide.

thesaint

Just a word of caution, A&L will treat you exactly the same, I don't know any banks that will give you the kind of facility you require.

Beate

downandlow wrote:

and if i am taking out £10 here and £10 there, i am not always in the no as to what amount i have left in my account.

Why not? As far as I know every cash mashine also gives you the option of checking your account balance. And if you are operating that closely to the limit, an authorised overdraft is not a bad thing. Yes, it charges interest, but it prevents you being hit with bank charges for getting into unauthorised overdraft. Also, IMHO it is preferrable to have a bank honour your DD even though it means you are getting overdrawn, than not to pay it out with you risking even more hassle with whoever it is who has not got his money from you that month. It could also mean THEY slap you with a charge as well.

Paul_Herring

Beate wrote:

downandlow wrote:

and if i am taking out £10 here and £10 there, i am not always in the no as to what amount i have left in my account.

Why not? As far as I know every cash mashine also gives you the option of checking your account balance. And if you are operating that closely to the limit, an authorised overdraft is not a bad thing. Yes, it charges interest, but it prevents you being hit with bank charges for getting into unauthorised overdraft. Also, IMHO it is preferrable to have a bank honour your DD even though it means you are getting overdrawn, than not to pay it out with you risking even more hassle with whoever it is who has not got his money from you that month. It could also mean THEY slap you with a charge as well.

The problem, as indicated, has nothing to do with Direct Debits.

They have been withdrawing "£10 here and £10 there" without any idea how much they've taken out so far, and expecting the bank to say "No you can't withdraw any more, otherwise you'll go into the red," once they finally attempt to withdraw too much money.

The fact that some transactions (Switch in particular was mentioned) may take a while to appear also appears to be an issue, but hey, writing those down/keeping a running estimate (of what would be left once taken into account) in one's head appears to be a problem aswell.

My advice to the OP - which ever bank you go to, you'll continue to have these problems if ytou continue as you are. I suggest the following:

Get a small pocket diary. Write in it how much is in your account.

Every time you get paid, write in, and calculate the new balance.

Every time you withdraw money, or use your card for a purchase, write it in the diary. At the end of the day/after each transaction, work out your new balance.

Under no circumstances allow the amount in your diary to go below £0.

When you get your bank statements, cross check with your diary that
a) every expected withdrawl in your diary is present on your statement.
b) there are no transactions on your statement that aren't in your diary.

If there are transactions in your diary, that are not on your statement (yet) DO NOT ASSUME YOU CAN SPEND THAT MONEY - the balance in your diary *should*[1] be the amount you have available. Statements and cashpoint balances (as you've found out) generally lie for the purposes of telling you how much you can spend. They are only useful for telling you what has already come out, not what is likely to come out.


[1] I say "should" - if you are meticulous in recording every transaction, it will be. You may forget the odd one or two. For this purpose a (say) £50 authorised overdraft would cover you for these, but don't assume you can let your diary go £50 overdrawn - otherwise if you get into the habit of using it, and you do forget a transaction, and you go over that £50, then you're into unauthorised borrowing again and you'll have to pay another £20/£12/£35, whatever the bank you end up using charges.

LittleVoice

Yes, if you use the overdraft facility as a safety-net, you won't be charged interest if you don't use it and these days I don't think you would have to pay a set-up fee for the overdraft being arranged.

If you have Direct Debits or Standing Orders set up on the account, write these down in the notebook too and remember to deduct them when the time comes (or beforehand if you want to be doubly sure about it).

downandlow

But when the cashier checked she said that i wasnt allowed an overdraft beacuse i had incurred a bank charge for going overdrawn!!!!!! Yet 5 minutes before she checked she said that i had a very good credit score! So will have to wait another 6 months to get my credit score up again and then i can get an overdraft.

Fair enough i was in the wrong to get these charges, that doesnt make it right for them to charge me £20 a time for it. And does that mean that all of you have perfect banking skills and have never gone overdrawn or had charges made?

Put it this way, i wont be doing the same again and i will be contesting the charges, they should not be that high. And i feel that i should have been told about this unauthorised overdraft! I am sure that 20 years ago when i first opened this account that i didnt sign to say that i agreed to that.

thesaint

Fair enough i was in the wrong to get these charges, that doesnt make it right for them to charge me £20 a time for it. And does that mean that all of you have perfect banking skills and have never gone overdrawn or had charges made?

I think you'll regret saying this.*where's me tin hat?*

YorkshireBoy

thesaint wrote:

I think you'll regret saying this.*where's me tin hat?*

Possibly so. I know if I was Paul_Herring, and had spent a significant amount of time trying to help the OP today (still, at least Al Mac has thanked him for his efforts), I'd be pretty offended by that comment.