Nationwide help please?

Kilty_2

downandlow wrote:

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?

Why shouldn't the bank charge you for spending money that is not yours?

The only other option is that charges get lower / reclaimed more and banks charge you for spending money that IS yours, either by monthly fees (like First Direct have proved) or per transaction charges like on business accounts or current accounts in other countries.

s1h

READ THIS VERY IMPORTANT NOT A LECTURE

Do not close the account, pay the overdraft off and stick £100 in the account and leave it there. If you have had the account for 20yrs and nationwide decide to go plc ie, change to a bank from a building society like halifax did a few backs you will get a payout who knows how much but do it.

They dont allow new customers opening accounts do this now, they have to sign a charitable assignment so say the money will go to charity.

You might get a grand or something, seriously do as I say.

Kilty_2

Yeah, if you are one of the people who didn't get caned by the carpetbagger clause (if you signed up pre 1997) then keep your account open definately.

tom188

Although contempory thought is that this clause will not be enforced in the event of Nationwide deciding to demutualise anyway.

techno_geek

downandlow wrote:

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

Why do people assume overdrafts are automatically going to get them into a whirlpool of debt?! :rolleyes: :mad:

Overdrafts, if kept at a manageable level and used properly, are an excellent safety-net against bank charges and unforeseen expenses etc.

Classic example from the world of students: a girl on my corridor in halls point-blank refuses to have an overdraft because "it's a temptation" and she "doesn't want to go into debt". She paid her accommodation fees, and then went for a night out. She took out more money than she had in her account, and was hit with a £30 charge. I had no sympathy, especially as student overdrafts are interest-free! And can be used as a kind of stoozing for those with the discipline to actually manage their money properly!

Paul_Herring

downandlow wrote:

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.

Yes it does! (cue the bank charges thread.... And those who argue for it, this is a prime example of someone who "can't be bothered" as opposed to "someone poor who can't afford them")

And does that mean that all of you have perfect banking skills and have never gone overdrawn or had charges made?

No. But when I have it's been *my* fault. And they aren't compounded because I realised what happened and pro-actively tried to fix it.

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.

I'm sure you did. T&C's along the lines of "we may change the charges."

You seem very reluctant to change your habits given your replies to my responses. I've tried to explain why you're getting them, and why you'll continue to get them, and how, with the purchase of a 99p diary you can sort it out, but you seem to be adverse to blaming yourself, and instead blaming the bank you're with at the moment.

I await your thread about how your next bank charges you extortionate fees for going overdrawn and how you want to find the next "best bank".

Paul_Herring

techno_geek wrote:

Why do people assume overdrafts are automatically going to get them into a whirlpool of debt?!

Because people assume that "oh, I've got £xxx of credit, it's my money" and they forget/ignore the fact that it isn't.

Witness the proliferation of "cure my debt, I'll only pay back 1/4 of it" adverts on daytime TV (IVA's). Or the "change my unsecured debt into secured debt on my home" adverts (remortgages - before, if they didn't pay, it'd be written off - now they lose their home!) There's a market for these people, and they're eating it up!!

If they weren't, the adverts wouldn't be there.