Nat West problem

magik_thighs

We have an appointment at 2 pm today to discuss this but I was wondering if we can be a little better armed.

They have not been paying direct debits when their is either enough money in the account or cheques waiting to clear or a day or 2 before my weekly wage is payed in (BAX) They know damn well there is money due in, we have been banking with them for years and my wage is payed in on the same day every week. This is happening all the time and is costing us a lot of financial loss and stress. Last month my husband went down to complain about 2 un-honoured items which we were charged for and we got those charges back with an apology but they just do it again and again.
We did claim about £3`500 back in charges a few years ago and I was wondering if they are now taking those back.
Is there some ombudsman we can turn to?

TIA

Steve

noh

There needs to be sufficient cleared funds in the account at close of business the day before the DD is due out. If there is not they will take a decision whether to pay the DD or not. They are acting correctly in charging you in those circumstances.

See section 6.3 on page 13 of your T+Cs

http://www.natwest.com/downloads/global_options/Guide_Fees_Interest.pdf

meer53

If there is money in your account when direct debits or other payments are due then they can't return them. The money, if it's from cheques has to be cleared, and it needs to be in the account the working day before the payments are due, not the same day. They won't make payments for you just because your salary is due in, they have to be able to see the credit in your account.
You can go to the Ombudsman but will need to exhaust NatWests complaints procedure first.

Paul_Herring

magik_thighs wrote: »

They have not been paying direct debits when their is either enough money in the account [...]

To be honest, this hasn't been the case - as you present it, has it?

Wages being paid 'in a few days' isn't money in the account.

Neither are cheques that are in the middle of being cleared (they still take 4 days to clear, remember.)

You may want to consider an overdraft until you are in such a position that you are no longer relying on uncleared funds, but then you run the risk of assuming your overdraft limit is now the 'new zero balance' on your account. leaving you in much the same position as you are now, only with the extra indebtedness of the overdraft.

I suggest you post on the DFW board to get some ideas on removing your reliance on the (apparently eroding) goodwill of your bank, and start not having to pay those charges.

jfh7gwa

They know damn well there is money due in, we have been banking with them for years and my wage is payed in on the same day every week

So?

Just because you say there's money coming in, the bank are quite within their rights to charge fees and bounce DDs if the money isn't in your account, and cleared fully. You need to snap out of it if you think that money due in the account a few days later should get you out of the fact that the money isn't in the account to honour the bill payment(s) on a specific working day.

Rather than go in "armed" to the bank and start spouting off about the ombudsman, I think you need to spend some time getting your financial commitments in order, not blaming the bank for charging you (it hurts to see penalties I know, but you should spend mental and organisational effort to avoid them, not trying to argue that your bank is being awkward). Treat your bank account as any adult does, and "arm" yourself with information about how long cheques take to clear, when your DDs are due and whether the account will be short that day, and so on - you know, like a responsible person.

By all means attend your 2pm meeting to discuss how you can handle your money better, but if you turned up with the post /attitude above to my bank and I had to deal with it as a customer enquiry, I'd privately be thinking that you're having a laugh trying to pin the blame on the bank!

lolavix

As others have said, cleared funds need to be in the account

Have you set up text alerts on your account? Natwest will text you if a DD has gone out that morning taking you overdrawn, giving you a chance to pay in funds the same day by 2.30.

From the banks point of view, they may have regular salary and a cheque may be waiting to clear - but there's no guarantee that the cheque will clear and a salary payment is not guaranteed, for example, you may have lost your job.

Surely having to claim back such a large sum before would have suggested that you need to manage your account a bit better?

poppasmurf_bewdley

The bank computer doesn't know that you will be paid in a few days time. Neither does it know if your paid in cheques will clear or not.

You're trying to live in the good old days when the bank clerk used to ask Mr Mainwaring if it was ok to pay a bill as Mr Bloggs would have his wages paid into the account in a few days. Nowadays, none of these transactions go anywhere near your local branch.

In your case, 'Computer says no' is correct.