13 and overdrawn!!

callum9999

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

How much is the kid overdrawn?
Does the parent not feel any remorse that their kids are ordering stuff on the internet without any supervision by the looks of it.

My daughter had a debit card but it was in my possession until we went shopping.

They clearly said that a transaction wasn't put through for a long time and the child took money out at the ATM without thinking about that "missing" transaction.

I'd hate to be your son though... The overbearing "you do as I say" parenting style is a valid one, but not one you can take the moral high ground on. Some people have children they can trust...

jonesMUFCforever

Not OP though or they wouldn't be overdrawn.

jonesMUFCforever

callum9999 wrote: »

They clearly said that a transaction wasn't put through for a long time and the child took money out at the ATM without thinking about that "missing" transaction.

I'd hate to be your son though... The overbearing "you do as I say" parenting style is a valid one, but not one you can take the moral high ground on. Some people have children they can trust...

Sorry but this liberal trash of everything is ok for everybody is plain rubbish.:p

CKhalvashi

It’s always best to learn mistakes now, rather than later. My first company (in the 18 months we lived in Russia) folded, and I’ve learned enough from that, being 19 at the time. I did pay back every penny to VTB bank, however.

My advice would depend on how deep he is in it. I know more/less to the penny what’s in the company account at all times, however with regard to my personal accounts, I try my best to make sure that there’s more coming in than going out, but it’s not always easy.

Barclays, in my opinion, are the ones at fault on this. They have quoted a valid point regarding debt, but to word that to a 13y/o? Come on!

Just my 2p

CK

Plxply

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

How much is the kid overdrawn?

If it's based on my experiences I doubt it will be very much at all, the only times I managed to accidentally go into an overdraft was when I made multiple low value (<£10) Amazon purchases. It seems HSBC continued to approve low value purchases but any high value one would be blocked. Hopefully it will be the same situation.

InsideInsurance

WhiteHorse wrote: »

Anyway, how does a minor get a credit account when he can't legally enter into a contract except for 'necessaries'?

Of cause a minor can legally enter into a contract for non-necessaries

A contract cannot be enforced on a minor for non-necessaries and as such many companies decide it is not good commercial sense to enter into an agreement which is only enforceable by one side. It is a commercial decision not a legal one.

Back to the OP. The bank are entitled to treat all their customers in the same way, the difference with a minor is the fact that ultimately they cannot go to court and therefore everything before is ultimately posturing and potentially throwing good money after bad.

We are talking a few more years ago than I would like to admit but when I was a teenager (before Solo or Electron existed) a few friends got overdrawn and had the obligatory unauthorised overdraft letters. The one tactic the banks used to do was to was to get parents to retrospectively agree to guarantee their kids debt. Irrespective of if you are going to be the good parent and tell them to pay up or be the irresponsible parent and tell them as they dont legally have to pay for it they should walk away you shouldnt sign anything with the bank to accept responsibility for it.

Personally I am with the minority of others on here. With freedoms and privileges comes responsibilities and a 13 year old is plenty old enough to be taught they must keep track of their money and watch out for payments not going through immediately. I do think we over baby our kids and I certainly wouldn't be doing anything other than telling them off for not managing their money properly and seeing it as a learning experience.

WhiteHorse

At the bottom of this is the fact that the child has obviously not been told how a bank account works.

Running balance. Cheque written or card order placed is cash. Deduct immediately, result true balance.

How hard can it be?

meer53

My daughter is 11, she has a Natwest account with a debit card. She knows exactly how much she has in her account, therefore exactly how much she would be able to draw out from an ATM. She gets regular paper statements (which i always check after she's checked them)

I think the OP needs to take a bit of the responsibility for this, i also have a son and in my experience, boys are far less organised than girls, especially at 13. Now that this has happened, maybe the OP's son will keep his receipts to prevent it happening again ? (with a bit of help from his parents )

pmduk

I've found that paypal is one of the worst culprits for not deducting charges at the time of a transaction, However, as someone who is several times older than the subject of this thread, I've learned to keep either a mental or written note of any outstanding transactions.

System

McKneff wrote: »

Sorry if this is harsh but being 'in tears' might reinforce the lesson to be more vigilant with his finances.

I didnt think that minors could pay for goods with cards, i thought they could only get money from the bank or the cash machine.
ie Cash card, so what does he have, a debit card.

You need to be talking to someone in the bank to be honest.

its a weird situation, my 14 yr old has a visa debit card for her account she can and does buy online but what i have found is that some sites wont refund back to her card but send a cheque payable to me which i have to put into my acc and then write a cheque from me to her.
i too believe the op needs to keep a tighter reign on her child's acc , if my dd wants to spend her money i take her to an ATM where she gets a mini statement , im trying to get her into the habit of checking before she spends.