£95 Charges resulting from going £1 overdrawn?!?!

Meow7

I'm posting on here because I am at the end of my tether. I don't know what to do anymore because my bank keeps charging me so regularly that I have no money left to live on, I'm now relying on my Mum/Grandma to keep me.

I'm with Yorkshire Bank and have no overdraft facility at all, I specifically picked the account so I didn't have one.
I've been on Job Seekers Allowance for about 2 months. The problem right now is that last week I went 'overdrawn', and I have no idea how, by £1.21. 2 days later I had £25 paid into my account. The bank took that amount on the day as a charge because I had gone overdrawn. The next day was the day 2 direct debits of £1 each, to debt companies, went out. Yorkshire bank then charged me £35 for each of these because obviously I wasn't able to pay because they'd already taken the £25 I had put in to pay for them. So that's £95 they've taken from me and I am now £75 overdrawn, so when my next job seeker payment goes in, those charges will swallow nearly all of it.

What can I do? Last time this happened they had charged me £50 and I was left with literally nothing so I went into the bank to complain. The woman said there was absolutely no way they were giving me any money back, then asked if I'd like to buy insurance from them! When I refused she asked if I'd like to open an account for £5 a month which included an overdraft! I was gobsmacked.

I want to leave the bank but I would need to open another account in order to get my JSA and I don't think others will accept me because of my credit history.

Please can someone help me and tell me what (if anything) I can possibly do?

Little_Mo_70

Meow7 wrote: »

I'm posting on here because I am at the end of my tether. I don't know what to do anymore because my bank keeps charging me so regularly that I have no money left to live on, I'm now relying on my Mum/Grandma to keep me.

I'm with Yorkshire Bank and have no overdraft facility at all, I specifically picked the account so I didn't have one.
I've been on Job Seekers Allowance for about 2 months. The problem right now is that last week I went 'overdrawn', and I have no idea how, by £1.21. 2 days later I had £25 paid into my account. The bank took that amount on the day as a charge because I had gone overdrawn. The next day was the day 2 direct debits of £1 each, to debt companies, went out. Yorkshire bank then charged me £35 for each of these because obviously I wasn't able to pay because they'd already taken the £25 I had put in to pay for them. So that's £95 they've taken from me and I am now £75 overdrawn, so when my next job seeker payment goes in, those charges will swallow nearly all of it.

What can I do? Last time this happened they had charged me £50 and I was left with literally nothing so I went into the bank to complain. The woman said there was absolutely no way they were giving me any money back, then asked if I'd like to buy insurance from them! When I refused she asked if I'd like to open an account for £5 a month which included an overdraft! I was gobsmacked.

I want to leave the bank but I would need to open another account in order to get my JSA and I don't think others will accept me because of my credit history.

Please can someone help me and tell me what (if anything) I can possibly do?

Who was it you saw? Was it someone on the counter?

If this were me I would make an appointment to see the manager to discuss an affordable way to pay off the outstandings, leaving you enough to live on and ask for a freeze on the charges for a while to help you out. It's not an unreasonable request but you have to be prepared to keep up the repayments and curb any unecessary spending. Let the bank know you want to get your finances back on track.

I suspect from what you say about your credit history that you
have been having problems for some time and your dca payments would seem to confirm this. However, whatever the reasons and that apart you still need to speak to the bank again asap. They have a duty to treat their customers fairly if they are in genuine financial hardship. Don't speak to the counter staff, you need the manager. Make that appointment today and good luck. Hope you find a job soon, it's not easy but persistance always pays. Best of luck:)

Mo x

Premier_2

Meow7 wrote: »

I'm posting on here because I am at the end of my tether. I don't know what to do anymore because my bank keeps charging me so regularly that I have no money left to live on, I'm now relying on my Mum/Grandma to keep me.

I'm with Yorkshire Bank and have no overdraft facility at all, I specifically picked the account so I didn't have one.
I've been on Job Seekers Allowance for about 2 months. The problem right now is that last week I went 'overdrawn', and I have no idea how, by £1.21. 2 days later I had £25 paid into my account. The bank took that amount on the day as a charge because I had gone overdrawn. The next day was the day 2 direct debits of £1 each, to debt companies, went out. Yorkshire bank then charged me £35 for each of these because obviously I wasn't able to pay because they'd already taken the £25 I had put in to pay for them. So that's £95 they've taken from me and I am now £75 overdrawn, so when my next job seeker payment goes in, those charges will swallow nearly all of it.

What can I do? Last time this happened they had charged me £50 and I was left with literally nothing so I went into the bank to complain. The woman said there was absolutely no way they were giving me any money back, then asked if I'd like to buy insurance from them! When I refused she asked if I'd like to open an account for £5 a month which included an overdraft! I was gobsmacked.

I want to leave the bank but I would need to open another account in order to get my JSA and I don't think others will accept me because of my credit history.

Please can someone help me and tell me what (if anything) I can possibly do?

You must have authorised a transaction that exceeded your available cleared balance.

MonkeyMad

The title of this post isn't helping you plan your way out. You have been charged £95 not for being £1 overdrawn, but because you have allowed 3 transactions on your account which you don't have the funds for.

Number 1 action is to stop the next one happening. If your balance is this close to the line the best thing you can do is put the account in credit (loan from Mum/Gran?), stabilise the balance ie no outstanding debit card transactions, and then you will know exactly what you have to play with. Then you need to work out after all your direct debits go out how much is left each month, and either cash to this amount (preferably taken in one lump so you are not tempted for little top-ups at the ATM), or totalise ALL out of hand expenses on you debit card.

Not meaning to be patronising, but you can see that £1 is making all the difference, so you need to control that £

magpiecottage

Cancelling the Direct Debits would stop you running up further charges - but you need to ask on a different board about debt management.

As far as the bank itself is concerned, FSA rule COBS 5.1.4G says "Principle 6 requires a firm to pay due regard to the interests of its customers and to treat them fairly. In particular, a firm should deal fairly with a banking customer whom it has reason to believe is in financial difficulty."

The "G" means "Guidance" - it does not have to but FOS would consider this rule if it got that far.

However, you need to tell the bank you are in financial difficulty before they can consider how best to address it - they are not mindreaders.

If they then take no notice of your concerns remind them of this rule.

sofaman

As somebody who has experienced the same problems as the op, I decided to bite the bullet and go without a bank a/c.

I now get a giro through the post. Pay my bills over the counter, etc.

You might get a sympathetic bank manager, but personally, I find they just want to get their greasy mitts on your money. Even if you're nearly destitute.

dunstonh

As somebody who has experienced the same problems as the op, I decided to bite the bullet and go without a bank a/c.

That is probably a very good idea for those that cannot control their finances.