santander new fees im screwed

dazrs

it more principal im not using right with in the £500 limit however always been in my over draft, is a big step £240 a year in fees. I rang them they werent helpful at all dont do a reduce overdraft plan like some banks, infact they said i could have up to £1000 overdraft if i want as it make more sense. Im trying to get out of it not deeper in it. It like they want to keep me in it but then £20 a month they prob laughing. I have few plans anyway now after searching other bits on forum.

HeadAboveWater

Had the same problem myself years ago when I was with Halifax. Outrageous overdraft fees and I just could not get out of my overdraft. Different bank and several years later, I'm in credit
I get paid monthly and hate getting paid weekly. Yes it's the same amount of money but I could never control my spending before. I account for every penny of my wages and rely on them all the time so I know where you're coming from.
TIP 1: What I did first was reduce my overdraft by £50 per month and eventually work my way out. Even £10 a month is a start so at least the overdraft is always getting less. Just keep a closer eye on your spending.
TIP 2: Work out your direct debits/outgoings. If you're paid weekly, split your direct debits over the month so you're paying, for example, £50 a week on direct debits, instead of owning your wages for 3 weeks and having nothing the other week when everything comes out of your account. If you're paid monthly, set all your money to come out a couple of days after you get paid. Whatever you've got left, divide it by 4, and that's what you've got to spend each week til next pay day. Stick to that amount and take it out of the bank in cash and NEVER carry a debit card. Sounds mad but it does actually work.
Sorry for going on but that's basically how I got my head above water.
Good luck!!

PS. I'm with the Santander now and I was able to reduce my overdraft by £50 a month online with them.

thatsean

I get paid weekly at the moment, and I find that a bills and spending account works for me. When I get paid a chunk of cash stays in the bills account, and the rest goes to the spends. that way the bills get paid, and I don't have to worry about finding the money for them.

opinions4u

dazrs wrote: »

it more principal im not using right with in the £500 limit however always been in my over draft, is a big step £240 a year in fees. I rang them they werent helpful at all dont do a reduce overdraft plan like some banks, infact they said i could have up to £1000 overdraft if i want as it make more sense.

You need to change your mindset.

Your overdraft limit is not a target. Spending less will reduce the amount you owe. Your overdraft limit could remain at £500 but you could reduce the maximum amount you're overdrawn by week on week. £475 week 1, £450 week 2, £425 week 3 and so on.

Im trying to get out of it not deeper in it

As I said, using the limit is optional, not a requirement.

maceygray

Daz full sympathy with you I am off to France tomorrow so rang up to tell the so called customer service team, so I can use my card abroad I have been doing this for 22 years.

This time i failed the security check they said they would ring me tomoorrow to go through my security check again I said i was travelling no problem sir give us you mobile which I did they said sorry sir your mobile is not on our system you failed again.
So tomorrow I will be phoning them again on a mobile phone they dont reckonise to try to get my money out of their bank. you cant make it up.
i now face the prospect of being abroad and my card not working. On my return I will be changing from santander worst customer service bank for the umpteenth year running to a professional bank if there is such a thing.
Marko

Rupert_Bear

maceygray wrote: »

Daz full sympathy with you I am off to France tomorrow so rang up to tell the so called customer service team, so I can use my card abroad I have been doing this for 22 years.

This time i failed the security check they said they would ring me tomoorrow to go through my security check again I said i was travelling no problem sir give us you mobile which I did they said sorry sir your mobile is not on our system you failed again.
So tomorrow I will be phoning them again on a mobile phone they dont reckonise to try to get my money out of their bank. you cant make it up.
i now face the prospect of being abroad and my card not working. On my return I will be changing from santander worst customer service bank for the umpteenth year running to a professional bank if there is such a thing.
Marko

Do not understand why you blame the bank because you cannot remember your security details. Im sure you would be even more upset if someone fraudently was trying to get money out of your account.

dazrs

well i got telephone banking with them and it dont even recognise my id number i got issued, i have to go through sercurity check just to speak to someone. Any way i think i got it all in hand, i was going to pay off little bits a month but it a min payment of £50 a month.

Ultrasonic

dazrs wrote: »

Any way i think i got it all in hand, i was going to pay off little bits a month but it a min payment of £50 a month.

I think you must be confusing getting your overdraft LIMIT reduced, and actually reducing the amount of money that you owe (i.e. how overdrawn your account is). You can pay £1 into your account and it will reduce the amount you owe by £1, there is no minimum payment.

Going by your other posts I think at present you have an agreed overdraft limit of £500, it is probably this that can only be reduced by £50 per month. I would advise you not to do this, because if you do and then exceed it, you will have to pay even higher fees than you do now. If your agreed overdraft limit is £500 or £250 it will make no difference to the fees you pay. The important thing is to gradually reduce the amount you owe until you get your account in credit again.

By the way £500 may seem like a huge debt, but in the grand scheme of things it really isn't that much, and I'm sure if you look hard at how you spend your money you will be able to find ways to gradually pay it off.

Ne5555

I just received a statement from santander and they charge me £120.
Breakdown is £50 payment £25 charge X 4 times insame day from a debit card. Plus £20 unauthorised overdrawn.

I did use my debit card for 4 times £50 and it did authorised as i had money in the account. If there was no money card would be declined.
It is not a direct debit or standing order. It was a internet purchase and now i am fuming!!!!
Any idea what to do?



P.s. same thing happened last month and they charged me £5 for it, as it was small amount i didnt bother to call them as phone charge would be more than £5. I just dont understand the increase and debit card usage



Edit: I have spoken to santander and she said if there is no charge previously we will remove the charges(I know there was £5 charge last month) and after 5 minutes on the phone to charging department she said she has removed the charges totalling £120. I can not believe that they are charging people as and when they want it. I have been stung before with santander 5-6 years ago and i have been using the account for just a small amount for internet shopping etc. Now I have destroyed the card as well and as soon as the balance settles down I will close the account completely. What a headache santander

Anthorn

I'm with Santander, not overdrawn and don't intend to be. But I did notice that £1 per day charge plus interest and that's for an arranged overdraft. I wonder what the charge is for unauthorised overdrafts. It is exhorbitant but most banks have increased their charges.

I'll go with previous posts: To reduce the charge you need to go overdrawn later in the month which will reduce the number of days overdrawn. To do that you need to tighten your belt and reduce spending. Instead of sirloin steak or a roast beef dinner have a can of sphagetti rings. Change where you shop: If shopping at the big 3 supermarkets have a look at Lidl or Aldi and compare their prices. I think you'll find you'll get lower prices and probably higher quality. If you have Sky tv and beyond the minimum agreement period cancel it and get a freesat box which works with a sky dish. You'll have to pay for the freesat box but after that you'll save money hand over fist!

There will be lots of other ways to save money. Just ask yourself if you really need what you are paying money for.