I can't believe banks can get away with this...

sunflower_2

hi mippy

sorry to hear about ur situation - no1 likes bank charges :eek:

am just wondering how u know that your bank prev didnt charge for anauth overdrafts upto £50?

had u ever been charged for going overdrawn more than the £50?
and had come to the conclusion that anything under £50 was ok?

or did they tell u that u wouldnt be charged for going upto £50 in red?

cos if its the latter then u hav some sort of comeback on them?

MarkyMarkD

Sunflower

It read to me that it was just "coming to the conclusion" that they wouldn't charge for overdrafts under £50, whilst this wasn't part of the Ts & Cs. As others have said, just because you've got away with things in the past isn't a ground for getting away with it in future.

IMHO Abbey did the fair thing by refunding some of the charges the first time. And once they'd exercised their right to charge once, mippy has got no defence at all against being charged another time when accidentally going into an unauthorised overdraft.

"Free" banking for the many is paid for by charges on those who fail to comply with the terms of their accounts. That's the only way current accounts are financially viable for the banks.

skeggysteve

MarkyMarkD wrote:

Sunflower

It read to me that it was just "coming to the conclusion" that they wouldn't charge for overdrafts under £50, whilst this wasn't part of the Ts & Cs. As others have said, just because you've got away with things in the past isn't a ground for getting away with it in future.

Sorry to disagree but it sound to me like the bank have 'set up' the customer - we'll let then get away with for a couple of month then hit them with the charges.

OK you shouldn't go overdrawn without asking BUT if you do it by mistake (no one is perfect!) and the bank allow it what are you to think?

Highway Robbery.

!!!!!! Turpin - from the rich to the poor.

Banks - from the poor to the rich.

Tony Blair/another prime minister - from the motorist/householder/taxpayer to ...........well no one really!

skeggysteve

MarkyMarkD wrote:

Sunflower

"Free" banking for the many is paid for by charges on those who fail to comply with the terms of their accounts. That's the only way current accounts are financially viable for the banks.

What about the money the bank make by holding on to cheques for days before clearing them? And reserving money when paying by debit card? And all the other money making things (scams) they do?

The banks don't need to charge " those who fail to comply with the terms of their accounts."
to make "current accounts are financially viable".

Banks don't care about the customer they only care about profit.
They seem to have forgotten that we, the customer, are the ones that are the starting point for that profit!

Steve

skeggysteve

MarkyMarkD wrote:

Sunflower

Ts & Cs.

Not having a go at you Mark - just the easy way to post my thoughts!

T & Cs - who reads them?

I know we all should but we don't - we trust and some companies take advantage of that.

mippy

Thank you, everyone. Of course I'm not going to go overdrawn now I've been charged!

I'm quite tempted to switch my account just because I can't afford to pay this £60. Apart from this, though, I've had problems with Abbey in the past. I opened the account when I was twelve and then when I wanted to start using it after the balance being held at zero for a while was told that I couldn't have a new cashcard without having wages paid into the account first. I also resent having to phone someone each time I want something dealt with- I can't go into my branch very often so telephone banking is useful, but sometimes I need to speak to someone in person. I've never been allowed a small overdraft which I requested when having problems with cheques bouncing a year ago (I was temping at the time so never knew exactly what was going into my account) and I don't believe I've ever been given a copy of my terms and conditions other than the 'changes made' leaflets that come through every now and again. Then I had to wait two weeks for a replacement debit card when a machine ate my old one as they sent it to my parents' house and not to branch as requested...then when I got it the PIN they sent to me wouldn't work, so the card was useless until I got a new one. Grrr.


To be fair I've foubnd #Abbey callcentre staff to be more helpful than Barclays (who I banked with as a student) and generally understanding if I call to query procedures. The only thing that worries me a little is the difficulty in verifying details when the calls are routed overseas- I often have to repeat my bank details several times before they're right and this makes me wonder about the accuracy of setting up standing orders this way.

jaimeo

My terms and conditions say that spending beyond my specified overdraft limit is "at the banks discretion".

That said, i once had a standing order returned as unpaid as i credited the a/c with the money to cover it on the same day it was supposed to go out. This apparently was too late. Oh well.

First things first- what do you want them to give you? Why is there "too little activity" to give you an od? It is your main account right....??

If you are going into your od every single month you need to change something. How long have you been with the bank? A lot of the time I bite my tongue when i want to scream at my bank because i wonder who is doing who the favour here....i know im potentially lucrative in the future but at the mo iget free banking, a 3 grand od, free internet banking, free telephone banking etc. etc. etc. who is helping who?

if it is a matter of the charges ruining you financially you need first to speak to someone with the authority to refund them...then make your case.

My mistake was stopping at the first person to say no.

J

davidcampbell

am just wondering how u know that your bank prev didnt charge for anauth overdrafts upto £50?

had u ever been charged for going overdrawn more than the £50?
and had come to the conclusion that anything under £50 was ok?

or did they tell u that u wouldnt be charged for going upto £50 in red?

we used to have what wasknown as a pnecil limit, which generally sat in the region of £50 or so.

any customer going overdrawn over their agreed limit but within their pencil limit we would guarantee to pay an item BUT you would still be charged.

anything over pencil limit as well and item MAY be returned unpaid or MAY be paid BUT you would still be charged either way. (regardless you were ALWAYS charged if exceeded limit)

that being said this was stopped in april 2004.

i cant think of any situation where what the OP suggests has applied.

on a full bank account, each customers first charge incurred in any 6 month period is automatically reversed as a goodwill gesture. is this what you have had in the past mippy? this could be how you "got away with it".

I opened the account when I was twelve and then when I wanted to start using it after the balance being held at zero for a while was told that I couldn't have a new cashcard without having wages paid into the account first.

any period of 8 months without a transaction and a balance less than ( i think) £100 will render you're account "inactive". if this happens no card will be issued (or renewed should it expire) until the account is made active. to reactivate the aaccoutn we require a payment to be made into it - doesnt necessarily have to be wages - any cheq/cash deposit, bacs transfer etc will suffice. this is why you were not reissued with a card immediately.



in terms of an overdraft. assuming you have a clear credit history, we will generally look for 3 months of regular activity. credits of close to if not more than £500 per month. regular activity is obviously difficutl to define and will vary from case to case but if it reasonably looks like you are using the account for purposes other than simply to get the overdraft (ie you might have the odd standing order/direct debit set up or use your card a few times a month) this should suffice.

obviously the specifics of why you couldnt get an overdraft are difficult to define without seeing the account but certainly it should have been explained at the time why you couldnt and how you could qualify in the future.

Then I had to wait two weeks for a replacement debit card when a machine ate my old one as they sent it to my parents' house and not to branch as requested...then when I got it the PIN they sent to me wouldn't work, so the card was useless until I got a new one. Grrr.

no excuse for that :mad: sorry on behalf of my idiot colleague

That said, i once had a standing order returned as unpaid as i credited the a/c with the money to cover it on the same day it was supposed to go out. This apparently was too late. Oh well.

jaimeo, decision on mandates will be made when they are requested - first thing in the day. if no funds at that time it may be returned. if you credit that same day unless you tell your bank you have done so no-one can change the decision because they dont know. banks clearing centre need to be told (usually via the callcentre) although certain branch staff may be able to do this on your behalf (depending on which bank you are talking about)

thats why same day is not always enough.

hth



DC

deemy2004

Banks make very little profit from retail customers.

The majority of their profits are through corporate banking, overseas loans, the stock market and trading in currencies.

Infact most of the people in the UK enjoy free banking. All we need to do is stick to some obvious rules such as not going overdrawn if you don't have an overdraft .... :rolleyes:

I mean think about it, if we were charged on the hundreds of transactions we do each year ... how much would that cost ? £200 ? £300 ? more ? I probably would be having to pay close to £500 !

mippy

Al Mac - I went to HSBC today with passport and phonebill in hand and was told I'd need three months of bank statements from Abbey to prove I had a 'healthy banking relationship'. Oh. They also asked where I worked which was odd!