Is £15 reasonable?

AngryDog

I have had 6 missed Standing Orders / Direct Debits in the last 2 months.

The reason I am given is that even though I am paid on the day they go out, they need to have the money in by 9pm the day before (fine).

Is £15 (£90 in total) a reasonable charge for these? I havent had any letters etc advising me off this, and in my telephone conversations to my bank at no point have I been advised that I am getting charged this.

Am I just going to have to take this on the chin?

Thanks.

talana

AngryDog wrote: »

Is £15 (£90 in total) a reasonable charge for these? I havent had any letters etc advising me off this, and in my telephone conversations to my bank at no point have I been advised that I am getting charged this.

But it will all be in the T&Cs that you agreed to, so no they're not going to send you a letter or whatever every single time. You've already been advised.

Whether it's reasonable is in one sense a moot point, best plan is don't incur them to start with. It's never ever a good idea to have SOs/DDs coming out the same day your salary goes in as you've discovered. Any reason you can't move these outpayments back by a couple of days to avoid the issue?

Voyager2002

AngryDog wrote: »

I have had 6 missed Standing Orders / Direct Debits in the last 2 months.

The reason I am given is that even though I am paid on the day they go out, they need to have the money in by 9pm the day before (fine).

Is £15 (£90 in total) a reasonable charge for these? I havent had any letters etc advising me off this, and in my telephone conversations to my bank at no point have I been advised that I am getting charged this.

Am I just going to have to take this on the chin?

Thanks.

By the sound of things you are experiencing this for the first time. A grovelling apology and a promise not to let it happen again is usually enough for them to reduce or waive the charge.

dunstonh

s £15 (£90 in total) a reasonable charge for these?

Doesnt matter. The banks won the court case and you cannot complain about charges being fair or unfair.

However, a better approach to take if it is your first offence is to be apologetic to the bank and ask for a refund as you have never done it before.

The reason I am given is that even though I am paid on the day they go out, they need to have the money in by 9pm the day before (fine).

Most banks say the day before. So, early AM on the day is a bit more than most.

Wywth

Have you considered changing the dates of your standing orders?

It's a little more difficult with Direct Debits. You will need to contact the originators and ask if they will agree to change the collection dates. Not all will, but many will if you ask.

JimmyTheWig

AngryDog wrote: »

Is £15 (£90 in total) a reasonable charge for these? I havent had any letters etc advising me off this, and in my telephone conversations to my bank at no point have I been advised that I am getting charged this.

I think £15 is about par for the course so not much you can do there (I personally don't think that is reasonable, but that's not the relevant bit).
But if it was me, I would be miffed if I hadn't been told that they were charging me. I thought they had to tell you, in writing.

Though thinking about this, I think they only have to tell you when they are going to be taking the money, not when you incurr the charge.
So if the first one happened just over a month ago they may not be charging you for another couple of weeks and so haven't told you _yet_.
Has the money for these charges actually come out of your account yet?

I think your best bet is to phone them up and speak nicely to them. Explain that you weren't aware of this rule and that, had you had been told after it happened the first time you would have known not to do it a second time. Because they didn't tell you the first time you would like them to waive the charges the second time.

[Obviously, going forward, do what you need to do to make sure it doesn't happen again!]

roonaldo

AngryDog wrote: »

I havent had any letters etc advising me off this, and in my telephone conversations to my bank at no point have I been advised that I am getting charged this.

Am I just going to have to take this on the chin?

Thanks.

They dont have to write to you separately, its probably stated in a section of your monthly bank statements.

As its not a one off, you will have to take it on the chin.

tee_pee_2

If this is the first time you have had bank charges it may be worth a phonecall or letter, with an apology and they should ( inly if it is the first time) waver the charge.

Think your best bet is to changes as many s/o and D/d to the day after you are paid.

x

Miss_Havisham

banks are obliged to send you the tariff applicable to your account at the time you open it, together with the terms and conditions which should explain when the charges will apply. Tariff changes should be sent to you in writing in advance of the start date.