Britannia account

shopaholic2

Hi, looking for some advice before I ring them up, see what's what and where I stand.
I have an account with Britannia which I use only for my benefits to go into ( incapacity and DLA), I ONLY use it for this, it's a simple account,with only a cash card.
I've looked at my most recent statement, and noticed every time I withdraw money I get charged 50p.
I usually ( almost always) withdraw from a co op cash machine.
Now, to me, I shouldn't be getting charged 50p to get my own money.
This is benefit money, so I shouldn't be getting charged.
And, the co op & Britannia have joined forces so even if it was a bank that charges for withdrawals, surely they shouldn't BE charging when I'm actually with them?

This has been going on for years, and yes I'm pathetic for not really noticing it sooner, but I think it really hit me the other day, when I left £30.29 in my account, then later went to draw out my last £30 and couldn't as t was now £29.79!

Do I have any recourse with them?
Apart from change accounts, although I did plan to change TO the co op!!
Thanks :-)

thatsean

What do the terms of your account say? Do it attract a charge if you go over more than a certain amount of withdrawals per year?

The "it's my benefit money and they can't do this" has been done do death on here, short version. Yes they can. If they are charging you for using an ATM, then you're using a service, it's a service charge.

That said, I'm surprised by this, check whether your account has withdrawal limits, and if so - you need to get a different account.

UsetheFORCE

I used to have a Britannia a few years ago but they started to charge 50p per withdrawal if you balance was under £100.

I think you have fallen foul of this, I suggest you get a different account.


Regards

Stuart_W

You have an old Britannia account and need to switch! They currently have available a Britannia Flexible Savings cashcard account that doesn't have a 50p fee, so you might be able to get your account switched to that account quite easily just by calling them. If not, then move to any one of the many fee-free cashcard accounts, including Co-op.

ses6jwg

You can appeal to their good nature but its unlikely you have any recourse.

You should be checking your statements and you doubtless would have been informed when the 50p charge came in.

With respect it might be more beneficial to open a basic current account and have your benefits paid into that rather than use a savings account.