santander problem

flopper7uk

I had a similar problem with santander,

i bought some things online with my card and it was all good, checked my balance a few days later it was in credit so i took some money out. Several days later i checked my account again to see that the account was overdrawn, i called them and the lady was not very helpful just saying that i should take more care in watching my finances???? Not much of an explanation as to why!
Well a couple of days later i called back as they were going to charge me £150 in 6 x £25 charges and i could not afford that, i asked for an arrangement to pay it back over a few months as i had opened another account to get paid into.... i asked the lady if she could explain why this happened and here's what she told me;

When you make a card payment online or in a shop it is taken off your balance BUT the company you are paying has to claim this within 3 days (i think) or they put it back on your available balance. So if the company claims it say on the 5th day there will have been 2 days where you thought you have money available. Yes we all should pay more attention to our spending and what we have available but most people just check their balance to see whats there to use.
I have had several bank accounts and santander is the ONLY one where this has happened. I am currently, with little success trying to get them to refund this but its worth a try....

flopper

bengal-stripe

flopper7uk wrote: »

When you make a card payment online or in a shop it is taken off your balance BUT the company you are paying has to claim this within 3 days (i think) or they put it back on your available balance. So if the company claims it say on the 5th day there will have been 2 days where you thought you have money available. Yes we all should pay more attention to our spending and what we have available but most people just check their balance to see whats there to use.
I have had several bank accounts and santander is the ONLY one where this has happened.

All banks operate like that.

If a charge is not claimed in due time, the amount reserved and taken off your "available balance" falls off and gets returned to your available balance (depending on the bank that would be between four to ten working days). Nevertheless the charge can go through without a new authorization code any time for the next six months.

Just treat any money paid on a card as "spent" and deduct it from your account balance whether or not it hangs around for weeks or even months. It is not your money any longer!

dunstonh

, i called them and the lady was not very helpful just saying that i should take more care in watching my finances???

To be fair, that is the right thing. If you had taken more care then it wouldnt have happened.

When you make a card payment online or in a shop it is taken off your balance BUT the company you are paying has to claim this within 3 days (i think) or they put it back on your available balance. So if the company claims it say on the 5th day there will have been 2 days where you thought you have money available.

All banks operate that way. The transaction may not appear on your account for weeks or even months sometimes. The earmark is only there for 3 days.

Yes we all should pay more attention to our spending and what we have available but most people just check their balance to see whats there to use.

You should not assume that as you would be wrong. The majority of people reconcile their statements and dont take chances. It is a small minority of people that do not run their account correctly.

I have had several bank accounts and santander is the ONLY one where this has happened.

You have got lucky then as they all do it this way.

Little_Mo_70

flopper7uk wrote: »

I had a similar problem with santander,

i bought some things online with my card and it was all good, checked my balance a few days later it was in credit so i took some money out. Several days later i checked my account again to see that the account was overdrawn, i called them and the lady was not very helpful just saying that i should take more care in watching my finances???? Not much of an explanation as to why!
Well a couple of days later i called back as they were going to charge me £150 in 6 x £25 charges and i could not afford that, i asked for an arrangement to pay it back over a few months as i had opened another account to get paid into.... i asked the lady if she could explain why this happened and here's what she told me;

When you make a card payment online or in a shop it is taken off your balance BUT the company you are paying has to claim this within 3 days (i think) or they put it back on your available balance. So if the company claims it say on the 5th day there will have been 2 days where you thought you have money available. Yes we all should pay more attention to our spending and what we have available but most people just check their balance to see whats there to use.
I have had several bank accounts and santander is the ONLY one where this has happened. I am currently, with little success trying to get them to refund this but its worth a try....

flopper

Mini statements. (I couldn't live without them!) I get them often and check what's gone out. Any spends that don't show up I deduct from the given balance. It works for me:)

tifo

Following the test case which was initiated by the banks, everyone should now be aware that bank charges have always been there as part of the core service, which is why you cannot challenge the amount. It's just that the banks charge you when you 'informally' ask for an overdraft because you don't have the money to cover a payment otherwise they won't charge you. You can even 'ask' on an account which does not have an overdraft facility and the bank will charge you for 'considering' your request. It seems out of common sense but that's the way it is now since Nov 2009.

The above was just a way of making bank charges 'lawful' .....

tifo

dunstonh wrote: »

It is a small minority of people that do not run their account correctly.

Judging by the amount of money the banks lawfully extort from their customers as declined/missed payment charges, there are a LOT of people that don't manage their accounts properly .... if they all ran their accounts well the banks would lose out.

BobQ

Some Santander accounts have a guartanteed overdraft which means if you spend money you do not have you are also using that agreed overdraft. May not apply in this case of course.

BobQ

tifo wrote: »

Judging by the amount of money the banks lawfully extort from their customers as declined/missed payment charges, there are a LOT of people that don't manage their accounts properly .... if they all ran their accounts well the banks would lose out.

Most people behave responsibly.

Its not extortion. If you spend money you do not have you are the one in the wrong and should pay a penalty for it. Argue about how fair the penalty is, but it is justified to levy one.