Yeh Nice One Martin .......... Not

IvanOpinion

Also remember it is in all our interests that finanacial institutions return big profits .. after all that is what makes our pensions, ISAs and other investments give us large returns

ivan

karjam

I'm well aware that if you go over your authorised overdraft then the bank will charge you £35 but I am claiming my charges back for the following reasons:

1. About a year ago I requested a couple of times that my bank raise my overdraft limit to help me through some tough times - they refused. (I have a £300 overdraft limit). So then I wrote a letter to the Loans Department of Lloyds Bank about a loan I have with them asking if I could lower my loan payments for a few months until I got back on my feet. They agreed to this. Now prior to this when a direct debit was to go out of my bank account and there wasn't enough money in to pay it the bank would send me a letter saying they had paid the direct debit and no further charges would be incurred if the money was paid into the account by the close of business the same day. After my loan payment was reduced, the bank started to bounce the direct debit if there wasn't enough money in. I rang them to ask why when previously they had allowed it to go through and they said because my loan account was now with the collections department they could no longer allow this to happen on my current account. I had had no prior warning of this at all.

2. If a direct debit is due to go out of your bank on say 22nd of the month, if the money is not in your bank by 12.01am at the beginning of that day then it will bounce. So basically your money needs to be in on the 21st of the month making your actual direct debit date incorrect. Shouldn't they give you until the close of business on the 22nd to put the money in the bank?

3. Quite a few times I have have had a cheque waiting to clear when they have bounced a direct debit. These are cheques I have put into my bank regularly every month for a long time. Surely they can look and see that I will actually have funds available.

As to the 'shopping' analogy - There have been occasions when I've gone through the checkout and haven't had enough money to pay for it and have had to put a few things back - I certainly don't expect the supermarket to charge me £35 for them having already put the items through the checkout and then having to take them back off again!

recyclingbox

have to agree with all of this. both sides of the argument. i regularly paid charges and accepted it as a part of my bad financial management. I paid them , not happily, but i paid them. Now i find out that what the bank has done is illegal.

They have been "stealing" from me and i want my £3000 back.

IvanOpinion

recyclingbox wrote:

They have been "stealing" from me and i want my £3000 back.

That is not right .. they have never 'stolen', it is the level of the charge that is considered (by some) as 'unfair' ... remember you, by signing the T&C gave them permission to take the money from your account .. they only did exactly what they told you they would do .. that is not theft

ivan

EthelBloggs

reehsetin wrote:

then dont have kids until you can afford them

reehsetin.. I admire your sentiments but sometimes you just can't predict what's going to happen in life.

In my case, my husband was made redundant when I was 8 months pregnant with my 2nd child. We;d been fine until then. after 6 months he managed to get another job, during that tiem we lived on his redundancy payment.

A month after that, his mother died, then 11 days later, his father died. With the stress of it all he had a nervous breakdown. Of course he hadn't been in this new job long enough to qualify for sick pay and lost the job.

Over the next couple of years, we were dependent on benefits, I had 2 under 5s and he wasn't well enough to care for them so I wasn't able to get a job because of the very high costs of childcare in london. As he got more and more ill, he was spending our benefits on alcohol, he developed a drinking problem you see, so at times I didn't have food in the house for the kids and we'd have to go to my mums. No matter where I hid the money he'd always find it.. even when I put it in the shelf thing under the cooker! after a couple of years, his drinking was worse and with it came violence and abuse, so one day I picked up the toddlers, told him I was going out for bread and milk and never went back.. I had £2.78 in my purse.

Me and the kids ended up in a refuge, while i was away, he took out various loans and debts in my name, as well as running up a huge overdraft on our joint account. After 6 months and lots of court appearances, eventually I got access to my own home, and he had to move out. Then all these debt letters started coming in.... yes he had committed fraud.. but it was impossible to prove....... and thats how I ended up in 30k of debt. Took me 10 years but I paid it all off and so in my view, reclaiming those bank charges was a little bit of payback for the bank not recognising the fraud and giving me 10 years of hardship thru no fault of my own. Perhaps if they hadn't kept charging me, I'd have managed to pay it off a little bit sooner.

So you see.. you can take a very idealistic view of things, but there is a saying.. "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans"

karjam

trademark wrote:

So those of us who adhere to our banks terms and conditions and build a good working relationship with our banks over a prolonged period will now have to carry those who dont.

All these charges for unauthorised overdrawing allows bank customers to have free accounts.

Ok, so pretend we now live in a perfect world where no-one ever goes into an unauthorised overdraft. The bank loses an awful lot of profit - do you think your account would still be free?

Don't you think the banks are actually rubbing their hands in glee when they send out all these £35 letters. And aren't all those people who are paying the £35's actually subsidising your free account?

On another note, I would prefer to not have a bank account at all but unfortunately you can't work in this world without one. Unfortunately it happens that a lot of people do get into financial difficulty at some time in their lives and if all the banks have the same charges in their terms and conditions for these unauthorised overdrafts there is no choice.

Beate

Here is my stance on it all: I have never had to pay a bank charge before because I am fortunate enough to have a good salary and I don't overspend. But I have seen it happen to friends, and I know that life is not predictable. You can lose your job or get seriously ill or even both and you will have to spend money which you didn't account for. Fore example, if someone I loved needed help in paying medical bills I would throw all the money I have towards helping them get better. Bottom line is, you can get overdrawn without being able to help it, and banks have no right to charge extornionate fees and spite you by callig this "a service". I have the greatest sympathy for people who just happen to be poor and have to struggle with money on a daily basis. We don't appreciate how close to the edge some people have to operate, and what I can't forgive the banks is that they hit these people when they are already down, making their situation even worse. I have always found it paradox to punish someone who can't pay a bill by charging them even more. Don't the banks see how illogical that is? Don't they have a moral obligation not to ruin people's lives by charges which are way too high and in no way reflect the true costs they are having? Someone's financial situation and debt can spiral considerably because of snowballing bank charges and it is simply unfair. Banks seem to have no morals, it' all about profits. While I understand that every business is about profits, you mustn't forget that you are here to provide a service to people and you have no right to fleece them of their hard-earned money just because you think you can.

trademark

Respect Martin for re-opening this thread.

No respect though if you have made a profit in some way from this situation.

That tv programme last night will cause chaos for the banks over the next few weeks, initially also for the customer and over the long term the customers pocket, i stand by that.

This debate will never be won however ....why?

Because there are genuine cases who deserve some or all of their penalty fees back.

AND because there are higher paid or careless, non caring wreckless cases who just decided to flaunt the banks rules and regulations so they can have what their neighbours and friends have and will now get back their fees for taking money off the rest of us through their bank.

I knew i would place myself in the firing line with this thread , but it had to be said and what is now done is done

We will all now face the consequences ......... lower interest rates on your savings, higher rates on your credit cards (including the abolishment of 0%), charges for banking etc etc etc ...

If you dont believe that will happen over the next few months and years , then im afraid you are wrong.

Got shares in the banks?, they are a sell.

oldfella

it is disgusting that I and the majority of people who operate their accounts properly and within the agreed t&C are having to pick up the tab for those with a cavalier attitude towards their finances.

---

logical discontinuity here - its the folks who have problems with charges that are picking up the tab for those who operate their accounts properly - or would you prefer they carried on being charged unlawful fees ?

---

That is not right .. they have never 'stolen', it is the level of the charge that is considered (by some) as 'unfair' ... remember you, by signing the T&C gave them permission to take the money from your account .. they only did exactly what they told you they would do .. that is not theft

---

well, the charges are regarded as unlawful, and the banks have refused to defend them in court, and the T&C would not be upheld in law as they breach the unfair T&C regulations - that seems to me to be pretty close to stealing

Mike

nel

on the other side of the coin, it could be said that the people who have been charged the outrageous amounts for going overdrawn for whatever reason have been subsidising those who have more in the banks to start off allowing them their free banking and higher interest rates.

I don't mind paying a fee if i go overdrawn but it needs to be a justifiable amount.

As for making a profit on theses charges, the banks have had the money taken from the less privelidged in their account for up to six years, do you honestly think they haven't made enough and even more profit on this money to cover the interest paid back to the customers?

lets not forget that the banks have got to take responsibility in some cases for giving to much away, they flash their cash in such a glamourous way and don't take into consideration the individuals "real" means of paying it back, maybe they should take into consideration the fact that pepole DO have rainy days i.e unemployment or sickness. Yes i know there are payment protection insurances but one little slip (for whatever reason)and the DD for the insurance does go out on time and your screwed.