Stupid, stupid mistake

dalesrider

have you rung them back yet????

I would. If its your 1st offence (so to speak) then they may waive the charges with a warning.
Be nice and don't shout, works best and say sorry and you misscaculated and that you will get funds in on monday to put it back in the black.

debtfreeby2013

dalesrider wrote: »

have you rung them back yet????

I would. If its your 1st offence (so to speak) then they may waive the charges with a warning.
Be nice and don't shout, works best and say sorry and you misscaculated and that you will get funds in on monday to put it back in the black.

They phoned again but I had gone out for a run, my OH answered and asked them to call back in an hour so they'll phone any minute now. He's already said he'll put £5 in for me tomorrow but he doesn't have Internet banking so I'm going to ask if he can pay in over the phone tonight using his debit card but I'm not sure if that's possible? Can only ask I suppose.

I wouldn't shout at them anyway, I'm not that sort of person plus I am fully aware and accepting of the fact that this is completely and utterly my stupid fault and mistake. I won't hold my breath that they'll waive the charges but ya never know.

YorkshireBoy

Don't banks have 'fair fees' policies these days?

I understand the penalty for any breach shouldn't exceed the amount of the breach (that's presumably why many banks have buffer zones on their current accounts).

If that's the case they may refund some/all of the charges in this case. Is this your first breach of your T&Cs?

debtfreeby2013

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Don't banks have 'fair fees' policies these days?

I understand the penalty for any breach shouldn't exceed the amount of the breach (that's presumably why many banks have buffer zones on their current accounts).

If that's the case they may refund some/all of the charges in this case. Is this your first breach of your T&Cs?

Yeah first time but I've only been with them for 5 months and the T&Cs say they may waive the charges if you haven't gone over for 366 days.

£40 for £4 does seem excessive but its my own stupid fault for going over.

And actually, re-reading the conditions of an informal overdraft they give you 6 days to take yourself back into your overdraft so, again, my own stupid fault for not checking online.

[Deleted User]

debtfreeby2013 wrote: »

Thank you very much for your sarcastic comments on where my money goes but I'd appreciate it if people comment with HELPFUL things and not having a go at me

If you think anyone above is having a go at you about where your money goes, then I strongly suggest you re-read the posts above.

Nobody has said "debtfreeby2013 has obviously not budgeted for Christmas" or "debtfreeby2013 is bad with their money". A couple of people have made jovial comments about the timing of Christmas in general - not once do any of the posts above "have a go at you".

It's a pity that, in the face of all the helpful advice from everyone above (myself included - I didn't need to take the time to research and reference an answer for you), that you can't take a bit of friendly banter without getting a strop on.

debtfreeby2013

But there is already a thread that contains 'friendly banter' about people's inability to budget for Christmas and by putting it on this thread as well it is quite clearly directed at me. I have been really upset all day today about this situation so my apologies if I overreacted but it wasn't really what I needed. I do appreciate all the helpful comments on here I really do but with the state I was in today I didn't need the other comments but, as I say, I apologise if I overreacted (according to my OH I do that all the time anyway, lol).

Anyway, just had the call back from them and, panic over, I explained I am getting my student loan on the 14th but that my OH would happily put in £5 if it would avoid charges. They said I have not yet accrued any charges but normally they would have started charging me tomorrow but as I am getting money on the 14th they are happy not to charge me on this ocassion. So happy and thank you to everyone who has helped. It's amazing how much a 3 minute phone call can change your mood.

innovate

OK, so we're all a happy family again, hooray!

Now, debtfreeby2013, how are you going to avoid a similar issue in the future? Because if it did happen again, they won't let you off so lightly again. You can be sure of that. The options I see are:

1. never go overdrawn again, definitely not ever again
2. get an interest-free overdraft buffer but still aim to never ever go overdrawn again (Halifax, Santander, First Direct all offer small amounts of free overdrafts)
3. build your own small overdraft buffer by aiming to never ever going below £x, where x stands for 10, 20 or whatever

Options 2 and 3 give you a small safety net. Option 1 is only viable if you don't get carried away again.

Voyager2002

And three cheers for the Co-op bank being lenient and helpful. I don't think this story would have had such a happy ending had the bank in question been Santander.

YorkshireBoy

I have a privilege account

I'm a little puzzled?

According to the Co-op website your Privilege Current Account comes with...

"An automatic £200 interest and fee-free overdraft"

Why are we even having this conversation?

debtfreeby2013

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

I'm a little puzzled?

According to the Co-op website your Privilege Current Account comes with...

"An automatic £200 interest and fee-free overdraft"

Why are we even having this conversation?

Sorry, should have been clearer, I'm actually £4 over the overdraft. I'm one of those stupid people that lives in the overdraft but as it is interest free it will be the last of the debts for me to pay off plus they don't offer any interest for being in credit its all much of a muchness really in my eyes.