Halifax banking available balance discrepancies

Edible-cakes

Newbie alert!

Hello I have a couple of rants that I'd like to air but mainly I'd like a response to the following...

Halifax bank online/telephone banking discrepancies.!

Originally I had issues keeping an eye on my balance trying my best in avoiding unnecessary charges etc.!
Scenario - ring bank, balance =xxx avail balance = xxx so I'd use a percentage of !the available balance but ironically I'd repeatedly creep outside my overdraft because certain card payments were "hidden" until up to two days later.!
After many complaints to my bank I'd recouped some charges but that problem continued even though I thought my argument of whenever I use my other Halifax ! Account any transactions I made using my card were automatically updated but this was never the case with my ultimate reward account.!
scenario - I'd purchase two items from one shop paying separately on two cards, Halifax cardcash and Halifax ult reward.!
The cardcash transactions were instantly documented but the ultimate reward transaction would not affect my available balance for up to 2 days.
The above I have not tried for a while.!

After time I've learnt to try harder to keep in mind my transactions etc.!
But now I'm in a similar debarcle with their monthly fee/charges.!
Typical example last night I log in and check my balance.!
Blatantly it says xxx avail balance at 11:34pm.!
today I log in and I'm told that yesterday I went outside my overdraft how can this be? Unless ironically charges and fees are deducted at 11:59pm.!
This above scenario has happened !on several occasions over the months mainly in similar scenarios!
The biggest con with this is when the 1st of a month falls on a fri/sat because I'm unaware til I receive my txt alerts "joke" the following mon-tues as they are not listed on my account until then, bang they've just made an extra ten to twenty quid great. These fees/charges should be set to debit at a specific date/time!
The snowball effect continues
I'm stuck with this account, am unable to repay the overdraft as I am in receipt of benefit and im realising how destructive this account is.!
I accept that I am liable and that the situation is my own fault to an extent but if the right information was at hand many of these charges would be null and void in my eyes because I would always know Exactly my account status if the correct numbers were shown when doing telephone/Internet banking.!
When I asked what times the banking charges/fees are deducted the response was to put it bluntly s***.
"our fees and charges are deducted between the first and third Of each month but our systems could not deduct at set times"standing orders are something we use banks for arent they?! Ironically the bank stated at first all fees and charges are deducted at the start of the!banking day but retracted that comment when I challenged it.!

So I ask.... How the he'll do I get out of this account?!
Loans are not viable as I am in a similar snowball effect situation with wonga.!

Thanks!
Edible-cakes

tv license fee.!
!why don't sky offer an "unsubscribe" from live BBC broadcasts? #abolishtvlicense

pqrdef

Switching won't help, all banks are the same.

Your Cardcash card tells the terminal to talk to the bank while-you-wait to get a guarantee for the payment. The URCA card is its own guarantee card and the bank doesn't have to know anything about the transaction until later (up to 6 months later).

Your overdraft isn't based on your available balance, it's based on your statement balance when the books are made up at the end of the day. There's a cut-off time in the afternoon for paying in credits. After that, they won't count for that day, even if the money shows as available.

Fees will probably get charged at the end of the day. You've just got to leave enough headroom.

The easiest way to save money is not to waste so much on bank charges. But you need to leave the money saved in the bank to build up a cushion.

anamenottaken

pqrdef wrote: »

The easiest way to save money is not to waste so much on bank charges. But you need to leave the money saved in the bank to build up a cushion.

And also the easiest way not to waste so much on bank charges (and unnecessary telephone calls) is to keep your own running tally of what you are spending and what money you know has been credited to the account.

marlewuk

the bank should not charge you for going overdrawn if its the result of bank charges, that would be very unfair.
lloyds which is part of the same group go by this rule.

opinions4u

marlewuk wrote: »

the bank should not charge you for going overdrawn if its the result of bank charges, that would be very unfair.

Banks tell you what they will charge you. The tell you when they will charge you. If you don't cover the charges in good time those charges will leave you in overdraft and trigger new charges.

lloyds which is part of the same group go by this rule.

If you don't pay the charges when due they will charge you again if you remain in unauthorised overdraft.

What the OP describes is a series of failures to calmly sit down and work out what money is in an account and where / when a card has been used, combined with a reckless assumption that transactions will always debit their account instantly.

Edible-cakes

Hmm.!
Reckless yeah maybe but I'd still argue the toss on the word "available"!
Again and fair enough another post has explained the transaction process applied (ty) to the two different cards but hang on it's all going through the same bank!!
So what your saying is it's acceptable for a bank to tell you you have xxx available when realistically there is nothing there?!
Say you have a joint account and party one spends 100 on their card on an available balance of 150, then party 2 also after seeing an available balance of 150 online !puts 100 on their card therefore leaving a negative balance of 50.!
Are they being reckless for assuming AVAILABLE balance is what's in their account?!
I went to deep with my first post trying to explain the situation.!
Again my original question still stands!
!How do I get out of this account????
The bank are not going to close this acc unless od is cleared understandably but I can't clear this od when their charges/fees hinder any attempt at doing so.!
What approach should I take to freeze this account under Hardship! ?!

Available = present or ready for immediate use!
Is the banking dictionary different?!

jonesMUFCforever

You say how do I get out of this account - you pay it back!
You really need to sort yourselves out - a joint account is no good to you - have sole accounts.
Why would one of you make a payment/withdrawal without discussing it with one another?

What hardship are you suffering from?

At the end of the day you had X amount in the account and between you spent XYZ .

Edible-cakes

the joint acc is a for instance.
obviously repay to clear.
hardship - in receipt of benefit, paying fee's and charges on an account with money that just aint there to avoid more charges.
hence the need to freeze account allowing repayment fairly.
yes a major restructuring helps and is needed but just not completly poss at present the budget is too tight as is.

jonesMUFCforever

Edible-cakes wrote: »

the joint acc is a for instance.
obviously repay to clear.
hardship - in receipt of benefit, paying fee's and charges on an account with money that just aint there to avoid more charges.
hence the need to freeze account allowing repayment fairly.
yes a major restructuring helps and is needed but just not completly poss at present the budget is too tight as is.

You have not commented on how both of you managed to make withdrawals - is it a joint account or not?

Edible-cakes

first line! now they are overdrawn?

im questioning the term "available balance"
and requesting how i approach closing/freezing an account that makes more than i can clear!

Money-Saving-King

If remembering when you have used your card and what then is due to be debited from your account is a problem and causing charges would it not be better to use cash only until you've figured out how to work out a way of remembering what is still due to come out of your account?