Santander direct debits being returned help

WelshKitty

Hi all ,

Ok I suffered a head injury last year so keeping track of stuff can be hard I do have estimate dates written down for when DD are due on account but due to weekends or bank hols sometimes this can change . I spoke to Santander after it happened and they mentioned about the mobile app which I now have .

To make sure I know what money is free to use I keep a balance of £100 in account and transfer everything else into my savings so when I check 1st thing in morning and mid day using the app I transfer extra across to cover debits and also bringing balance to stick to £100 .
This is where I am getting annoyed for example yesterday I checked in morning and it showed 2 direct debits going out and a credit of £150 from someone else , I then transferred any extra balance after those payments to my savings . I checked again mid day as I went to make transfer to someone else and same stuff showing , I check this morning and a direct debit is showing as being returned yesterday :eek:

So I rang Santander and asked why this had happened as the £150 was in during the early hours pre 8am as it's a SO from someone and the fact there were 2 other direct debits which went through yet this wasn't showing on transactions at all their response is that direct debits go through at midnight and if not enough funds are there it's returned and then they try again at 4pm , I asked why can't I see this on the system so I know to keep money in there or transfer some and they said only they can see those due to be returned and I would see next day .
Now from other bank accounts I have held if items are due that day they always show up what exactly is going out so we are at risk of being returned you have until a set time in afternoon to pay in funds and not be informed day after .

I can't ring them everyday as it's hard for me to deal with over phone and that's why I opted for mobile/online banking .

Has anyone else had this issue ?

dalesrider

Issue easily solved by stopping removing the excess funds so quickly.

Perhaps looking at the 123 account would be a good idea.

WelshKitty

dalesrider wrote: »

Issue easily solved by stopping removing the excess funds so quickly.

Perhaps looking at the 123 account would be a good idea.

I have the 123 account already . I just don't understand why they don't show on system to say they have been attempted that day until it's too late and the next day

meer53

To prevent any further problems, make sure that money is in your account the working day before the Direct Debits are due to be taken.

MisterMotivated

If the DD failed, then no money entered or left your account at that point, so no reason for the statement to be updated. They can't really leave a note saying "came to collect money, will try again later". Why didn't you keep enough in the account if you were expecting another DD?

Perhaps you should increase your normal balance from £100 and/or move DD money a day or two in advance to allow some flexibility. That's what I normally do. The loss of a couple of days' interest is nothing compared to bank charges.

cdotr

WelshKitty wrote: »

I have the 123 account already . I just don't understand why they don't show on system to say they have been attempted that day until it's too late and the next day

Have you opted in for text alerts?

Off Santander website -

"If you have a Banking or Savings account with Santander and are logged on to Online Banking, you can set up and receive the following alerts by email or SMS or both:

If a payment has been allowed to proceed even though your account had insufficient funds and a fee has been incurred.

If a payment has been returned unpaid because your account had insufficient funds and a possible fee has been incurred.

If your account balance is close to your overdraft limit

To warn you if you're not going to have enough funds to cover a standing order, Direct Debit or future dated payment "


But it is still best practice to keep a higher amount in you current account that can cover incidents like this

Buzby

Maybe it is just me, but the way you operate the account would make ea nervous wreck as at every stage you are exposed to the possibility of being hit with charges due to a non-standard transaction failing.

As you have a 1-2-3 account, let it do what it does to take the strain, and chill - you'll save on blood pressure.

pqrdef

Can't win. According to the banksters, the people who only check their accounts once a fortnight are always wrong, and the people who check twice a day and manage their money are wrong as well.

Message is, it's all down to you, and what the hell makes you think a bank might try to be helpful.

pqrdef

Just

MisterMotivated wrote: »

If the DD failed, then no money entered or left your account at that point, so no reason for the statement to be updated. They can't really leave a note saying "came to collect money, will try again later".

Why not? They could at least debit the available balance.

They do debit accounts for blocked FPs that aren't going until the following day, if then. What's the difference? In that case it saves interest.