Debit Card - Overdrafts?

Spierre21

not sure how to title thread but I'm a little confused and have quick few questions I need cleared up looked on NatWest website and it's all just trying to get you to get an overdraft....

What I'm wondering is this,

I have 2 bank accounts, one of them is a select NatWest account and it's one I pay all my bills out of and I keep it DELIBERATELY empty aside what needs to go out of the account (It's my main card I use all over the place online etc it's a visa debit). I've no idea if this account can go overdrawn or not?

so for example say I'm a victim of card fraud on this account and it has 20 quid in.
Can only 20 quid be nicked and other payments will be refused because not enough money in my account? or will the blasted account just go overdrawn and lump me with hundreds of quid missing because I don't have some stupid "overdraft limit" basically I just don't want anything to do with an overdraft.

Also how do NatWest deal with card fraud on a debit card if it occurs? anyone chime in?

It seems I have to apply for an overdraft then set an overdraft limit... which would be 0....but from my reading that seems only way to make sure my account doesn't go overdrawn? because without a control it will just go overdrawn and I'll get unarranged overdraft fees. It seems as if they want you to get knocked into your OD accidentally or via fraud. I just don't want my account to have ability to go overdrawn at all. I don't want the ability for any money other than my own to leave my account.

Hominu

Yes it's possible for a debit card to make you overdrawn. If you don't have an agreed overdraft (or you exceed the agreed amount) then you'll simply go into unauthorised overdraft, which will be far more expensive.

Some banks allow a "Control" account which prevents you going into overdraft and just rejects payments, but expect to pay for this account. I think TSB charge £10/month for it.

rb10

Spierre21 wrote: »

so for example say I'm a victim of card fraud on this account and it has 20 quid in.
Can only 20 quid be nicked and other payments will be refused because not enough money in my account? or will the blasted account just go overdrawn and lump me with hundreds of quid missing because I don't have some stupid "overdraft limit" basically I just don't want anything to do with an overdraft.

It depends. The system may reject the payments (if they believe you are a high-risk customer), or it may allow them to go through.

It can certainly take the account overdrawn, even if there's no arranged overdraft limit on there.

Spierre21 wrote: »

Also how do NatWest deal with card fraud on a debit card if it occurs? anyone chime in?

Probably quite poorly, if it's in line with the rest of Natwest's customer service.

But they are supposed to put your account back in the position it would have been before fraud occurred - i.e. refund the fraudulent transactions as well as any charges that have been applied. It just might take a bit longer to sort out at Natwest than at other banks.

Spierre21 wrote: »

It seems I have to apply for an overdraft then set an overdraft limit... which would be 0....but from my reading that seems only way to make sure my account doesn't go overdrawn? because without a control it will just go overdrawn and I'll get unarranged overdraft fees.

No, that wouldn't control it. There's no way of stopping fraud from (potentially) taking your account overdrawn.

Spierre21 wrote: »

It seems as if they want you to get knocked into your OD accidentally or via fraud. I just don't want my account to have ability to go overdrawn at all. I don't want the ability for any money other than my own to leave my account.

I'm not sure where they show any sign of 'wanting you to get knocked into your OD accidentally' ... unauthorised overdrafts are a service that is available to you should you want it, but if you don't, then it's ultimately your responsibility to stay out of it.

They certainly don't want you to go overdrawn through fraud, as they'll just have to refund everything.

They do have monitoring systems in place that reject payments that are believed to be fraudulent.