Santander - Trying to debit card and refused

Dr_Cuckoo3

Some banks charge for an "Informal overdraft request"



The charge is for considering the request and approving/refusing it

Using a debit card when insufficient funds are available can be an "Informal overdraft request"

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/500122

Archi_Bald

Gromitt wrote: »

I read that when I opened my Santander account, but I always assumed it was to do with automated payments such as DDs and SOs, where they would be referred to as "unpaid item fee".

I probably did the same - - though when you think about it, why should it just apply to automated payments? The effect on the account balance will be the same regardless of the nature of the request. You are trying to spend more than you have, and that attracts a charge.

Mancunian

Thanks Dr Cuckoo, will post what I find out

Over and out!

Mancunian

Response from Santander, secure message:-

'Message:
Good afternoon Mr xxxxx
Thank you for your email.
I can confirm that if a debit card transaction is attempted and is declined at the point of sale due to insufficient funds that you will not incur a charge as a result of this.

Please note however that the way that card payments are processed is slightly different from other transactions on your account.

When making a transaction on your card the retailer would usually send a request through to your bank to ensure the funds to cover the transaction are available before authorisation of the payment.

Some retailers however will have a shop floor limit or a transaction limit. If your transaction amount falls below this limit then the retailer will automatically authorise payment without seeking authorisation from your bank that the funds are available.

When a payment has been authorised on your card we, as your bank must honour this.
In this case fees will apply if any item is paid from your account when there are insufficient funds to cover this. The fee for a paid transaction on your account is £25 in respect of each transaction.

On those occasions where you use an Arranged or Unarranged Overdraft of £12 or less, we will ensure you do not incur any Daily Arranged Overdraft Fees, or Daily Unarranged Overdraft Fees and Paid Item Fees when using an Unarranged Overdraft.

¥¥If we decide not to make a payment which would take you over your Arranged Overdraft or into an Unarranged Overdraft by £12 or less, an Unpaid transaction Fee may still apply.

If you should use an Arranged or Unarranged Overdraft, you will have until 4pm that day to credit your account with cleared funds and move your balance back to an Arranged Overdraft or credit position¥¥

Please note this does not guarantee a payment due on the same day will be made and as noted above an Unpaid Item fee may still be applied. You should always ensure there are sufficient funds available in your account by the end of the day prior to any payments which are due.

In any statement period the maximum that you will be charged in overdraft fees is £150.
Full information of our current Overdraft fees can be found on our website https://www.santander.co.uk. Please select the tab Current accounts > Interest Rates > Fees Information.

To ensure no charges are incurred on your account, we would ask you to monitor your account throughout the month. This can be completed through Online Banking, Local Branch and Telephone Banking.
You may be interested in registering for our new Mobile Alerts Service to help you stay in control of your finances.

To apply for our new Mobile Alerts Service, you will need to register for the service firstly via your Santander Online banking.
To register for Alerts, select the Account Services tab on your Santander online banking and then select Account Alerts located on the left hand side of the screen.
Before you can register for alerts, you will have to agree to our Terms and Conditions. Once you have agreed please click on the link, Register for the alerts service.
The Set up Alerts Service page will then be displayed.
Then please select the Confirm button to proceed with signing up to the alerts. A confirmation message will then be displayed detailing that the alerts service has been set up successfully.

You will now be able to view your existing alerts and set up new alerts by selecting Alerts on your Mobile banking homepage. If you need to amend or cancel alerts, this should be completed via your Santander Online banking. A One Time Passcode will be sent to your registered mobile phone to confirm the change.
At present, you can request an alert via Mobile banking when your balance falls below or goes above a certain amount.

I hope this information is useful and if you have any other queries, please do not hesitate to contact me via Secure Messaging or my colleagues on 0845 9724724, Monday to Saturday 7am to 11pm and Sunday 8am to 10pm.
Kind Regards,
Claire
Santander Customer

Aaahhhhh point ¥¥ very sly

Will keep digging

Gromitt

The response doesn't make sense.

Some retailers however will have a shop floor limit or a transaction limit. If your transaction amount falls below this limit then the retailer will automatically authorise payment without seeking authorisation from your bank that the funds are available.

Fair enough...

When a payment has been authorised on your card we, as your bank must honour this.

Fair enough...

If we decide not to make a payment which would take you over your Arranged Overdraft or into an Unarranged Overdraft by £12 or less, an Unpaid transaction Fee may still apply.

Hold on, they just said they must honour the payment, but now they are saying they may decide not to make a payment and apply an Unpaid transaction fee?

It sounds like they just decided to join together several frequent answers, but they don't really go together very well.

meer53

I think the fee for the unpaid transaction will probably relate to standing orders and direct debits, not card transactions.

pmduk

But we'll never get the OP to divulge the legend against the charges on his statement.

DevCoder

It's too deep man, just chill out.