Barclays new and simpler overdraft fees - WATCH OUT!

lewania

Dear All
I have received a letter stating that my "lovely" bank is introducing the new, simpler overdraft charges. What you actually do is misinforming all loyal clients that in fact they are increasing the fees - a lot! I do not have to say that I am furious :mad: at how this was handled and how they are are trying to earn more on overdrafts.

I used Barclays' own overdraft calculator page to calculate my overdraft as an example. Me and my husband unfortunately need to use overdraft monthly. We usually end up about £150 below zero for a week. But I have done the calculations on the extreme situation when we would be £300 below zero for 14 days. Their own calculator says that I will be charged the figures below: Total cost of borrowing: £2.05, Average daily cost: £0.15, Interest rate: 19.3%. According to their "simpler", new and "improved" system for the same amount of money and time I will be charged a staggering 75p per day!!!! £10.50 in total!!! :eek: ARE THEY SERIOUS? The note on the letter says that if my use the account the same way, the new changes will cost us about the same or (or!!!) about £5 more PER MONTH!!!

I have not thought about changing a bank for a long time, but it might possibly be the time to...

ColdIron

lewania wrote: »

I will be charged a staggering 75p per day!!!!

So about half the price of a cheap coffee? Bargain

starryshell

I saw this on TV this morning, I'm thinking about switching banks as a result. I frequently find myself in the same situation as you - in overdraft for £75 - £150 for about a week. :-/

BillJones

lewania wrote: »

Me and my husband unfortunately need to use overdraft monthly.

You don't need to, you choose to. I know that people like to believe that they had no choices, but look back over the last ten years, is there no way you could have cut back fifteen pounds a year, 30p per week? If you had, you'd not be going overdrawn, not be paying these fees.

I understand why you might want to move banks, but you are treating the symptoms of your problems, not the cause. If you can't cut back enough to stay in credit, what are you going to do when an emergency comes up?

Your route to sorting out your money problems really does start with admitting that your problems came from you, not from your bank. They've been carrying you with cheap debt so far. They don't want to do it any longer.

Herbalus

These new overdraft fees are an affront to the right to have an overdraft and use it with impunity. I don't believe that this right exists, but some people do. I hope that these new fees cause a great many people to realise that they can switch to cheaper fees elsewhere if they continue to believe in the right to a cheap (in subjective and relative terms, of course ) overdraft, or better, come to determine that they will no longer use an overdraft and get their finances into a good shape where they won't need one.

ricky_v

lewania wrote: »

Dear All
We usually end up about £150 below zero for a week.

Switch to First Direct as the first £250 is free.

YorkshireBoy

starryshell wrote: »

I saw this on TV this morning, I'm thinking about switching banks as a result. I frequently find myself in the same situation as you - in overdraft for £75 - £150 for about a week. :-/

Well don't think about switching to Halifax, Santander, or Nationwide FlexDirect because they all charge daily fees.

And avoid Lloyds, TSB, NatWest, and RBS who all charge a monthly fee on top of debit interest.

Doesn't leave an awful lot left does it? And how long before the others follow suit?

Better to do as suggested above and address the root cause, not the symptoms.

Bloomberg

BillJones wrote: »

You don't need to, you choose to. I know that people like to believe that they had no choices, but look back over the last ten years, is there no way you could have cut back fifteen pounds a year, 30p per week? If you had, you'd not be going overdrawn, not be paying these fees.

I understand why you might want to move banks, but you are treating the symptoms of your problems, not the cause. If you can't cut back enough to stay in credit, what are you going to do when an emergency comes up?

Your route to sorting out your money problems really does start with admitting that your problems came from you, not from your bank. They've been carrying you with cheap debt so far. They don't want to do it any longer.

I think that you are bang on the money with your post. People are up in arms about overdraft charges increasing, what will happen to them when the Bank of England base rate starts to rise?

leeroy2009

yep cut the expensive phone contracts out, the lurpack butter and the andrex toilet rolls and the expensive sky tv packages and the expensive car that's probably also on tick sitting on the drive - it really is these things that take peoples money - infact stay out of asda Tesco etc as much as possible!

Herbalus

leeroy2009 wrote: »

yep cut the expensive phone contracts out, the lurpack butter and the andrex toilet rolls and the expensive sky tv packages and the expensive car that's probably also on tick sitting on the drive - it really is these things that take peoples money - infact stay out of asda Tesco etc as much as possible!

A more helpful way of putting this is: "have a good hard look at your finances and see where you can cut your expenditure. It might be difficult, but there are ways to make savings"

Telling people to cut expensive phone contracts when most are 24 month is not particularly helpful, as most operators will charge the rest of the contract as a cancellation fee.

Asda is one of the cheapest supermarkets out there, and not everybody has access to Aldi and Lidl.

Oh, and don't cut out the Andrex....it's just so so smooth and irresistibly silky soft!!!

leeroy2009

was referring to not taking expensive ones out in the first place, after all 24 months @ £30 for example? £720, who in the right mind would be 2 laptops every 2 years because that's what your doing with these phone contracts, and asda toilet roll is fine for my behinde:rotfl: