Incorrect bank balance

Boomfloom

I usually shop in Tesco. Very often it takes three days for the money I spent to come off my available balance. It means that sometimes I think (and my available balance tells me) I have more money than I actually do.

I contacted my bank about it and they say it's Tesco's fault - they have a floor limit so they do not need to ask the bank for authorisation up to a certain amount.

I contacted Tesco about it and they say it's the bank's fault because their systems are not fast enough. At the same time they say they did not have similar complaints.

So with one company blaming the other, I am still the one suffering and losing track of my money and risking ending up overdrawn. I am sure that if I spent a fortune on groceries and closed my bank account on the way back home, they would soon enough take my complaint seriously.

Before you say it - I do not want to use cash for many reasons. Also, I am not always able to update my budget immediately.

Did something similar happen to any of you? What did you do about it?

Hazzanet

Boomfloom wrote: »

I usually shop in Tesco. Very often it takes three days for the money I spent to come off my available balance. It means that sometimes I think (and my available balance tells me) I have more money than I actually do.

I contacted my bank about it and they say it's Tesco's fault - they have a floor limit so they do not need to ask the bank for authorisation up to a certain amount.

I contacted Tesco about it and they say it's the bank's fault because their systems are not fast enough. At the same time they say they did not have similar complaints.

Almost all banks exhibit this type of behaviour with the balances. The transactions need to go through several layers of processing before they hit your bank so it's not always possible to show them immediately, especially if the retailer has a floor limit.

Boomfloom wrote: »

So with one company blaming the other, I am still the one suffering and losing track of my money and risking ending up overdrawn.

You sound as though you need to try to become more organised.

Boomfloom wrote: »

I am sure that if I spent a fortune on groceries and closed my bank account on the way back home, they would soon enough take my complaint seriously.

That would be silly.

Boomfloom wrote: »

Before you say it - I do not want to use cash for many reasons. Also, I am not always able to update my budget immediately.

So I walk out of the house and I know that in my bank I have £100 to spend. I know this because I personally track my balance, and don't rely on the bank to keep track of it. I go to the cashpoint and take out £20, so I now have £80 to spend. I use my debit card in Wilko and spend £15, so I now have £65 to spend and so on. My bank balance, my responsibility.

Boomfloom wrote: »

Did something similar happen to any of you?

All the time.

Boomfloom wrote: »

What did you do about it?

Boomfloom

Hazzanet, I really do not appreciate your sarcasm. My asking for advice in no way entitles you to comment on my character. You are belittling me and my problem and it is not acceptable.

You do not know my situation and I will not explain it to a stranger on a public forum, so please just take my word for it - I cannot use cash and I cannot always keep the spreadsheet updated as I pointed out in my original post.

I always pay with my card and the problem is only with Tesco so it has nothing to do with layers of processing or anything of the sort. My bank gives them an authorisation code so presumably they should know how much they authorised it for.

I do take responsibility for my bank balance - if I have £100 and spend £200, then I am willingly going into an overdraft. If my bank balance says I have £100, I spent £50 and then it turns out that actually I only had a tenner left so I am £40 overdrawn, then it is their fault for misleading me.

Just look at any definition of an available balance is. Eg: "it includes your up to date balance, plus any overdraft you're allowed and takes account of any uncleared cheques or pending payments, such as debit card transactions (POS) coming out (items you have bought recently which are not yet showing on your statement)." My available balance does not take into account pending debit card transactions with Tesco so they are not fulfilling their duty but are trying to blame Tesco for it whereas Tesco blames the bank.

tizerbelle

You may not appreciate Hazzanet's response but it is the response you are likely to get from pretty much everyone.

It is your responsibility to manage your money regardless of how long it takes payments to be cleared or what the available balance says.

You need to find a way of keeping track of money you have spent that has not cleared. Not having time to update a spreadsheet is your problem, not the banks and not tescos. If you forget what you've spent then you need to ensure you keep a running tally in a little notepad for example that you update before you leave the store and then spend according to the balance on your tally - not the balance in your bank account.

Herbalus

Boomfloom wrote: »

I do take responsibility for my bank balance .... If my bank balance says I have £100, I spent £50 and then it turns out that actually I only had a tenner left so I am £40 overdrawn, then it is their fault for misleading me.

These two statements oppose each other. Firstly you say you're responsible for the balance, and then that you implicitly trust the available balance given to you by the bank whilst knowing that the available balance is not always a true reflection. I don't think that's taking responsibility unfortunately. If you know the available balance is flawed, then it is your responsibility to manage it, and trusting a flawed mechanism isn't responsible.

The bank can't include transactions it has no knowledge of, and you will not force Tesco to process transactions more quickly.

You have a few options:
1) Pen and paper/mobile phone. Write down how much you have, and deduct how much you spend when you spend it. This will be an accurate available balance to the minute.

2) Sellotape your Tesco receipts to your debit card so that you know you should deduct these manually as they are not included in the available balance given by your bank.

3) Point 2 is tongue in cheek, so option 1 is probably best. But you get the point. If you know that Tesco and available balance is an issue, you are aware of it enough to take payments to Tesco into consideration.

4) You could get a credit card just for Tesco, and buy whatever you normally buy there with it, putting the money you spend aside from your bank when you shop at Tesco, and knowing you'll have this bill to pay on the x of each month, and the money to pay for it.

5) If you can cut down on expenses/increase income for a few weeks/months, you'll build up a 'buffer' of say £200 that will prevent you going overdrawn. If you dip below £200 because of kafuffles like you're currently having with Tesco, it will only be into your buffer and not your real overdraft.

grumbler

Boomfloom wrote: »

..I cannot use cash and I cannot always keep the spreadsheet updated as I pointed out in my original post. ...

Stop balancing near £0 then. Build some buffer in you account and keep maintaining the balance, say, above £250, not above £0. Alternatively get an account with a free overdraft. There aren't many around, but FD do offer free £250.
Or get a credit card for spending as suggested above, but this can be expensive if you overspend and don't have money to pay the balance in full.

karlie88

Boomfloom wrote: »

I usually shop in Tesco. Very often it takes three days for the money I spent to come off my available balance. It means that sometimes I think (and my available balance tells me) I have more money than I actually do.

I contacted my bank about it and they say it's Tesco's fault - they have a floor limit so they do not need to ask the bank for authorisation up to a certain amount.

I contacted Tesco about it and they say it's the bank's fault because their systems are not fast enough. At the same time they say they did not have similar complaints.

So with one company blaming the other, I am still the one suffering and losing track of my money and risking ending up overdrawn. I am sure that if I spent a fortune on groceries and closed my bank account on the way back home, they would soon enough take my complaint seriously.

Before you say it - I do not want to use cash for many reasons. Also, I am not always able to update my budget immediately.

Did something similar happen to any of you? What did you do about it?

I use a credit card and its associated online account/phone app.

If I spend £6.66 in ANY shop, ANY online transaction etc. then it appears as a pending transaction on my credit card account within seconds and my available balance updates immediately too.

Of course, I then get a statement stating how much I owe on my credit card and I pay it IN FULL.

Simples.

Oh, I also earn cashback when spending on my credit card.

Double simples.

grumbler

karlie88 wrote: »

Simples.

I know for sure that, say, Aldi payments can take 1-2 days to get processed before your bank knows about them. Generally retailers have up to 6 months to process transactions, so no app can give you 100% correct information unless you enter your spent amounts manually.

karlie88

grumbler wrote: »

I know for sure that, say, Aldi payments can take 1-2 days to get processed before your bank knows about them. Generally retailers have up to 6 months to process transactions, so no app can give you 100% correct information unless you enter your spent amounts manually.

I guess I'm lucky in the sense that my local Aldi accepts credit cards; so balances do appear immediately for me.

pjread

Just keep a buffer balance so the worst case changes from "into overdraft, get hit for fees, etc" to "Ah darn, I thought I had a bit more than that"...

Using a CC/settling in full is a good call too.

Boomfloom

If I spend £6.66 in ANY shop, ANY online transaction etc. then it appears as a pending transaction on my credit card account within seconds and my available balance updates immediately too.

This is just what I am expecting of my debit card...