Halifax bank delayed transaction updates causing overdraft charges.

mcgaz121

Deleted question answered

DCFC79

I've never moved bank accounts but it doesn't sound normal, I'd complain to the bank. In the meantime could you not open a second account elsewhere and get your wages paid in and transfer x amount to cover what u have spent.

pmduk

mcgaz121 wrote: »

I am not a fan of maths so unless i write down every transaction and keep a notepad on me, how am i supposed to stop this happening especially when this is a job the Bank is supposed to be doing.....

I'd suggest it's not the bank's job to tell you what you have spent, there will often be a delay before your bank - any bank - knows what you have spent.

If you don't want to use pen and paper there are smartphone apps that can help you track your spending.

mcgaz121

Deleted question answered

colsten

I am afraid, none of your problems are Halifax's fault, You have been/are assuming that the retailers you spend money with are instantly telling Halifax that you have spent money but they don't. Some take weeks to do so, most take days, very few take only hours, and literally none report purchases instantly. This is the same at all banks.

You have to keep records of what you spent. It is nothing to do with maths, and you certainly have not been conned. You just made wrong assumptions. Your "available balance" is the balance available after all payments the bank knows about, but they do not necessarily know about all the purchases you have made.

mcgaz121 wrote: »

Since moving to Halifax i have been charged 12 times at £10 a time as they have made me go overdrawn.

Why did you not check earlier, like after the second time you got lobbed with a £10 charge?

mcgaz121 wrote: »

My problem is Halifax tells me i have more money in my account than i actually have and they haven't taken away my transactions (12-48 hrs old Monday to friday) and neither have they separated these amounts from my available balance

only you can know how much you really spent on your card

mcgaz121 wrote: »

I am not a fan of maths so unless i write down every transaction and keep a notepad on me, how am i supposed to stop this

There is nothing wrong with knowing your maths - in fact, it is essential to know your maths these days. However, your problem is not a maths problem. You do need to remember each and every transaction you make, and the easiest is probably to jot it down somewhere (paper, electronic notepad etc ), or to use a budgeting app.

colsten

DCFC79 wrote: »

I've never moved bank accounts but it doesn't sound normal, I'd complain to the bank. In the meantime could you not open a second account elsewhere and get your wages paid in and transfer x amount to cover what u have spent.

I am sorry, but the problem the OP has has nothing to do with switching, and it is totally normal that banks do not know what you have spent on your card until the retailer tells them of a confirmed purchase.

Two current accounts are always a good idea but I can't see how a second bank account would solve the OP's issue. No bank will know instantly what the account holder has spent. Only the account holder can know.

mcgaz121

Deleted question answered

colsten

mcgaz121 wrote: »

Hi thanks for the quick reply i am in the process of complaining and moving my account was just making sure i wasn't in the wrong and if anyone else has experienced this

Thanks again

Complaining and moving account will gain you nothing. No bank will know instantly what you spent on your debit card.

You need to keep a record of your spending yourself, or if you find this too hard, use cash. Draw cash, and only spend from the cash you have.

mcgaz121

Deleted question answered

SnowTiger

mcgaz121 wrote: »

am i being conned in to charges ? does this happen to anyone else ?

It's not uncommon for transactions to take a few days to appear.

As you appear not to have had this issue before, I wonder if your previous bank account was a Basic Account or you had an online debit card?

Transactions made with an online debit card are usually authorised immediately

Transactions made with an off-line debit card can be queued by the retailer and processed later.

Perhaps the answer is to switch back to your previous bank or open a Basic Bank Account elsewhere. Basic Bank Accounts come with an online debit card.

colsten

Paypal know that they will definitely get a credit from Halifax, even if this makes you overdrawn at Halifax. They asked Halifax whether Halifax would honour a payment request if Paypal did make a payment request, and Halifax said yes. So Paypal will allow you to spend the money that they know they will get from Halifax. But they won't immediately tell Halifax that they will now let you spend the money.

There are variations to this but all of them come down to the same: you are responsible for keeping a tab on how much you spent.

You can replace Halifax with any bank - they all work the same. In an ideal world, all financial transactions would work real time but the cost of this would be so enormous, none of us would like to pay for it.