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Nationwide charges on overdraft!
JennyP
Posts: 1,067 Forumite
Forgive me if this is covered elsewhere but I feel a bit out of date with what the latest situation is on bank charges.
On 23 Jan, I went £34 over my agreed overdraft limit on my Nationwide Flexaccount. That same day I paid in a cheque for £924 which rectified the situation.
I've been charged £75 in charges for various paid / unpaid transaction fees. I can't believe it's so much.
Have I grounds to complain?
Also the reason I went overdrawn was that I'd paid a company by card over the phone for a service. I won't go into details but I had to cancel part of the service, with their agreement, and they said they'd issue a refund. I assumed this would be by card but later received a cheque. This was the cheque for £924. I went overdrawn because I'd wrongly assumed that they'd refunded the money back into my account through the card service since that was the method I'd paid by. So I hadn't transferred the money from my savings account (also with Nationwide) to cover the payment. I thought a company had to issue refunds through the same method you'd paid by but maybe I'm wrong.
Perhaps I need to put this down to my own stupidity / lack of being organised but £75 seems a hefty amount to pay for exceeding an overdraft by £34 for a period of less than 24 hours!
On 23 Jan, I went £34 over my agreed overdraft limit on my Nationwide Flexaccount. That same day I paid in a cheque for £924 which rectified the situation.
I've been charged £75 in charges for various paid / unpaid transaction fees. I can't believe it's so much.
Have I grounds to complain?
Also the reason I went overdrawn was that I'd paid a company by card over the phone for a service. I won't go into details but I had to cancel part of the service, with their agreement, and they said they'd issue a refund. I assumed this would be by card but later received a cheque. This was the cheque for £924. I went overdrawn because I'd wrongly assumed that they'd refunded the money back into my account through the card service since that was the method I'd paid by. So I hadn't transferred the money from my savings account (also with Nationwide) to cover the payment. I thought a company had to issue refunds through the same method you'd paid by but maybe I'm wrong.
Perhaps I need to put this down to my own stupidity / lack of being organised but £75 seems a hefty amount to pay for exceeding an overdraft by £34 for a period of less than 24 hours!
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Comments
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Not really Nationwide's fault.I assumed
More grounds to explain the mix up and ask nicely if they'll waive all charges on this occasion.Have I grounds to complain?
I think it's a lot. But if they've charged you in line with their published tariff they haven't done anything wrong.Perhaps I need to put this down to my own stupidity / lack of being organised but £75 seems a hefty amount to pay for exceeding an overdraft by £34 for a period of less than 24 hours!
When the likes of Halifax decided to charge £5 for a similar offence some said it was a rip-off.0 -
How can a cheque, which takes 2 working days (not including the day of deposit) to offset any debit interest according to 2-4-6 clearing, "rectify" the situation?On 23 Jan, I went £34 over my agreed overdraft limit on my Nationwide Flexaccount. That same day I paid in a cheque for £924 which rectified the situation.
You were asking them to make payments from your account whilst you had no cleared funds available. It's reasonable that a) they can decide whether or not to honour your request for an informal overdraft facility/extend such an existing facility, and b) that they should charge for this as per their published tariff for such services...isn't it?I've been charged £75 in charges for various paid / unpaid transaction fees. I can't believe it's so much.0 -
Just asking for advice - not judgment!0
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From my son's experience if this is the first time you have done this and you complain they usually waive the fees.
Give them a call.
Good luck.
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solentsusie wrote: »......if this is the first time you have done this and you complain they usually waive the fees.
Complaining (and getting stroppy) is probably not a good idea.
The OP should phone the bank, apologetic and nice as pie, "all my fault, I forgot the time it takes for a cheque to clear", and the chances are pretty good that the bank will wave the charges (presuming there is no history of previously refunded charges).0 -
bengal-stripe wrote: »Complaining (and getting stroppy) is probably not a good idea.
The OP should phone the bank, apologetic and nice as pie, "all my fault, I forgot the time it takes for a cheque to clear", and the chances are pretty good that the bank will wave the charges (presuming there is no history of previously refunded charges).
As you say, it depends on how you "complain".0 -
YorkshireBoy wrote: »How can a cheque, which takes 2 working days (not including the day of deposit) to offset any debit interest according to 2-4-6 clearing, "rectify" the situation?You were asking them to make payments from your account whilst you had no cleared funds available. It's reasonable that a) they can decide whether or not to honour your request for an informal overdraft facility/extend such an existing facility, and b) that they should charge for this as per their published tariff for such services...isn't it?
My bank (Halifax) doesn't charge me for overdraft if the balance (including cheque) is in credit.
I would talk to Nationwide, explain your reasoning and see what they say. If it is clearly obvious you have made an error they may refund/waive the fees.
If not switch to another bank and get a cash incentive to compensate for the ridiculous bank charges they have done you for.0 -
My bank (Halifax) doesn't charge me for overdraft if the balance (including cheque) is in credit.
I would talk to Nationwide, explain your reasoning and see what they say. If it is clearly obvious you have made an error they may refund/waive the fees.
If not switch to another bank and get a cash incentive to compensate for the ridiculous bank charges they have done you for.
Nationwide accounts are pretty clear. It tells you your actual balance and you available balance. The available balance is what you can use. For example if you had £50 in the bank and a £200 overdraft facility your available balance is £250.
If your balance is NIL and you had paid a cheque in that had not cleared for £50 but you had a £200 overdraft your available balance would be £200 UNTIL the cheque clears. It would then become £250 available balance once the cheque had cleared.
Not unreasonable as this is standard bank practise.
As the OP thought that the credit would be paid directly back to the bank account and not by a cheque they could use this as part of the argument for asking the bank to waive the charges on this occasion. Nationwide a pretty reasonable as long as you do not try this on multiple occasions.0 -
solentsusie wrote: »Nationwide accounts are pretty clear. It tells you your actual balance and you available balance. The available balance is what you can use. For example if you had £50 in the bank and a £200 overdraft facility your available balance is £250.
If your balance is NIL and you had paid a cheque in that had not cleared for £50 but you had a £200 overdraft your available balance would be £200 UNTIL the cheque clears. It would then become £250 available balance once the cheque had cleared.
Not unreasonable as this is standard bank practise.
As the OP thought that the credit would be paid directly back to the bank account and not by a cheque they could use this as part of the argument for asking the bank to waive the charges on this occasion. Nationwide a pretty reasonable as long as you do not try this on multiple occasions.
not quite, If you have an overdraft facilty and £50 in your account your available balance would be £50
If you go into your overdraft your available balance shows a minus amount0
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