Overdraft whilst switching..

djpailo

Okay, I mistakenly used a Nationwide FlexDirect account which had £1 on it to pay for £3 lunch. :mad::mad: I quickly got a friend to put £50 on it and went to the Branch who said "I hadn't been charged, don't worry" She then said I had £51 on it??

I did not (and still don't) have an arranged overdraft.

A read through their charges say that for things under £10, I would be charged 50p, but in some other places it suggests you could be charged £5 per transaction.

I am also in the process of having the account switched (hasn't started yet, I need to call FirstDirect to confirm). So, what will happen to the charges? I intend to wait til tomorrow to see if anything is deducted, but after that, is everything okay to switch? My concerns are mainly that I don't want to have debt and owe Nationwide any money, nor do I want to blemish my credit score rating.

PS: The lunch was crap as well!

colsten

The retailer you bought the lunch from probably hasn't reported the purchase to Nationwide yet. That's totally normal for small purchase amounts.

The money will come out in the next few days, and if your balance remains £51 until then, you won't go overdrawn.

djpailo

colsten wrote: »

The retailer you bought the lunch from probably hasn't reported the purchase to Nationwide yet. That's totally normal for small purchase amounts.

The money will come out in the next few days, and if your balance remains £51 until then, you won't go overdrawn.

I've checked my statement and it just says that my current and available balance is £51.

So what does this mean? The lunch cost £3.04, so I should have an available balance of £47.96 .

I also got a receipt from the retailer which I kept. I paid by contactless.

grumbler

djpailo wrote: »

So what does this mean?

This means that for most cards ('offline') not all transactions are processed by retailers in real time (online). Generally, they have up to 6 months to process a transaction you authorised.

djpailo

grumbler wrote: »

This means that not all transactions are processed by retailer in real time (online). Generally, they have up to 6 months to process a transaction you authorised.

So what should I do? Is it safe to cotninue the switch and any potential charges taken off my balance in the mean time?

grumbler

It's safe. If the transaction is processed after the switch, the money will be taken from the new account.

djpailo

grumbler wrote: »

It's safe. If the transaction is processed after the switch, the money will be taken from the new account.

Thanks, so just to be clear, "online" is the system where you enter the PIN and "offline" is where you sign for the payment and and don't enter a PIN. But from then on, which method is processed faster? And does that mean, you can only be classed as "overdrawn", once the money has processed? So technically, I haven't even been overdrawn yet?

Also, what does contactless come under as, I would assume "offline" but can't find a definitive answer.

grumbler

PIN has nothing to do with online/offline. It gets checked by your card's chip.
If a card is 'online', normally a transaction has to be approved by your bank in real time. Contactless transactions are often 'offline', but I don't know if an 'online' card can be contactless.
Some places, e.g. 'pay-at-pump' accept only 'offline' cards.
Yes, account is overdrawn only if the balance (not even the 'available' one) gets negative.

djpailo

grumbler wrote: »

PIN has nothing to do with online/offline. It gets checked by your card's chip.
If a card is 'online', normally a transaction has to be approved by your bank in real time. Contactless transactions are often 'offline', but I don't know if an 'online' card can be contactless.
Some places, e.g. 'pay-at-pump' accept only 'offline' cards.
Yes, account is overdrawn only if the balance (not even the 'available' one) gets negative.

I've had a look at Nationwide FAQ's:
http://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/payments-and-transfers/contactless/frequently-asked-questions#~

Sadly, it doesn't go into detail whether its offline or online. Anyhow, thanks for your help. I'm glad my credit score is intact :beer:

Kernel_Sanders

You are posting on the www without knowing what 'online' means??

djpailo

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

You are posting on the www without knowing what 'online' means??

Not really sure what the internet has to do with debit transactions. As stated by the other user, one is performed in real-time, the other is not. One word can have several meanings.