TSB Unplanned Overdraft Charges

hidden_sacrifice

I received a letter from TSB (only through my online banking, not in the post) to say I had used my unplanned overdraft and will be charged £5-£10 a day depending on how much I was overdrawn. I only saw this today and I was sorting out my money and these charges start from 5 days ago. I am very annoyed at this as I did not agree to an unplanned overdraft (the letter says they agreed for me to have an unplanned overdraft) and the only reason I continued to use my card for payments is that I was unaware I had not funds. Why did TSB not decline my card? If they had I would have rectified it straight away! Why did they not inform me that I had a letter? If I have to log in to see I have a letter I would have noticed the lack of funds! Are the banks just allowed to give me an unplanned overdraft and charge me?!

EDIT: I also have an account with Barclays and they always text on the day that tere isn't enough funds and give me until the end of the working day to rectify it so don't get stung by charges.

grumbler

hidden_sacrifice wrote: »

I am very annoyed at this as I did not agree to an unplanned overdraft

That's the point. The one that both you and your bank agree to is called 'planned'/agreed/...
Most current account don't guarantee to prevent you from getting overdrawn.

the only reason I continued to use my card for payments is that I was unaware I had not funds.
Why did TSB not decline my card?

Well, you must be aware and it's your responsibility. The bank may or may not decline the transactions.

Are the banks just allowed to give me an unplanned overdraft and charge me?!

Yes, they are, and you agreed to this. If you don't like this you should have shopped around for a basic account with limited functionality. Some banks even charge for doing the job for you, e.g. http://www.lloydsbank.com/current-accounts/control.asp

TSB: How can I avoid going in to an Unplanned Overdraft?

nidO

On top of the info given in grumbler's link about weekly text alerts you can also setup text alerts with TSB specifically to alert you whenever your balance goes under your agreed limit (ie £0, if you don't have an agreed overdraft) or setup custom limits of your own.
These kinds of alerts are very useful if you aren't able to monitor how much money you have available yourself for some reason.

hidden_sacrifice

Then the banks should make you aware when you sign up that it is possible to go into an unplanned overdraft (I have been with them for 4 years and was only ever told about the £10 buffer) and the services to avoid going into an unplanned overdraft shouldn't be something I have to search for, they should tell you this when you sign up - if they had I certainly would have signed up to the text messaging service as this is what I have had with Barclays.

Plus, I have found on their website that they email you when you have messages in your inbox (http://www.tsb.co.uk/legal/Paperless_Terms_and_Conditions.pdf), however, after checking mail and junk mail, this wasn't the case - if it was then I would have known I had a letter stating I have gone overdrawn so even if it is my responsibility, surely they are in the wrong here?

BMN

It isn't their responsibility to manage your account like this. They only act on your payment instructions. In effect, you requested the unplanned overdraft.

Also, in certain circumstances the bank cannot prevent an unplanned overdraft because they won't have the opportunity to decline a transaction.

grumbler

hidden_sacrifice wrote: »

Then the banks should make you aware when you sign up that it is possible to go into an unplanned overdraft

We may agree to give you an overdraft on your
current account and, as part of our overall
service, we will consider requests for an
Unplanned Overdraft or increased Unplanned
Overdraft and tell you of our decision. Often
we do grant an Unplanned Overdraft for a
short period because we believe this to be an
important aspect of the banking service which
we offer our customers. If we always refused
Unplanned Overdrafts this would in many
cases lead to inconvenience for our customers.
However, we do have options available for
those customers who would prefer to avoid
Unplanned Overdrafts. Please contact us if you
would like to discuss those options.
...
10.6
If you try to make a withdrawal or a payment out of
your account (for example, by card, direct debit or
cheque) for which you do not have available funds,
we will treat this as a request for an “Unplanned
Overdraft,” or for an increase in your Unplanned
Overdraft if you already have one. If your account
becomes overdrawn (or goes over a limit we have
agreed for a Planned Overdraft) because a payment
into the account has been returned unpaid by the
paying bank, or because we have added charges,
we will also treat this as a request for an Unplanned
Overdraft, or for an increase in your Unplanned
Overdraft if you already have one. In each case,
we will consider whether we agree to your request
taking into account your personal circumstances.
We will not be liable to you if we do not agree to
give you an Unplanned Overdraft or increased
Unplanned Overdraft.
10.7
When your account goes into Unplanned Overdraft
(but not when we increase one you already
have), we will write to tell you we have agreed to
it, but we will ignore any Unplanned Overdrafts
which are repaid by the end of that day when our
accounting systems are updated (this is not usually
before 10pm) or any overdrafts that are within the
buffer amount described above. We only provide
Unplanned Overdrafts for a limited period and we
tell you when you must repay one. Your Unplanned
Overdraft will in any case end as soon as you have
available funds again in your account (but this does
not stop you requesting a new Unplanned Overdraft
in future). Details of the charges that apply to
Unplanned Overdrafts are set out in our banking
charges guide.
10.8
Where you do not have available funds to make
a payment and we do not agree to your request for
an Unplanned Overdraft or increased Unplanned
Overdraft, you will not be able to make that payment
(and we will tell you we have declined your request).
The charges that apply are set out in our banking
charges guide but we will not charge you for small
payments that we decline that are less than the
buffer set out in the banking charges guide.
10.9
If you do not want us to treat attempted payments
as a request for an Unplanned Overdraft when
you do not have sufficient available funds, you can
choose to “opt-out” of this service, if this feature is
available on your account. You can ask us at any
time for details of how this works, including any
fees and charges that you might have to pay (such
as charges we apply when we have to refuse a
payment) if you opt out.

http://www.tsb.co.uk/personal/vm57453-banking-terms-and-conditions-september-2014.pdf

hidden_sacrifice

Evidence is in the link - September 2014 - I signed up in 2011

Plus as I said, it is also in their terms and conditions to email me when I have a notification in my inbox which they did not.

anna42hmr

hidden_sacrifice wrote: »

I received a letter from TSB (only through my online banking, not in the post) that would be because you requested on line correspondance rather than paper, not to mention in theory as you would need to wait a day or two at least to get letters in the post they've notified you quicker that way to say I had used my unplanned overdraft and will be charged £5-£10 a day depending on how much I was overdrawn amount is as stated in their terms and conditions and charges brochure, http://www.tsb.co.uk/current-accounts/banking-charges-brochure.pdf . I only saw this today and I was sorting out my money and these charges start from 5 days ago i suggest as others have advised you set up text alerts weekly and their high and low balance alerts. I am very annoyed at this as I did not agree to an unplanned overdraft (the letter says they agreed for me to have an unplanned overdraft) you did when you took out the account and accepted their terms and conditions which state:If you try to make a withdrawal or a payment out of your account (for example, by card, direct debit or cheque) for which you do not have available funds, we will treat this as a request for an “Unplanned Overdraft,” or for an increase in your Unplanned Overdraft if you already have one. and the only reason I continued to use my card for payments is that I was unaware I had not funds. Why did TSB not decline my card?debit cards are a guaranteed method of payment, which unlike direct debits etc banks have to honour them if processed, not all merchants ask the bank for authority before accepting the payment and as such when the merchant processes it the banks will process it regardless of how much is in the account, therefore if x company does not request an authorisation for payments of a certain amount the bank doesn't know it exists until it is claimed and by which time it is too late If they had I would have rectified it straight away! Why did they not inform me that I had a letter? If I have to log in to see I have a letter I would have noticed the lack of funds! Are the banks just allowed to give me an unplanned overdraft and charge me?!

EDIT: I also have an account with Barclays and they always text on the day that tere isn't enough funds and give me until the end of the working day to rectify it so don't get stung by charges.

you could call up, be nice about and they may be able to waive them as a one off. though see the comments in red as getting uppity with them about it will get you no where. It is the responsibility of the account holder to manage/monitor their own accounts and how much that is due to leave the account via debit card. You may also consider seeing if you are eligible for an authorised overdraft in future as they are cheaper.

hidden_sacrifice

anna42hmr wrote: »

you could call up, be nice about and they may be able to waive them as a one off. though see the comments in red as getting uppity with them about it will get you no where

I have looked at your comments in red - I'm not annoyed that didn't get the letter in the post as I did sign up to paperless - I'm annoyed because they did not send me an email notifying me of this letter which it says they do in their paperless terms and conditions. I am also aware of how much they would charge me depending on how much I was overdrawn - I was just stating that £5 or £10 a day is a lot of money when I haven't had to email notification as that is now a fine of between £25 and £50 and I have a second account with TSB which did have funds in so it could have easily been avoided had I just received the email notification on the day I first went overdrawn.

grumbler

hidden_sacrifice wrote: »

Evidence is in the link - September 2014 - I signed up in 2011

It's not an 'evidence'. TSB didn't exist in 2011. I am sure the T&C that you signed for were the same, but if they were different, you were informed about the changes, possibly when TSB separated from LTSB, and had an opportunity to close the account if you weren't happy.

hidden_sacrifice

Right but my point is still that they did not email me when I received the letter