Halifax OD Charges - Which Regulator to Complain To?

twicebittennotshy

Isolt wrote: »

they don't appear to have actually started applying these charges yet

They came into effect earlier this month and are being applied to my account on a daily basis.

spadoosh

twicebittennotshy wrote: »

I have no problem with the charging structure itself - it is my choice to use the overdraft facility they provide - but what I feel they have done wrong is to misrepresent a complication of the charging structure as a simplification. It is this that I wish to challenge. If a television advert made such a misrepresentation I would be able to complain to the advertising standards agency - which agency is the equivalent for banking?

Not so sure on this one. Plenty of adverts out there describe a product as invigorating. Now that is a term that only the recipient can use really. What is invigorating for me probably isnt for you. I feel invigorated going for a bike ride at 6am in the middle of winter. Herbal essences just doesnt do it for me. Now i could complain about that but im sure you'd agree it would be pretty petty and futile.

Im not saying youve no right to feel aggrieved, dissapointed or frustrated but i feel the crux of the issue lies with you being charged more than the particular wording of why they are changing their price structure.

I will add im fairly sure i had documentation that stated something along the lines of their intention being to reduce the costs associated with overdrafts by encouraging customers to not be in them all the time.

You can be picky about the wording of it with a tiny chance of getting something out of it or you can do something to sort out being charged more. I know which would be my priority.

spadoosh

twicebittennotshy wrote: »

They came into effect earlier this month and are being applied to my account on a daily basis.

And thats the other point. What exactly are you calculating? They give you the amounts taken when they take it. Much better than having the charge taken out 30 days later and tipping people over limits again.

twicebittennotshy

spadoosh wrote: »

Not so sure on this one. Plenty of adverts out there describe a product as invigorating. Now that is a term that only the recipient can use really. What is invigorating for me probably isnt for you. I feel invigorated going for a bike ride at 6am in the middle of winter. Herbal essences just doesnt do it for me. Now i could complain about that but im sure you'd agree it would be pretty petty and futile.

Im not saying youve no right to feel aggrieved, dissapointed or frustrated but i feel the crux of the issue lies with you being charged more than the particular wording of why they are changing their price structure.

I will add im fairly sure i had documentation that stated something along the lines of their intention being to reduce the costs associated with overdrafts by encouraging customers to not be in them all the time.

You can be picky about the wording of it with a tiny chance of getting something out of it or you can do something to sort out being charged more. I know which would be my priority.

No, I'm not too concerned about being charged more - I'll be able to clear my overdraft in full before the end of the year and will then ask for the OD facility to be withdrawn, so I'm not too worried about the extra £15-20 it will cost me in the interim.

My entire grievance is with the statement that it's "now easier to see how much it costs when you use an overdraft".

A final example to illustrate my point:

If, under the old system, I walked into my local Halifax branch and asked what my overdraft charges for the month were going to be, they could look at my account and say "you've been overdrawn for 5 days, you don't get paid for another ten days, therefore your charges will be £15"

If I were to ask the same question now the answer would be "you have incurred £4.26 in charges for the 5 days you've been overdrawn so far, but it is impossible for me to tell you what the charges for the rest of the month will be"

Given that they have gone from being able to give a simple answer to not being able to give any answer, their statement that it's "now easier to see how much it costs when you use an overdraft" is clearly incorrect. This is my objection and this is what I'd like to complain about.

paragon909

Move bank, Close the account, Go elsewhere. You aren't being forced to stay with Halifax! What's the big deal!

spadoosh

twicebittennotshy wrote: »

No, I'm not too concerned about being charged more - I'll be able to clear my overdraft in full before the end of the year and will then ask for the OD facility to be withdrawn, so I'm not too worried about the extra £15-20 it will cost me in the interim.

My entire grievance is with the statement that it's "now easier to see how much it costs when you use an overdraft".

A final example to illustrate my point:

If, under the old system, I walked into my local Halifax branch and asked what my overdraft charges for the month were going to be, they could look at my account and say "you've been overdrawn for 5 days, you don't get paid for another ten days, therefore your charges will be £15"

If I were to ask the same question now the answer would be "you have incurred £4.26 in charges for the 5 days you've been overdrawn so far, but it is impossible for me to tell you what the charges for the rest of the month will be"

Given that they have gone from being able to give a simple answer to not being able to give any answer, their statement that it's "now easier to see how much it costs when you use an overdraft" is clearly incorrect. This is my objection and this is what I'd like to complain about.

And flipping that.

I look at my bank statements and see i got charged £1.47 for being overdrawn yesterday. On the old rates i dont see that charge until it comes out next month. Now which charge is easier for me to see?

Im being picky now about you being picky. But whats the end result. They change the letters they sent out to say, "we're changing our overdraft pricing policies because we want to and because we can". Is that better, worse or indifferent? Are you really a lot more accepting of that?

twicebittennotshy

spadoosh wrote: »

And flipping that.

I look at my bank statements and see i got charged £1.47 for being overdrawn yesterday. On the old rates i dont see that charge until it comes out next month. Now which charge is easier for me to see?

But by not being able to calculate what the charges for the remainder of the month will be, I cannot calculate how much I will need to ensure remains in my account in order to avoid the charges taking me over my arranged overdraft limit.

PeacefulWaters

which agency is the equivalent for banking?

I refer you to post number six.

spadoosh

twicebittennotshy wrote: »

But by not being able to calculate what the charges for the remainder of the month will be, I cannot calculate how much I will need to ensure remains in my account in order to avoid the charges taking me over my arranged overdraft limit.

Right ok, complain to halifax, watchdog, FCA and whoever else you see fit.

Youre welcome to complain to whoever you want, i generally prefer to make use of my time personally and i would recommend using that time at looking at ways to reduce how much you are being charged instead of some futile attempt at getting another letter sent out to every halifax customer.

TheShape

twicebittennotshy wrote: »

But by not being able to calculate what the charges for the remainder of the month will be, I cannot calculate how much I will need to ensure remains in my account in order to avoid the charges taking me over my arranged overdraft limit.

With the overdraft facility being so expensive the amount you leave in your account should surely be 'as much as possible'. Anything other than that means incurring unnecessary charges.