Available balance not correct - HELP

Robin9

What would do if you ever used cheques? These can often not be banked for days,weeks or months.

BoGoF

OP - are you using contactless a lot?

xylophone

OP - are you using contactless a lot?

Apparently not.

I avoid paying contactless as much as possible, because I know contactless payments tend to take a few days to show on your account.

xylophone

Perhaps the OP might open a Starling Bank account, transfer all her
spare cash into it on pay day and leave her existing account for essential
DDs/SOs?

https://www.starlingbank.com/

meer53

Eltjuh wrote: »

I know you can just write it all down, and also realise direct debits etc are not included. All my direct debits come out on the 1st or within the first 4 days of the month. (obviously depending on what day the 1st falls on). And I am actually quite good at budgeting, thank you!
I just don't see the point in having a difference between your balance and your available balance, if it's not accurate.

You will only ever have an accurate balance if YOU keep a track of what you're spending. You can never predict when a debit card transaction will show up as paid. It's dangerous to assume you can. I don't think you're good a budgeting either or you wouldn't be asking this question.

daveyjp

If you are concerned about being overdrawn rather than £0 representing no money in your account try and manage it to maintain a positive balance - i.e. when your balance is £100 you have no more to spend.

That way you always have £100 buffer for any payments which don't go through immediately.

Alternatively only spend cash.

RG2015

Eltjuh wrote: »

I contacted Halifax about this and they said: it's upto the retailer how long it takes for it to come out of your account! What even is the point in having an available balance if it isn't accurate???

Can anyone share their experience with their bank with me please??? I feel like this didn't happen as frequently before, when I was with different banks.

Hi Eltjuh,

I think that this is happening more frequently but I do not think that there is much the banks can do. It is unfortunately in the hands of the retailer. I had an online payment come out 4 weeks after I ordered although this was actually 4 days after the goods were delivered.

I am afraid that I am a control freak and check that all my transactions are listed on my account or in the difference between my actual and available balance.

You have received some good advice although the tone of some of the responses is unnecessarily harsh, particularly the one saying you were terrible at budgeting. Why bother responding just to be gratuitously critical. I also dislike the use of capital letters as it looks like that they are shouting at you.

msallen

RG2015 wrote: »

You have received some good advice although the tone of some of the responses is unnecessarily harsh, particularly the one saying you were terrible at budgeting.

Probably because the OP said ...

Eltjuh wrote: »

And I am actually quite good at budgeting, thank you!

... when they patently aren't.

System

xylophone wrote: »

Apparently not.

Contactless isn't always offline - some issuers offer an online version that checks the balance and (the issuer) earmarks funds everytime.

Barclays and Nationwide are two that definitely offer it.

Having an online debit card (with or without contactless) would solve 90% of the OPs problems.

alanq

An interviewee on Radio 4's You And Yours said that all contactless payments would be ONLINE by October (2017). She was from Barclaycard but she seemed to be speaking in general. I haven't seen this announced elsewhere.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05fhkp4

4m40s in