Pending transaction caused unwarranted overdraft!!!

Beezabub7619

Please can anyone help. This is the first time this has ever happened to me.
I placed an order with amazon 16/12/23 but its turns out the cost of that order didn't leave my account until 21/12 causing me to go £90 overdrawn in my Halifax account. I assumed that once I made that payment to Amazon that money was set aside for them and that I wouldn't be able to spend it?
I have this unwarranted overdraft now and neither Amazon or Halifax will help me...how was I able to spend money that was already allocated to Amazon. Is there anything I can do?

eskbanker

Beezabub7619 said:

Is there anything I can do?

Yes, you can keep a closer eye on your account in future, but neither of the other parties involved are at fault here if you effectively spent that £90 twice - the fact that you committed to a purchase on the 16th was no guarantee that the payment would be taken on that day, and Amazon will typically (and legitimately) defer payment until shipment, without any ring-fencing of funds.

Zanderman

teaandcupcakesplease said:

@eskbanker is there any need to be so rude?

Eskbanker was perhaps blunt, but was actually replying to the OP's specific question of 'is there anything I can do'. 

To which the only sensible answer is to actually understand that when you authorise a payment it may not be immediately made, so you need to take it into account and not over-commit your bank account.

Beezabub7619 said:

Please can anyone help. This is the first time this has ever happened to me.
I placed an order with amazon 16/12/23 but its turns out the cost of that order didn't leave my account until 21/12 causing me to go £90 overdrawn in my Halifax account. I assumed that once I made that payment to Amazon that money was set aside for them and that I wouldn't be able to spend it?
I have this unwarranted overdraft now and neither Amazon or Halifax will help me...how was I able to spend money that was already allocated to Amazon. Is there anything I can do?

Neither amazon nor halifax can help as it's not their fault.
Amazon didn't debit your account immediately - which is not unusual, many suppliers won't debit your account until the order is ready/despatched/whatever.
Halifax didn't know that you'd authorised amazon to take £90 and amazon didn't know that delaying this would be a problem.
Only you knew these things, so, harsh as it may seem, the only thing you can do is, in future, to keep your own records of committed cashflow.

AmityNeon

You cannot use your bank balance as a reliable indicator of your available funds. I strongly recommend implementing a method of budgeting to manage and control your expenditure, e.g. Good Budget (free plan available). This is how you can allocate your money, to Amazon or any other payee; don't expect or rely on anyone else to do it for you. Even manually tracking expenses on a spreadsheet is better than nothing.

Accidentally entering an (un)arranged overdraft is easily remedied by crediting your account before the end of the day (exact cut-off times vary) to avoid being charged interest fees, but obviously this is only possible if you have the funds instantly accessible elsewhere.

km1500

going forward sometimes that can be quite a considerable time between spending money and it actually debiting your account and this can catch some people out.

there is no easy solution to this other than trying to remember what you have spent and keeping a running total

Zanderman

km1500 said:

going forward sometimes that can be quite a considerable time between spending money and it actually debiting your account and this can catch some people out.

there is no easy solution to this other than trying to remember what you have spent and keeping a running total

Which is, actually, quite easy.

Nebulous2

It is sometimes quoted as a benefit of using amazon that they don't debit your account until items are dispatched. Particularly if there is a long lead time for the product. 

born_again

km1500 said:

going forward sometimes that can be quite a considerable time between spending money and it actually debiting your account and this can catch some people out.

there is no easy solution to this other than trying to remember what you have spent and keeping a running total

Under Visa card regulations 6 months before you have a right to claim back, but legally 6 years. 👍

Authorisations can sit there for 14 days, but now Amazon do not request till item is dispatched. So even the OP checking their available balance, would not have highlighted the issue till Amazon request the payment.

Sadly like @eskbanker
The only way round this is keeping a close eye on the account & noticing a payment has not left..

OP could ask Halifax given a 1st offence if they will waive charges.

sausage_time

I recall the good old days when personal cheques could lurk in the system for days, weeks, or even months.  These could have a major impact on actual available balance!  Even today, there is no substitute for keeping track of what you spend so you have a proper measure of your effective balance.  Use an app, spreadsheet, or use your memory if good enough - not an option at my age.  I use an app on my phone personally which handles direct debits, regular payments, etc.

lr1277

Another potential solution is to use a credit card, but stay well away from your credit limit.

Again requires tracking of actual and pending spending if you are anywhere near your credit limit.

Another solution I use it keep track of my spending (actual and reconciled) in software. The software whilst still available for free is no longer supported. Also uses Java.

Depends on how much work you are prepared to put into keeping track of your spending.

Edited to add: Sorry didn't answer your question as to what you can do for your current situation.Hopefully this is your first offence so plead that to Halfiax.I did that once with one of my credit cards (can't remember my actual offience) and they cancelled the charge. But after that I stayed on top of matters.

If not your first offence with Halifax, then I guess you will have to suck it up. Or find a different reason to plead.

Jami74

Beezabub7619 said:

Please can anyone help. This is the first time this has ever happened to me.
I placed an order with amazon 16/12/23 but its turns out the cost of that order didn't leave my account until 21/12 causing me to go £90 overdrawn in my Halifax account. I assumed that once I made that payment to Amazon that money was set aside for them and that I wouldn't be able to spend it?
I have this unwarranted overdraft now and neither Amazon or Halifax will help me...how was I able to spend money that was already allocated to Amazon. Is there anything I can do?

If you haven't already get the overdraft paid off asap. There's probably not a lot you can do about what has already happened but going forward, make sure you either have access to the app or online banking and log in regularly to check that it is what you expect. Also, set up notifications to let you know if you are nearing a limit or going overdrawn so you can do something quickly about it.

Like you, and many others, I also learnt the hard way.