Santander reducing my overdraft limit

eskbanker

moneyaspie2024 said:

eskbanker said:

moneyaspie2024 said:

I rang Santander today and told them that my autism makes me vulnerable and sometimes I overspend, and while I don’t regularly use the overdraft and not usually in it by more than £70, it provides me with a safety blanket, such as if there is a payment delay with my wages or benefits, or I get sick from work and need to have the overdraft to manage short term. I am also trying to reduce my other debt by making more than minimum payments every month.

Sounds like a reduced overdraft facility may actually help with overspending - obviously if there are hardship problems arising from payment delays or sickness then that's different but they may be able and willing to help if/when such issues arose?

People overspend but that dosent necessarily indicate financial mismanagement, things such as Christmas and stuff come up but people get back on track soon after, but the entire point of overdrafts is to be used for short term lending and people using them correctly are being penalised. If they reduced it to £1500 or £1000 I would have understood that, but the fact they have reduced it significantly I don’t understand.

OK, but you appeared to be implying that your overspending was undesired and a direct result of vulnerability arising from autism?  Impulsive spending has been highlighted on similar threads before, but if you were introducing your autism for a different reason then fair enough....

sammyjammy

Given the issues you speak of regarding money it seems to me that Santander's actions are in your own interest and they have acted favourably on your behalf, regardless of your feelings on the matter.

moneyaspie2024

What's difficult to understand? You don't even need a £1000 if you only occasionally use £70ish.

Anyways from your other replies, it seems no matter what others say you will feel unfairly treated.

Because autistic people have more difficulty dealing with change and can be put off track even by the smallest changes in things, you may not understand that and that’s fine, but if as a disabled customer I feel that the bank reducing my overdraft limit will have an impact or my finances without any reasonable cause and potentially put me in a financially vulnerable position, then I am entitled to take that up.

Just because a rule applies broadly, if it puts a disabled person at a disadvantage, which in my case it would because it would make me worry about direct debits not being paid ect or make it harder for me to manage my finances, then it is unfair treatment, even if it is a “policy” ! 

moneyaspie2024

sammyjammy said:

Given the issues you speak of regarding money it seems to me that Santander's actions are in your own interest and they have acted favourably on your behalf, regardless of your feelings on the matter.

What issues, because I sometimes overspend due to my condition but manage my finances perfectly fine on the whole. 

Do non autistic people not overspend from time to time or is this just ableism aimed at me, I don’t want the bank doing stuff for my own good, I’m capable of making my own decisions, and anyway they aren’t acting in my interests because they would of taken it away instantly if it was in my interests, it’s in their interest not mines ! 

born_again

moneyaspie2024 said:

I received an online letter in my online documents inbox today that Santander are going to reduce my overdraft from £2000 to £100 from 1st November. 

I rang Santander today and told them that my autism makes me vulnerable and sometimes I overspend, and while I don’t regularly use the overdraft and not usually in it by more than £70, it provides me with a safety blanket, such as if there is a payment delay with my wages or benefits, or I get sick from work and need to have the overdraft to manage short term. I am also trying to reduce my other debt by making more than minimum payments every month. 

The woman on the phone from the financial difficulties was brilliant and was very sympathetic to my situation and reviewed my account, she thought I managed it quite well and believed that the reduction in the overdraft limit was a result of the full amount not being used and nothing to do with the management of my account or my credit file, however she informed me that she would be unable to lodge an appeal with underwriting until the limit reduction has been applied. 

I understand that Santander has the right to do this, but I believe they have not taken my needs into consideration as an autistic person when making this decision and it has caused me great worry and distress, I have checked my credit files all showing healthy credit utilisation and no missed payments, and there is around 2.5k going through Santander account every month.

Santander T/C

If we allow a payment despite lack of funds, you will move into an Unarranged Overdraft but you won't incur any charges for this. We do not charge fees for allowing or refusing a payment due to lack of funds.

So reducing your O/D is going to be cheaper. 
It is also, given your condition. Covering themselves from any FCA/FOS action over not protecting vulnerable customers. 
So they are taking your condition into consideration.

moneyaspie2024

Santander T/C

If we allow a payment despite lack of funds, you will move into an Unarranged Overdraft but you won't incur any charges for this. We do not charge fees for allowing or refusing a payment due to lack of funds.

So reducing your O/D is going to be cheaper. 
It is also, given your condition. Covering themselves from any FCA/FOS action over not protecting vulnerable customers. 
So they are taking your condition into consideration.

Oh wow, they are saving me 13p in interest I racked up last month in overdraft fees, that’s totally worth it if a direct debit bounces and goes against my credit rating, for the price of 13p 🙄

moneyaspie2024

moneyaspie2024 said:

Santander T/C

If we allow a payment despite lack of funds, you will move into an Unarranged Overdraft but you won't incur any charges for this. We do not charge fees for allowing or refusing a payment due to lack of funds.

So reducing your O/D is going to be cheaper. 
It is also, given your condition. Covering themselves from any FCA/FOS action over not protecting vulnerable customers. 
So they are taking your condition into consideration.

Also just because disabled people ask for help with their finances doesn’t make them risky and any bank that engages in that sort of behaviour are engaging in discriminatory practice especially when there is no evidence of the person having either missed payments or any other signs of serious financial mismanagement, there has been vulnerable people I know of encouraged to take out DMPs and other debt solutions by people believing they “know best” simply because they have reached out for help, some of those those people have done this without fully understanding the consequences of such actions. 

Vulnerable people have different needs and the FOS haven’t exactly mandated a one size fits all approach either. 

sheramber

If you are unhappy with Santander’s decision there are other banks.

moneyaspie2024

sheramber said:

If you are unhappy with Santander’s decision there are other banks.

I like Santander as I’ve been with them since I was young and will give them the opportunity to put it right, it’s the principle of it however, people say here they are covering themselves in regards to FCA rules, but FCA rules also state that arranged overdraft limits should not be reduced if it could cause harm. 

It could cause me harm as I am a vulnerable person living out on my own, who is financially independent, and due to my condition sometimes (but not all) I find it hard to budget, removing that safety net would put me at a disadvantage, especially since all my direct debits are paid from that account and having this safety net is vital to my wellbeing. 

Inbetweeners

So between your overdraft and credit card you had £5k available to you? If you can't see the potential pitfalls for the banks with that and an impulsive spender then......

There is nothing for Santander to 'put right', it' s a perfectly reasonable business decision that happens to thousands of people every day with and without disabilities.