Trapped in a crazy Lloyds international banking loophole nightmare!

Four_Oaks_Bookworm

Hoping for some help here.

I work for an American company, and my expenses are reimbursed to me monthly from our head office in the USA (in GBP).   In November I received my GBP1164.00 expense payment twice (an error by the paying Bank of America, not my employer who has not been double-debited the amount).  Lloyds wrote to me to request my authority to return the duplicate payment, which I gave both in writing and on the phone.

They wrote to me again today, to tell me the there were 'insufficient funds' in the account to make that debit.  However, I'm currently only using a third of my agreed overdraft, and therefore there's plenty left in the overdraft to cover this payment.  When I queried that with them, they told me that 'it's policy not to take funds for this from an overdraft'.

I've been a Lloyds customer for nearly 40 years, and probably 70% of that time I've operated an agreed overdraft, with no issue whatsoever.  They have no problem 'taking funds' every day they charge me for the overdraft.  My finances are such that I'm only ever in + balance for a couple of days each month after payday, and then my bills put me in -balance almost straight away, so there's no window for them to take these funds from a +balance.  So I'm trapped in a loophole where I want to repay the money, but Lloyds won't take it from an overdraft, and I never have enough + in my account to cover the amount required

I have no idea what to do now.  My employer isn't interested (they only got debited the amount once, so they're not affected), I want to pay back the money that I've received in error,  so this problem is entirely of Bank of America and Lloyd's making.

Please help, I have no wish to be sued by a powerful American Bank!

eskbanker

Four_Oaks_Bookworm said:

I've been a Lloyds customer for nearly 40 years, and probably 70% of that time I've operated an agreed overdraft, with no issue whatsoever.  They have no problem 'taking funds' every day they charge me for the overdraft.  My finances are such that I'm only ever in + balance for a couple of days each month after payday, and then my bills put me in -balance almost straight away, so there's no window for them to take these funds from a +balance.

That sounds like a pretty precarious way of running your finances - obviously many have no choice other than to do so but overdrafts are intended for short-term use only and can be repayable on demand, so if you put Lloyds in a difficult position they may choose to withdraw the facility.

Do you have access to any other credit facilities, even borrowing from family or friends?  Presumably if you borrow enough to get the account into the black for long enough to repay this money, you could then dip back into the overdraft once done in order to repay the short-term loan?

flaneurs_lobster

Not directly related to your double-payment issue but I'm intrigued as to why anyone (in employment) would run a current account in overdraft for 70% of the time? 

It's an odd way to run everyday finances, and has led to the unforeseen problem that you have now.

born_again

I guess the biggest reason they won't do it, is the risk of a complaint for the extra interest incurred due to the payment being taken while in O/D
Or the risk the account holder will simply default.

Eyeful

Contact the BBC Radio 4 "Money Box" program & see if  the "Money Box effect" can work its magic in time for Christmas

Woodstok2000

Four_Oaks_Bookworm said:

Hoping for some help here.

I work for an American company, and my expenses are reimbursed to me monthly from our head office in the USA (in GBP).   In November I received my GBP1164.00 expense payment twice (an error by the paying Bank of America, not my employer who has not been double-debited the amount).  Lloyds wrote to me to request my authority to return the duplicate payment, which I gave both in writing and on the phone.

They wrote to me again today, to tell me the there were 'insufficient funds' in the account to make that debit.  However, I'm currently only using a third of my agreed overdraft, and therefore there's plenty left in the overdraft to cover this payment.  When I queried that with them, they told me that 'it's policy not to take funds for this from an overdraft'.

I've been a Lloyds customer for nearly 40 years, and probably 70% of that time I've operated an agreed overdraft, with no issue whatsoever.  They have no problem 'taking funds' every day they charge me for the overdraft.  My finances are such that I'm only ever in + balance for a couple of days each month after payday, and then my bills put me in -balance almost straight away, so there's no window for them to take these funds from a +balance.  So I'm trapped in a loophole where I want to repay the money, but Lloyds won't take it from an overdraft, and I never have enough + in my account to cover the amount required

I have no idea what to do now.  My employer isn't interested (they only got debited the amount once, so they're not affected), I want to pay back the money that I've received in error,  so this problem is entirely of Bank of America and Lloyd's making.

Please help, I have no wish to be sued by a powerful American Bank!

On the one hand I would be very tempted to write to Lloyds advising them you've given them the authorisation and have sufficient money in your overdraft facility, so the rest is up to them...I very much doubt BoA would be that bothered about an amount like this, but you never know, and as others have said, the threat of withdrawing the overdraft facility is a potential concern.

As a possible solution, could you open another standard current account (either with lloyds or elsewhere) and transfer the money from your overdraft to that account.  Then you could give Lloyds authorisation to take the payment from that account, leaving the balance at 0 (and your main account back where it was originally)?

BethRobinson

flaneurs_lobster said:

Not directly related to your double-payment issue but I'm intrigued as to why anyone (in employment) would run a current account in overdraft for 70% of the time? 

It's an odd way to run everyday finances, and has led to the unforeseen problem that you have now.

You have no idea of their circumstances.

flaneurs_lobster

BethRobinson said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

Not directly related to your double-payment issue but I'm intrigued as to why anyone (in employment) would run a current account in overdraft for 70% of the time? 

It's an odd way to run everyday finances, and has led to the unforeseen problem that you have now.

You have no idea of their circumstances.

Indeed, just hoping that OP might want to share why this odd situation exists, given that this forum is anonymous and they have already shared the consequence of such an arrangement.

Or they can just tell me to !!!!!! off and mind my own business.

Four_Oaks_Bookworm

flaneurs_lobster said:

BethRobinson said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

Not directly related to your double-payment issue but I'm intrigued as to why anyone (in employment) would run a current account in overdraft for 70% of the time? 

It's an odd way to run everyday finances, and has led to the unforeseen problem that you have now.

You have no idea of their circumstances.

Indeed, just hoping that OP might want to share why this odd situation exists, given that this forum is anonymous and they have already shared the consequence of such an arrangement.

Or they can just tell me to !!!!!! off and mind my own business.

Exactly that. Everyone's financial situation is different. I didn't post here to be judged on my personal finances, I posted to get constructive advice on this particular issue alone. Thank you however to those who have made constructive suggestions.

Four_Oaks_Bookworm

born_again said:

I guess the biggest reason they won't do it, is the risk of a complaint for the extra interest incurred due to the payment being taken while in O/D
Or the risk the account holder will simply default.

I would have thought that would have been over-ridden by my written and verbal consent to take the money?  

Four_Oaks_Bookworm

BethRobinson said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

Not directly related to your double-payment issue but I'm intrigued as to why anyone (in employment) would run a current account in overdraft for 70% of the time? 

It's an odd way to run everyday finances, and has led to the unforeseen problem that you have now.

You have no idea of their circumstances.

Your first question is irrelevant and lacks understanding that not everyone has the same liquidity situation

Your second point is factually incorrect: the fact that I have and operate an overdraft has nothing to do with Lloyds' unwillingness to take back funds they've credited to me as a result of (not my) error, and has not 'led' to this problem