Under 18's and bank charges

jonesMUFCforever

catalonia13 wrote:

ejones999 wrote:

So he wrote a cheque out KNOWING he did not have funds in account to meet it......

O c'mon 'ejones', that's a little harsh - he quite obviously wrote the cheque out on the (perfectly normal) assumption it would take at least 3 working days to clear (as do most cheques) by which time his salary would be in.

I think a visit (or phone call) to the bank to explain, and apologise (grovel!) would be my first step, if they don't remove the charge then you can consider taking it further. Good luck!

Not harsh at all but a valuable lesson early on in life which hopefully will save him hundreds nay thousands of pounds throughout his lifetime.
Eric

chugalug

Maybe I'm wrong and I stand to be corrected - but I don't think these charges are enforceable. If you are under 18 you cannot enter into a contract where you could incur a debt because that debt is unenforceable. That's why you can't have credit cards, overdrafts, catalogues, tenancy agreements etc etc until you are over 18. If you get into debt you cannot be chased for it. Check it out with your local citizens advice bureau. Still take it as a lesson learnt for the future - bank charges are horrendous and can push you into debt very quickly.

Fedz

I noticed that under 16's can't have accounts with direct debit facility but 16+ can - as failed DD's are charged and can send you overdrawn - not having this facility can't.

16+ is the age and not 18+ to my understanding.

chugalug

Maybe the banks are giving these facilities to 16+ but that doesnt mean the debts are enforceable - perhaps they have got away with it in the past and will continue to do so until someone challenges it. I'm almost positive that a debt against a minor ie under 18 is not enforceable - perhaps the charges are enforceable as they were signed up to (although still a contract with a minor) but I'm almost positive the o/d isnt as this is now a debt. Anyone want to confirm or prove me wrong???

chugalug

Just checked the CAB website - under Money and Young People it states ' you can borrow money at any age but access to loans may be limited because a lender will not usually be able to take a young person to court if they break the terms of a loan. This is because you cannot usually be legally held to a contract you make when you are under 18.'

To me that reads as though the bank needs to check whether or not they can legally penalise a young person (under 18) with these charges. If the contract isn't enforceable because the OP was under 18 at the time of signing they cannot be held to have agreed to the charges the bank states they will levy if they go overdrawn. Also what would happen if the OP closes his bank account and refuses to pay the charges?? Obviously there are consequences to this course of action but an interesting question anyway!

surfcat

This seems ridiculous! Imagine the scenario:

16 year old boy to CSA: "You can't make me contribute to that baby's upbringing because I'm a minor and therefore the charges are not legally enforcable"

16 year old boy to the divorce lawyer: "That wedding certificate is not worth the paper its written on because I'm a minor"

16 year old boy to the funeral director: "Please bring me back to life, as a minor I didn't expect that joining the army might kill me"

chugalug

LOL, all true.

1) Don't know what to say!
2) Need parental agreement to marry if under 18 (in England anyway)
3) We shouldnt be sending 16/17 year olds to war to be killed anyway.

Certainly does raise some interesting questions.