HSBC overdraft charge

lucypeach

We knew they would try to claw back some of the money from us relaiming our bank charges. This is just a little bit extra for them. It took one phone call for me to get the charge withdrawn. I also complained about being put through to India (my pet hate). When I spoke to the Indian call centre they told me they could not refund the charge, they read from some elaborate speach pre-prepared I presume. I just kept saying over and over 'put me through to my branch'. After about 5 minutes they gave up and put me through to my local branch who very quickly appologised for the fee and said they would kindly refund it but that I will be charged next year. I told them that I would close my account down in a year then and hung up. The charge was withdrawn and I've since had a call from the bank to see if I'm happy - now that hasn't ever happened to me before!! Sneaky little devils!

travellingaussie

Thanks guys, calling them is a nightmare, I had to call them previously when they moved money from my regular account to my credit card (hundreds) for no reason and then refunded it back in tiny amounts rather then the full amount after I called them to ask what the hell they were doing in the first place. I hung up that many times on the call centre as it literally was driving me insane explaining the same thing over and over again in simple terms and just getting put on hold and them coming back with completely irrelevant and unrelated responses! I didn't realise you could ask to get put through to a branch but may try that, I think if i called that call centre again i'd go crazy! I've applied for a new bank account with another bank this evening anyway as I've had it with this bank after only 2 years! Also transferring my credit card etc to another one as well. Had a bit of a look around and have come up with Alliance-Leicester for a regular account and capital one bank for credit cards - much better deals by the looks of them anyway and I just want somewhere to put my salary and a credit card to use during the month, i pay everything off end of month usually anyway and always keep track of my money and accounts so don't take kindly to being mucked around with my money by HSBC.

travellingaussie

I've never had any trouble with my banks in Australia for the 28 years i lived there and there is none of this mucking about as far as I know either, don't know any mates either who have this kind of trouble back there is a nightmare over here!

lucypeach

Oh dear, yes they are hard to deal with over here. The girls in the office think its funny when I call the bank, if I get the call centre then sometimes I dont talk to them, I just sing over and over 'put me through to my branch' like a crazy woman until they either put me through or have me sectioned! Sometimes its fun to have a laugh during a tough situation eh?!

travellingaussie

Well, the bank have advised me now that it is an "informal overdraft charge" because i went over my overdraft in March. I had a look at my statement and I did for £70 for a total of 2 days! The charge is absolutely ridiculous. It was actually a transaction online that I had returned but they took the money out and then refunded it back so not one I expected to be taken out. Really p***ed off now. I told them I thought this was ridiculous and waiting on their email back but otherwise they can stick it as far as I'm concerned just waiting on this new account paperwork to come through and then I'm gone! I can not believe they get away with charges like this - in Australian dollars the £25 charge is nearly $60 which is extortionate. I'd rather not have an overdraft and have them decline any transactions that would put my bank it arrears or take me over my limit which is what they would do back home.

ldavies_3

This is an interesting one really.. IMO, banking is a service which should to be paid for and until the day comes when we have to pay for day to day accounts then its fair to charge for services ie overdrafts ( someone has to cough up for us going overdrawn etc)

They are big businesses and not charities. Its due to these sort of fees that they are able to, on the whole, offer competative products to the marketplace.

As it happens, I do work for a bank and occasionally, see peed off customers who are unhappy with the charging structure. Im sure im right in saying that all banks are very similar in their processes and each have strengths and weaknesses so by changing banks potentially only shifts one problem for another.

travellingaussie

I would disagree. The bank is providing me a service and I am providing them with a service also by giving them my money to utilise.

A limit to an account is a limit, they should not allow you to go over if it is so costly for themselves and as I said, in Australia if I had $50 left in an account then I have $50 left in my account I can not make a $60 transaction. If I applied to have an overdraft there I believe you pay for the privilage but it is something which you apply for and are aware of the fees then if an overdraft is set up for $1000 that is what you have, and you can not make a transaction for $1050. Quite simple. Avoids any issues and debt.

The bank should also notify you if a transaction would put you over and they approve because in essence I have never asked to be allowed to spend any more then my overdraft so they could allow my account to go into arrears by thousands before I would know anything about it if they manage it in the way they are. I am happy to have a limit and have no reason financially to go over an overdraft. If they agree to a limit then they should also stick to it with their customers. They are utilising the overdraft as a way to make money on the sly from their customers. If I had gone to make a transaction and it was declined because of my overdraft then that would be fine I would use another card. In letting someone go over their overdraft tell me why they would set an overdraft limit, if you let someone go over and charge them for it then you must think them financially sound and should have provided a better overdraft limit in the first place.

By changing banks I am taking my custom and my money to another provider and hopefully will be treated better in that like a shop some shops realise the value of customer and of their customers returning repeatedly (ie staying with the bank) versus other shops that don't think ahead and over charge meaning I would not return and thus they lose more in the long run not to mention the a bad name when the person involved is asked about their service (ie in this case change banks).

£25 is more then I would pay if i made the transaction on my credit card so they should decline anything over someones limit - that is what a limit is, letting someone go over the limit contradicts the purpose of applying and having a limit - and then the person would find another means to pay or would go without.

ShelfStacker_3

travellingaussie wrote: »

A limit to an account is a limit, they should not allow you to go over if it is so costly for themselves

Doesn't quite work that way, not least because certain things cannot be pre-authorised by the bank before they're processed or just aren't pre-authorised. For example, Maestro transactions under a certain amount aren't authorised online, they just basically wing it and see what happens, and standing orders are almost always paid because YOU have requested that YOU pay it. It's not the bank's job to check up on you and manage your finances for you, that risk lies with you.

The bank should also notify you if a transaction would put you over and they approve because in essence I have never asked to be allowed to spend any more then my overdraft so they could allow my account to go into arrears by thousands before I would know anything about it

Also wrong. Debit card payments, cheques, standing orders, direct debits are all a request for payment and treated as a request for an overdraft. Read your T&Cs if you don't believe me. You HAVE asked to spend more than your overdraft, and again the bank isn't required to nanny you. If it really annoys you that much go and get a Solo/Visa Electron card, bin your cheque book and pay for everything over the counter with bank giro slips - no chance then!

If they agree to a limit then they should also stick to it with their customers.

No, the customers should stick to the limit they're given.

travellingaussie

Well, really, depends on how you view a bank's job. I would certainly not call it nannying to expect not to go over a limit...it is very simple to set a limit in any software to disallow an account to go beyond it and usually with a bank account that limit would be your available balance. Then an overdraft is an agreed amount to which you could go over - thus your limit would be your account available balance plus overdraft amount. Very simply any transactions over this amount should be declined. I never said anything about the bank checking finances - however you will find that they seem to when they can get a charge like this from you - then again also they seems to if you apply for a mortgage or a loan or an overdraft - so again? Seems like it may be abit of their job to check hey?

They are not doing anyone a favour it is a service for money that they are providing and I dont expect to be ripped off or as a customer, if they had good business sense waiving £25 for the sake of continued income and custom would seem to be the better option.

I don't consider direct debits, standing orders etc requests for overdrafts they are completely different items thus they are not called overdrafts.

What is the difference with a solo visa / electron card? What are bank giros (old fashioned?) and as for cheque book why would I bin any of these? I have excellent finances and have plenty of cards available to me as a professional to utilise, all of which are clear and paid off including company ones, so the fact remains that I am a very good customer for the bank to have and to lose. There is no need for me to bin anything or change anything other then my bank for being stupid and petty. As for the charge you are talking two days, if the transaction had simply not gone through i would have put it on another card which is what happens in other countries - its called "your card is declined due to insufficient funds". Its also about a bank looking out for their customers and incorporating this kind of thing - why would someone pay for a service to a company that at any chance will charge fees and thus appear to be out to take customers for a ride at any chance they get.

travellingaussie

It is also a ridiculous and unjustifiable amount to be charging for two days of being overdrawn.