Barclays personal reserve

tiptoe_mouse

littleowl wrote: »

I am so sorry I am in error. Using the reserve for the first five days does incur the £22 fee.

It would have been nice if the first 5 days were free. Too good to be true though, that's why I checked their website. Makes me think that their letter must have been less than clear.

tiptoe

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

I just got in and have received this with £1000 limit,I don't want it but what I want to know is if I refuse it do I lose the overdraft facility I already have(never used it but just incase).Also do you get charged if you don't use the reserve,or just each time you use it.Is it just like an overdraft(no usage ,no charge) or is it an account with a set monthly charge
Sorry but been travelling all night and realy could'nt get through all the other posts.Thanks.

tiptoe_mouse

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

I just got in and have received this with £1000 limit,I don't want it but what I want to know is if I refuse it do I lose the overdraft facility I already have(never used it but just incase).Also do you get charged if you don't use the reserve,or just each time you use it.Is it just like an overdraft(no usage ,no charge) or is it an account with a set monthly charge
Sorry but been travelling all night and realy could'nt get through all the other posts.Thanks.

The reserve is in addition to any existing overdraft facility. Opting out of it will not change your existing overdraft limit. There is no charge for the reserve unless you use it.

HTH

tiptoe

flower_72

I don't understand why so many people get so annoyed about the barclays reserve.
When I opened my account, it came with a debit card and cheque books. I has never asked if I wanted to "opt out" from the cheque books!!! Isn't that the same? Free money that could cost mw a lot if I haven't actually got it?
There's a £15 buffer on my account, now there's a £1000 buffer. Big deal. Everyone will have their own personal financial situation. Myself, I don't spend more than I have. But one could imagine that I c***k up my payments one day and end up paying a large bill before money reaches my account. At least I know the payment will go through. OK, that would cost me but hey! my responsibility to ensure I know the ins and outs of my account.
If I'd rather have my payment declined and a charge against it, then it's for me to decide and opt out. I really really don't see the issue. They spell the change to the terms and conditions clearly.
Maybe I'm missing something...

natweststaffmember

flower, the barclays reserve is an unauthorised amount, some people on the forums are stating that they have applied for that amount and been declined yet to get it they will be charged £22 for using it rather than nothing for using an authorised one.
The cheque book didn't cost you £22 if you used it, there is a difference.

natweststaffmember

I was reading another thread and it appears loads of people are opting out.
I throw these things into the mix.
OPT OUT Barclays can return payments and charge a maximum of £8 per item. So that's £40 maximum in one day.
The DD provider represents the DD so that could be another £40 in less than a week.
The DD provider also makes an additional charge for the payment being returned(the unknown factor).
IF i had the option and I do not bank at Barclays, I would be wary of OPTING OUT unless I was 100% or as good as that I would NEVER have this issue of returned payments.

We will have this scenario come August/September on the boards from people who have vociferously stated it was a scam and they opted out.

littleowl

natweststaffmember wrote: »

I was reading another thread and it appears loads of people are opting out.
I throw these things into the mix.
OPT OUT Barclays can return payments and charge a maximum of £8 per item. So that's £40 maximum in one day.
The DD provider represents the DD so that could be another £40 in less than a week.
The DD provider also makes an additional charge for the payment being returned(the unknown factor).
IF i had the option and I do not bank at Barclays, I would be wary of OPTING OUT unless I was 100% or as good as that I would NEVER have this issue of returned payments.

We will have this scenario come August/September on the boards from people who have vociferously stated it was a scam and they opted out.

Most people, I think, do have some sort of agreed overdraft on their accounts. That is the buffer I use if I go a little over in any one month. I don't believe I have referred to this reserve as a 'scam' merely that I - and others - object to having to opt out rather than in. And I do believe that this is an attempt by Barclays to make more revenue in charges from the unwary.

valensi_uk

hi

i had the exact same letter last week.....i read the terms and conditions etc and i came to the conclusion that by accepting this personal reserve you are accepting to be charged if you go over your limit....theyve made it look nice and dandy by calling it personal reserve and by giving you an extra £500, but why dont they just increase your overdraft to cover whats over?

if you look at the letter there should be a tear off section that you just sign and send back with the pre-paid envelope to opt out.....i have done this!!

i made my decision because if the bank charges are deemed unlawful, which in my opinion looks likely, the banks wont be able to charge you for going overdrawn, whereas if you have accepted this personal reserve they can charge you £22 every 5 days.....

is this ok?

can anyone advise anything further?

thanx
matt

natweststaffmember

I disagree with your opinion for one reason. The bank will be able to charge you for going overdrawn whatever the result of the OFT test case, it is merely the amount that will be at issue. I think each individual needs to look at how they have been charged up until now. Read the information carefully and based upon what HAS been the case to what COULD be the case, make a determination whether it would benefit them or not.
As I said, from what I have read, opting out means no payments going out and opting in could mean payments DO go out. Is there anyone who works for Barclays who can clarify this, irrespective of their views of the Banks' test case that is ongoing?

fonant

valensi_uk wrote: »

i made my decision because if the bank charges are deemed unlawful, which in my opinion looks likely, the banks wont be able to charge you for going overdrawn, whereas if you have accepted this personal reserve they can charge you £22 every 5 days.....

This would appear to be the case.

As I understand it, Barclays current fees for bouncing payments are £35/day, and £30/day (max £90/month) for making guaranteed payments that go over your limit. The first of the latter is refunded if there's only one in a year. They are finding it difficult to justify these "fees" given the actual amount of work they have to do.

The new system has much-reduced fees for payments as above of £8/payment. But they also charge £22 per week for the Reserve service (presumably this doesn't have to be justified as a fee).

So if you think you might just have one or two payments bounced or taking you over your overdraft limit per month, you're better off paying £16 without a Reserve. With a Reserve you will pay £22 per week (plus £8 per payment if they're large enough to exceed your reserve too).

So the reserve looks good if (a) you are regularly suffering from multiple bounced payments or payments that take you beyond your overdraft by a small amount and (b) the reserve amount is large relative to the amount you commonly overpay.

The reserve looks bad if you only rarely have any bounced payments, certainly no more than two per month, or if the reserve amount is small relative to any potential overpayments.

An example: I pay a cheque of £1000, that accidentally takes me £300 beyond my overdraft limit, I have a reserve of £250, and I transfer funds as soon as I discover the error (so interest charges are small).
With reserve: I am charged £22 for using the reserve, plus another £8 for exceeding the reserve, my cheque is bounced (see item 17 in the Reserve leaflet).
Without reserve: I am charged £8 for exceeding my overdraft, my cheque is bounced.

Example two: same as above, but my reserve is now £500.
With reserve: I am charged £22 for using the reserve, my cheque is paid.
Without reserve: I am charged £8 for exceeding my overdraft, my cheque is bounced.

In both single-payment cases having a reserve costs you more. If the reserve is large enough however your cheque is paid instead of bounced in return for a £14 additional charge.

I think. Not sure it's a "simple and straightforward approach", the old fees seem a lot simpler to me!