Bank charges & working tax credits

missgiggles58

i wrote a cheque out, but unfortunately it went out the day before my child tax credit was due too go in, subsequently i had a £25 charge, are they allowed to take the charges out of child tax credit?
Thanks Kerry

Conor_3

Yes. You may try visiting the branch in person to see if they'll waive it.

alison999

actually, i read on here that they cant use benefit money to cover the cost of bank charges

mitchaa

alison999 wrote: »

actually, i read on here that they cant use benefit money to cover the cost of bank charges

Perhaps that just relates to 'hard core' benefits such as IS/JSA/IB etc

The only reason i say that is because, a couple may have a good income of £50000pa and will still receive basic CTC (£10.48pw)

Surely they wouldn't be able to use that excuse.

So i would assume they can take it form tax credits, but not from IS/JSA/IB etc

krisskross

Bank charges can be taken from ANY benefit payment. To the bank it is just income.

Bearing in mind that almost every person/family in the country claims some sort of benefit everyone could say they are not allowed to be charged.

[Deleted User]

this may help:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=269424

[Deleted User]

I am not criticising the OP but if a benefit claimant cannot control their finances strictly enough they should open up a basic account without overdrafts, debit cards and overdrafts. Many banks will offer these basic accounts or you could open a Post Office account.

I am not sure of the exact regulations but the bank will just see it as money, they wont really care where it came from. The banks I feel are within their rights to impose a penalty - not to the extent that they currently do, but that is another issue altogether.

Scarlett1

subsoniccoyote wrote: »

I am not criticising the OP but if a benefit claimant cannot control their finances strictly enough they should open up a basic account without overdrafts, debit cards and overdrafts. Many banks will offer these basic accounts or you could open a Post Office account.

same goes to workers aswell, have you read the DFW board ?

tigtag02

Scarlett1 wrote: »

same goes to workers aswell, have you read the DFW board ?

Can you explain this remark in a little more detail?

Im sure that you really dont mean to come across as being judgmental here!!

missgiggles58

subsoniccoyote wrote: »

I am not criticising the OP but if a benefit claimant cannot control their finances strictly enough they should open up a basic account without overdrafts, debit cards and overdrafts. Many banks will offer these basic accounts or you could open a Post Office account.

I am not sure of the exact regulations but the bank will just see it as money, they wont really care where it came from. The banks I feel are within their rights to impose a penalty - not to the extent that they currently do, but that is another issue altogether.

Excuse me?
I do not live off benefits , my other half works full time & we dont claim any other benefits other than child benefit! We just had a very hard month !
The reason i asked this question is, I saw there was a thread stating the bank can not take charges out of benefit money & was a little confused if this included child tax credit!

[Deleted User]

Firstly, I did not say you lived off benefits. Secondly I was talking about benefit claimants as a whole not individually directing what I said to you.

Someone has posted a link a few posts back with the thread you were talking about.

Ok, you had a bad month and it caused a problem with the bank and you ended up with a bank charge. This happens with those who claim no benefits whatsoever but they still need to pay the charges (which I already stated are too high).

Whether you claim benefits or not, anyone who doesnt have enough control over their finances or those who want to avoid bank charges, should open up a basic account.