Overdrawn Teenager

gaggyball

My 16 yr old has just gone 'in the red' by 50p on his
Nat. West. current account, and the bank are going to charge him £28 for this. He was only overdrawn for 48hrs and this seems a bit harsh!

Is there a law stating that banks should not let children go overdrawn?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

crana9

Are you sure he was overdrawn? Under-18s aren't allowed credit, which includes overdraft..

How did he go "overdrawn"? - I thought any debit cards you could get under 18 were the kind where you could not go overdrawn with them ???

gaggyball

He has a delta cashcard and can use it to pay for items over the internet. This is how he managed to get overdrawn.

CBo

VISA delta?! ?! I was only allowed VISA electron with job, money etc and I'm over 18. Maybe this was because I signed up with Abbey.

dunstonh

over 16s can get into debt but i believe the bank cant pursue them for the debt until they are 18.

funkymonkey

speak to the bank and tell them how discusted you are that they let him go over drawn and then want to charge him for it! Most banks of which i know halifax is a cert - wil not charge you for going slightly overdrawn (which you can do with an electron card - i remember the tricks well! ) if you are under 18. the fee should be wavered if you have a moan!

funkymonkey

ok looking at the Natwest website for you.....

You teenage son should have a STEP account.

here are the charges:

Fees for overdrafts you have not arranged
If you exceed your arranged overdraft facility or if you go overdrawn without prior arrangement you will be charged a £28 Unarranged Borrowing Fee per charging period as detailed below. Additionally you may also pay the following charges:

Unpaid fee - Standing Order, Direct Debit or Cheque - £35 for each item we do not pay
Card Misuse - If you use your NatWest Servicecard, Cashcard or Cheque Guarantee card when there are insufficient funds in your account, we will charge you £25 for each item we are obliged to pay *
Paid Referral - Any items we choose to pay, which result in an unarranged overdraft, will attract a paid referral fee. We will charge you £30 for the day the transaction was debited up to a maximum of £90 in a calendar month. The fee will be applied on the 6th business day of the month following when they were incurred *
Default Notice - If you break your agreement with us and we have cause to issue a Default Notice to you requiring you to either repay the debt or remedy your breach of the agreement, we will charge you for our administrative costs of issuing the Default Notice. These are currently £30 for each Default Notice.

this is very interesting here:

* These do not apply to Step, Card Plus, Student or Graduate Accounts.


so he shouldnt have to pay! easy as that. full details can be found here  http://www.natwest.com/personal/services/currentaccounts/index.asp?navid=PERSONAL/ACCOUNTS_SERVICES/CURRENT_ACCOUNTS&pid=rates

if they get funny with you as the first line above isnt starred *** then just let them know that it is against the law for banks to allow people under the age of 18 to get into debt.

used to work for me all the time!

Savvy_Sue

When my sons opened their accounts with NatWest we were told that it was technically possible to go overdrawn. I am sure we were not told about any charges, just warned that the bank wouldn't be happy if they made a habit of exploiting the loopholes that exist and would close their accounts.

deemy2004

Yep

Usually the painful lessons, tend being the most useful later on.

Now he knows that the bank is NOT your friend !

Hope you get reimbursed, there is a chance i.e. first time and all.

harmony13

When my son put a cheque into his bank account he paid for it to be rushed through, the cheque then bounced, and he was left with an overdraft of several hundred pounds. As he was only 15 at the time, I had to deal with it so, I contacted the bank and explained that as they had allowed the cheque to be cleared and he was under 18, I considered it entirely their responsibility and that neither I nor my son would be paying the money or any charges... I was then told that actually, even though they had written to my son about the overdraft, unless they wanted to take a 15 year old to court for the money they would have to wave their right to it, as I had not co-signed for an account that allowed an overdraft. I'm assuming that you didn't either, so neither you, nor your son should be liable for any charges as he is under 18.

Lokolo

harmony13 wrote: »

When my son put a cheque into his bank account he paid for it to be rushed through, the cheque then bounced, and he was left with an overdraft of several hundred pounds. As he was only 15 at the time, I had to deal with it so, I contacted the bank and explained that as they had allowed the cheque to be cleared and he was under 18, I considered it entirely their responsibility and that neither I nor my son would be paying the money or any charges... I was then told that actually, even though they had written to my son about the overdraft, unless they wanted to take a 15 year old to court for the money they would have to wave their right to it, as I had not co-signed for an account that allowed an overdraft. I'm assuming that you didn't either, so neither you, nor your son should be liable for any charges as he is under 18.

1. Cheques can bounce, they just can't be charged for it.
2. This thread is over 5 years old. -_-