Bank charges!!

[S&LHEN]

I just read in the paper that the bank have won there case at the highcourt. So in other words there is now no such thing as unfair bank charges:eek:
Dont totally agree with that at £35-£40 a shot:confused

[Geo]

It's just the first case they have won. Apparently there are a few in the system using different parts of law to challenge it.

[sweetpea]

I was listening to a radio programme about this on Wednesday. What I don't understand is the situations that would lead to getting these charges. If people have DD's and agreed overdrafts then surely you make sure you don't go overdrawn and that the money is in your account to pay the DD's.
I do think the charges are outragous but I also think people should live within their means.
ok I accept people lose incomes and nowadays no job is safe but folk don't plan ahead for unforseen things like that.
Maybe I'm wrong but I've never had a charge from the bank.

[Creme_Egg]

Bloody rediculous wen we own at least 50% of most banks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kriklah]

easier said than done unfortuantly sweetpea. while some people manage to start out with no problems, all it can take is one hicup in the finances and it becomes a rollacoaster ride of debt and charges that is very hard to get out off. no money to pay a direct debit one month means the bank charges for bouncing it, so your left with the charge and the bill still to pay, and heres the really daft bit, youve £2 in the bank and a £10 dd due out, they bounce it, charge you £35 for the privilage, putting you £33 overdrawn (when the dd would have only put you over£8) and they then charge you again for being overdrawn!!!! this is part of the unfair argument.it then means money is even tighter the following month, resulting in a repeat perfomance.

ive been there, done that and been charged for the t-shirt!!:roll:

fortunalty i now have a handle on my finances(funny that losing hubbys income when we seperated made managing mine easier!!) and have created a spreadsheet that is a forcast bankstatement, i know exactly what goes in and out well in advance so can plan ahead.

[sids]

The accounts with better interest rates have higher charges.

The accounts with lower/less punitive charges have less favourable interest rates.

Which do you want?

[Creme_Egg]

The accounts with better interest rates have higher charges.

The accounts with lower/less punitive charges have less favourable interest rates.

Which do you want?


At the end of the day if you have got enough money to worry about how much intrest you are getting to make a significant differance then you shouldnt worry about a £35 charge?....

[sids]

easier said than done unfortuantly sweetpea. while some people manage to start out with no problems, all it can take is one hicup in the finances and it becomes a rollacoaster ride of debt and charges that is very hard to get out off. no money to pay a direct debit one month means the bank charges for bouncing it, so your left with the charge and the bill still to pay, and heres the really daft bit, youve £2 in the bank and a £10 dd due out, they bounce it, charge you £35 for the privilage, putting you £33 overdrawn (when the dd would have only put you over£8) and they then charge you again for being overdrawn!!!! this is part of the unfair argument.it then means money is even tighter the following month, resulting in a repeat perfomance.

ive been there, done that and been charged for the t-shirt!!:roll:

fortunalty i now have a handle on my finances(funny that losing hubbys income when we seperated made managing mine easier!!) and have created a spreadsheet that is a forcast bankstatement, i know exactly what goes in and out well in advance so can plan ahead.

Point taken but I still feel there are a lot of people out there living beyond their means. What about saving a bit for a rainy day? No way are the banks getting their hands on my hard earned for the sake of missing a payment.

[Creme_Egg]

If you had saved money then it should be in a savings account or an ISA where DD's dont come out of.....Problem solved.....No charges

[sweetpea]

easier said than done unfortuantly sweetpea. while some people manage to start out with no problems, all it can take is one hicup in the finances and it becomes a rollacoaster ride of debt and charges that is very hard to get out off. no money to pay a direct debit one month means the bank charges for bouncing it, so your left with the charge and the bill still to pay, and heres the really daft bit, youve £2 in the bank and a £10 dd due out, they bounce it, charge you £35 for the privilage, putting you £33 overdrawn (when the dd would have only put you over£8) and they then charge you again for being overdrawn!!!! this is part of the unfair argument.it then means money is even tighter the following month, resulting in a repeat perfomance.

ive been there, done that and been charged for the t-shirt!!:roll:

fortunalty i now have a handle on my finances(funny that losing hubbys income when we seperated made managing mine easier!!) and have created a spreadsheet that is a forcast bankstatement, i know exactly what goes in and out well in advance so can plan ahead.

I suppose if you have joint finances that can happen. I like to have a small amount of savings just in case I ever find myself in dire straits so I can cover my bills but that's just my old fashioned view of saving.

[Creme_Egg]

Exactly what you should do....Save £200-£300 for those hard moments instead of an overdraft. Then you do have something to fall back on. The only reason a lot of people have bank charges is obviously because they are either spending money they havent got or have more money going out than in....Both situations are avoidable!

[Leanne]

If people have DD's and agreed overdrafts then surely you make sure you don't go overdrawn and that the money is in your account to pay the DD's.

Doesn't always work like that :( I had a pile of charges when the NHS in England switched over to centralised payroll. I was paid late by one day and as a result all of my direct debits bounced! 7 of them! At £35 a pop! And 3 of the companies charged me £25 for the pleasure too! Grand total of £320! And to make things even better they took the charges out at the end of the next month before my pay went in so I ended up with the charges all over again... This time though all the companies charged me (some give you a one off benefit of the doubt) so the charges were £420 that month. All in all £720 for being paid one day late!

I did however contact the bank when I noticed my pay hadn't gone in and informed them that I had a problem. It was too late for them to give me temporary overdraft as the DDs had gone out. When the second lot of charges came I out played absolutely merry hell with them and demanded that they close my account immediately (at the time, some months, I was paying in £3200). The manager took me into his office and gave my account a review. It seemed that in all the time I was with the bank my account hadn't been reviewed and I was still on a student account with barely any interest. He upped my interest and gave me a years free Advantage Gold which gave me free phone and travel insurance. It also meant that when I took my mortgage out with them I got it 0.7% cheaper.

What I am trying to say is that it is very easy to say nothing and take your money elsewhere but having a good reputation with the bank can pay dividends. If you are a long term banker with one bank it looks favourable on your credit rating. If you know that you are going to have a problem then inform the bank - 9 times out of 10 they can give you a buffer. If you feel you have been cooperative with the bank and have been treated unfairly then complain. If you have regular income going in then they will want to keep your business and will give you your charges back (doesn't work like this if you don't contact them though)

I now pay all my bills myself - I don't have a single direct debit. I find it really easy now most companies do online billing and you can set up standing orders for the rest (which you can change the date for if you anticipate a problem) :) Yes you lose your £5 discount but you would have 7 years buffer of bank charges for what you lose ;)

[sweetpea]

Last month my firm moved from monthly to 4 weekly pay but they told us in advance so we could sort things out with the bank as they are legally bound to do. Best thing though they gave us some compo for the hassle:)

[S&LHEN]

Its so hard when you have 15 dds and when you first take them out you tell them that you want them to take it out on say the 1st of the month but then they end up taking it at all diffrent dates!!
You phone them up to complain and they blame the bank, you phone the bank and they blame the company.
Then when they take there charges out you cant afford to pay the companys that are taking out at the right time.
Its such a nightmare I never used to have debt until I had my 3rd son and ever since with the credit crunch etc its hard keeping your head above water and the banks just dont care and wont help.
Ive told them i ll go in first thing on monday with money if they can hold the bank charges and they just say sorry we cant:~( Arg its so hard

[Gronnuck]

I can appreciate the differing perspectives highlighted in this thread. It is never a good idea to exceed your arranged overdraft but I can see how it can happen. Thankfully the issue is not closed and there are other avenues to be explored to compel the banks into being more reasonable. To keep abreast of developments Orgers might want to keep an eye on Martin Lewis’s site at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/) ;)

[Leanne]

To keep abreast of developments Orgers might want to keep an eye on Martin Lewis’s site at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/) ;)

That's a really good site :) Another good one is www.fool.co.uk (daft name but cracking site!)

[Gronnuck]

On the subject of Direct Debits – it’s usual for a company to a request a variable DD three days prior to its due date. If the bank is less than vigilant it can action that DD a couple of days before its actual due date. Years of working in BSkyB Suscription Processing taught me that many customers were caught out this way. ;)

[S&LHEN]

Thank you for that its appreciated:)




I can appreciate the differing perspectives highlighted in this thread. It is never a good idea to exceed your arranged overdraft but I can see how it can happen. Thankfully the issue is not closed and there are other avenues to be explored to compel the banks into being more reasonable. To keep abreast of developments Orgers might want to keep an eye on Martin Lewis’s site at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/) ;)

[tonkatojo]

I just read in the paper that the bank have won there case at the highcourt. So in other words there is now no such thing as unfair bank charges:eek:
Dont totally agree with that at £35-£40 a shot:confused

I am sort of pleased they won as me personally don't want to give up free banking because some cannot manage their accounts, having said that £35 quid for a letter is bloody scandalous.
I realise times are hard but the answer is live within your means, talk to your bank/creditors before you get into difficulty or think you are going to be.

[Dusty]

Apparently, what has been decided is that the Office of Fair Trading cannot decide if such charges are lawfull or not. There are still legal avenues that can be explored that could result in the banks being told that their charges are unlawfull, so there is still hope that all unreasonable charges will be repaid.

Tonkatojo, on last night's Question Time it was stated that the British banking system was around twice as profitable as the European banking systems and that the issue of free banking was a red herring as in Europe, they manage to provide free banking while only being half as profitable as the UK banks.
Again, it is down to the greed of these institutions.

[tonkatojo]

Apparently, what has been decided is that the Office of Fair Trading cannot decide if such charges are lawfull or not. There are still legal avenues that can be explored that could result in the banks being told that their charges are unlawfull, so there is still hope that all unreasonable charges will be repaid.

Tonkatojo, on last night's Question Time it was stated that the British banking system was around twice as profitable as the European banking systems and that the issue of free banking was a red herring as in Europe, they manage to provide free banking while only being half as profitable as the UK banks.
Again, it is down to the greed of these institutions.

Well that will be a first if someone answered a question on "question time" they usually hedge around and blame the others.
Our banks for the time being are nowt to do with the EU, thank god.

[Dusty]

Our banks for the time being are nowt to do with the EU, thank god.

Hear hear! :grin: