View Full Version : Bank Charges
What's the deal with this, I thought the rules on what the banks could charge was changing?
HSBC have charged me £50 for going £8.62 into an unauthorised overdraft.
Seems a bit steep and I doubt that error on my part has cost them the nicely rounded figure of £50. If it was £5 or even £10 I'd just pay it because it is MY fault, yet I don't think they should be making profit out of this, which I really suspect they are.
Can I get the amount reduced?
Von Smallhausen
17-09-2009, 10:09
Contact them and ask .... the last time I was charged £38 for going £2 over I told them it was a disproportionate sum and I would close my accounts if it wasn't cancelled which they did. That was Nat West.
It's always worth a try.
*calling princess griff*
I know she had issues with different banking charges etc but she works for a legal firm and soon put Abbey straight both over the phone and in writing.
When she reads this I'm sure she'll help out anyone with any advice she has on the matter :)
Chuckles
17-09-2009, 13:33
Unless you are one of the people who claimed back a load of previous bank charges and waived your rights to do so in future, they will refund that - Give them a ring.
It may seem harsh but the systems are programmed to charge as per your T&C's. A human will normally reverse it if it's a one off and the amount is very small.
I claimed back close to £1000 about 2 years ago following advice on moneysaving exeprts or some such sight. Took 6 months to sort out... nowadays I don't know how easy it would be.
nowadays I don't know how easy it would be.
not very easy!
my mum's using Bank Smart to claim £8k from Yorkshire Bank and I believe its still on going after 3 years
personally i was charged £60 by the halifax for goin £2 overdrawn after they put that advert out saying they were giving customers £5 and i didn't think to check my balance before buying something... I wrote to them saying I'm a poor student and could they possible refund the charges. Ended up closing my account after they didn't respond to my request.
LeperousDust
17-09-2009, 15:21
Interesting i went into unauthorised overdraft by about £25 for two days last week with HSBC and they didn't charge me anything?! Nice of them :)
That's odd. HSBC only charge £25 and a one off fee.
Sure it was two days LeperousDust. They have a 24hr grace period.
Hallifax are criminal. It's £30 for every day you are over upto a maximum ox xxxstupid amount. As well as no customer service, can' read multiple forms and change your forums to suite the bank.
I think how much you get charged depends on the age of the account and the bank. HSBC don't charge me if I go over or if I pay my credit card late. Abbey charged us £65 for going £18 overdrawn. I really need to sort out getting that back. I hate that bank, they are a bunch of morons and just don't seem to be able to get anything right.
Interesting i went into unauthorised overdraft by about £25 for two days last week with HSBC and they didn't charge me anything?! Nice of them :)
I only have an overdraft of £150 which I need to increase. It's not 1973, I need more of a safety net than that. :p Maybe this is part of a tactic to get me on a bigger overdraft?
The thing is, it's certainly my own fault. I overshot and used money that's technically not mine. However £50 penalty is taking the piss a bit to me. I haven't had time to call today (only got the letter this morning anyway) so I'll give a call tomorrow morning. I need to call them anyway to look at extending the overdraft and apply for a credit card, so that can be used as a bit of a carrot for them to waiver/reduce this. :)
Can't we have the discussion now about how it's your fault for not managing your money properly?
;)
Bet you £10,000, no £20,000, that you won't find me at fault.
Living beyond your means tbh :p
Living beyond your means tbh :p
SUCK IT UP iCRAIG!!
Good luck with getting it back. People I know have successfully renegotiated small amounts like that over the phone. Usually it's not too much bother, just don't do it too often :)
There is a woman on the mainland who has decided to say "enough is enough" to her credit card company, and refusing to pay off her credit card debt until the company drops the interest down from 30% to a more reasonable figure like the one she signed up to it at only a few years ago (15% IIRC?) Mind you she only has herself to blame, she's purely gone on the basis of paying off the minimum each month rather than doing the sensible thing which is never racking up the debt in the first place.
New laws that came into effect in the US last month mean they have to now give you a few months written notice of any interest rate charges on fixed rate cards (meaning they've all but vanished for new sign ups) and to aid people moving from credit card to credit card.
Princess Griff
17-09-2009, 19:55
Right, well I had this problem too...apparently it is illegal for banks to charge more than their admin fees - which is pennies, not pounds. Check out - http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/bankcharges
They have lots of letters available on t'internet you can use;
[Your address]
[Your phone number]
[Date]
[Name and address of bank]
Dear Sir or Madam,
Ref: Account number: [your account number].
I would like to request a refund of all the default charges that have been applied to my account. Under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 charges must reflect administration costs and cannot be punitive. I believe that the following [enter details of charges] are unlawful as they do not reflect the true cost of going into an unauthorised overdraft.
You have taken [enter charges amount here] from me, plus [enter overdraft interest amount here] overdraft interest and I would like to request repayment of this [enter total sum] sum. I also ask you to ensure any default notices entered against my credit record are removed entirely.
Please repay this money in full and remove any default notices within 14 days. If this is not done, I will begin a claim against you for the full amount, plus interest and my costs.
Yours faithfully,
[Your signature]
Ace. :)
I'll be polite first on the phone, but that looks like a cracking plan B to me. Thank you. :)
I went overdrawn by .59p earlier this month due to an abbey error (they cancelled my card due to 'fraud' that didn't happen so I couldn't log on and move money!). THis week I got a statement of charges and 0.59p resulted in 68.50 worth of charges. I rang up, said if they honestly thought they could charge me 68.50 for .59p then they could go take a flying f**k at a rolling donut. Obviously I put it nicer than that, but not by much.
Pathetic. I believe they can take £12, no more.
As far as I know this is still the case
Please note: The battle between the banks and their customers is now heading to the High Court. The Office of Fair Trading and the banks have agreed to a test case to determine the legality of bank charges. It will be heard early in 2008. The banks have been given a waiver and do not have to deal with claims until after the test case has been resolved. Currently, few courts are prepared to consider claims until after a verdict. However, customers can still register their complaint with their banks if they so wish.
Here's an update.
Pointless claiming at the moment. it costs money for the statements and till the courts have settled this. i wouldn't bother.
Bank charges reclaiming continued to make history in late February 09, when the Court of Appeal confirmed the decision of the High Court that the charges ARE subject to fairness rules. The banks have since appealed to the House of Lords, while the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is assessing whether they’re actually unfair.
In the meantime, reclaiming’s still on hold, yet if you’ve not started your claim you should still try and put it in, and if you’re in hardship the hold mightn’t apply to your claim.
Also remember if you put a claim in your bank can and are closing bank accounts. if you have an overdraft they can demand this money back.
Admiral Huddy
18-09-2009, 09:08
I think the key word here is "unauthorised" so your're your paying for an unauthorised facilty. Check the terms and conditions of your account which no one reads.
That said, £50 sounds a bit steep... It's £10 on my Platinum account
No, the key word is 'fair'.
Surely there needs to be some sort of penalty for going overdrawn without authorisation though, otherwise people are going to start taking the mick and abusing it? :/
Admiral Huddy
18-09-2009, 10:55
No, the key word is 'fair'.
Sounds perfectly fair to me. Bank provide an overdraft limit as an enegency buffer wich is authorised borrowing. If you go outside that then it becomes an extra facility..
If you go to the bank for asking for a loan, you pay for the facility plus the accrued interest. Banking isn't mandatory.. It's a free service unless you choose to use the extra facilities. In this case, un authorised borrowing. I don't see this any different to any other private organisation that has to make a profit but for some reason, people talk about fairness???
Legal disputes? Lawyers? Sorry, but I think a lot of people have gone straight from a minor dispute to global thermonuclear warfare. Must be the evil banks. :p
If it's the first time it's happened, and you're at fault, simply go in and apologise. Most banks worth your money will waive a charge if it was a small amount, it's the first time, and you put it right promptly. Obviously, all will refund if it's their error, but it isn't in this case. The systems are all automatic - you go over even by 1p - you get charged. I went over by 37p once and did indeed get charged, which I got back without question (twice - the first time they agreed but forgot to refund it). I went over again a few months later but that was a bank error (they took money from the wrong account).
If the 'be nice' route fails, then Princess Griff has the right idea. Beware though that the most likely response will be 'all claims are on hold until this is resolved at the High Court'. You probably will get most (if not all) of the money back, but don't count on it happening this decade.
Sounds perfectly fair to me. Bank provide an overdraft limit as an enegency buffer wich is authorised borrowing. If you go outside that then it becomes an extra facility..
If you go to the bank for asking for a loan, you pay for the facility plus the accrued interest. Banking isn't mandatory.. It's a free service unless you choose to use the extra facilities. In this case, un authorised borrowing. I don't see this any different to any other private organisation that has to make a profit but for some reason, people talk about fairness???
Surely there shold be some discression though, getting charged nigh on 50 quid for going pence over a limit? Almost in the realms of the loan-shark, no?
Computers generally don't do discretion. That's a human failing. :p
Admiral Huddy
18-09-2009, 12:18
Surely there shold be some discression though, getting charged nigh on 50 quid for going pence over a limit? Almost in the realms of the loan-shark, no?
I have already said that it seems a little high ;)
The banking systems don't have any concept of "tolerence" if currrent balance > facility limit then charge.
edit - repeating what Mark just said :)
Absolutely. Think yourself lucky you haven't been terminated. :p
So Skynet is in control?
Yes. Under the supervision of the Thought Police.
I had some charges 2-4 years ago when I was REALLY crap with my money. I've no idea when they were, probably a few £25 charges but I bet it adds up to a tidy some. Is there any chance of getting that back?
Huddy, you work on banking systems, introduce a "discretion" function. ;)
Admiral Huddy
18-09-2009, 14:44
I'll be BACS
haha ver4y good mate:
Huddy, you work on banking systems, introduce a "discretion" function. ;)
working on it now.. Oh hang on!! there's no budget left haha
I worked with a chap how wrote a very good discretionary/rounding off program... I think he quite enjoyed Brixton before being moved to Ford :D
Refunded and overdraft increased. :)
Admiral Huddy
18-09-2009, 16:50
See what nice people they are :)
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