Are the bank allowed to take my job seekers allowance off me in charges for being overdrawn?

Question

What on earth am I supposed to be living on?

I really wish that people would not be so quick to judge others and presume that because I am in receipt of JSA that I'm a lazy scum bag. I have worked all my life (even at the age of 14 as a waitress). I am out of work due to a recent period of quite intense illness, not because I am lazy. Furthermore, I'm not expecting others to support me I have just got a new job because I am sick of this government and it's pathetic treatment of people with (genuine) illness

Thanks to the people who answered in a useful and adult manner

Answer 1

Technically, yes. An overdraft, whether authorised or not, is a payment on demand facility. This basically means that if you're overdrawn, as soon as money goes into your account it automatically pays back what you have borrowed/used on your overdraft.
My advice to you would be to speak to the bank and see if there is anything they can do for you. If not get in touch with your local Citizens Advice Bureau for advice and in the meantime, I would look at getting your JSA paid into another account so you don't occur this problem again. All banks under the banking code must offer a facility of a basic cash account which is an account which offers people a banking facility if they are not currently working and in receipt of benefits. I know that this doesn't initially solve your problem today but I hope my advice may help prevent you from being in this predicament in the future

Hope this helps you and good luck :)

Answer 2

I'm sure I've read somewhere that they are not allowed to use benefit money to pay their charges. However, I'm sure they can use it to bring a negative balance back to £0.

There is a big thing at the moment about reclaiming bank charges. If you've not looked into it already, I highly recommend that you do. www.moneysavingexpert.com should provide you with all the info you need. Charges over the last 6 years add up very quickly and you might find a refund of a fair amount due!!

To the person who made the comment about getting off the a£$e - sometimes its just not that simple! Not everyone chooses to be unemployed and for others, finding a suitable job isn't always that simple!

Answer 3

Get in touch with Citizens Advice. the banks are not to be trusted these days and it could be a try-on. You will see a lot of newspaper reports about unfair bank charges. Read them. But above all do not do it again. I had said this before but a man of left wing view who i knew as a youngster was adamant that the only real criminals were the Banks finance Companies and Insurance Companies. I did not accept this but these days I think he had a point f

Answer 4

I have to agree with the majority of the above, any money going into the account can be used regardless of where it came from.

Here's a little story of warning for you.
My mate split from his wife but left in place a joint account to cover bills for the house they both owned.
She came along and cleared out the account putting it into the red right upto the overdraft.

The bank took money out of his other account to cover how much the joint account was overdrawn even though the new account was set up AFTER they split, his name was on both accounts so was responsible for both.

You have to imagine it like a friend owing you some money for months and then they ask you to hang onto £500 for a week or two, are you telling me your not going to deduct what they owe you?

Answer 5

£150 is nothing. Just pay it, it'll be worth it and will pay for itself in the two weeks' after the course. Job Seekers' Allowance is a joke, I agree on that one. I have worked and paid tax all my adult life and was recently made redundant. Yet because of this I get less than someone who has sat on their **** all their adult life. Hmm. So if you have an opportunity to get on a course, do it. If it's full time and means you have to stop taking JSA, do it anyway. You'll have a job at the end of it.

Answer 6

it depends onhow much you were overdrawn by because they may give you some money back as a good will gesture but otherwise yes unless you think it was an unfair charge which i doubt it would be. it is not fair that the six pounds a month i pay for my account picks up what you go over drawn by. get up of your backside and find a job.
get a post office account you can't go overdrawn and you only get what is paid. i used to have one.

Answer 7

Basically, it is the way banks work. Even if they don't charge you regular fees because you are getting a benefit, they will still charge you a fee if you act in such a way as to overdraw your account (which basically means trying to take out money that you don't have in your account).

Because benefits are very hard to live on, you might think about speaking with a financial counsellor. They can often negotiate with organisations such as banks to avoid penalty payments, and help yu get back on track financially.

Good luck! :-)

Answer 8

Yes. Whether you should be paying charges or not is a different matter but it is not the banks concern where the money comes from, only that it is in your account and they are charging you for going overdrawn.

Answer 9

Your bank are right in taking out charges from any funds that you have in your bank. If you are really short of cash you can go to your local DSS who should be able to sort you out with a bridging loan until you can pay them back.

Answer 10

Yes they can use any payments into the account.

But then they shouldnt be charging anyway....claim them back, move banks (go to Natwest for a Step Account best in your situation), and start fresh.