I have an agreed over draught of £100 which basically translates to a loan which is interest free. What I want to know is, if this is my agreed overdraught limit ie the amount I am allowed to go into the red on my current account then why does my bank allow me to dip just a little over this limit so that i have to start paying interest on this extra amount. Worse still they charge £28 for going over my AGREED LIMIT . Is it me or is this not a touch unfair.
Its like the bank is thinking ' well this poor guys got no money so lets penalise him for it.'
2007-09-12 01:50:50 · 17 answers · asked by wave 5 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
I really detest the argument 'if you haven't got the money don't spend it' as if its a simple and easy as that.
The point is if i don't have the money HOW am i able to purchase things!!! As soon as my money account reaches '0' or in my case '-100' then i shouldn't bne able to purchase things as i don't have the money. So..........whats going on?
2007-09-12 02:02:58 · update #1
Well I guess the only answer is to extend my overdraught further perhaps to £200, shame however that this means very little as my initial AGREED limit was £100, a limit means that you cannot go over a certain amount. So if i am allowed to go over this amount then its not really agreed or a limit is it? Perhaps banks should get some maths and english education then people wouldn't get themselves in to such problems. If this happens again (for a 3rd time) then i'm switching banks. Yes thats right NATIONAL WESTMINSTER your time is nearly up! You have become a cr#ppy little bank owed by RBS now anyway, oooh 24 hour telephone banking amazing!! Yes my bank shall be 'switched'.
2007-09-12 02:13:27 · update #2
Banks are there to make money. Your responsibility is to make sure you won't go overdraft. I can understand if you don't have money, how can you buy things but if you don't have enough money then you may want to review your priorities.
I won't let the bank take my money. The banks make enough on all the fees that they charge. I wouldn't want to give them any more reasons to make more money than they should.
2007-09-12 02:30:13 · answer #1 · answered by Prenn 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They're not just mean, they're evil. Think about it, their entire existence revolves purely around money. They used to exist just as a secure place to hold your cash, but they soon realised that they could make huge profits, and most of that comes from charges etc. The fact is, poor people will always be exploited like this because there's nothing they can do about it. I totally agree that banks should not allow you to go over an agreed limit, I've had that problem before. Strangely, I found that if you don't have an overdraft you can't go overdrawn, but once you get one you can go overdrawn on that by a lot. Yet not all banks/accounts let that happen; I have 2 accounts with separate banks, one lets me the other doesn't. By the way, you know that recently bank charges have been at the centre of a bit of an uproar? Well, if you kick up a fuss they will refund a large part of any charges you've had in the past few years. Generally it seems that there's no excuse for charging more than £12, and banks would rather refund you some than have the matter go to court, where they risk a ruling being made that's not in their favour.
Have a look around, some banks are actually taking steps to avoid these things eg HSBC have recently dropped their charges from £20 to £12 for a lot of things, and they actually allow you to go £10 over your limit without a charge as long as you pay it back within 7 days
2007-09-12 02:09:10 · answer #2 · answered by Doug 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
"a touch unfair" ??
I`d say it`s outright highway robbery !! Normally , you`d expect a "limit" to be enforced , otherwise what`s the point of a limit ?
These "limits" are a windfall for financial institutions because even if you go over by a few cents , you`re penalized heavily !
Banks KNOW you can`t keep an overdraft limit "just under" the limit without constantly checking your expenditures . Sooner or later you`ll go over , if even by a few cents .
It`s like going fishing . You set the hook and bait , throw the line in the water , and sit back and wait for the "bite" . When an unsuspecting "fish" begins nibbling the bait , you give the line a hard yank to ensure it`s caught ............ good 'n proper !!
The "fish" ends up on the corporate plate , and the bank is happy !
I`d tell the bank to cancel out any overdraft "privileges" asap . If they refuse to do so , I`d cancel my account , and go with a Credit Union or something similar .
Can you imagine the rate of interest these "overdraft" charges add up to ? It`s more lucrative than selling drugs ! Makes you wonder who the criminals REALLY are !
2007-09-12 02:19:28 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yup i got a debit card at the start of the year and i have £100 overdraft and at the end of the month i keep missjudging how much i have left i went over with my swicth by a pound and get charged £30 a time, i went over twice n the same month and got £60 but i phoned them up and begged them to reconsider cos i only work part time cos i look after my 2 year old so they agreed. but ive did it AGAIN but i forgot they charge me £7 for the overdraft and they tend to take that out AT THE END OF THE MONTH when i have hardly any money left and i forget about it, so i have another £60 waiting to be taken out.
i argued with them that why can i still use my switch when there is insufficient funds? surely it should be declined? id rather i got declined in a shop than get £30 fine a time.
2007-09-12 02:13:35 · answer #4 · answered by la-de-da 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Banks will try to get away with whatever they think they can away with. That is until someone steps in and either declares it either illegal or ethically questionable. Let's face it, banks are businesses, they're there to make money out of your money, not theirs. And they're certainly not charitable instituitions concerned about your welfare (unless you owe them lots of money of course!). I would actually write a letter to the bank and ask them to justify the £28 fine and then write a letter to the banking Ombudsman if you're not satisfied with the answer (which you probably won't be). The other option is to open an account elsewhere and then close your account with your present bank explaining the reason why. You never know, they might pay you back, it's been known to happen on the odd occasion.
2007-09-12 02:03:42 · answer #5 · answered by Tony M 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They are completely unfair. I am sure you have heard in the news about people reclaiming unfair bank charges. That is exactly what you are talking about!!
I got charged £30 once for going 7p over my limit!! I couldn't believe it!!
I am actually in the process of changing banks too cos I got that annoyed with my current one!!!
Why don't you see if they will extend you limit a bit if you keep going over it?
2007-09-12 02:01:03 · answer #6 · answered by Nicola 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The banks aren't mean. They have a list of rules and regulations that you agreed to when you opened an acocunt with them. If you can't or won't abide by the rules then close your account and go elsewhere.
Why should they let you, or anyone, steal money from them. Who do you think pays for all those overdrafts? No reason that they should't have a fee and a penalty otherwise everyone would be doing it. Oh, wait, they are and then complaining about the fees and demanding the "unfair" fees be charged back.
People should learn fiscal responsibility. If you don't have it, then don't spend it.
2007-09-12 02:00:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
You have to think too that it might be a touch embarrassing if you didn't know that you had reached your over draft limit, and went to pay for something and your card came back declined. That happened to me at the hair dressers and I had to use my joint checking account card. I was lucky that I had another card to use. They'd already done my hair. Its not like I could put it down and walk away.
Maybe they let you over draw over the the overdraft because they want to give you a safety net? I would think that its rather nice of them to do. But also, they can't give you unlimited overdraft without a penalty to pay.
2007-09-12 02:01:24 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
A bit my daughter went 75 pence overdrawn her wages go in today Lloyd's bank charged her £30
2007-09-12 01:58:14 · answer #9 · answered by Roggles 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not really. You cashed in on the provision of the bank for overdraft without charge. If you cannot restrain yourself, then bank cashes in the opportunity of you crossing the limit. Why should you alone enjoy?
2007-09-12 01:59:14 · answer #10 · answered by JRay 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋