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Overdrawn= bank charges :(

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hey guys. Hope someone can give me some advice here but to give you the gist of it, i recently bought car insurance and it sent my balance over the overdraft limit. My bank (bank of scotland) is demanding 2 charges of £35 each plus £28 for whatever reason...

Ive gone over my overdraft before and they've wiped the charges... but i dont think they'll do it again. I am just so angry that they think its perfectly justifiable to charge people so much! (especially when if you realise your mistake and pay to get out the red straightaway)

They're gonna take the money out my account as soon as i get paid, which is basically half my wages. I just can't afford to lose that much money. My branch told me to write a letter, which i have just typed up. If any one would like to read it and let me know what they think? Thank you!!!

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you in the hope that you can resolve my problem. I recently purchased Car Insurance from your parent company, Halifax. I arranged for the insurance to begin on 1st June, but the full sum of approximately £460 was debited straight away without my prior knowledge. The reason I did not want the insurance to start until the next month, was that I wouldn’t have the money until then. As a result, my arranged £100 overdraft was exceeded. I first noticed I had a charge notification a couple of days later when I checked my balance online, once for the car insurance, and a second £35 for a minor payment I made while I was unaware I had already exceeded my overdraft. I transferred funds from another account straightaway and called into my local bank of Scotland branch. The member of staff, as friendly and helpful as she was, informed me that because of the national court case concerning bank charges, they were unable to do anything.
I have exceeded my overdraft before and have tried my best to keep track of my direct debits and bank balance, but I just did not see this one coming. I do not understand either why a total of £70 plus £28 is demanded of me, when an incredibly small percentage of that would cover the administration costs of sending two emails.
I only work part-time and have had my hours severely cut in recent months. £98 is near about half my monthly income now, and I simply cannot afford to pay it. I try very hard to keep my balance above the point of being overdrawn, as I do not wish to owe anybody anything.
Although it will be of a great inconvenience to me, I have seriously considered closing all four of my accounts with the Bank of Scotland and I have been looking at other banks to see what their policies are. I have been a customer with you for twelve years, but I’m becoming increasingly frustrated by all these charges that I just do not see the need for.
I hope that you can help me. I do realise that the Bank of Scotland and Halifax Car Insurance are not one and the same thing, but I trusted both companies into getting me a fair deal.
Lastly I want to thank you for taking the time to read this letter. As an employee in the field of retail, I know that good customer service and customer loyalty go hand in hand, and I would not like to give up on your services just yet.

Yours Sincerely, etc

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Unfortunately theres big cases currently ongoing about bank charges, and they charge them because they are in their terms and conditions (is how they make money), not really sure if its to cover costs anymore.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    BoS may not be able to help you, i've never used mine so never experienced it but Bos have always been good to me,

    Approch the insurance company, regardless of it being the parent company they took funds out of your account without your permission which caused you to go overdrawn, argue a case and they may reimburse you.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's well worth trying - most Banks do try to avoid looking too bad around charges - no harm in sending the letter, let us know how it goes.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    righto, i'll post it the morn and let you know if they reply. Thanks guys :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    As the charges haven't yet been taken from your account, you've approached them in a sensible manner, you may be able to have the charges cancelled.

    The court case is neither use nor ornament - and although is about the future of charges, mainly refers to past charges and reclaiming the money, along with if they are legal yadda yadda yadda.

    Just give your bank (customer service number) a call and state your case.

    If your insurance was paid BEFORE the agreed date (was it taken by Direct Debit? I'm presuming so), then this breaks the DD guarantee:

    http://www.bba.org.uk/bba/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=828&a=10383

    Although you may have gone over your overdraft limit in the past, if you had charges applied and you paid these, I don't see why the bank can't reverse the charges as a good will gesture on this occasion.

    The charges will probably be a break down as follows:

    £35.00 for unpaid item
    £35.00 for paid item
    £28.00 for exceeding overdraft

    http://www.bankofscotlandhalifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/interestrates.asp#guide_to

    Failing this, approach the Insurance Company and state that you agreed the money would be paid on XX date and they broke this agreement. As such, you've incurred the charges.

    For your insurance company:

    Dear Sir / Madam,

    On the XX of XXXXX, I purchased an Insurance policy from yourselves to protect my XX.

    It was agreed that the amount of £XX:XX would be taken from my account on the XX by Direct Debit.

    However, on the XX, contrary to our agreement, you took the above amount from my bank account via Direct Debit.

    As a result, I incurred the following bank charges due to the exceedance of the authorised overdraft limit:

    £35.00
    £35.00
    £28.00

    As you did not adhere to the Direct Debit guarantee, I would like these charges to be covered.

    Should you wish to discuss this further, please contact me on the number at the top of this letter.

    If a satisfactory resolution to this problem is not obtained, I will have no choice but to take this issue to the Financial Ombudsman.

    Yours sincerely

    Pearyclaire

    N.B. If you paid by Debit Card, it's another Kettle of fish - did they send you a letter stating the money would be taken from your account on the specific date?

    P.S. Many banks don't care about customer service, i've threatened to close accounts before and they really couldn't give a toss!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I would request they look into whether you were misadvised of the payment date, as realistically, if you've gone overdrawn in the past and had charges reversed before, that's the only real grounds a bank would reverse further charges...if it has been a bank error.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    FCUK it wrote: »

    Just give your bank (customer service number) a call and state your case.

    If your insurance was paid BEFORE the agreed date (was it taken by Direct Debit? I'm presuming so), then this breaks the DD guarantee:

    http://www.bba.org.uk/bba/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=828&a=10383

    Although you may have gone over your overdraft limit in the past, if you had charges applied and you paid these, I don't see why the bank can't reverse the charges as a good will gesture on this occasion.

    The charges will probably be a break down as follows:

    £35.00 for unpaid item
    £35.00 for paid item
    £28.00 for exceeding overdraft

    http://www.bankofscotlandhalifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/interestrates.asp#guide_to

    Failing this, approach the Insurance Company and state that you agreed the money would be paid on XX date and they broke this agreement. As such, you've incurred the charges.

    For your insurance company:

    Dear Sir / Madam,

    On the XX of XXXXX, I purchased an Insurance policy from yourselves to protect my XX.

    It was agreed that the amount of £XX:XX would be taken from my account on the XX by Direct Debit.

    However, on the XX, contrary to our agreement, you took the above amount from my bank account via Direct Debit.

    As a result, I incurred the following bank charges due to the exceedance of the authorised overdraft limit:

    £35.00
    £35.00
    £28.00

    As you did not adhere to the Direct Debit guarantee, I would like these charges to be covered.

    Should you wish to discuss this further, please contact me on the number at the top of this letter.

    If a satisfactory resolution to this problem is not obtained, I will have no choice but to take this issue to the Financial Ombudsman.

    Yours sincerely

    Pearyclaire

    N.B. If you paid by Debit Card, it's another Kettle of fish - did they send you a letter stating the money would be taken from your account on the specific date?

    P.S. Many banks don't care about customer service, i've threatened to close accounts before and they really couldn't give a toss!

    Thanks for your advice. I sent the letter but with no reply yet.

    Previously when i was given notice of charges, the first time i had them wiped because i didnt even know what an overdraft was, and the second time they deducted a portion of the charges cos i had asked for an overdraft but they didnt process it and so went in the red again. They say they have a note of my account details that ive been spoken to about this so i dont think a goodwill gesture is on the cards!

    Regarding the car insurance, i had thought about contacting them but I just don't think i'll have a case. I arranged it over the phone and paid direct debit. Perhaps stating that i want my insurance to start on whatever date wasnt enough to suggest that i don't want my account debited until then. I probably shouldve thought it through before making the call :(

    It couldn't hurt to send a letter though I guess
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You should have been told by the insurance company when the direct debit would be deducted. If they didn't tell you then you have a strong case to ask them to refund your charges. Failing that, you could call in the direct debit guarantee, but your insurance company may kick off about this.

    If you paid by debit card over the telephone then standard procedure is for the payment to be taken immediately.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    am I correct in thinking that if you *agree* an overdraft you won't get charged, or is this just with my bank (HSBC)?

    I only ask because a lot of people seem to get stuck with this charge but if they'd agreed an overdraft beforehand then they wouldn't.
    Might be worth looking into next time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Whowhere wrote: »
    am I correct in thinking that if you *agree* an overdraft you won't get charged, or is this just with my bank (HSBC)?

    I only ask because a lot of people seem to get stuck with this charge but if they'd agreed an overdraft beforehand then they wouldn't.
    Might be worth looking into next time.

    You do get charged if you go over the agreed limit

    Plus, not forgetting that very few - except student and graduate accounts - provide interest free overdrafts!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    YAAASS seems my bank passed my complaint over to halifax car insurance and they are gonna cover my bank charges!!!!

    It pays to be a moany wee bitch ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    YAAASS seems my bank passed my complaint over to halifax car insurance and they are gonna cover my bank charges!!!!

    It pays to be a moany wee bitch ;)

    :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    YAAASS seems my bank passed my complaint over to halifax car insurance and they are gonna cover my bank charges!!!!

    It pays to be a moany wee bitch ;)

    :yippe:
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