Banks win Supreme Court case on overdraft charges

mattheman · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:55

Goberpiles316 said:
Thing that annoys me is you have little choice.

We had an incident recently where we have two accounts, one for bills and the other for spending.

My wife set up a gym membership and gave them the bill account details, after 5 weeks they had not taken the standing order so she paid the fee by Visa card out of the spending account. After 7 weeks they asked her to sign another standing order as the first one had been lost. Upon checking the accounts on week 9 they had taken £35 from both accounts, putting us £2 overdrawn on the spending account. Phonecalls to the bank and gym were a waste of time and the bank charged us £35 for going overdrawn, hows that fair?

yep thats what happen to me, still waiting for the money bank its been 28 days.

zom247 · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:56

I can see where people are coming from in regards to the amount they are being charged for going overdrawn. Years ago when I was single, I was in some financial doggy doo and kept getting charged for being overdrawn. The thing that annoyed me at the time was that I'd have like £15 in my account, a DD for £20 would be taken, the bank would refuse it then charge me £20 for it thus causing me to be overdrawn by the same amount. I just took it on the chin and carried on with life.

Now I'm in a very good position money wise so going overdrawn is not really a problem and I never want to go back to those days again.

Hatter The Mad · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:56

unknownsock said:
I was 15, i didnt even have an overdraft.
I'd someone to actually justify this to me.

This must have been a mistake. How did you manage to get an overdraft when you were < 18?

Sawell · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:56

Skalaberg said:
Ever considered cutting down on monthly outgoings a little?...Whilst I commend your honesty admitting that you regulary overspend each month and have accumilated £4000 in bank charges and have plenty of debt at 21, This hardly makes you smart.

I hope that at the very least you have all the latest gizmo's and gadgets/lastest and greates phones etc in your apartment and sky HD to show for it.Then at least you will be in debt for something.

This is the problem with our culture around banking. We assume that those who aren't completely anal with money are not smart. Do you know how many times Richard Branson faced bankruptcy? Perhaps he shouldn't have taken risks in his life, after all he's not a smart man, right?

Just because I am in debt that doesn't mean that I don't manage my debt, or am controled by it. On the other side I have investment in property, I have bonds and shares. I still live on the edge with money though, why not? If society has told me anything it's that everyone has debt and I should definitely purchase this new low interest credit card with a reputable bank. (I'm not saying that's the reason I have but you can see why it's happening)

Wicksta · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:57

Sawell said:
Do you know how hard it is to function within our society without one?

I don't think there is even an alternative option to be paid to where I work.

Even if you get your wages paid into an account you can just use it for that and getting cash out, and paying bills over the counter/online, thus preventing any risk of charges.

If you left it until you had accrued £4000 in charges before taking any action then I'm afraid I have little sympathy, there is no excuse for getting charged that much.

unknownsock · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:57

Hatter The Mad said:
This must have been a mistake. How did you manage to get an overdraft when you were < 18?

Thats the thing i didnt have an overdraft.
Somehoe a transaction got authrorised when it shouldn't have.

mattheman · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:58

Hatter The Mad said:
No, you are absolutely wrong.

If you cannot manage your money, get a cash card (O2 offer them for free). These are based on Visa Electron, and support balance checking before the transaction goes through.

it direct debts i have a problem with not bank cards.

mattheman · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:59

Wicksta said:
Even if you get your wages paid into an account you can just use it for that and getting cash out, and paying bills over the counter/online, thus preventing any risk of charges.

If you left it until you had accrued £4000 in charges before taking any action then I'm afraid I have little sympathy, there is no excuse for getting charged that much.

yes, but if you pay your bills over the counter you get charged extra.

Sin_Chase · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:00

Duke said:
Excellent news

+1

Manage your money, do not get charges.

Sawell · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:01

Wicksta said:
Even if you get your wages paid into an account you can just use it for that and getting cash out, and paying bills over the counter/online, thus preventing any risk of charges.

If you left it until you had accrued £4000 in charges before taking any action then I'm afraid I have little sympathy, there is no excuse for getting charged that much.

I'm not asking for your sympathy, I couldn't give two *****. I have plenty of money, but then again so do banks. I think HSBC made £800m profit last year. That's a lot of bubbly at the investors party.

But hey, let's all **** on the little guy making his own way in life and throw out stupid suggestions like "don't use bank accounts" :rolleyes:

RDM · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:01

mattheman said:
yes, but if you pay your bills over the counter you get charged extra.

It costs the company more to process them?

If you are that bad at managing your money surely the extra costs from paying in cash would be outweighed by the massive savings you are now making by not getting banking charges?

Wicksta · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:01

mattheman said:
yes, but if you pay your bills over the counter you get charged extra.

We've been through this earlier in the thread. My gas, water and electricity bills can all be paid online at the same price as a direct debit, BT is £1.50 extra a month.

On what planet is accruing £4000 in charges the better option than paying a couple of quid extra a month?

Surfer · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:02

Mad Hatter your argument is irrelevant tbh. It may be common sense BUT it is irrelevant to ***how banks should operate**** Bam0 is totally correct. It would be easy for the banks to setup practices and procedures that would not hammer the customer with spurious charges time and time again. They should have a duty of care not to unneccessarily cause hardship or financially inconvenience the customer through either incompetent internal procedures OR more bluntly pursuing a business practice that to be quite honest exploits those who live on the breadline from month to month.

Oh yeah before i forget... when should we be expecting the banks to be paying back our money that they borrowed from us?

RDM · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:03

Sawell said:
I think HSBC made £800m profit last year. That's a lot of bubbly at the investors party.

Very little of that comes from retail banking in the form of current and savings accounts.

meghatronic · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:03

mattheman said:
it direct debts i have a problem with not bank cards.

Well, in the US banks fit into two groups if you do not have enough funds, those that will pay the DB (or equivalent) and charge you an honour fee (or equivalent), and those that don't pay the DB and charge you a dishonour fee (or equivalent). So Catch 22 for both.

unknownsock · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:04

Love the fact that people just presume they cannot manage there money.

meghatronic · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:05

unknownsock said:
Love the fact that people just presume they cannot manage there money.

I love the fact it seems to be those that cannot string basic sentences together are the most vocally opposed to bank charges.

Skalaberg · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:08

Sawell said:
This is the problem with our culture around banking. We assume that those who aren't completely anal with money are not smart. Do you know how many times Richard Branson faced bankruptcy? Perhaps he shouldn't have taken risks in his life, after all he's not a smart man, right?

Just because I am in debt that doesn't mean that I don't manage my debt, or am controled by it. On the other side I have investment in property, I have bonds and shares. I still live on the edge with money though, why not? If society has told me anything it's that everyone has debt and I should definitely purchase this new low interest credit card with a reputable bank. (I'm not saying that's the reason I have but you can see why it's happening)

So you think paying £4000 in bank charges due to going overdrawn constitutes 'managing' your debt?. You are right about society though..it has taught a generation that debt is ok..should be free..expected..encouraged and everyone elses responsibily but your own.

I wonder what would happen if the banks turned around tomorrow to everyone and said..right..no more overdrafts for anyone..when your account reaches 0.00 or if there are not enough funds in your account to pay whatever your trying to pay then tough the bill doesnt get paid and you can explain that to the person your trying to pay....but on the bright side there will be no unfair charges from us.

hmm..I wonder. Imagine the uproar..you can hear it now can't you..'waaaaaaa the bank wont give any money or let me spend money I don't actually have'

Zatoichi.uK · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:09

It never ceases to amaze me at just how common it is for people to live constantly in debt. A huge percentage seem to consider going right up to their overdraft normal. Its the same situation with credit cards. I find it strange that they seem happy on giving away a % of their salary to the banks/credit companys etc month in month out, but hey if it means I bank for free, please continue...

Stretch · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:10

Sin_Chase said:
+1

Manage your money, do not get charges.

If everyone managed their money properly how would the banks make a profit?

Charge people who have less than £100 in their account on the last day of the month? Or change people that need to make cash withdrawals on a Tuesday? It would still be "free" provided you "managed your money properly".