Are these bank charges right?

[MrMoonX]

Hmm Alliance and leicester sound a responsible bank & serve the customer properly.

ROFL not since santander took over

im with Co-Op for our joint and natwest for my own stuff, however co-op internet banking sux hard, but i couldnt be happier with my banks, mind u I dont have an overdraft and micro manage my current account so i never get charged!

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Just keep a decent buffer in your spending account and you'll never have a problem, or use a credit card for all transactions and pay it back every month like a responsible adult.

Also, don't spend more than you earn its that simple.

Don't use premium bank accounts, there a rip off!

 

[Squink]

My bank has changed the way it does things.
Last year when I became overdrawn I got a letter the next day to advise me to put money into my account, but now I get a letter 8 days after becoming overdrawn to advise id been overdrawn for more than 5 days.

As soon as you go into unplanned overdraft a letter is sent out overnight and should be with you in 2-3 days. If it took 8 days it was sat in a mail sorting office for 6 of them.

*stop using the debit card for shop payments, as its irresponsible of a bank to expect jo bloggs to know how much is in his account on a daily basis

As mentioned above, you've been trusted with a debit card. When you do a transaction on it, the retailer doesn't have to check how much is in your account as long as it's below their floor limit. It's part of being trusted with an adult account that you know what you have to spend and what you don't.

Last year I fell foul of the way the bank applied charges after regular DD's had been paid. This meant that even though there was enough money to cover DD's, the bank charges were applied two hours before the DD's

It's all very consistent and while there're a few bits and pieces that aren't necessarily intuitive, none of it is intended to catch out the unwary punter. When charges are due, you get a letter telling you about them and this information is repeated on your statement as well. A direct debit won't be returned as unpaid until 15:30 on the day it's due. If you get enough cash into the account to cover it by then, the DD will be paid and you won't pay a penny in charges.

I guess this was my fault for not checking there was enough money to cover bank charges

You should sign up for mobile banking - it's free and lets you check your balance from your mobile phone any time you want.

If charges are leading to more charges, you need to call them up and tell them about it. They have a department that can help you get out of the cycle.

 

[Fr0dders]

As mentioned above, you've been trusted with a debit card. When you do a transaction on it, the retailer doesn't have to check how much is in your account as long as it's below their floor limit. It's part of being trusted with an adult account that you know what you have to spend and what you don't.

The floor limit you linked to is for the shops

Which in the current age of Chip and Pin i dont think anybody does anymore, certainly all of the EPOS systems i used to work with when i worked with Torex didnt have one.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

I won't get into how good or bad you are at managing your own finances (hint : you're bad) but I don't think paying $17 a month for a 'special' account is delivering you much value. Go to a regular account and manage your account properly.

The bank is not your friend. They are not there to make your life a wonderful and happy place. They are their to make money and deliver to their shareholders and people like yourself help them achieve this by not managing your money properly. Do yourself a favour and start taking more responsibility for your finances because if you don't, I can't see how your situation is going to change.

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

You prob need a system that works for you, be that a spreadsheet, a piece of paper, a mini statement, a book .... or something.
Make a note of all your known payments (before your salary hits) and see what you have left, then TRACK THIS AMOUNT. Simples.

Also if your living that close to your means look at building a buffer no matter how hard since your relying on your salary to be paid "on time" which is probably not the date its actually in your account. You may get serisouly screwed if your salary is "late", but again I bet your definition of late is diff to your contract/companies. (There was a thread similar to this recently btw)

 

[RDM]

Changing banks really isn't going to help, you need to change how you manage your cash.

 

[Surfer]

Are you for real? Why should the bank monitor your account? Do you expect your local petrol station to let you know when you're about to run out of fuel?

Thats a poor analogy. The petrol is in your car which you can easily monitor. The money is in the bank. You have to communicate with them to find out what the balance is in your account. So the effectiveness and accuracy of the information you get via that communication depends on how you contact them (internet, phone, autoteller, in branch)

Exact live update of your bank account is not as simple as it sounds. Bank autotellers are worthless in divulging this information if someone is out and about. Thankfully nowadays we have internet banking tho not all of us have a mobile which can access this service on the go.

It isnt in the interest of banks to make sure people dont go overdrawn due to the monies they will receive (in charges etc). I would imagine it would be very easily to implement safeguards that would ensure people dont go overdrawn (ie a simple automated check that ensures no money is removed from account if there isnt enough money there) but banks are in this to make money..we are merely the customer...having social and civic responsibility doesnt come under the banks mandate. Perhaps it should do.

 

[jamief]

.having social and civic responsibility doesnt come under the banks mandate. Perhaps it should do.

What an utter load of nonsense. The only thing that needs to happen is people need to start accepting a bit of personal responsibility rather than expecting someone else to do it for them. If you can't manage your personal finances, then start paying everything with cash.

 

[CraigN]

Don't spend more money than you own - easy.

if you want your card to be checked every time you use it ask the bank to give you a Visa Electron or Maestro Solo card !

 

[d_brennen]

Thats a poor analogy. The petrol is in your car which you can easily monitor. The money is in the bank. You have to communicate with them to find out what the balance is in your account

The analogy if fine. You have statements, mini statements, cash machine available balance, internet banking, telephone banking... All at easy reach. I even have an Ulster Bank (RBS) app for my phone.

Managing money should work like this:

1. Payment in on xx date
2. DD payments out arranged to happen shortly after xx date
3. Some money put into seperate savings account (doesn't matter how much, just some)
4. Keep up to date on what you have left to cover the rest of the month

Variables like not getting paid due to an error etc can be a pain but if you do step 3 for a year or so you should be fine.

It isn't hard, people just need to put a tiny bit of effort in. Many of my friends still live with their parents, earn good money and still manage to be skint/overdrawn for two weeks a month.

Personal finance management should be part of the curriculum if it isn't already.

 

[Squink]

It isnt in the interest of banks to make sure people dont go overdrawn due to the monies they will receive (in charges etc).

Yes and no. I'm sure most banks would prefer all their customers to be excellent credit risks so that they qualify for higher-profit products such as loans and credit cards.

 

[juno_first]

Im going start accepting a bit of personal responsibility rather than expecting someone else to do it for me cus the banks dont care & just want you fall down.
--I just withdrew a wad of cash to last x days & now I can see how much money I have in my wallet, no more hassle checking the bank balance.

Id never have & never will have a credit card as im not rich.
It will take 9 months to clear my overdraft & then i'll cancel my £17 platinum card & be £30 month better off with no overdraft. That will then pay for SkyHD

 

[RDM]

It will take 9 months to clear my overdraft & then i'll cancel my £17 platinum card & be £30 month better off with no overdraft. That will then pay for SkyHD

Rather than spending it on SkyHD wouldn't it be a better idea to pop it in to savings and start building up a buffer?

 

[Fenris]

Id never have & never will have a credit card as im not rich.

You don't need to be rich to have a credit card, you need to not be stupid.

Bank charges are the banks way of telling you you are not using the service correctly, if you have an arrangement with a company for them to debit your account (yes, the company does this, the bank has nothing to do with the when) it is your responsibility to make sure money is there, if there isn't then it's your fault and you will receive a charge that was outlined in the terms and conditions you agreed to by signing the dotted line on the application form.

 

[Adsta]

I personally take the typical british approach of not worrying about my whats in my bank

That said my income is a lot more than my outgoings. So I am never near being OD. Even if I was I have a £3000 OD so that should cover most things.....

 

[juno_first]

Rather than spending it on SkyHD wouldn't it be a better idea to pop it in to savings and start building up a buffer?

Yeah, after the OD is clear I'll be 220+30/month better off
Well actually 120 or so as im sure i'll need save for another graphics card by then
It just took 2 months save for a £650 tv so I guess it depends if you're ok with no-frills beans, lol.

I thought of a loan to clear the OD, but why should I pay even more interest when I dont have to.

 

[Surfer]

The analogy if fine. You have statements, mini statements, cash machine available balance, internet banking, telephone banking... All at easy reach. I even have an Ulster Bank (RBS) app for my phone.

You appear not to have understood the analogy if you think it was fine. The petrol is in your car - you have access to it at all times via various instruments in car.

Your money is in the bank, the bank has full access you only have the following information access means :

statements - crap

Far too little information on here or is it only HBOS that give out statements that dont actually tell you who you bought from on the statement. They only have the location and the code for the type of transaction

mini statements - crap

Inaccurate for the purpose in which people want to use them imo.

cash machine available balance - also crap

Perhaps you should have read my post. As my point was yes you can get exact information from your bank but its hard to find out exactly how much money you have available if you are out on the town. If you are saying that the autoteller and mini-statements convey ones exact bank account status then i suggest you look again because they do not.

Only internet banking and to a lesser extent telephone banking are fit for purpose imo. But like i've said (numerous times) its not really convenient if you are out and about.

Personal finance management should be part of the curriculum if it isn't already.

Nowhere in my post did i disagree with that notion....

 

[Deleted member 66701]

its not really convenient if you are out and about.

Check you're balance BEFORE you go out?

 

[juno_first]

Well I used the cash point balance to check my account was in credit, but didnt know a payment from the day before would take 2 days to come out your account, it should be instant & surely in this day & age of promoting electronic money that it is possible!

Having to check online banking is a pain + theres the risk of pc hacking etc & your details stolen.

Cash is the future as the banks dont provide a responsible service which is better than cash.