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[Adam Easy Wishes]

1. Get credit card.
2. Buy one shopping-trip on credit card per month.
3. Pay off in full.
4. Repeat.

[KittyCat]

Originally Posted by Adam Easy Wishes

1. Get credit card.
2. Buy one shopping-trip on credit card per month.
3. Pay off in full.
4. Repeat.

That's exactly what I did when I needed to get a decent credit rating for getting a mortgage.

It is a bit strange that they wont give you a debit card for your account but I suppose it's quite handy as you'll always know how much money you have left in your account, minimising over-spending.

[Scorge]

Something like this was inevitable, really.

Currently looking at a switch from HBOS to A&L when my pay comes in at the end of the month: I've had no problems as such with them, but not really had much benefit either.....

[daveofficer]

Originally Posted by Bigsby

Aye, was looking to move to another bank, although the rest will probably follow suit.

Checked my bank account yesterday to discover that I had inadvertantly gone over my agreed overdraft by charging 3 items to my debit card. HBOS decided to charge £35 for EACH breach, ie £105 in total, PLUS £28 "for going into unauthorised overdraft". Um, wasn't that what the £35 charges were for???

In the end a grovelling phone call saying it was a mistake on my part and pointing out that it had never happened before got them to drop all but a £3 interest charge. Phew.

ok, i'm going to try and help a little bit in this thread seeing as i work in a high street bank.

the £35 is either a paid referral or a guaranteed card payment fee. this is charged for the bank paying a transaction when there was no money available. the £28 is the unauthorised overdraft fee which although caused by your transactions is seperate from the other fee's as it could be caused by a number of things. in the bank i work for these are not daily charges. all our charges have been reduced, some to as low as £5.

you're very lucky to have got them back and i think had it not been your first charge in a very long time, you would not have got them back.

i'll try and address a few points as best i can, i'm not going to debate the fairness of the value of any banks charges though as this is being decided by courts and i don't want anyone coming into my bank saying "dave said he agrees that the charges are too high" or something like that.

Originally Posted by Le Stu

Yeah, I've never been sure what that cryptic 'monthly overdraft fee' bullshit was about. I already moved my account to another bank (and a solvent one at that so I'm hoping they'll leave me alone.) and I'm just waiting to get my hundreds back that they already stole before closing the HBOS one. Was there a verdict on the court case yet? Anyone know?

The court case is ongoing and as such if you make a complaint about bank charges and claim them to be unfair then you will not get a decision until the case is resolved. should you wish to complain about bank charges to any bank then you should to it politely and factually, most bank staff will work harder to get your charges back if they empaphise with you a bit.

As for the stolen comment, bank charges are applied usually when someone spends money they don't have on something. This is basically theft as they have made no agreement to borrow this money and the bank has had no warning of it. The charge is the same for 10p or 1000 pounds or even more as the bank must be seen to treat everyone the same. Although charges are frustrating they are there for a reason, the easiest way to avoid paying them is to keep track of your spending and get in touch with a bank or family if you're going to go over your limit, they might be able to help before charges are applied.

I'm not singling these two posts because they were bad but they caught my eye and allowed me to address a few points quickly. As with any retailer you get the best deals if you shop around, compare bank accounts and put some time into your research and you will find yourself better off. Speak to the advisors at the banks and remember to say 'No' or that you'll think it over, don't let people talk you into things if you're not comfortable but do listen as they can usually save you money on things as well.

The debit card thing for Original Spies, not sure why that would be. Debit cards usually have a cheque guarantee facility attached to them and as this is a type of credit facility then this could be your stumbling block if you have a poor credit rating. It may be that if it's a newish account there hasn't been enough activity on it, or it may also be that the person you've asked doesn't know what they're doing. Try seeing if they have a debit card which doesn't offer a cheque guarantee with it, like a Solo card.

Anyone want to know anything? I'll try and help, I hated banks before I worked in one(not particularly over the moon with them having worked in them either) and have had plenty charges over the years and i don't think i ever fully understood the workings of such things.

[Adam Easy Wishes]

Originally Posted by daveofficer

The court case is ongoing and as such if you make a complaint about bank charges and claim them to be unfair then you will not get a decision until the case is resolved. should you wish to complain about bank charges to any bank then you should to it politely and factually, most bank staff will work harder to get your charges back if they empaphise with you a bit.

That said, complaining now (template letters at Money Saving Expert: Consumer Revenge - Credit Cards, Shopping, Bank Charges, Cheap Flights and more) means that at least you're in the queue - once the case goes through (and providing it rules in favour of the consumer) there will be a heap of people who decide to claim and it could take months if not years to get any result on your claim.

Secondly it's worth noting that if you can prove 'financial hardship', the bank is obliged to look at your claim and make a decision regardless of the fact the test case is ongoing. More details on this at the site above also.

[Le Stu]

HBOS are quite capable of denying direct debit payments on the basis of insufficient funds, yet they choose not to. They are complicit in these transactions, hence not theft. Perhaps the correct word I was looking for was 'extortion' as it came out some years ago that the true cost of processing these unauthorised transactions could be as little as £2.50.

[daveofficer]

Originally Posted by Le Stu

HBOS are quite capable of denying direct debit payments on the basis of insufficient funds, yet they choose not to. They are complicit in these transactions, hence not theft. Perhaps the correct word I was looking for was 'extortion' as it came out some years ago that the true cost of processing these unauthorised transactions could be as little as £2.50.

Just cause you get caught shoplifting and have to put the food back doesn't mean you weren't shoplifting. but that's enough of the analogy as I'm sure you get the point and i don't want to annoy you with it.

Also should they choose to not pay the transaction you will receive an unpaid fee. These are not cheap either. It also causes the customer lots more hassle if their direct debits aren't paid or their standing order for rent or the card payment for their electricity.

Banks are a business and businesses don't do anything at cost price. I'm not going to debate the amount that a charge should be though, for the reasons i explained earlier, but I'm trying to explain a little about why there are charges.

[Nev]

Originally Posted by daveofficer

I'm trying to explain a little about why there are charges.

To put it succinctly:

Banks are businesses, and businesses are cunts.

Seemples!

[daveofficer]

Originally Posted by Adam Easy Wishes

That said, complaining now (template letters at Money Saving Expert: Consumer Revenge - Credit Cards, Shopping, Bank Charges, Cheap Flights and more) means that at least you're in the queue - once the case goes through (and providing it rules in favour of the consumer) there will be a heap of people who decide to claim and it could take months if not years to get any result on your claim.

Secondly it's worth noting that if you can prove 'financial hardship', the bank is obliged to look at your claim and make a decision regardless of the fact the test case is ongoing. More details on this at the site above also.

This is true. You have to be in real trouble though and prove that you're not racking up charges by overspending in topshop and ebay then realising you've run out of money for your rent.

First thing to do if you're in trouble is speak to your debtors and seek advice from Citizens Advice, the Consumer Credit Counselling Service or any other debt advisory charity or organisation. Royal Bank also over an independent and impartial advice session on budgeting called Moneysense who can also put you in touch with debt management services. This is open to non-rbs customers as well.

[Le Stu]

HBOS isn't really a business. After all, if they were a business they'd have a share price of 0 right now.

Since we're on the subject of theft, but I digress...