I agree, moved from them after going £12 over and having to pay over £50 in retarded fees
HSBC Bank charge - any advice
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I agree, moved from them after going £12 over and having to pay over £50 in retarded fees
You mean an account without an overdraft? Won't any transaction just be declined if you don't have any money left in the account?
Soldato
dont go over then. simples
if you have a overdraft and need to go past that then sort the problem rather than expecting the bank to have to waiver fee's which you agreed to when you signed up.
That's not true. First of all they won't charge you £50 for going £12 over. In fact they'll charge you 0 the first time and £12 after that.
Secondly they don't charge people extra if they're retarded, it's just a coincidence in your case.
I had a look at their policy here.
Soldato
No, they call it an "informal overdraft" and lend you the money, for a fee.
Ah but that's only for accounts that have overdrafts available right? I just checked mine and it's just a 'Basic Bank Account' with no Overdraft options.
I regularly check my balance anyway but I always thought you couldn't go in the negative unless you had a certain account type with the bank.
Assuming it's a free overdraft (I assume it's a student overdraft) then you make easy money this way. The only reason not to do it is in case this happens.
OP, you gambled and lost through a fault entirely your own. Just pay up and change banks if you aren't happy.
They do, there is a limit for every single account - otherwise there is no way for banks to manage their exposure.
Thats right, generally it's only for accounts where you can apply for an overdraft. You don't need to necessarily have an overdraft limit marked on the account to go over it though. There are very few basic accounts which will let you get into debt as generally these are for people who want to make sure they don't won't get into debt or have a poor credit history.
To the OP - I think you should be checking your account more than once every month
The bank have been pretty good in waving some of the fee's for you.
Soldato
No, that would be a normal overdraft. Informal overdrafts are automagically decided on a case by case basis by the computer. If you don't normally run out of money, and its not a huge amount, chances are they will allow you to go in the red and charge you £10-£20 quid.
Write to them to complain, if they write back saying that they're unwilling to refund the charge then threaten to take the case to the Ombudsman. Banks get charged something stupid like £500 for the FOS looking at a case so it's in their best interests to give you what you want.
Soldato
You can get a warning by text. But you need an HSBC plus account which is £12.50 a month.
They are perfectly capable of helping you out, but it's not as profitable
They are perfectly capable of helping you out, but it's not as profitable
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I'm with HSBC and I have always found their charges fine. You don't get charged unless you are £10 over your limit, if you use an HSBC cash machine it will tell you that you will get a charge if you withdraw. They also don't charge you for how long you are in your overdraft but instead it's £25 per transaction you make up to a maximum of £150.
That's better than a lot of other banks on the high street. You signed the terms to have this account so really you should just manage your money more. Start online banking and check your own balance when your at home. Will prevent this from happening again.
That's better than a lot of other banks on the high street. You signed the terms to have this account so really you should just manage your money more. Start online banking and check your own balance when your at home. Will prevent this from happening again.
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There's certainly a lesson in here for me to be more conscious of my money. The situation came about as follows :
I get paid into account b and transfer over a set amount in to account a for rent, living expenses etc....
In March I switched jobs and messed up my transfer between my accounts, as a result, I thought the account was covered where as in reality I had exceeded my limit by a few hundred (cover moving expenses etc). I only found out unfortunately when I tried to take £20 out of a cash machine a few days ago.
I've spoken with HSBC complaints this morning, admitted that there was no bank error and I'd be happy to pay the interest on the over draft. Explained I was unhappy with the arrangement fees as It was a simple mistake and one that would have been very easy to fix if I were aware of the disparity between my accounts. They've waived another £50 of the £150 charges, so out of pocket the interest + £75. In the circumstances, I think that's the best I can hope for.
My fault, expensive lesson learned. Just glad I had another account to fall back on to clear the arrears.
I get paid into account b and transfer over a set amount in to account a for rent, living expenses etc....
In March I switched jobs and messed up my transfer between my accounts, as a result, I thought the account was covered where as in reality I had exceeded my limit by a few hundred (cover moving expenses etc). I only found out unfortunately when I tried to take £20 out of a cash machine a few days ago.
I've spoken with HSBC complaints this morning, admitted that there was no bank error and I'd be happy to pay the interest on the over draft. Explained I was unhappy with the arrangement fees as It was a simple mistake and one that would have been very easy to fix if I were aware of the disparity between my accounts. They've waived another £50 of the £150 charges, so out of pocket the interest + £75. In the circumstances, I think that's the best I can hope for.
My fault, expensive lesson learned. Just glad I had another account to fall back on to clear the arrears.
To try and avoid it in future... try not using the overdraft at all. That way if the unexpected does happen then you'll go past 0 rather than go past the overdraft limit.
If you have savings then pay off your overdraft with them so that you don't clock up interest charges - overdraft interest will be 5x what you get on savings.
Check your account once a week - even if it's just at a cash machine.
You might also want to set up a separate bills account.
Your salary goes into your main account, you set up a standing order to your bills account for a touch over your bills, that way you know your bills are covered and you can see right away how much money you really have left each month. However you need to be extra careful with the bills account for the first few months. After that it's easier.
If you have savings then pay off your overdraft with them so that you don't clock up interest charges - overdraft interest will be 5x what you get on savings.
Check your account once a week - even if it's just at a cash machine.
You might also want to set up a separate bills account.
Your salary goes into your main account, you set up a standing order to your bills account for a touch over your bills, that way you know your bills are covered and you can see right away how much money you really have left each month. However you need to be extra careful with the bills account for the first few months. After that it's easier.
Soldato
Soldato
There is protection in this country against unfair terms for consumers in contracts.
Having something in agreed T&Cs for a consumer doesn't make something right.
Soldato
iirc this issue got judged in favour of the banks.
people shouldn't go complaining about something they should have known about before signing up. manage your finances better and things like this wont happen.