LG John

For over 10 years I have had my current account through the Halifax. Pretty much every pound that has been earned by me has gone through that account and I've paid all my wages, etc into it for years and years.

In all this time I've been the 'model' customer causing no problems for the bank and always meeting my obligations. Finally this month I slip up for the first time and allow a few sneaky direct debits I'd forgotten about to take me around £75 over my agreed overdraft limit. I got sent a total of 4 letters, one for each transaction (3 of them), and an 'overdraft charge' letter. The overdraft charge is £28 and each letter has a £30 charge. No physical letter was sent as I set up paperless banking yet I'm being charged an 'admin fee' of £30 per letter which is per item all of which is within about the last 24 working hours. In all I'm looking at charges of around £120!!!

So despite being 100% the model customer for 10 years, paying in all my money into the account, etc, etc and putting up with their poxy mail (letters that they don't charge me for) offering me this that and the next thing they screw me for £120 quicker than you can say, 'sh*t I've gone over my o/d limit'

LOL <shakes head> the sad thing is when I return my o/d to zero and end my relationship with them (which WILL happen) nobody will either notice or care

BTW, I agree they are within their rights to charge me BUT 4x £30 in 24 hours is just taking the p!ss and it makes my financial circumstances a whole lot worse. Its like saying this, 'Oh I see you've finally after all this time had a difficult month, don't worry we understand at the Halifax that these things happen and will gladly make it 100 times worse and charge you massive fees. Have a nice day'

Buckrogers

As you say it takes the p!ss.

Write a letter to the branch manager. Even if they agree to refund all costs, close your a/c anyway.

LG John

Thats tomorrows little project! You know, all I ever seem to do these days is write and argue with companies!!! I switched insurance companies when I got the S2000 and despite canceling my old policy they still made random charges so I have to write to them about that!! I cancelled my gym because I wasn't using it and gave my notice such that they would have it just prior to my next payment meaning my 3 month notice would run out at the end of July - they wrote saying they would charge me in august as well so I've had to write to them and now my bank are being w@nky about a relatively small amount of money.

I'm beginning to see why some people hate big companies!

lubo

clydesdale bank have personnal thingies who know all about your account and phone you up if theres a problem arrange larger ods or loans in seconds and take all the stress away

Apparition

That's what I HATE with a passion about today's world.......No loyalty !
Loyalty works both ways...... you have been a loyal customer all this time, and due to whatever circumstances, you have slipped up. To err is human so the saying goes. But there is no return loyalty. I'm in pretty much the same situation with my bank. Have been there for in excess of 20 years now, with an unblemished record. But should the day dawn that I go over drawn........ in will come the letters with price tags.
Just think how much better the world would be if these huge organisations were to employ a loyalty code. A pipe dream I know, but wow, what an affect it would have right across the board!

LG John

Nat that is absolutely shocking!!! You should write and complain and ask for some recompense as what they did effectively could have left you stranded without money at all!

douglasb

Kenny - I had a very similar situation with Halifax a few years ago. I wrote a pleasant letter to the Branch Manager saying that I assumed their cheque clearance was all done by computer as I thought that a person would have looked at my account history and noticed that there was a standing order due to be paid in the following day that would cover this cheque. They would also have noticed that I also had a savings account with them with a balance of over 400 times the amount of the cheque they were bouncing. I also mentioned that while they would be quite within their rights to charge me for bouncing the cheque, if they did so I would be closing all my accounts with them and taking my business elsewhere.

They didn't charge me!

Jonty

Don't forget that when a direct debit mandate is set-up with your bank, this is a green flag for any transactions they want your bank to process. If you part company with an organisation or service, the debit authorisation will remain open unless you get it cancelled... so any company with a fcuked up accounts dept can still try to take your money without being questioned.

[Michael Caine voice] Not a lot of people know that.

Jonts.

Jonty

I'm sure the bank will be obliging given your loyalty over the years, but should they not play ball then here's something worth considering. Technically you only go overdrawn at the end of the banking day -- when they process all the transactions.... or at least that's the picture banks normally paint for us and it's what I'm led to believe given my experiences with Barclays.

I've been known to throw my account deep into the red but because monies have been credited the same day, there's been no issue. Ask your bank what would have happened if you'd paid in £120 that day. Chances are they'd still claim you were overdrawn as the funds wouldn't have hit the account until that night. This gives you instant ammunition because they can't fine you with real-time debit problems if the same doesn't apply to credits... meaning they should have only issued 1 x letter and bank charge for the outstanding amount for that day.

Jonts.

BlkKnight

SB, it's a sad fact that banks DO NOT LIKE loyal customers who stay in the black.

They like there clients to be:
-overdrawn
-over their credit limit
-not paying their credit cards every month

This is how they make money.

Your charges look to be automated. I'm fairly sure they'll remove them if you kick up a fuss - they usually do. They'll probabily offer to give you / extend your OD limit as well. . . .

Good luck

4X4BOB

Call into your local Halifax brank and ask to speak to someone, and be polite with them!
My wife works for the Halifax, and this sort of thing happens all the time.
If its a customer that continually does this sort of thing, issues cheques knowing they don't have funds etc, then they DO get charged, end of story.
However, when its a "one off" situation and the customer has a good banking record, my wife in 99.99% of cases will reimburse the customer the charges.
BUT if a customer goes off on a rant and / or becomes abusive, then forget about any discretionary reimbursements!

Unless your bank branch is full of tw@ts you should get a result !


Bob

PS The nicer you are the more luck you'll have, and they all like a bit of charmer so don't be afraid to flirt a bit, 'spesh with the older ones

AND GET YOUR OVERDRAFT INCREASED

Jonty

"The name's Boy. Saxo Boy... and I'd like an overdraft facility please my dear... shaken, and not stirred..."

LG John

LOL @ Jonty

I always start of polite with companies and it usually takes several pointless exchanges before I turn to the dark side

4X4BOB

That would probably work Jonty

The more cheesey the line, the better it works, trust me I know


Would just be Saxo Boys luck to get the lad with a confused sexual identity

Bob

brickboy

I forgot this little rule when Lloyds TSB did to me what Halifax did to SB .... went into the branch, demanded to see the manager and had a rant in the open-plan area of the branch .... it worked

imlach

My Barclays online account allows me to cancel direct debits myself....which is pretty useful when coming to the end of d/d contracts such as those for mobile phones/gyms/etc. That way, none of these ****ers can draw ANY money from me again beyond the date they should. I sometimes cancel them early too, so that any remaining balance can be settled by cheque. Any discrepancies can be held back on my part.

It's the only way.

paul-s

I bank with NatWest, any charges I usually phone up and dispute/threaten to close account, and they soon refund them.
Also NatWest have English call centres. So you can understand what they're saying and vice versa. Which is nice

sonicsbro

Similar story with the Halifax with me several years ago, I was out of the country for 2 weeks, thought I had planned my finances well, but forgot about a direct debit that came out once every 6 months. It came out the day before I got paid, and took me overdrawn by £4.00
I had an overdraft limit of £500 which I never used, but apparantly direct debits will fail if you are overdrawn wheras cheques and cash withdrawls dont (at least they didn't going back 4 years)
I got stung for approx £30 and phoned up, they said to write a letter, I wrote a letter explaining the situation. never even got a reply so been with First Direct for the last 4-ish years...
...to be fair, I probably would have changed banks anyway by now, as I totally cannot stand that guy from the Halifax adverts...let alone look at his mug each time I went into one of their branches....does anyone actually like him????

rik1471

Good idea, I'll try that one.

DBY

Banks pay " lip service to customer service"

Mick

iTrader: (1)

Just phone and point out the error they have made... I've done it and all you have to do is mention it and they 'help you out'

Even with Tesco mastercard I forgot to pay in time and paid in full as soon as I realised, phoned them & got my £15 'admin charge' refunded

I think they rely on most people not even noticing...

I do think all the separate letters and a charge for each is ludicrous though...

Good Luck

Mick

matt85

Beat this one then....

Been with Yorkshire Bank the last 6 years or so. About a month ago i went into the bank to make a withdrawl of £800. The woman behind the counter asked why i didnt get £300 (my limit for the day) out of the cash machine and the rest from over the counter, to which i replied that my business means i deal in cash and as i would be out in the middle of nowhere later that day and it would be more than likely that i would need more money, it would make sense if i could still withdraw from a cash machine rather than try and find a branch somehwere totally out in the sticks (i only had a cash card with Yorkshire), to which the woman replied 'fine, but there is a £5 charge for that, sir'.

A £5 charge for withdrawing your own money? WTF? So i spat my dummy out and politely asked to close the account there and then so she got the manager over. They agreed to drop the charge and thought they had resolved the crisis. Or not as the case would be because i closed the account anyway.

Incidentally, this is the same bank that wouldnt give a DEBIT card to an 18 year old earning £2k a month on the grounds that i had 'no credit history'. And their customer servie is appalling. Bunch of clowns, stay well away.

v8voodoo

Is it just me, or have the Halifax gone seriously downhill since the became a "bank" rather than a building society..? They seem now to just be focused on charging customers for anything and everything they can rather than the previously excellent service..? The only good thing about them now is the online banking facility and the few select, pleasant individuals that work there and on the phones.

Shame really.

Mrs WRX

I have a Halifax account and one thing has always puzzled me - if it is now a bank why cant you pay any bills over the counter? Other banks try to charge you £5 per bill!I use Barclays to pay my bills as i have a Barclaycard and they usually let me pay my catalougue bill there. I know you can pay be Switch, but thats not the point is it?

milo

say it isnt so

petey

i don't like banks in my grandads day they used to just they're whole wages and they're savings in they're house! ha ha

jbryant

Always, always, ALWAYS cancel direct debits with your bank when you stop using a company for services. I've been turned over too many times by crap companies with crap administration charging me for a service I have already taken and paid for elsewhere.

Joolz

EddScott

Halifax charged me £30 for going 21p overdrawn in less than 24 hours. Went overdrawn on the 9th and bunged in the right money morning of the 10th. They then charge £30. They used to have a 48 hours period of grace but thats disappeared.

I have a cheque coming around the 5th June for about 14K. I can't wait to take it to the counter where I am sure they will ask if I need to see an adviser. Gonna be sweet pointing out the charge and that if they want me to consider investing with them they can put the £30 back!

If they call my bluff no big issue, most banks will handle all the DDM change over when you move. Shame though, I'm 28 next month and had my Halifax account since I was 16.