planet x alan Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 (edited) So I've been charged £85 for going £6.35 overdrawn last month. £25 for a £5.99 payment. and get this £25 for a £1.36 itunes payment. Plus another £35 charge. Going to fight this obviously. Do i stand any chances of getting the fees reduced? Or am i truly F worded? Any tips on things to say/scream at them down the phone that may help? Cheers. Edit: Almost forgot. Bank is Santander. Edited November 11, 2011 by planet x alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Go in to your local branch and have a word. More likely to get something sorted than over the phone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewEH1 Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Just to let you know that Santander has the worst reviews when it comes to customer service. My Dad has had issues with them, mainly got creating a new executor account under the name (my dead grandmother's name - how can they mess that up?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Vandart Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 I am a f**king expert at getting fee's back. Unfortunately you have to think on yer feet and react to what they say so I can't really help you out here. I recently got £330 of charges back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 To echo what Andrew said, Santander are f**king shit. My experience of their 'help' when I was a victim of card fraud definitely backs that up, as do some charges I had from them previously. They were shit for my mum too. If I wasn't lazy as shit I'd have changed bank by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Vandart Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 This is a very good point Mark and I rekon the reason they dont buck their ideas up. I have had nothing but problems with Lloyds but still I havn't changed my business account. For instance I get charged 37 bucks a month for service charges. so I asked the dude what services I ha for my 37 bucks His answer made me laugh like f**k, he said business advice, so I reeled off a (hypotheitical) business situation and he had no answer, he new f**k all about business. I rekon the best bank out there atm is Natwest, I have an account with them and have no problems at all with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 It just seemed shit to me that their Fraud department phoned me because they had detected fraudulent action taking place with my account, and when I confirmed that it was fraudulent they decided it wasn't and did nothing about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaybs41282 Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 I thought there was some law passed to try and combat these ridiculous charges that banks sting you with? I may have dreamt it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simpson Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Just go into the branch and be nice but firm, its not the person behind the counters fault that you got charged, but if you can persuade them that the bank is being irrational then they do have the power to remove them. So if the 1st bitch won't do anything go into another branch and try again. I got 60quid back of nationwide last year when i went 90p overdrawn for 2 days or something rediculas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 I thought there was some law passed to try and combat these ridiculous charges that banks sting you with? I may have dreamt it The bank have to prove that the charges are fair. Before the court hearing it was the other way around, the onus was on the account holder to prove that the charges were unfair. Go in and speak to your branch manager. Ask them how they justify such high charges for such a small amount and ask for a copy of that justification in writing. Tell them you want the charges reversed, if it's the first time this has happened you could try the "good faith" card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Jones Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 This is a very good point Mark and I rekon the reason they dont buck their ideas up. I have had nothing but problems with Lloyds but still I havn't changed my business account. For instance I get charged 37 bucks a month for service charges. so I asked the dude what services I ha for my 37 bucks His answer made me laugh like f**k, he said business advice, so I reeled off a (hypotheitical) business situation and he had no answer, he new f**k all about business. I rekon the best bank out there atm is Natwest, I have an account with them and have no problems at all with them. dude, count yourself lucky, Natwest are the biggest pricks to me! I have a student account with them, one of the condition's is that my student loan has to go into that account. When i got the account, i had my loan put into it, but my card and account details were never given to me in the end. I had been given the details to SF on the day when i opened the account whilst st the branch. I didnt recieve my card until december and they then froze my account due to inacctivity. They wanted me to pay a charge of £100 for breaching my conditions. Since then i have switched the account my finanace goes into. Remainder of the problems; 1) Student account so i have an overdraft set up. i am now overdrawn and they have frozen the account once again until i can pay off the agreed overdraft. they have blocked the card so i cant actually go and put money into the account. i went in to talk to them and what they said was that its not there problem! 2) they want to charge me for not putting my loan into that account! 3) They are being the biggest A*****e's to me even though i have been into them to explain it all. 4) when i went in to report my card stolen (night out went really badly) they laughed at me for having no card anymore and not knowing my account details off by heart. They sent me a replacement card.... 4 months later, they sent me a letter saying they have some unusual payments with the new card. not me, someone had my card, blocked it and then another month later my new new card arrived. Account is frozen again! I am following everything they want except paying my loan into the account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simpson Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 I am following everything they want except paying my loan into the account. Exactly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Jones Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 I asked them if my loan went in would my account be opened, they said it would take them 3 weeks to process the application. I depend on that loan and if i couldn't get it, i would have to leave uni, that's one thing i cant do. I am trying to pay money in to the account but its taking ages for it to be cleared due to the account being frozen. i'm wanting to just pay it off now and get rid of the account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Nichols Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 (edited) You're not doing the one thing that matters the most to them! You do know how banks make their money right?! Edited November 13, 2011 by nichols_sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Jones Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 yes but if i give them my money then how the hell am i supposed to live Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Sam - welcome to the world of business. They couldn't give a shit how you're supposed to live, that concern doesn't pay the big end of year bonuses. You're all missing the point, there is no "best" bank - they're all out to make a huge fortune, none of them will ever be brilliant when their main aim is to rake in the £££. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simpson Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 yes but if i give them my money then how the hell am i supposed to live You must pay at least 750 into the account every 4 months, that's their terms, so pay the money into the account and then take it out... nothing in the T&C stipulates that the money must stay in your account for any period of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Jones Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 simps i know that but they have had my account frozen over the summer too, but because its been frozen, it'll take them a while to process the money and then clear the account to use, in that time, i would have no money and be unable to live! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simpson Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 You're all missing the point, there is no "best" bank - they're all out to make a huge fortune, none of them will ever be brilliant when their main aim is to rake in the £££. Natwest is incredibly reasonable.... they have "given me" about 2 grand which I have 3 years to pay off after uni interest free. Its just about being clever with your money. There's no way Natwest are going to make any money lending me that 2 grand, consider if i borrowed it anywhere else the lowest fee I would get would be like 7% but I get that money for about 6 years interest free... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonsieurMonkey Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Another thumbs up for Natwest here, I've never had any problems with them at all. To be honest I've never had any real problems with any bank. But I am pretty willing to be 100% direct and call someone a robbing twat over the phone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolfa Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Best course of action to OP is to go in and politely ask, failing that try asking a little more aggressively, failing that cry and beg. Usually works but they only go for it so many times The way Barclays dealt with the law change on overdrawn fees, is to stop calling them overdrawn fees and change it to "reserve charge", so if I ever go £1 over my overdraft, it automatically costs £22. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaZaa Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 I've had problems with a few banks in the past. Mainly Halifax but I still use them, and I eventually came to the conclusion that no bank out there are any good for consumers, same with insurance companies in some respect because we as individuals resent having to pay for their fees. At the end of the day whether we like it or not we are contractually obliged to pay what is to pay and we can complain and claim against until our hearts are content, with or without a result. I totally agree that the fines are a bit of a grey area but there will probably be something in there that says if you breach certain terms that you have to pay a certain amount. (Nobody ever reads these things and it is only because the banks make them so elaborate that we can't be bothered to that they probably get away with it). From my experience it is probably best to make a quick phone call or go into branch, be nice and actually explain your confusion and unhappiness. Don't go all guns blazing as I once did because it will make you look a dick and people will be less inclined to actually help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzo Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 This is a very good point Mark and I rekon the reason they dont buck their ideas up. I have had nothing but problems with Lloyds but still I havn't changed my business account. For instance I get charged 37 bucks a month for service charges. so I asked the dude what services I ha for my 37 bucks His answer made me laugh like f**k, he said business advice, so I reeled off a (hypotheitical) business situation and he had no answer, he new f**k all about business. I rekon the best bank out there atm is Natwest, I have an account with them and have no problems at all with them. Not being funny, but surely you were fully aware of all the costs before you signed to join Lloyds - therefore this isn't a problem with Lloyds, its a problem with you failing to read the paperwork and not bothering to move your account or cancel that particular service? I'm with First Direct - Costs me £10 a month but the service is spot on. Never gone over my agreed overdraft so cannot comment on that - however I don't think the policy will differ that much from bank to bank. As someone else said, banks are there to make money, not to help you. Whilst they may be willing to cut your informal overdraft fee they are not obliged to do so...you broke the terms, you went beyond the agreed overdraft and you foot the bill. If you find yourself paying £25 for going 80 pence overdrawn (you may find they have a flat rate of £25 for any informal overdraft, anything below 10 has no fixed fee, £10-25 is £5 per day, £25+ is £10 per day) then you may want to consider setting up an overdraft if you don't already have one, if you do have an overdraft and still go over, then you need to look at your finances carefully and see where you're f**king up. I have 2 accounts, a bills account with an overdraft facility of £100 and another account with disposable income (no overdraft). I total my outgoings for the month, and each time I get paid that amount plus £10 goes into the bills account (to cover any overspend - e.g phone bill). Whatever is left remains in the normal account and I know I can safely blow all of that money (if I wish) and the bills will still get paid. I used to f**k up my money all the time until I had to become responsible for it. 99% of people who 'complain' about their bank are the ones f**king up in the first place - why shouldn't they charge you for using their money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 If you find yourself paying £25 for going 80 pence overdrawn (you may find they have a flat rate of £25 for any informal overdraft, anything below 10 has no fixed fee, £10-25 is £5 per day, £25+ is £10 per day) then you may want to consider setting up an overdraft if you don't already have one, if you do have an overdraft and still go over, then you need to look at your finances carefully and see where you're f**king up. That's what it was like for me. I think it was a £30 fine for using an un-authorised overdraft facility, and £20 for making a payment that made me use my un-authorised overdraft facility. I think that's the sort of thing they've phased out as it was effectively a charge twice for the same thing. The charge should remain the same no matter what the amount size is, but I guess they'll pants-down-rape-you for interest. That's a technical term, btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konstant Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Santander... A couple of years ago they charged me for a late mortgage repayment. At the time I was 18, living at home and doing my A levels. THEY THOUGHT I HAD A MORTGAGE. Needless to say I moved elsewhere. To their credit they refunded me the charge plus a good will / we screwed up massively gesture, without questioning. I find that banks can be quite reasonable and will reduce charges if you ask them nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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