Unauthorised Overdraft Charges by Barclays

Some banks did operate accounts that charged interest only on unauthorised overdrafts. These were the exception rather than the rule and were mainly with smaller banks and building societies. I doubt Barclays would miss an opportunity to charge.

The only overdraft that doesn't incur any charges at all (yer right) is one where you pay a monthly fee for this privilege.

The penalty charge you have suffered covers the cost of writing you a letter. Try writing back and asking them to pay you the same for your letter!

I believe that it is usual for the terms and conditions to say that the charges are as published in your local branch, so they don't need to tell you of all changes.

Unfortunately, unlike other people who may overcharge you, banks can get paid just by helping themselves from your account. It is not unusual for them to do this in such a way that more charges become payable.

Please complain strongly, but you will be told "it is standard banking practice" to charge you for anything they can.

Good luck.

Everyone i know who has complained about situations like this have received a refund.

I only have a 250 overdraft that is free for 3 consecutive days in a month and only interest charge up to the limit which i have increased and have never been charged an unauthorised fee.

I have not heard anything about a change in policy. Query this and let us know.

Don't think this would work as your letter to to the bank would be unsolicited.

The trick is to write to the bank, advising you are charging them an admin fee for your _reading_ their letter. The admin fee should be equal to or just slightly less than the bank's orginal admin charge.

Go into your local branch, it is likely that on this one occasion it will be refunded but not again in the future as the staff will ensure you do know the fee structure.

All Barclays customers were notified by post and 'notifiers' were printed on the bottom of statements. IOW - if you actually read your statement you would have known about changes to the T&C!

Marcus

At the bottom of my last statement dated 19th August was an advert for their 'Great Value Home Insurance'

I've submitted a complaint via their website and have been advised that I'll receive a response by post within 5 days.

Thanks for all the comments, will let you know whether I'm successful or not.

Cheers

Dave

Old system: If you have an agreed overdraft, and go overdrawn beyond that limit, you are charged £20. Maximum one charge per day, 3 charges per charging period (month).

If you had no agreed limit, you were allowed to go upto £100 overdrawn before incuring any charges. Over £100 you would be charged £20 as above.

New system, as of 26.9.03: If you exceed your agreed overdraft limit (which may be nil) by more than £25, you pay a £25 fee. Maximum one fee per day, and maximum 3 charges per charging period (month).

Thanks Andy, that's what I thought.

Received a letter today saying they were looking into my complaint and I should receive a response by 28th Nov.

I don't really think I've got a leg to stand on with regards to them refunding the £25 paid referral fee. But hopefully they might as a goodwill gesture. I guess it depends on how much they value me as a customer.

We'll see.

Dave.

Received a letter today stating:

'It is the customers responsibility to run the account within the agreed limits therefore it is not usual for Barclays to reimburse fees which have been applied. However on this occasion we have credited your account with £25 as a gesture of goodwill.'

It was worth complaining then, and I'll be more careful next time.

Cheers

Dave

x-no-archive: yes

why don't you get a credit balance only account, so its impossible to go o/d in the first place, then send me 1/2 of what you save.... ;-) has been a great way to budget, as when its gone, its gone!

As a twist, I've just been stung by Barclays for not having enough money in a savings account to pay a regular transfer amount to another of my own accounts. All my money comes into a Savings a/c, some gets transferred to the current a/c, some to a higher-int. a/c, and some remains as a buffer. These transfers are through standing instructions I've set up on the website. On this occasion, a receipt came in later than expected, and the standing order remained unpaid. Given that I'm only moving money between my own accounts, and that if Barclays bothered to look at the bigger picture, there isn't really a deficit, do I have a case against them for the £30 charge ?

No, you should take better care of your finances rather than cutting it so fine. Its just a computer following your instructions to the letter. FF's sake, isnt there even an automatic 'sweep' function you can use? Bottom line is, you screwed up. Dont go whining about it.

Who's whining ? I posted in response to a thread on bank charges, and asked for an opinion - that's all. I accept I could have been on the ball a bit more, but seeing as the money was only (potentially) moving beteen my accounts with the same bank, not to another account/bank, the charge seemed to me a bit more than a rap on the knuckles. For whatever reason, posting via Google groups seemed to stick the message up in a separate thread, which was not my intention. Apologies if I gave the wrong impression, or whatever upset you. And take it easy, mate.

fair comment, but you have choosen a setup that leads you vunerable to this happening, and presumably have ticked or signed all the bits of paper/forms that state you realise what will happen if.... I think the answers still that you have to pay therefore, though there is nothing to lose by writing them a letter pointing out that overall you werent in overdraft and that it was onlya day or two etc etc. But there are automated services that will do this for you so you dont need to micromanage, and if you have a mortgage, moving to a 'one' type account entirely removes this type of issue.

I guess it depends on how much they value me as a

That's an easy one to work out. How much do they get from you in fees?

Actually I spoke to an ex Barclays employee yesterday who explained why they are under pressure to move people over to these 'automatic sweep into savings' type accounts, sold on the basis of the interest you can get. The truth is they are there to prevent you from gaining a residual balance in your current account which protects you from charges. I've recently been stung by Barclays for 45 quid charges for an overdraft on my current when I had 40 TIMES the amount of the overdraft in my (supposedly linked) savings account. Of course when I complained was told that 'we look at each account in isolation' (when it suits them of course). I'm sure they'd soon dip into my savings if they seriously thought I was going to default on the overdraft.

So now I'm looking for a new bank. I've also had enough of the 'personal account manager' (really just a saleswoman armed with more info about my financial status than I'd ever give another salesperson in a million years) who couldn't do enough for me when trying to get me to change my mortgage to Barclays, and more or less told me to f*ck off when complaining about this charge.

don't try RBS or Nat West the link system is a nightmare David