A bank charge for a bank charge!

[NeptuneUK]

RBS has charged me £105 for going overdrawn.
I was overdrawn because of a previous charge.
This new charge has been taken out of my account without my knowledge, as far as I am aware they MUST send a letter so many weeks before the charge indicating when the charge will come through and what it is for. I am sure that they are in the wrong this time.

I phoned the telephone banking line and the call centre guy said he has no information on the charge because someone from my local branch personally authorised it. WHAT?!

To anyone who knows more than me (piss all) about banking : WHAT THE SHIT DO I DO!?!?!? I have less than no money. I am going to phone up the branch tomorrow and complain, after they refuse to give me a full refund what is the next course of action?



edit.

Reasons I am angry:
1)I would not have been over the limit if they never charged me in the first place.
2)The original charge was just as excessive, and I had no idea the charge was coming through until they robbed me at the end of June because I was staying at my mothers house at the time (never got the letter).
3) I always check my account balance before making ANY payment or withdrawal, I was pretty sure that's a foolproof method of not going over the limit (WRONG).
4) This was a stealth charge without my knowledge.
5) RBS was bailed out by the taxpayer and they are still robbing us blind.
6) **** you.
7) After the original charge I was assured by the branch manager that there would be no more charges unless I go over my agreed limit.
8) The original charge occured because the account balance was incorrect (they lied!) when I made a purchase, the money that was taken out late was from A CASH MACHINE >: |

 

[bryanf445]

Well, once you get this resolved I'd suggest getting overcharge protection for the future.

 

[NeptuneUK]

Well, once you get this resolved I'd suggest getting overcharge protection for the future.

I have never heard of this before, sounds nice though.

 

[bryanf445]

Yea I have it on my account. Check into it, I don't think the bill for it is that much either.

 

[stemot]

Yes, you are right, they are required to notify you of any charges being deducted from your account. They are in the wrong and need to refund your money.

Find out from your local branch why this person authorised it and don't let them tell you that you're wrong to demand a refund.

 

[CyberPitz]

Unless they did send you a letter but you weren't at the mailing address which is then your fault that you didn't know.

I'm hoping you can talk to them and get your money back. That is some BS.

 

[NeptuneUK]

Yes, you are right, they are required to notify you of any charges being deducted from your account. They are in the wrong and need to refund your money.

Find out from your local branch why this person authorised it and don't let them tell you that you're wrong to demand a refund.

Ok thanks I was sure this was the case.

Unless they did send you a letter but you weren't at the mailing address which is then your fault that you didn't know.

That was the original charge, not this one. Hence I didnt kick up too much of a fuss for that one (I DID go over the limit without any help )

 

[stemot]

Ok thanks I was sure this was the case.

No probs. The only reason I know this is because the same thing happened to me. I made a point of asking the woman on the hotline if I should of been notified by mail. When I was told I should have been notified I confirmed with her that this meant the charge was void and she agreed. I then rolled into my branch who tried to get out of it even when I told them of the conversation with the helpline, I stuck to my guns though and got it written off. They were not happy but **** them, it was my money and they were in the wrong.

I hope it works out for ya mate.

 

[CyberPitz]

Hmm, here in the states, it's a bit different.

Then again, I may not be understanding the story. So, you knew about the original charge coming through, so they charged you, that dumped you into the negative, so they are now charging you because their original charge is 'overdrawn'?

I know with my bank here, if they are going to charge me for overdrafting, then they do it and call it good.

I think I don't understand the story lol.

 

[stemot]

Hmm, here in the states, it's a bit different.

Then again, I may not be understanding the story. So, you knew about the original charge coming through, so they charged you, that dumped you into the negative, so they are now charging you because their original charge is 'overdrawn'?

I know with my bank here, if they are going to charge me for overdrafting, then they do it and call it good.

I think I don't understand the story lol.

In the UK, the banks have a legal obligation to notify you by post (e-mail for online banking) of any upcoming charges, regardless of how a charge was incurred. He got a letter for the first charge as I understand it, which dumped him into the overdraft zone, but now they have taken more money as well even though he has not been notified of a second charge, which is illegal as it is not a pre arranged charge.

With the dodgy grounds banks are treading in the UK with regards to charges anyway (it's still being investigated whether these charges are illegal) he should have no problem getting a refund for something as clear cut as this.

 

[CyberPitz]

aaahh, yeah see in the states we don't have that "notify" thing. yeah, that bank is a bunch if dicks.

 

[Anthraxxx]

Yo dawg, I heard you like bank charges...

 

[Krynn72]

aaahh, yeah see in the states we don't have that "notify" thing. yeah, that bank is a bunch if dicks.

I've overdrawn a couple times and my bank always sent me notice. Of course, it was after they charged me, so it was more of a "Hey I took money from your empty bank account lol" type of notice. But they're usually pretty damn quick with the notice. I once overdrew and caught it a few hours later and was able to put in money before they charged me, but i still got a notice the next day saying I was going to be charged (which i never did, since I was Speedy McSpeederson).

 

[CyberPitz]

Well, yeah they send you something, but they aren't required to do it prior to anything. I'm sure there would be people who would find a way to abuse that "HAHA I GET MORE TIME TO TAKE MONEY" or something.

 

[Parrot of doom]

OP, keep all correspondence, details of all bank charges.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/bank-charges

You may have to wait, but its reasonably certain the banks will have their actions declared unlawful. Then you can insist on the return of your money, and charge interest on the amount owed.

Companies are not allowed to charge penalties for breaches of contract.

 

[NeptuneUK]

They said they'll give half back, but that just shows that they are admitting fault in the first place!

 

[cleverendeavouR]

If you get overdraft protection it's going to be either pulled from another account (like a savings account) or pulled from a line of credit which is going to charge you interest. So it's not really something free, you still need to have money.

You could be getting charged for being overdraft for too long. I know that here you'll get a 37 fee per item then after a week or two they'll charge 5 dollars a day until you make the account positive.