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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think unpaid transaction fees are bullshit?!

43 replies

WanderingNotLost · 14/09/2016 00:02

Owing to a two-month gap between finishing my last job and starting this one, I've not been paid since mid-July and won't be until the end of this month, and so have been pretty much flat broke for a good few weeks now. As a result I've missed a few direct debits because there wasn't enough money in my account to cover them. And Natwest, in their apparent eagerness not to miss an opportunity to make a shit situation worse, have taken it upon themselves to charge me an 'unpaid transaction fee' every time this has happened. So far I'm down £30, which may not sound like a lot, but that would cover me for dinner for a week. They're essentially fining me for being poor. How the fuck is that allowed?!

OP posts:

ReginaBlitz · 14/09/2016 00:13

Because they are pricks, Santander are the same ring them they should waiver it.

IceMaiden73 · 14/09/2016 00:21

But these are there terms and you agreed to them

Have you tried calling them and asking for a small overdraft to tide you over?

ilovesooty · 14/09/2016 00:29

Did you tell the bank you were having temporary financial difficulties?

melibu84 · 14/09/2016 00:50

Everyone gets charged for unpaid transactions, it's an automated system, it's it like they have personally gone after you lol.

You could try calling them and asking them to remove the charges. If it's your first time, they might do it. It might also be a good idea to explain your situation and apply for an overdraft.

avamiah · 14/09/2016 01:02

yes its Bullshit.
Any views on this,
How can you get a unauthorised overdraft charge when you didn't ask for a Overdraft in the first place??
Surely the transaction should be declined if you don't have the money in cleared funds in your account?
sorry if im changing the thread.

LucyBabs · 14/09/2016 01:06

Banks don't operate on a "I'm poor this month" basis. You're not being singled out. It happens to us all

e1y1 · 14/09/2016 01:14

AFAIK every bank does this. I'm with Barclays and they charge £8 for any day where there has been a failed DD (whether it's 1 or more in a day).

Yes it's very shit, I can't imagine it costs them anything to refuse a DD, but there you go.

Call your bank and explain the situation, they may be able to offer an alternative solution (overdraft, refund of charges etc).

maninawomansworld01 · 14/09/2016 01:35

So long as you have been a good customer in the past and have not gone over overdraft limits , missed payments etc then if you ring them and explain the situation I think you'll be surprised at how helpful they are.

DW and I put most things on our joint credit card and pay it in full every month, one month we just forgot to pay the balance off and needed up with about £20 of charges so I rang them up and they cancelled the charge as we've never had any issues before and have good credit ratings.

It's just an automated system that issues the charge - probably without any human involvement at all.

Original poster

WanderingNotLost · 14/09/2016 08:00

Everyone gets charged for unpaid transactions, it's an automated system, it's it like they have personally gone after you lol.

This isn't really a "lol" situation for me.

I get that it's a standard thing, but I just don't see why it's allowed. Let's face it, it's not a charge a rich person will ever have to pay, it only affects people who have no money!

OP posts:

Oysterbabe · 14/09/2016 08:02

Why don't you ask for an overdraft?

ImYourMama · 14/09/2016 08:10

Actually there is a charge to the bank for each attempted DD that's called for and declined, as a company can attempt to call a DD 3 times - which has to be refused. This is manually reconciled. If you've not told the bank you're in the shit, why do you expect to be exempt from reasonable charges? You should have phoned the utility/DD companies or the bank to tell them to expect this. It's your fault, no one else's

maddening · 14/09/2016 08:13

The fca has limited the fees to cover the work the banks have to do in dealing with a returned dd.

You need to contact the people who call for you dds and cancel the dd with them.

MLGs · 14/09/2016 08:16

I have often thought this. That if you don't have enough money to pay for something the bank charges you even more money.

Every bank might do it. But that doesn't help the OP. It just negates the point that she agreed to ts and - if all banks do it sje had little choice - no one does.

There are loads of ways in which it's more expensive to be poor though, from not being able to buy in bulk (or having to buy poor quality things that don't last) to operating a credit card or taking loans to make ends meet.

MLGs · 14/09/2016 08:21

Ps i don't read this as the op actually thinking she should be exempt but more just having a moan.

You can cancel dds but then they would have to be reinstated when you want to start paying again.

Kannet · 14/09/2016 08:24

This kind of main annoys me. It's so easily avoided. Just call and suspend your direct debits. Saves you a fortune. Much easier to blame the banks though. Take some responsibility for your own finances

treaclesoda · 14/09/2016 08:26

I know this doesn't help you OP but if this was ten years ago it would probably have been something like £40 per transaction. People built up thousands of pounds of fees through going slightly overdrawn and then not being able to clear it.

I do understand that it sucks but the flipside is that if there was no penalty at all, loads of people would just spend money that wasn't theirs with no comeback for the banks. Now, I know no one feels sorry for the banks as such, but they have to make money to exist.

If you've been a good customer until a few weeks ago, I'd contact them and explain and they might be willing to reverse or reduce the charges. Good luck.

dementedpixie · 14/09/2016 08:27

If she suspends the direct debits she is likely to get charged by whoever the direct debits are going to so will be out of pocket anyway.

Cakedoesntjudge · 14/09/2016 08:27

I agree with you 100% on this. I earn just enough each month to get by which is fine until something comes up. I completely understand what people are saying about it being a universal thing and covering admin fees but it just seems counter intuitive to charge people that have no money. I deal with it by daydreaming about when my degrees finished and I can get a better paid job and it will become a thing of the past (no one ruin this for me by pointing out the competitiveness of graduate jobs please ). I also keep a week's supply of jacket potatoes and beans in for when I'm particularly poor - dirt cheap filling meal. Just take a deep breath OP and remember it won't last forever, it's just a temporary blip

SabineUndine · 14/09/2016 08:29

Yes. I had one the other month, a £6 charge because it now takes them six working days to process a cheque payment into my account. The incoming cheque was visible for a whole week and they still bounced a £5.50 direct debit. So their charge is more than the actual payment. Also NatWest btw.

melibu84 · 14/09/2016 08:32

Let's face it, it's not a charge a rich person will ever have to pay, it only affects people who have no money!

Yeah, because rich people have money in their account to pay bills.

Look, i do understand where you're coming from. i've been burnt in the past by transaction fees. I have a lot of debts, including a satisfied CCJ, so I m am not going to be on a high horse or anything. It was only after I found out I was pregnant that I actually started being good with money!

But the only person I blame is myself. It sounds like you knew there wasn't enough money to cover the bills, but you didn't do anything about it. Now, you can try talking to Natwest and ask them if they can refund the transaction fee this one time, or you can suck it up and don't make the same mistake again.

I am not saying it's right for them to charge this, though, but it's just the way it is!

Also, I am a Natwest customer and when I have a negative balance with them, i get a text message saying to put money into the account by a certain time that day to avoid fees. If you don't have this, you should set it up.

ImYourMama · 14/09/2016 08:32

But you know a cheque takes 6 working days to clear? It's bad money management and down to the account holder, not the account provider

treaclesoda · 14/09/2016 08:34

You'd be surprised how many high income people build up fees, people aren't always as rich as they outwardly appear. But the difference is that when their salary arrives, they can absorb the fees without a second thought.

SabineUndine · 14/09/2016 08:38

A cheque used to clear in three days.

SabineUndine · 14/09/2016 08:43

imyourmama do you work at being gratuitously offensive of does it come naturally? If you've never been broke you should be grateful, not smug.

idontlikealdi · 14/09/2016 08:45

When I was financially in the shit about ten years ago it was £30 per failed dd. A couple a month say £60 then the bank would reclaim the fees in the next month so the dd at the end of the Month would fail again. Vicious circle.

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