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Original poster

Learning disabled young adult and bank charges....

20 replies

ElectricalBanana · 21/02/2013 21:14

i have a 20 yr old DD who is on the ASD , who has managed to rack up £175 of bank charges over the past 10 days by using her debit card repeatedly at the local shop even though she was overdrawn (she has no overdraft) but didnt know this as her card wasnt declined.

She has used the card each time for £2 payments and has been charged £25 for each transaction. she likes to walk to the corner shop-this is part of her ASD.

We had no idea....and i know we shouldve kept an eye on things but we are letting her gain some independence. I think we have failed miserably.

OH and i are planning to go to the bank on saturday- we feel these charges are a bit steep. The first charge was when she was only £9 OD.

£175!!!!

i cant get over it....she gets JSA and its all gone!

OP posts:
dancemom · 21/02/2013 21:18

The bank cannot use JSA or any other state benefits to reduce an overdraft or for bank charges.

Quote first right if appropriation when you meet with the bank.

Original poster
ElectricalBanana · 21/02/2013 21:20

Quote what?

Thank you for your help....we are at our wits end tbh.....Dad has taken her card off her to stop this so we can assess the damage!

OP posts:
BreadForMyBREADGUN · 21/02/2013 21:31

Have the bank called or written to her at all? I would call the bank and request that the charges be refunded - you can do it now, no need to go into the bank.

I've had similar happen to me before when an unexpected payment went out and I went overdrawn, so any other transactions incurred the charge. I argued that I had no idea I was overdrawn, and as it was the first time it happened, they refunded the charges.

The bank shouldn't have let the card be used if she was overdrawn, surely?

BreadForMyBREADGUN · 21/02/2013 21:34

PP means first right of appropriation.

They cannot use her JSA to fund the bank charges. I'd its gone in, and its been swallowed by the charges they need to give it back.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=1629177

BreadForMyBREADGUN · 21/02/2013 21:37

Sorry, that link isn't great. Google first right of appropriation and jsa - there's a fair bit of info.

Original poster
ElectricalBanana · 21/02/2013 21:39

they let the card be used....not had any letters.....

her JSA went in and "poof" its gone!

this is first time....and i know we need to keep an eye on it all now (yet another reason she cannot live on her own!)

thankyou for your help....makes me feel better that i am not over reacting and it is unreasonable

OP posts:
DisAstrophe · 21/02/2013 21:41

Talk to the bank and explain the situation. If this is a first time thing you can ask the bank to be sympathetic and refund the charges. They are obliged to take her learning disability into account.

If the bank wont help then make a formal complaint to them on her behalf. You can also phone the financial ombudsman service for advice even before you make a complaint.

It sounds like she needs a Basic bank account which doesn't allow her to go overdrawn or at least has much lower charges. Ask about a better product.

BreadForMyBREADGUN · 21/02/2013 21:42

Just ring them, its quite likely they'll be reasonable about it. I've lost count of the number of times I've got charges refunded

Have a look on money saving expert as well, there's probably a letter template for reclaiming bank charges, should you have any problems

discrete · 21/02/2013 21:42

Wasn't there something not that long ago about bank charges having to be 'reasonable'?

Give them a call. It's extremely likely that they will refund you, and if they don't I'm pretty sure if you fight them you'll get it in the end.

crazynanna · 21/02/2013 21:42

When I was on JSA about 18 months ago, I went a couple of pond overdrawn, and the bank charged me. But they took charges when my bank account was Zero, so kept mounting the charges, and bam, took them all at once from a day when a benefit went in (usually the £60 CTC) and took it all and still then went into minus, and so it started again. I believe it is called snowballing.

I downloaded a template letter from the Moneysaver website, sent it to the bank stating i was on benefits, and I got all the charges back.

They refusewd at first, I then asked them to pass on my complaint to the Ombusman (as adviced by Moneysaver), and it was then they put it all back into my account.

messagetoyourudy · 21/02/2013 22:01

I work for a bank - Ring the bank, visit the bank, write to the bank - they should stop and reverse the charges. They may look to 'down-grade' the type of bank account ie: make it a basic bank account that just has a cash card rather than a debit card so she can't go over-drawn again.

But any reasonable person would expect the bak to make good this, once presented with the facts - however they do need you to tell them these facts, otherwise it's just a computer seeing the rules on overdrafts have been broken and imposing charges.

Original poster
ElectricalBanana · 23/02/2013 15:31

Thank you all for your support. We too DD to the bank this morning and spoke to a young man about the situation.

We gave him a lesson in Autism and he wiped her debts! She has had her debit card taken off her and will be given a cash card. There were more charges to be paid next month so the whole bill wouldve been nearly £300!!!

DD was very upset....but she has learned a lesson. So has the bank person! He has given us his card and said if we have any problems we are to call him - he now knows all about DD.

OP posts:
CogitoErgoSometimes · 23/02/2013 16:48

What a nice bank :)

DisAstrophe · 23/02/2013 19:17

Excellent - well done you and well done the bank. Which bank was it?

DisAstrophe · 23/02/2013 19:17

Excellent - well done you and well done the bank. Which bank was it?

Original poster
ElectricalBanana · 23/02/2013 22:43

it was....santander!

i know they have a bad reputation but they have come up trumps....

OP posts:
DisAstrophe · 24/02/2013 09:58

Well they got it right this time

DisAstrophe · 24/02/2013 09:58

Well they got it right this time

Steveadam · 19/11/2016 18:43

Frightened Vulnerable Young adult and HSBC
Learning Disability and Bank Overdraft fees.
I've two young adult sons who have just gone into supported living. It was decided by social services and care workers that I was drip feed my sons benefits into their accounts on a daily basis with the exception of a larger amount each week for food. i have repeatedly explained the situation to HSBC that the boys should not be given unauthorised overdrafts or any overdrafts. They usually use there debit card to pay for their college lunch or some shopping that the care worker helps them buy. I discovered that HSBC has taken every payment I've deposited in the last two weeks to pay off an overdraft charge and my son was too afraid to tell anyone, thinking he had done something wrong. Now I am fairly certain he will get this all refunded but what worries me is that HSBC has told me they have no mechanism to stop this happening again and that it is up to the customer to control their account. I've explained the situation in the past and the local branch even met my sons but I am told that this is in the Terms and conditions so it can happen again.

Please please please - does anyone know of a bank account that will issue a debit card but not allow the account to go into the red?

Sounds simple yet I cannot find one. The ones I've spoken to I the past including santander say exactly the same thing as HSBC.

dementedpixie · 19/11/2016 18:50

You need a bank that offers a Basic Bank Account: www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/basic-bank-accounts#charges

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