Charged for lack of funds for transfers into own accounts!

[Rohaq]

I use Nationwide's Internet Banking. On the whole, it's a nice system. Last year, I set up a couple of online savings accounts; one for my car insurance, and one for saving any extra cash. I set up automatic monthly transfers from my cash account and left it at that.

 

I lost my job later on, and my cash account slowly emptied over the months, until recently I simply didn't have enough funds left for the automatic transfers. Not a problem I thought; it's handled automatically, it'll see I don't have enough and not make the transfer.

 

Wrong. Now I have two £30 charges automatically deducted from my cash account, for not having enough funds to send to my own online savings accounts!

 

At the moment, I've just started a new job and could really do with the cash until my first paycheck. I've talked through the bank's online message system, and they say there's nothing I can do. I'm tempted to threaten to close my accounts, but at the moment I only have about £600 in my car insurance savings account, and threatening to leave isn't really much of a threat. Also, apart from this incident, Nationwide have been a good bank. I just want my money back.

 

Any advice would be welcome! Cheers!

[Guest Alison82]

If it's in you savings account why can't you just take it out? Am I missing something?

[BankFodder]

I find that this is a highly abusive story.

 

The banks have a custom and practice right to combine accounts so that they may take from one account to remedy a problem in another account held by the same customer.

This suggests to me that there is the same facility to take from one account in credit to put money into a second account in debit in order to avoid problems and charges. In fact their duty to mitigate their losses suggests very strongly to me that they should do this - but in fact they never do.

 

To me it then follows that where one account is a feeder to another and it is clear that the feeder does not have the money to source into the receiving account that they should avoid ther loss by not activating the payment - as you suggest.

 

Of course you are dealing with banks who will operate the rules always in their favour even when there is an ambiguity in circumstances.

 

The bank has a fiduciary relationship with you and I am convinced that they have a duty to resolve any ambiguities in your favour.

 

I hope that you are going to claim the money back. Use my post as a basis for your letter - although they will not pay any attention, of course.

[Rohaq]

Good news, just got yet another £30 charge.

 

Waiting to be paid next week, then going to speak to my bank manager.

 

If it's in you savings account why can't you just take it out? Am I missing something?

The £30 went to my bank, not between my accounts.

[Rohaq]

This topic was closed on 03/06/19.

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