Can i help?

[jansus]

what would you say to someone then that called and said - look I have made a mistake and I have gone overdrawn - I am transferring money from my savings account with another financial institution as we speak - but due to the banking system it will take 4 days to get to you . I have been with you since 1992 and have a regular salary paid into my account all that time - please can you increase my overdraft only for 4 days so that you do not bounce my small dd.

 

guess what- the answer was no - resulting in £135.00 of charges.

 

Now I could afford to pay those and did so - but as an ex-bank employee I find that this attitude is pointing towards treating people as a source of income - in the past there was some leeway.

 

I can understand you maybe trying to help and if it stops people putting their heads in the sand until it is too late - then great, I am sure you will be welcomed - however please do not assume that all the people are on here because they can not manage their money - to some it has become more a matter of helping those who have already got themselves into trouble and may be too far down the line for your help.

 

but will be following your posts with interest:)

 

jan

[jansus]

Jan, just what i was waiting for, thankyou.

 

I've dealt with this sort of thing before. The bank system shows the customer service advisor that there's no recommendation for an overdraft and promptly declines your request as instructed to do so in their training.

 

I cannot give you a 100% answer because i have not got a clue about your personal circumstances, the amount of debt you owe in & outside of the Co-op accounts, the turnover of your account and your Experian credit score, these factors are all built into what the system thinks is a good overdraft limit for you.

 

If you'd have spoken to me, a common sense approach would be first to ascertain if it's responsible to give you an overdraft to pay the bills. I know it's only 4 days, don't ask... If it's not a suitable option, we'll suspend the Direct Debits for free. It's called a blanket stop. This means Direct Debits are stopped until you remove the stop. We don't charge you a penny, the companies might, but to be honest, it's not us you owe the money, it's the companies, so the priority is letting them know about the mistake and coming to an arrangement with them.

 

At the end of it all you'll end up owing the bank money or owing the companies money. Who's more likely to charge you? My approach here would be to ask the companies for the leway if the bank point blank refused your request and if they can't because the instructions already on the way, cancel the direct debit or "blanket stop" all of them.

 

This may not be the method of choice, but it results in 0 charges. Please remember banks don't just give out overdrafts any more, it's a stern change with the new debt crisis and the fact everyone's claiming charges back.

 

 

first of all the banks have been able to do transfers quicker that 4 days for some time and they have delayed implimenting this for some time and are delaying until next year although they have been asked to bring this forward - true yes? We all know the reason for that it does not take a genius to work that out. Reference not paying the direct debit - of course you owe the company if its not paid - but guess what when its a one off most companies write you a nice letter just reminding you it has not been paid - you pay them and they dont charge you.

 

Of course people getting deeper into debt should be stopped - just letting people go way over the overdraft limit would not be helping anyone - but also the spiraling charges worsen the situation and if you read the stories on here you will find that most people have approached the banks for help when they have been in quite dire circumstances through no fault of their own - and have received no help - which is why you are going to find posts like the ones above . I think they feel these fees are illegal and unjustified - they are nowadays treated like a number and not a human being and it is the most vunerable people that are targeted. To blame these people for others not having their overdrafts increased is not valid..

for example the only markers I have on any of my accounts are from the bank in question for OD charges . I have never defaulted in a loan or mortgage payment in my life. If banks are not giving out overdrafts it is not because of websites like this it is because they have been caught out by irresponsible lending in the past.

 

Dont forget I am an ex bank employee myself and dealt with mortgage arrears and finance and I despair of the way some people have been treated. If you are genuinely here to help then I am sure you will be welcomed - just please try and understand some of the issues behind the posts

 

 

jan:)

[jansus]

Would think more of a conflict of interests - if he was genuinely trying to help on a site involved in legal action against his employers.

 

I also have never hidden that I was an ex- bank employee and have never had any problems - I think sometimes you have to be very careful not to patronise people when you make your posts.

 

It seemed to me that he had just assumed that all the members on here had willingly got themselves in a bad financial situation and then only used claiming the charges as the way out of a hole. As we all know that is not the case.

 

If the banks really wanted to help - in this day and age when you opened an account they could offer a free copy of a programme similar to M**** t money ( sorry not sure whther to post the name:D )this might help some people who find it hard to keep a rrecord of all dd and cheques that they may have drawn - over and above internet banking. There is nothing more annoying than drawing a cheque - it not being presented for months - and you have forgotten about it - you check your balance - think you are ok and bingo - next minute you are OD. A piddly little cheque stub for keeping track of things is no good.

 

Then the next stage is to get a genuine department with human beings who will help those in real difficulty with a dedicated person to deal with your case that you can come back to each time and not be passed from department to department.

 

All this of course over and above the charges being sorted out.

 

As I said to the poster I am sure we would welcome people that can genuinely help - so we should give them a chance - as some people may find it easier to post questions on here rather than phone.

 

Jan