Referal Charges / Maintenance Charges Read Here (RBS)

[thegoodsamaritan]

Posted this a while back but a good few people still seem confused about how the charges are worked out. Also it'll hopefully save me explaining it every time!

 

 

 

I've tried to keep this as simple as possible (not an easy task!) hope it helps people understand how the system works. Here's what happens when an item (direct debit / standing order / cheque) is due off your account that will take you over your overdraft limit on RBS current accounts (other banks processes will be similar i'd imagine):

 

 

If an item is taking you over your agreed limit that day then YOU NEED TO CHECK with us if its being paid or not, otherwise you have no way of knowing which option will apply. There is a system in place whereby RBS will assess your account and decide whether or not to pay the direct debit / standing order / cheque:

 

 

Option 1. RBS will pay your item (shows on our system as "autopay")

This will obviously put you over your agreed overdraft limit, and result in what is called a “paid referal fee” of £30 that will be applied on the 6th working day of the next month (NB RBS will only charge you a maximum of 3 of these particular type of fees per month)

You will also be informed on your next statement of a £28 charge for “unauthorised borrowing – maintenance charge” and the date it will be debited to your account (about 2 weeks after you receive your next statement). Careful though - you are charged this £28 for every seperate monthly statement you show as being overdrawn so could be unlucky and would be charged twice if your being overdrawn ran over into your next statement to be sent out.

Essentially you'll be charged twice regardless – once (£30) for us paying an item when there are not enough funds and secondly (£28) for now being over your limit in the current statement period

 

Option 2. RBS will bounce (return) your item (shows on our system as "unpaid")

Although the item will still show on your statement if you look at it that day when you check the next day it will have disappeared (ie not been paid!) and been replaced with a standard £38 “unpaid item charge”.

(NB There is no limit here so if you were unlucky enough to have 1,000 items bounce on one day you would be hit with £38,000 of unpaid item charges!)

If the item is a cheque or Direct Debit normally it will be represented for payment a few days later and will probably bounce again if there are not yet clear funds in the account, resulting in yet another £38 charge for each unpaid item!

Also if this £38 charge(s) takes you over your agreed borrowing limit remember you will be charged the standard £28 maintenance fee as well for every statement period this covers.

 

 

If you can pay money in before 3.30pm (end of the banking day) then we can make sure the item is paid. (You need to tell us at the time that the money is to cover a DD / SO / cheque so we can go in and change the status of the item from "unpaid" or "autopay" to "paid") This will pay the item and in most cases eliminate any charges. (I believe that HBOS is stricter than us and require that customers have available funds to cover items in the account by 23:59:59 the day before or you will be charged and the item could bounce.)

 

 

Hope this is useful! Bear in mind the above illustration is just how RBS work it - other banks will probably be slightly different

Any questions just ask!

[RBS Fife Customer]

Hello other forum members:)

[RBS Fife Customer]

Hi ...do you you still work for the bank

 

For years myself and my husband having been going into the bank on the same day and making sure there is enough funds to cover DD etc...Just last two months ago I spoke to my business banking manager and he confirmed that we must pay in funds by 4pm at the latest and he normally does a sweep after this time ...or course we always say any payment is to cover a DD.

 

Well last monday it all changed we done what we always do ...my husband was in the bank at 3.10pm and was told verbally that the two dd where covered and cleared ...only to find out next day we sufferd a £78,00 charge and non payment of two very important DD one of which was our morgage...my husband complained the next day to be told the policy is that funds must be in the previous day ... We have since tried to contact out Business Manager ...and surprise surpise he has left the RBS ...with no replacement ...we were told to call Direct Banking ...which will be rubbish as they all wear their jobs worth hats that is why we have always been with a business manager...

 

We will fight this...because they did not tell us the status has changed or even that we are now without a business manager...

 

Can you tell me has the policy changed to the fact money has to be in the night before...

 

Many thanks ....or can any other forum members help ...

[hammyhound]

We have had the same problems with charges, the bank have told us that the monies have to be in by 2.30 p.m. and we have to ring the bank up or speak to the customer service desk to get the payment manually paid! Otherwise it has to be in the night before.

 

We sent them a letter asking as a gesture of goodwill and that we were in financial difficulties would they refund the £175 they had taken out of us in two months (charges on charges etc). They told us to stuff it and that the charges were fair, maybe they wont refund as we have a letter asking on file waiting for the judgment to say that the charges are unfair and we can get a refund of the £5000 charges we have incurred in 6 years.

 

Hammyhound

[Sparkie1723]

This is a message and question for "thegoodsamaritan" do you know what an RBS "Router Account" is??

 

sparkie

[kennyh]

BUT - are not the 'maintenance' charges what we would have referred to as 'penalties' before the recent court action and, would we not reclaim these as we would 'referral' charges?

[craigers]

With regards to the latest pay-in time, I had this problem but got the charges refunded. RBS changed their policy last year, presumably due to the faster payments system, and now require the money to be in the account by 11am on the day payment is due. They sent out a leaflet with statements explaining the changes a few months before the change took place. Unfortunately some staff seem to think the old policy still applies.

[thegoodsamaritan]

This topic was closed on 08 March 2019.

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