Watch Out For This One...

[Nige1912]

I have just been done to the tune of £15.00 for a DD that went out early...

Circumstances were these...

I have two DD's that go out from my Nat West account on the 1st of each month. So imagine my surprise when I check my bank account on Saturday 30th June and find that the two DD's have already gone out on Friday the 29th (at midnight apparently). So I of course get on the phone to Nat West on Monday morning with a polite "What's going on " kind of question and get the money refunded back into my account.

 

No Problem there....but on Friday 6th July I then get a letter from Swintons Insurance re one of the DD's that I've stopped, saying that I have to pay them a £15 charge on top of my monthly payment, or they will cancel my car insurance!!!

 

After much argy bargy with them and the bank it seems that the banks line/proceedure, is that if your DD payment date falls on a weekend, you should be prepared for it to actually leave your bank account on the Friday before. (And have funds there on this date to cover it.)

 

The really sneaky thing is that it will show on your statements as going out either on the right day or the day after - but if you get an ATM mini statement as I did, it will show you the actual date it leaves your account.

Nat West's line was that this is "standard practice as the weekend are not banking days"......

Which kind of makes a mockery of the Direct Debit guarantee somewhat.

 

The word B*****ks is what immediately springs to my mind.

 

Cheers all - and dont be caught out,

Nige

[steven4064]

My daughter had exactly the same thing which ended up with £170 in bank charges on one weekend

 

Steven

 

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[dx100uk]

thats been std practice for years

 

dx100uk

[Nige1912]

thats been std practice for years

 

dx100uk

 

Might be standard practice, but I think it's yet another damn sneaky, underhand practice that the banks get away with.

 

I don't care what their proceedures are, if I set up a Direct Debit to go out on a specific date, I expect it to go out on that date OR LATER not two or even three days before.

 

What I DO NOT expect to hear from a bank is something like " Yes your direct debits will only ever go out on or after the dates you set up ......(small print..."subject to the following terms & conditions....exclusions apply...etc etc")

[dx100uk]

i see the point ofcourse

but then look at it from the other way.

wages...i like 1000's of others are paid irect to A/C

if that falls on a sat/sun, then what should happen, no money till monday? ofcourse not, it gets paid friday.

so thats what i base my theory on.

 

dx100uk

[Nige1912]

i see the point ofcourse

but then look at it from the other way.

wages...i like 1000's of others are paid irect to A/C

if that falls on a sat/sun, then what should happen, no money till monday? ofcourse not, it gets paid friday.

so thats what i base my theory on.

 

dx100uk

 

...and with someones wages I agree, it goes into your bank on friday. But what galls me is the fact that a Direct Debit is marketed as being a supposedly secure way for joe public to make safe accurate payments, ON THE DATE JOE PUBLIC SPECIFIES.

 

I dont see any reason why the banking system can not simply collect the DD a couple of days later - rather than presenting a "money grabbing" image as this example does, by going into your account early. :mad:

 

Makes me seethe it really does !!! :mad: