Bank Charges
It makes my blood boil when I think of bank charges .?
I do know that they do not automatically give overdraft facilities and worse still sometimes refuse to give it to you even when you request it, despite the fact they sometimes charge ridiculous amounts for the priviledge. As a student I had been refused an overdraft. Then I ended up overdrawn as a result of bank charges. Before I knew it I owed the bank quite a bit of money. I found this out when I received my statement and there were charges upon charges upon charges!
Needless to say, I flipped. I marched into the bank, demanded the manager and raised hell. I said that if there was no money in the account, they should not have taken out any further money especially as they were not verified bank charges. I said I should have been billed first, so that I could make sure that I had enough money in my account to pay.
I felt that if I had a zero balance, then they should have turned down who ever it was who was claiming the money. As it was I ended up with:-
- The Original bank charge that made me overdrawn
- A charge for going overdrawn
- Interest for being overdrawn
- A charge for something else bouncing despite my having put in money but because I was yet unaware that I was overdrawn and the money I deposited was eaten by bank charges
- and who knows what else!
I was fuming and threatening to close my account. Especially as I was able to prove that the first charge was not a valid charge but an error on their behalf. It took months to sort out. Needless to say, I do not bank with them anymore. After all if you bought some bread and ran out, you could not eat a couple of slices from your next loaf unless you agreed to take it in advance and pay for it later! Same goes to banking.
There are websites that obviously agree with my irritation with bank charges. They can advise you how to object. So if you see a bank charge and it feels unreasonable (they all do!), then read up about it, hold your head up high and give the bank hell. After all, it is a service they are supposedly offering you and you are not begging. It is YOUR Money!
