hellohefalump said:
What a WUNCH OF BANKERS!!!
I got nearly a grand back from Nationwide
😀 early last year
😀 😀
What happened was... it was my fault initially. I didn't put a cheque in on time because I forgot to, and then all my direct debits went out and bounced. So I went to the bank, and said 'I'll pay one of the charges if you let me off the rest, it was a mistake... etc etc' and they refused. So then I had no choice. I was heavily pregnant (so no job), and even after I cancelled all the direct debits they were still charging me £25 every month for my unortherised overdraft. So I took them to court, for all my charges in the last six years (quite a lot) plus 8% on top for interest and £80 court costs.
But that was before they starting holding applications because they were doing a trial court case.
Hmmm, as a Nationwide user who doesn't go over her authorised overdraft I find this a little annoying.
I have had one cheque bounce in my entire life and it was when I was 17, I learnt my lesson, Nationwide were great, took pity on me and refunded me the £25 and it didn't happen again.
While I accept that it's more difficult to get to the bank and pay in a cheque when you're heavily pregnant, if that is what you need to do to cover your outgoings then that's what you should do, or ask someone to do for you.
Now maybe it's just me but I don't have all my direct debits going out on one day, that's like keeping all your eggs in one basket, I spread them over the first couple of weeks after my pay goes in. That way if something goes wrong with my pay arriving (as it did at the beginning of this month) I don't find myself trying to pay all my outgoings with nothing. So how long did it take you to notice that you had forgotten to pay in the cheque, before you phoned the bank and explained what had happened?
To compound all this, the fact that you have paid "quite a lot" in charges over the last 6 years it suggests that this isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened.
So while I do sympathise with your predicament, and I agree that the charges are too steep for the events, I find it galling that you stand there and laugh about it. Especially when you know as well as I do that Nationwide are a building society and the money you've got back from them isn't coming out of the pockets of big bankers in London but is instead affecting the costs of banking for people like myself who have learnt to manage their money.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that banking charges are the stick to the carrot of interest on credit. They are there not just to get money back for the banks but also to encourage people to look after their money better. There will always be cases where people should be excused but at some point you need to ask yourself why you are always incurring these charges and what you can do about it to stop it happening.
And before anyone starts saying that it's ok for people with money to say these charges are fair, I am a research student and my take-home grant is near equivalent to the take-home salary of someone working full time on the minimum wage. I don't claim any benefits and the only discount I get that's worth mentioning is paying no council tax. I also live in one of the most expensive areas of the country and I have an active social life, I would by no means say that I am struggling to survive on the money I 'earn'.
Rant over and I hope I haven't offended anyone too much, I just want to see a bit more personal responsibility in this world.
