The Student Room Group

Unplanned Overdraft Fees - Lloyds TSB - Where Do I Stand?

Hi there,

Ok, I have no overdraft facility on my bank account and sometimes have went overdrawn accidently when payments have come out of my bank account a week after purchase etc etc. I've paid these "unplanned overdrafts" off, however I have been charged for them. At one time I paid £60!!

I was talking to friends about it, as last week another £20 was taken out of my bank account for an unplanned overdraft two months ago, and they said that the banks were not allowed to charge for this and that I could claim it back.

I'm really not sure what the situation is with the banks and where I stand with charges so I'm just asking you guys, surely theres some future bankers that take interest in the industry here, that will know a lot more than me about where I stand that can offer me some advice.

I would greatly appreciate it if someone could explain my position in all of this. Whether I can do anything or whether I should wave goodbye to my cash for good.

Thanks in advance.

Scroll to see replies

Anyone? :s-smilie:
Reply 2
Normally unplanned overdrafts fees aren't taken out of your account straight away and it is usually about 2 months until they charge you but they will notify you when the charges are to be taken (sometimes this is just mentioned when you recieve you statement or a letter or something similar). You could try and go to your local branch and see if they will refund you but they normally don't unless you have a very good case. It might be worth checking to see if they can give you an overdraft of about £100 just in case anything like this happens again and that way you wont be hit with charges.
Hope this helps.
Cheers, yeah they do wait about two months to take it off you. Perfect amount of time for you to forget about the whole thing so its a piss take when they do. I'm unemployed at the moment so the overdraft is a no no at the moment.
It just pisses me off how I go something like £2 overdrawn and pay £25 for it. Absolute w*****s!
Reply 4
you can claim them as far back as 6 years just important to get a letter in saying that you wish to claim them back. you will then receive a letter saying that it is on hold pending the decision made on charges then its just a waiting game to see if you can claim them back
Ok, do you think the fact I'm on JSA at the moment will be a good cause for them to refund them?
I've had that a few times from Lloyds but never been charged any fees lol.
Lucky you, once I paid £60 for what must of been a £5 unplanned overdraft. Absolute tossers, I'm changing my bank as soon as I find some work.
GeorgEGNT
Ok, do you think the fact I'm on JSA at the moment will be a good cause for them to refund them?

No

Basically, you are not the first, a lot of people complained and there is a court case ongoing.

You can send a letter off asking for your money back but they will say wait til the case is over. Once the case is over you will get your money back if the charges are deemed unfair (or if they say its only fair to charge £5 - you will get your money back bar £5 charges each time)
Clubber Lang
No

Basically, you are not the first, a lot of people complained and there is a court case ongoing.

You can send a letter off asking for your money back but they will say wait til the case is over. Once the case is over you will get your money back if the charges are deemed unfair (or if they say its only fair to charge £5 - you will get your money back bar £5 charges each time)


Ok cheers mate,

I'll go through my statements, put it writing and see where it goes from there.
GeorgEGNT
Ok cheers mate,

I'll go through my statements, put it writing and see where it goes from there.

goto moneysavingexpert.com - there is a section on there that explains it all and gives you sample letters to send off, as well as ways of calculating how much you are owed

if you dont have all your statements you can pay £10 and get copies sent to you.
good luck - I've had exactly the same issue with Lloyds and they've been f*cking bastards and have lied to me about the whole issue repeatedly...I'm beyond fed up with them and have ended up closing my account as they took around £200 off me in OD fees.

Some banks will relent and give you back the money, but Lloyds isn't one of them. Best bet is to visit the MoneySavingExpert website...in their forums there's a section on reclaiming unfair bank charges and they'll have copies of the forms you'll need, which you can print off, fill in and send off. Don't expect miracles though. The courts have already found in the public's favor, essentially, but the banks are appealing to the House of Lords, despite previous court rulings saying they can't (looong story). Anyhow, likelyhood is this will be resolved in public's favor and banks will have to admit their charges are unfair, but at best you'll be in a queue behind 1,000's of other people waiting for payouts and at worst the government will say that the banks wont have to pay back the charges due to the current economic climate (as it could cripple the banks).

So yeah, fun stuff :P
I've just worked mine out, its £105.00 in total I have paid, the largest payment being £57.00. Not much compared to a lot of people in the 'reclaim queue' but when you are unemployed and on the dole, £100 is a big deal.
They even took £20 out of my account at the same time my dole went in (£95 for a fortnight) which meant before I even woke up I was left with £75 for the fortnight. Bloody ridiculous, for a stupidly small OD too, probably about £2.
If you're on benefits, you can claim that you're a "hardship" case, but this doesn't meant they have to refund you...just means they'll organize a repayment plan with you :P. Even getting them to admit that is difficult.
I've been charged nearly £70 for being less than £2 OD, so I know how you feel!
I was £40 in overdraft but ended up paying £165 in charges,which i paid off, but because i paid for the overdraft after the 2 Feb 09, i'm being charged another £165, again!!!! I'm really pissed off, i know this is so wrong but the customer service people explained it so damn well with their banking jargon I ended up feeling like I was the one that was in the wrong grrrrr

It's bloody lloyds by the way grrrrrr!!!!!
Lloyds TSB seem to be the ******** bank ever, and its only become clear to me in the last 6 months of banking with them.
Reply 17
It will say in your bank terms and conditions what they can charge you for having unauthorised overdraft, alliance and leicester was a complete p**s take. I went £1.35 overdrawn and they charge £5 a day for 20 days. I didn't use this account so did not know about charges so they took £100 and then started the £5 a day again meaning i was overdrawn by £200. I rung them and asked to close account and pay in instalments and they said if i complained i wouldn't have to pay it back until the test case goes through. So i'll either have it refunded when case comes back or have to pay remainder as i have paid about £180 back.
Reply 18
AB05
It will say in your bank terms and conditions what they can charge you for having unauthorised overdraft, alliance and leicester was a complete p**s take. I went £1.35 overdrawn and they charge £5 a day for 20 days. I didn't use this account so did not know about charges so they took £100 and then started the £5 a day again meaning i was overdrawn by £200. I rung them and asked to close account and pay in instalments and they said if i complained i wouldn't have to pay it back until the test case goes through. So i'll either have it refunded when case comes back or have to pay remainder as i have paid about £180 back.



That is absoloutly unbelivable.

Just to clear things up for people. Banks are legally allowed to charge you for any extra costs they incur from your unplanned overdraft, such as administration costs etc.

The current court cases are to work out and decide exactly how much an unplanned overdraft does cost the bank, because they are not allowed to make a profit on it.

To set a blanket fee of 20 pounds means that the bank is claiming it takes an employee 3 hours paid on min wage to process your unplanned overdraft, which is obviously complete crap.

Thus alot of banks are now coughing up when people do make complaints as they know they will lose in court.
I am not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, but if this is the first time you have had a charge write a letter requesting its refund as it is your first time.

They will usually refund the charge.