OMG!
I hope the wife doesn't find out!
She failed to qualify for a bank account all her married life.............................by me!
She's useless with money and just wastes it!
I give her £50 per week to just buy food and pay bills and she's always asking for more!
How can I give her more when beer prices keep rising and my horses keep getting beat?
Bad times!

This I think its very good. I have a basic account with Barclay's. Had to leave my full time job around 6 months ago to become my step sons full time carer and learning to budget again on very little income I found very difficult for the first couple of months. The constant cycle of charges applied to accounts for a missed DD taking you overdrawn meaning you then have less cash to pay for that DD the following month resulting sometimes in a further missed payment and charge can be very frustrating. Although credit interest is not good and you don't enjoy the perks of a full account these accounts are perfect for people that have been unable to budget previously. Not sure why people are voting cold but this is hot. I know Barclay's wrote me a letter about this a couple of months back saying that this has started. Well done to the banks for making those people who may struggle with money have a better chance of budgeting correctly.

​well not everyone will get accepted for an account like that will they?! making these good alternates!

Can current account holders 'downgrade' to a fee free account?

I might be partial to a bit of fee-free pie :man:

Can current account holders 'downgrade' to a fee free account?

I might be partial to a bit of fee-free pie :man:

OMG!
I hope the wife doesn't find out!
She failed to qualify for a bank account all her married life.............................by me!
She's useless with money and just wastes it!
I give her £50 per week to just buy food and pay bills and she's always asking for more!
How can I give her more when beer prices keep rising and my horses keep getting beat?
Bad times!

This I think its very good. I have a basic account with Barclay's. Had to leave my full time job around 6 months ago to become my step sons full time carer and learning to budget again on very little income I found very difficult for the first couple of months. The constant cycle of charges applied to accounts for a missed DD taking you overdrawn meaning you then have less cash to pay for that DD the following month resulting sometimes in a further missed payment and charge can be very frustrating. Although credit interest is not good and you don't enjoy the perks of a full account these accounts are perfect for people that have been unable to budget previously. Not sure why people are voting cold but this is hot. I know Barclay's wrote me a letter about this a couple of months back saying that this has started. Well done to the banks for making those people who may struggle with money have a better chance of budgeting correctly.

Or just get a decent account like the Halifax reward account that doesn't charge for bounced direct debits, has a £50 buffer, has a contactless card so the 'buffer' can be used in supermarkets if you're in a bit of a bind, and it pays you £5 a month.

I'll wait until it's cheaper :smiley:

Thanks for the info

This is fantastic news and will undoubtedly come as a fantastic help to many people who were under the regular cycle of unpaid charges leaving them without funds.

Speaking from experience in working for six years in a banking debt management unit, I feel I must point out that there's still a couple of events that keep catching people out.

Using your card may take 2-3 days for the money to actually debit the account. If you use your card under the "floor limit" of a retailer, the bank will never know that money is due out until the retailer asks for it. For example, many petrol pumps that allow you to pay at the pump only request £1 initially, but it gives them authorisation to take whatever you finally end up spending at the pump.

Also the bank cannot stop you from using your card while there are direct debits or standing orders due out around the same time. If you have £50 in your account and spend £40 on your weekly shopping on say, Monday, and a £50 direct debit is due out on the Tuesday, the result can likely be that the direct debit is paid on the Tuesday and the card payment will debit the account on the Wednesday. You will be forced overdrawn.

These two examples are important because a card payment simply cannot be stopped or reversed. You might not get charged for it, but the account doesn't have an overdraft so you will be unable to use your account until it is back in credit - and even then, you'll be "down" by how much overdrawn you were as the money will be taken back straight away.

The removal of charges is great, but there are still a number of people who lack basic money management skills, and a smaller percentage who simply have no regard for their financial wellbeing and actually utilise the methods above, and the bank holidays, to screw themselves and the banks over.