Overdrafts in the UK

Overdrafts in the UK

Banks in the UK normally offer an overdraft facility free of charge, subject to a pre-arranged limit (formerly known as an authorized overdraft limit). Interest, fees or both would normally be charged if the facility is used but accounts may have an interest-free buffer of a few tens of Pounds or a higher deliberate feature of a few hundred Pounds interest free.

When a transaction would exceed the previously agreed overdraft limit the bank can choose either to decline the transaction or to accept it as an informal request for an increase, formerly often known as an unauthorized overdraft. Charges and interest rates for informal increases will often exceed those for a formal request. There is also normally a fee per declined transaction, often subject to monthly caps. Usually, the bank sends out a letter informing the customer of the charge and requesting that the account be operated within its limits from that point onwards or informing the customer of their new limit. In a BBC Whistleblower programme on the practice, it was noted that the actual cost to the bank was less than two pounds.

Accounts exist with overdraft protection facilities which guarantee that the bank will not allow an informal overdraft and which may have lower charges for refusing transactions, protecting the customer from the interest and charges which would be incurred if an overdraft was granted. Accounts for those under eighteen years old will not normally permit an overdraft to be created.

Amount of fees

No major UK bank has completely dropped informal overdraft charges. Some, however, offer a "buffer zone", where customers will not be charged if they are over their limit by less than a certain amount. Other banks tend to charge fees regardless of the amount of the level of the overdraft, which is seen by some as unfair. In response to criticism, Lloyds Banking Group changed its fee structure; rather than a single monthly fee for an unauthorized overdraft, they now charge per day. They also allow a 'grace period' where you can pay money in before 2:30pm (Mon – Fri) before any items are returned or any bank charges incurred (with exception from standing orders which debit at beginning of working day). Lloyds TSB allows their customers, if they have gone into an unplanned overdraft on a Friday for example, to pay money in before 10am on Monday morning and the daily fees for the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) to be waived. This, however, does need to be cleared funds. Alliance & Leicester formerly had a buffer zone facility (marketed as a "last few pounds" feature of their account), but this has been withdrawn.

In general, the fee charged for an informal request is between twenty-five and thirty pounds, along with an increased rate of debit interest. The charges for cheques and Direct Debits which are refused (or "bounced") due to insufficient funds are usually the same as or slightly less than the general overdraft fees, and can be charged on top of them. A situation which has provoked much controversy is the bank declining a cheque/Direct Debit, levying a fee which takes the customer overdrawn and then charging them for going overdrawn. However, some banks, like Halifax, have a "no fees on fees" policy whereby an account that goes overdrawn solely because of an unpaid item fee will not be charged an additional fee.

Legal status and controversy

In 2006 the Office of Fair Trading issued a statement which concluded that credit card issuers were levying penalty charges when customers exceeded their maximum spend limit and / or made late payments to their accounts. In the statement, the OFT recommended that credit card issuers set such fees at a maximum of £12

In the statement, the OFT opined that the fees charged by credit card issuers were analogous to unauthorized overdraft fees charged by banks. Many customers who incurred unauthorized overdraft fees used this statement as a springboard to sue their banks in order to recover the fees.

The Supreme Court in 2009 held that the OFT statement was not binding for current (checking) accounts and largely resolved the matter in favor of the banks.