How often to you really check your bank statements?

[Rod Paradise]

Getting back from Scarborough pretty skint I thought I'd better have a good check at the bank account & registered for internet banking.

Looking at it I noticed that my optician was taking 2 direct debits a month, on checking I realised it was 2 per month got 2 1/2 years (since I changed from daily lenses to monthly extended wear). They appear not to have stopped taking the money for the Dailies, for 33 months, a total of £610 in overcharges! Add on interest (whicc I will be), I'm due a refund of £675. I'm waiting for the opticians to get back to me about how they will get the money to me (they have pretty much admitted it's a mistake).

SO - check the accounts & don't assume those you give DD's to will get it right!

[ariston]

If its direct debit rod you don't need to wait for the optician to refund you. The bank is responsible for refunds on direct debits and if you say they have been claimed in error the bank will refund you immediately and claim the money back themselves. This is one of the main differences betwen DD and Standing Orders.

[matt674]

always checked statement online daily.

Good job as well as someone tried accessing my account pretending to be me as i managed to limit the damage. They managed to take £1900 from my bank account but it was quickly stopped and the bank reimbursed the money with interest about 4 weeks later.

[Rod Paradise]

If its direct debit rod you don't need to wait for the optician to refund you. The bank is responsible for refunds on direct debits and if you say they have been claimed in error the bank will refund you immediately and claim the money back themselves. This is one of the main differences betwen DD and Standing Orders.

Cheers Ariston - I'll give the opticians till lunch to call & then I'll get on to the bank (I got the info from the bank yesterday & they said nothing about refunding the money  ). Anyway the money couldn't come at a better time .

[bolt pp]

I like to keep my finances very simple.

I look under the bed to see if my wad of cash is still there, if it is then i feel ive competently managed my finances for another month, if it isnt that means my birds nicked it and i sell her telly.

[AndrewT]

I like to keep my finances very simple.

Me too - if someone wants to take money from me, they have to do it at the cash tables like everyone else does. And I mean everyone...

[Trace]

I'd have a nervous breakdown if I looked at my Bank Statements!!!

[Sheriff Fatman]

We've got one of those current account mortgages so everything is just one big overdraft.  Bank statements are not the most pleasant reading as a result!

Sheriff

[Poppet7]

I'd say I look at mine once a week, I still don't know why £33.99 was taken out of my account for Canterbury Motor Company, I haven't even bought anything for the car... Hmmmmm!

[boldie]

I check mine...erm...well never. I know roughly the amount of money that's in there and that works for me.

Then again I don't do DD'stelling a company "yeah sure, take my money when you see fit"doesn't work for me. Especially as I hardly ever look ata  bill once i have a DD set up. (Companies have to send you a bill whenever the amount of the DD changes).

[ariston]

If its direct debit rod you don't need to wait for the optician to refund you. The bank is responsible for refunds on direct debits and if you say they have been claimed in error the bank will refund you immediately and claim the money back themselves. This is one of the main differences betwen DD and Standing Orders.

Cheers Ariston - I'll give the opticians till lunch to call & then I'll get on to the bank (I got the info from the bank yesterday & they said nothing about refunding the money  ). Anyway the money couldn't come at a better time .

The banks aren't usualy forthcoming with this kind of information but if you mention that you know how direct debits work and any paid in error are supposed to be handled by the bank they will put you through to the correct department. Its very similar to how payment protection works on credit cards.

[thetank]

The other day I checked my CC statement.

When I first moved to Glasgow, and was waiting for my BT Broadband, I used AOL dial-up for a few weeks. I specifically asked them for just one month and that was it.

They had charged me for the next 10 aswell 

[AndrewT]

The other day I checked my CC statement.

When I first moved to Glasgow, and was waiting for my BT Broadband, I used AOL dial-up for a few weeks. I specifically asked them for just one month and that was it.

They had charged me for the next 10 aswell 

I've had the opposite thing in my favour. I phoned up a company to cancel the £10 a month that I'd been paying for a year and they said 'Er, it looks like we forgot set it up' - I hadn't paid anything.

[lazaroonie]

The other day I checked my CC statement.

When I first moved to Glasgow, and was waiting for my BT Broadband, I used AOL dial-up for a few weeks. I specifically asked them for just one month and that was it.

They had charged me for the next 10 aswell 

Continuous Credit Card Authorities are an absolute nightmare to cancel/get stopped. Much worse than DD, without any of the guarantees.

[Ginger]

The other day I checked my CC statement.

When I first moved to Glasgow, and was waiting for my BT Broadband, I used AOL dial-up for a few weeks. I specifically asked them for just one month and that was it.

They had charged me for the next 10 aswell 

I've had the opposite thing in my favour. I phoned up a company to cancel the £10 a month that I'd been paying for a year and they said 'Er, it looks like we forgot set it up' - I hadn't paid anything.

That happened about 10 years ago to myself and my two sisters, we all bought a 3 piece suite within a month of each other from the same shop on a  buy now pay in 9 months jobbie, before the 9 months came round the shop had gone bust and 2 of us never had the DD go through, BONUS!!!