'Referral charge' on acc statement????

Bleating Lamb

Hi folks,
Just have general query......was going to a wedding on 27 th Dec 13 with OH and she wanted to give the gift that day....things tight after Santa etc and I knew we hadn't enough in joint acc to meet present total so I dated the cheque for 7/1/14....as we would have enough in acc by then....
Newly weds must have went straight to bank after wedding as cheque was taken from our acc on 3Oth Dec!:).....
..when I checked internet banking that acc came up as in debt to the difference...
My Dad reckoned bank(AIB) May have paid out on cheque as they know with our previous record we are 'good' for it.
Just happened to look at internet banking record today and on 31st Dec a charge of €5.15 was debited from acc under name 'referral charge'.....is this where bank did some check if the cheque bounced???
Wife a bit embarrassed if that is case but as I said to her newlyweds should not have tried cashing cheque till after the 7th Jan 2014.
What's this charge for and would cheque have ' bounced'.
Appreciate any thoughts and happy new year to all.

BuffyBot

aib.ie wrote:

Referral Item Charges

These charges apply when cheques, withdrawals, direct debits and standing orders are presented for payment on your account and, when paid, place the account in an unauthorised overdraft position.

So if your account is still down for the value of the cheque it would appear they've honoured it for you. However, they charge for that (as you've seen) *and* you'll be penalised with interest charges. So the best thing to do is get it back in order ASAP as it will rack up.

P. Breathnach

The bank should not have paid out on a post-dated cheque. You should not be expected to pay interest and penalty charges (a referral charge is effectively a penalty) when the mistake is theirs.

I'd get in touch and demand that they credit your account with the charge and that they also ensure that no interest is debited.

nlgbbbblth

P. Breathnach wrote: »

The bank should not have paid out on a post-dated cheque. You should not be expected to pay interest and penalty charges (a referral charge is effectively a penalty) when the mistake is theirs.

I'd get in touch and demand that they credit your account with the charge and that they also ensure that no interest is debited.

The drawer should not be writing post-dated cheques.
The bank should not be expected to examine every cheque presented on its holders' accounts.

On this occasion the bank did you a favour. They honoured the cheque (presumably based on your previous satisfactory track record). They may not be so helpful in the future if you kick up a fuss about the legitimate referral fee that they levied.

wench

P. Breathnach wrote: »

The bank should not have paid out on a post-dated cheque. You should not be expected to pay interest and penalty charges (a referral charge is effectively a penalty) when the mistake is theirs.

I'd get in touch and demand that they credit your account with the charge and that they also ensure that no interest is debited.

Your demands wouldn't get very far, it is covered in the T&Cs for their current accounts:

5.18 If you are issued with a chequebook for use in connection with your Account, the following additional terms and conditions apply:

5.18.4 we may pay post-dated cheques if they are presented before their due date

P. Breathnach

nlgbbbblth wrote: »

The drawer should not be writing post-dated cheques.

Why not? It's a legitimate financial instrument.

The bank should not be expected to examine every cheque presented on its holders' accounts.

Of course they should.

wench wrote: »

Your demands wouldn't get very far, it is covered in the T&Cs for their current accounts...

Unfair T&Cs are not enforceable.

Kalimah

The bank have paid the cheque but fined you for being overdrawn. In the case of post dated cheques the bank cannot and will not examine every cheque for irregularities such as post dating. If you write a post dated cheque you are relying on whoever you give it to, to hold onto it until it's in date. In this case it looks like no harm done.

Teagwee

I have every sympathy with the OP and would have liked to think that a post-dated cheque wouldn't have been presented nor honoured until the appropriate time. In the past, however, I've had a cheque referred because I used the wrong year in early January. I felt mildly irritated that the bank was so pernickity (though technically correct) when it was clearly an error from a cheque number that could not have been issued the previous year. Seems to be the luck of the draw in who's doing the checking and the bank are covered either way.
Perhaps the best option in such a circumstance is to alert the person who is being given the gift cheque that it should not be presented until a certain date - via a sticky note appended directly to the cheque or whatever? It may seem embarrassingly up front and pointed, but no more so than hoping they'll notice ... which amounts to the same impression anyway

Bleating Lamb

Thanks for all replies....TBH I am annoyed as I have been with AIB for 30 Years but am well aware that none of banks give a damn about customer loyalty these days.
I am going to let my annoyance be known next time I am in bank..... We have the account back in credit now.Big question from my wife's perspective which I would love a view on from anyone......would newlyweds have heard cheque had 'bounced'?
Thanks for any replies.

P. Breathnach

I thought that the issue was that the cheque did not bounce!

BuffyBot

Indeed..the bank paid the cheque for you, despite you not having the funds..that's why they've charged you. So to the folks that lodged it, all was as normal.

Rochester

If the money for the cheque left your account, it didn't bounce, it was referred, hence the charge. So no, the happy couple will be blissfully unaware of your angst.

BuffyBot

You can't.

Bleating Lamb

Admin can delete thread now,query has been answered ,thank you.

Bleating Lamb

BuffyBot wrote: »

You can't.

Mod or Admin can delete thread now,thanks.

VONSHIRACH

If the cheque cleared your account the newlyweds are none the wiser. They probably got a few cheques for gifts, didn't notice the date on yours and went to the bank to lodge them after that weekend.