Do You Check Your Bank Account Regularly?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by shiney, Feb 6, 2019.

  1. shiney

    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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    I must admit that I'm a tad OCD with regard to bank accounts :noidea:.

    Although I can check them online I also receive paper statements monthly and check every item off and query anything I can't remember or find the info on. There is rarely anything that needs querying but I check anyway. I also have my settings online to send me an email with weekly transactions. In the last five years I've found three payments out that have not been correct. Two were bank errors and the other one was fraud through a fairly local post office - I drawn a small amount out of my bank and a second amount came out one hour later. All were refunded with no problem because I could show that I check everything - I have all my statements going back twenty years.

    More importantly, check your credit card statements. This is where a lot more fraud and mistakes are made. I keep every credit card receipt until I have checked it off on the statement. It's not so unusual to find errors - mainly some things being charged twice.

    Yesterday I was checking one credit card account and found a charge from Amazon for £7.99. Mrs Shiney does any online purchases (not many) and writes everyone in a small notebook - just takes a single line with date, price, vendor and product. So I asked her what it was for as I couldn't find it in the notebook. Her answer was a simple "If it's not in the notebook then it wasn't ordered".

    So I phoned Amazon to say that there was a charge on our credit card that we can't trace. A very pleasant lady then said "Was it for £7.99?". :hate-shocked: I said to her, "before I tell you what it was, why did you aske whether it was that amount?". She said that it would be the monthly charge for Prime and that's the most common enquiry. We don't have Prime! She checked the reference number I gave her and said that Mrs Shiney had clicked on Prime when ordering, and gave us the date. Mrs Shiney then said to her that she did not click on Prime but clicked on the 'Special Offer of free faster delivery. There was no mention of signing up for Prime in that offer. The woman didn't argue at all :th scifD36: but said, immediately, she will refund the money for the two months we had been charged.

    The interesting thing about it, apart from our opinion that it was a con, was that we had only been charged for the current month and not last month - unless they have already processed the next payment. I shall be checking!

    The moral of all this is, always keep records and always check.

    Apart from possible fraud and double charges you may have inadvertently signed up for something you had no intention to do. This would have been costing us £7.99 every month.

    Apparently the worst offenders are mobile phone companies who have been charging you a monthly fee to include you data/airtime and the cost of the phone (if you didn't buy it outright) and they continue to charge you that fee even after the cost of the phone has been paid off. This is a very common occurrence.

    OCD sometimes pays :thumbsup:
     
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    • Upsydaisy

      Upsydaisy Total Gardener

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      Definitely pays @shiney ...my husband is exactly like you!:dbgrtmb:
       
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      • Marley Farley

        Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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        We always check bank and credit statements as have had a few fraud actions in the past. It is a worry though these days as you just never know.
         
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        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          Poor man! :lunapic 130165696578242 5:
           
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          • Verdun

            Verdun Passionate gardener

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            I check all bank accounts at least twice a week. Computer checked for updates several times a week.We can’t be too careful :)
             
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            • ricky101

              ricky101 Total Gardener

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              Hi,

              No, you are not OCD, just good old fashioned financial housekeeping that many others simply do not bother to do.

              Worth checking what other features your bank/CC offer like weekly texts of your account balance, texts when your bank balance drops below a set amount etc etc.

              Also you can get free regular Credit Checks from places like here, good for checking if anyone is trying to use your details.
              https://www.noddle.co.uk/

              Personally try and avoid postal statements , too easy to get lost/mis-delivered etc.

              Keep up the good work !! :)
               
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              • shiney

                shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                Thanks, but I'm too old fashioned to do it your way :old: :heehee:

                I can't get texts - no mobile!
                Fortunately, I don't need those facilities that you mention as I have an arrangement with them that they phone me if there is any unusual activity on the account. There is also a rule in place, on my accounts, that no money can be transferred out of it to another account without my verbal approval. :dbgrtmb:

                I've never had a paper statement go astray in over 60 years :)
                 
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                • HarryS

                  HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

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                  I check my bank accounts and credit card about once a week online . I don't receive any paper statements these days . Touch wood never had a problem yet . Although sometimes credit card purchases are hard to trace . The purchase may be booked to the head company with another name 200 miles away , so this can start alarm bells ringing . A look at the full item details will fully explain the purchase.
                   
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                  • ricky101

                    ricky101 Total Gardener

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                    Hi,

                    Not trying to preach to others, but would just say that you should get a mobile phone as they can be an essential piece of kit, even lifesavers, not just for financial texts etc but for other everyday situations like appointments and car rescue etc which are all geared to quick response / confirmation by text.

                    When I had my car in for a recent recall, they even sent me a video over the phone to show what they had checked.

                    They can seems complicated devices but for normal phone calls and texts they are quiet simple.

                    For £89 you can buy a decent phone like this one and use a £5 monthly Sim card , no contract needed, really straight forwards, and no, will not accept you are too old the learn about one ! :smile:

                    Buy SIM Free Motorola E5 Play 16GB Mobile Phone - Black | SIM free phones | Argos
                     
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                    • wiseowl

                      wiseowl FRIENDLY ADMIN Staff Member

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                      Hello I never have enough in the bank to worry about checking it:lunapic 130165696578242 5::lunapic 130165696578242 5::lunapic 130165696578242 5:
                       
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                      • wiseowl

                        wiseowl FRIENDLY ADMIN Staff Member

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                        @shiney border guards took mine when I crossed over the border from Kent in to Shineyland,said they wasn't allowed:lunapic 130165696578242 5:
                         
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                        • shiney

                          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                          £5 per month!!! :yikes: I could get a three course meal down the local pub for that! :lunapic 130165696578242 5: :whistle:

                          Thanks for the info :dbgrtmb:. you're not the only one that has suggested that I get a phone. The problem is that I'm a Devout Luddite. :heehee:
                           
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                          • roders

                            roders Total Gardener

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                            I check our bank account almost every day,I like to keep my eye on things ,never had a problem yet.:fingers crossed:
                            But I did get caught by Amazon with prime ,I noticed straight away ,I e mailed them and it was back in my account next day......They are very crafty so be careful.
                            I don’t like paying postage so I often move away from Amazon to get free postage or at least less.
                             
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                            • shiney

                              shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                              Yep! You have to check things in at the border post and everyone has to go through a CAT Scan at the border. :blue thumb: :cat-kittyandsmiley:

                              Oscar was very diligent
                              P1030471.JPG

                              P1040157.JPG

                              His job has now been taken over by Sarafi
                              P1020765.JPG
                               
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                              • Scrungee

                                Scrungee Well known for it

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                                I complained after one deduction but they continued take a further payment and I complained yet again.

                                Amazon then refunded 8 payments! I did not complain about that.

                                P.S. Take screenshots of every single Amazon offer and get a transcript of every chat sesssion emailed to you.
                                 
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