Charging extra fees to those who are unable to pay their sum due due. It sounds like something from Kafka, yet it actually occur. After going through it herself, Nathalie, a mother from the province of Luxembourg, expressed her fury. It’s ludicrous,
Nathalie acknowledges that her financial situation isn’t always ideal. She must adhere to a strict budget, and it is never certain how much she will have at the end of the month. She pays the recurrent expenses via direct debits and other standing orders to prevent unpleasant surprises. She also does this, for instance, for her son’s sports membership.
Recently, though, she had insufficient funds to cover the monthly fee. When Nathalie discovered a few days later that the bank had added a 5-euro payment, she was astounded. The explanation was given as “Payment order refused owing to insufficient funds”. Even though her budget was already tight, she was given an additional fine.
“By taking extra money out of the account, we are being penalized for not having enough money! This is mistreatment by our banks. Very outrageous,” the mother said to RTL.
Each bank does
Nathalie uses Crelan (AXA), but that is undoubtedly not the only bank that employs this strategy. Most banks in Belgium operate similarly. Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, ING Each of them levies a fee of between 5 and 8 euros for people who are unable to make an ongoing payment.
Even said, several of those institutions employ other techniques to cut costs. For instance, if the payment is unsuccessful, they provide a message. Additionally, banks like Belfius and BNP Paribas Fortis frequently provide their clients multiple chances to adjust the balance so that the payment can still be made. The transaction is made for a standing order five days in a row. Only if the payment is still declined after five days, the bank will charge 5 euros in extra fees.