What to do if…
your bank charges an unexpected fee or penalty that puts your account in the red

What to do now

1. Stop the immediate cascade

   • Pause non-essential card use from this account.
   • Check pending card payments, Direct Debits, standing orders, and subscriptions due in the next few days.
   • If you can safely move money in without risking essentials, reduce or clear the overdrawn balance.

2. Pin down the charge

   • In your banking app or online banking, note the charge name, amount, date, and current balance.
   • Look at the transactions just before it, such as a returned payment, account fee, overdraft interest, Direct Debit, or card payment.
   • Take screenshots of the fee, the surrounding transactions, any pending payments, and the balance.

3. Use the right route if a payment caused the problem

   • If a Direct Debit was taken on the wrong date, for the wrong amount, or without proper authority, contact your bank and ask about a Direct Debit Guarantee refund.
   • If a card payment was taken wrongly, duplicated, or the merchant will not refund, ask your bank how to raise a card dispute or chargeback. Chargeback is not guaranteed, so ask what evidence they need.
   • If the charge is the bank’s own fee, ask the bank to explain exactly what rule or account term triggered it.

4. Contact the bank and ask for clear help

   • Use secure message or in-app chat if available, because it creates a record. If you call, ask for a reference number.
   • Ask whether they can refund or reverse the unexpected fee.
   • Ask whether they can pause, reduce, or waive further interest or charges linked to this issue while they review it.
   • If the fee means you cannot cover essentials, say clearly: “This has put me in financial difficulty.”

5. Protect essential payments

   • Check what may fail before your next money comes in, especially rent, mortgage, council tax, utilities, childcare, insurance, and travel.
   • If an essential payment is likely to bounce, contact the biller today and ask whether they can delay collection, change the date, or stop repeat attempts.
   • Keep a note of who you contacted, when, and what they agreed.

6. Make it a formal complaint if it is not fixed quickly

   • Tell the bank you want this treated as a complaint.
   • Keep it short: what the fee was, when it happened, why it was unexpected, how it put you in the red, and what you want the bank to do.
   • Ask for the complaint reference and save all replies.

7. Know the escalation point

   • If the bank sends a final response and you are still unhappy, you can usually take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within six months of the final response date.
   • If the bank does not send a final response in time, you can usually go to the Financial Ombudsman Service after the response deadline has passed.
   • Banks normally have 15 business days for payment services or e-money complaints, and 8 weeks for most other complaints.

8. If this is part of a wider money crisis, get free debt help

   • If this fee means you cannot cover food, housing, energy, or several debts, contact a free debt adviser.
   • Ask whether Breathing Space may be suitable. It is not automatic, and a debt adviser has to apply if it is right for you.