When someone is left in the red, they may be forced to rely on their bank for a solution. One way out is the tacit overdraft, when the user runs out of balance to discount expenses and the bank tacitly anticipates money to be able to pay that debt, as defined by the Bank of Spain. Like an invoice in the last days of the month that is not covered.
Before receiving the advance, it is important to know how it works, what rights the client has and the problems that can arise to avoid disappointment.
For the tacit overdraft, the bank can charge interest and commissions, which will depend on the money it has lent, but the joint cost will be a maximum of two and a half times the legal interest on the money, which is currently 3.25%.
One of the problems with this advance is that if the user does not expressly communicate in writing that they do not want a debt to be charged, the bank tacitly anticipates it, which could cause a situation of lack of financial control, lack of protection against new threats and costly over-indebtedness.
To avoid this, Antonio Luis Gallardo, head of studies at the Association of Financial Users (Asufin), recommends having a radical control of the balance and movements, planning all possible expenses and anticipating unexpected receipts. He also advises finding out about the conditions of each entity, since he assures that some allow you to withdraw money overdraft with a debit card.
Tacit overdraft is also dangerous in situations of technological fraud such as phishing, identity supplementation to gain access to bank details. “They try to take data from you to take control of the account, spend the balance and even cause an overdraft, leaving a significant debt. Now there are methods to empty accounts that cost more to prove and solve than in the case of transfers, such as bizums”, explains Gallardo. Thus, in addition to having no money, you end up with a debt.
There may also be some cases in which the bank generates an overdraft due to an error such as, for example, when depositing a check and withdrawing it instantly, the value date of the deposit is later than the accounting date of the check. According to Asufin, this technical mismatch cannot generate an overdraft commission.
One point to keep in mind is that the bank cannot charge commissions for overdrafts if the user’s account is at zero. This makes users prefer to keep accounts empty.
From Asufin they warn that there is a second commission derived from the tacit overdraft that is even higher, the commission for claiming debtor positions, which consists of the imputation of a single payment that often exceeds 30 euros and that could be much higher than the overdraft that it covers.
José María López, representative of Adicae in Madrid, recalls that the Supreme Court declared the commission for claiming debtor positions abusive by not justifying a real cost. In addition, he insists on the need to create a body that has the power to issue binding solutions for this type of issue regarding commissions that entities charge users.
“The regulation distinguishes the overdrafts of professionals or companies from those of consumers, which have special protection. In the event of misapplication of the commission, the user can claim the bank’s customer ombudsman,” says López.
