Do you check your bank statements?

I'm interested to know how many people check their bank statements, especially the credit card statement.

My last one includes a charge from Norton Internet Security for $82.39.
I have used Norton in the past but did not renew when it came due at beginning of December, and removed the programme from my PC.

I have contacted them (via convoluted online chat connection apparently in India) and been assured a refund will be made. I will be checking that.

It just occurred to me that many people don't check their statements and Norton - and probably many others - will have a nice little sideline going via these automatic charges.

I have a personal finance statement in excel that I update once every fortnight. So I do check my bank balance at least once during that period.

But yeah, I've heard of many products that you sign up to but included an automatic contract renewal unless you tell them to stop. Most people don't bother reading the T&Cs when they signed up for it anyway.

It's also important to check for unauthorised charge especially for the "single digit" amounts. My credit card was compromised once (for the first time in 10 years!) and the thief was just "testing" out by charging a small amount before proceeding with a bigger one. So it's important to check regularly.

Temjin said:

But yeah, I've heard of many products that you sign up to but included an automatic contract renewal unless you tell them to stop. Most people don't bother reading the T&Cs when they signed up for it anyway.

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Yep, that happened to me with my car insurance.

I forgot to send back the renewal and I rang them. They told me, if we dont hear from you, it automatically renews.

I was happy about that.

Hello Julia, yes I check mine at least every 2 or 3 days as most of my bills and purchases are made by credit card. When I hired a small truck just recently they asked me for my credit card details as security for the vehicle. About 3 days after the hiring I noticed a $25 fee from them to my card. I rang them immediately and they said I did not fill up the truck properly so they charged me the extra. It was BS but I could not prove it as when I dropped the truck back it was after hours and the rental place was closed.

About the $1 small amount charged that may appear from time to time. This has happened to me a few times but it was valid and later automatically disappeared. What happens is that if you are purchasing or setting up a payment for the first time they debit your CC $1 to make sure it is valid and working. A few days later the $1 charge disappears and the normal deduction you expected is taken out. It happened to me recently when I was purchasing pre paid credit through a mobile phone supplier. But to answer the question I watch my CC like a hawk.

Tink said:

Yep, that happened to me with my car insurance.

I forgot to send back the renewal and I rang them. They told me, if we dont hear from you, it automatically renews.

I was happy about that.

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I was very interested in this one. Are you sure the insurance automatically renews when the cost of insurance rises? Being abroad it's possible I've lost track of events, but I'm not sure that was the case when I was last insured, some time back.

noirua said:

I was very interested in this one. Are you sure the insurance automatically renews when the cost of insurance rises? Being abroad it's possible I've lost track of events, but I'm not sure that was the case when I was last insured, some time back.

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I'm with RACV and my insurance automatically renews - although I do receive a letter in the mail about 4 weeks before hand. I checked my renewal price, then went and got an online quote from their website (applying as if I was a new customer). The quote I received online was $15 per month CHEAPER than what my renewal price would be. I rang them immediately, and they changed my renewal to the cheaper rate. I doubt many people check though.

Another one notorious for this is franchise gyms. After your 12 month contract is up your membership is still active and they continue to debit your account/credit card. This is stated in the terms and conditions, and obviously appears on your bank statements. However the number of people that don't know this is happening is quite alarming. It is a fact that the majority of people who join a gym will stop regularly attending within the two months. They realise they signed a 12 month contract, so they have to keep paying each fortnight, however they wrongly assume they will stop being debited once their 12 month initial contract period has finished.

I used to have a second job as a personal trainer at a franchise gym, and would occasionally cover front desk shifts. At least HALF of incoming calls were related to people who had only just realised they were still being debited after their 12 month initial contract period finished. Often these people have had their accounts debited for 5 years without realising.

Mobile phone companies do this too.

I doubt there is any way to calculate it, but it would be interesting to know how much money this sort of thing costs Australians each year. The majority of society doesn't check their bank statements regularly, although I'd think ASF members would probably be different.

Personally I check mine accounts at least every 2nd day, and I'm always scouting around for ways to save a few $$$ on my regular expenses.

I'm also interested in the insurance renewal, Tink.
When my renewal notice arrived recently, the premium was about 35% higher, based on a hugely increased estimate of the cost of rebuilding.

I got some quotes from builders re this cost and it was nothing like what the insurance company had quoted. So I phoned them, no problem adjusting it down and therefore reducing the premium. They said it automatically increases every year. Well, yes, I get that, but not that much, thanks.

Interestingly, a few weeks later they rang as part of a survey of customers to see how many are under insured. Said that in the Victorian bush fires 80% of their customers were under insured by as much as 50%.
As a result of answers to their questions, cost of rebuilding my property came out to be $10,000 less than the amount I'd changed their original estimate to.
Suggested maybe they rethink their formula for automatic increases.

So I'm absolutely not in favour of automatic charges on the credit card for anything. Too easy to be taken advantage of.

I review bank accounts each day or so online, and have a budget spreadsheet that I update monthly - this is how I know what spouse has spent on ebay I tend to be a bit of a control freak, so don't pay anything on direct debit - I prefer to process the payment online myself so I know exactly how much it is and when it will be debited.

Recently I noticed almost $40 charged to my son's mobile phone (part of a package business deal) and upon ringing the number it was for sms text messages sent with random "facts" charged at $6-60 each sent every few days as a result of him doing an online IQ test and having to submit his mobile no to get the result. Naturally there would have been some fine print about needing to be over 18, but what teenager stops to read before they click. Needless to say I threatened to report them to every consumer body I could think of and was offered and have received a refund, My sons's ears are still ringing! I mentioned this to a friend and she had had a similar thing happen, but didn't complain and get refund, just unsubscribed and wore it. I wonder how much these types of charlatans extort out of kids and the unwary. If I didn't check my phone bill thoroughly I could have paid $30 - $40 a month without even knowing it.

Julia said:

I'm also interested in the insurance renewal, Tink.

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It was my car insurance, not my house insurance Julia. There wasnt much difference in cost to the year before so I had had intentions to renew it. I would have been more upset knowing I wasnt insured because I had forgotten

I suppose there is advantages and disadvantages to automatic renewals.

And to answer your question, yes I do check my statements : )

I have a few direct debits set up but not that many.

Insurance on the house (paid monthly) is through the bank's insurance company and direct debited to my account.

Health insurance is paid monthly by direct debit.

Electricity bill is paid quarterly by direct debit (only because there's a discount for direct debit payment, something that comes about because literally 40 - 50% of all household power bills end up in arrears with overdue notices sent out).

Internet access and phone (same account) is also paid by direct debit.

Now, the insurances are for a set amount so anything wrong there would be easy to spot. Electricity I get the paper bill a couple of weeks before it's paid so know how much that will be. Internet and phone is always about the same amount within a few $ so again easy to check.

Insurance I pay by direct debit because I'm worried about what happens if I forget to pay on time and then the house burns down that night etc. I'd rather take the risk of being overcharged than risk not having insurance.

Internet I pay that way because there's no other way allowed.

Electricity I pay by direct debit only to get the discount for doing so.

As for other things, yes I do check my accounts but not down to the cent. If Coles or Woolies charges me an extra few $ then they'll quite likely get away with it a few times before I notice. But if there's a charge from someone I haven't bought anything from then I'll spot it immediately.

Smurf1976 said:

Insurance I pay by direct debit because I'm worried about what happens if I forget to pay on time and then the house burns down that night etc. I'd rather take the risk of being overcharged than risk not having insurance.

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A few years ago I forgot to pay the house insurance when it was due. Woke up about three days later. Phoned the insurance company who were quite undisturbed and said they always allow a couple of weeks coverage for late payment. When the payment wasn't received on the due date, they mailed out a reminder notice, and yes, this arrived the following day.

Not all insurance companies may necessarily be so understanding, so I understand your direct debit Smurf.

It just annoys me when they raise the insurance value to an unrealistic extent in order to increase their premiums paid. Many people will just pay the premium without considering the basis for it.

Julia said:

A few years ago I forgot to pay the house insurance when it was due. Woke up about three days later. Phoned the insurance company who were quite undisturbed and said they always allow a couple of weeks coverage for late payment.

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But if your house had actually burned down during those 3 days so that you had a substantial claim to make against them, do you think they would still have been so understanding?

bellenuit said:

But if your house had actually burned down during those 3 days so that you had a substantial claim to make against them, do you think they would still have been so understanding?

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An excellent point, bellenuit. I will never know. I don't plan on letting it happen again.

My guess is that at least some of an insurance company's attitude towards any claim depends on the history of the customer. Some years ago I made a claim on a different insurance company for the pool solar heating system on the roof of the house. It sprang several leaks a day or two after a severe storm.
I couldn't prove that the storm had caused the damage. It was several years old and possibly could have been 'wearing out' anyway. They sent an assessor out who took a cursory look, then said that as there had been no claim for anything over about ten years, they would be happy to replace it in full.

Omg, thanks for this thread Julia. I just noticed that Symantec Corp (Norton's) have debited funds from my account for a subscription that i do not use. I hope i can get it reversed, hopefully i did not consent to it being done (they usually have the check-box checked as the default position).

Julia said:

I'm interested to know how many people check their bank statements, especially the credit card statement.

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Hi Julia,

I was once pretty slack with my everyday account till over 1K mysteriously walked. I got in touch with the bank, promptly cancelled the cards and tried to find the source to no avail.

The mystery cash reappeared several days later with no explanation from the bank, my theory is banks prefer to write off these sort of problems rather than risk a PR nightmare but since then i've felt a little uneasy.

Most cash these days consist of nothing more than zeros and ones on a server, anecdotal evidence suggests that e commerce has serious security flaws but i can't really argue this point as internet security isn't my forte.

Don't check 'statements' as in 'paper' as such.
Most of my banking is online these days, and I'm checking what goes in and out everyday. So no need for 'paper statements' and checking that as such.

usually know what is going on all the time.

i'm not a big bank person anyways. most of my capital is in my brokerage accounts. my broker is my bank.

bank is just for spare change and petty cash to pay for the miss' shoe addiction and food to cook her nice big dinners in an apron.

I check my accounts very regularly, and anything that uses direct debit is an obvious and necessary service (like electricity, internet etc).

Insurance I pay by direct debit because I'm worried about what happens if I forget to pay on time and then the house burns down that night etc. I'd rather take the risk of being overcharged than risk not having insurance.

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Don't worry, because there's a far, far greater chance you'll die that day than the house burning down within the few days you weren't covered.

Mmmmmmmmm After reading this thread i decided to check my transactions .......... It seems that a number of local Bottleshops and Pubs have been withdrawing my funds on a regular basis over the last week or so.....mainly small amounts ranging from $ 40 - $150 but on one occasion at the "vibe" nightclub there seems to be a withdrawal for $ 400 ..........

What can i do as i have no recollection whatsoever of any of these transactions and i feel someone is taking advantage of my lack of accounting skills during this period.

nunthewiser said:

Mmmmmmmmm After reading this thread i decided to check my transactions .......... It seems that a number of local Bottleshops and Pubs have been withdrawing my funds on a regular basis over the last week or so.....mainly small amounts ranging from $ 40 - $150 but on one occasion at the "vibe" nightclub there seems to be a withdrawal for $ 400 ..........

What can i do as i have no recollection whatsoever of any of these transactions and i feel someone is taking advantage of my lack of accounting skills during this period.

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That is such a distressing story which seems to be all too common at this time of the year. Unfortunately, there are those in society, often known as landlords, who prey on those who like a drink. They provide a product known as alcohol and consumption of this substance often leads to a desire to consume more of it. Excessive consumption can lead to shouting rounds of drinks, playing pokies and attending nightclubs. Strange financial transactions are a regular symptom.

Fortunately, there is an ethical solution. The "Gooner" financial management program can assist with this. Simply send me your name, address, bank details, date of birth and any relevant passwords and I will ensure that you will never have the problem of having strange financial transactions from bars and clubs on your bank statement ever again. Well, certainly not ones in Perth. South America is a different story

I maintain my own records on a spreadsheet and update every evening if I had a transaction that day and compare to the online statement. But there are a few charges that still might be even difficult to pick up and the following nasty I came across pure by luck.

Usually when I go on holiday overseas I put a substantial deposit into my credit card account, so that I am drawing my own cash rather than the banks and thus saving on interest. I put much more in than I need to cater for emergencies.

Once, after returning, I had about $10K still in my credit card after reconciling all of my overseas credit purchases and ATM withdrawals. I looked at the on line statement and it was in synch with my spreadsheet. I then transferred the balance from my credit card to my savings account. I was surprised the next time I checked on line to see a $25 charge placed on the transaction by Westpac. When I queried Westpac, they referred me to the Ts & Cs where it said that if you make a cash withdrawal from your credit card and that results in the account going into credit, you pay 0.25% on the total withdrawal (not just on the amount in credit). When I made the withdrawal, my account was showing a debit of $10K (approx) and after the withdrawal it showed $0, so it didn't go into credit. However, I had overlooked a receipt for duty free at the airport on arrival back which I placed in my passport rather than with the other receipts and even though that was not showing on the website when I made the withdrawal, it was subsequently inserted in its chronological order and that appeared to come before my withdrawal. When I explained the situation to the Westpac guy, he laughed and said something like "that catches them all the time", but agreed to refund me the $25 as technically I was correct.

I wouldn't have caught this if I didn't check regularly and actually have seen that my withdrawal was made before the duty free receipt was processed.

What really annoyed me was that such a charge is close to fraudulent, irrespective of the duty free transaction being there or not.

If you have $9,900 debit in your account and withdraw $10K (account to account transfer) you have a $25 processing charge. But if you withdraw as $9,900 followed by a separate withdrawal of $100 you only pay $0.25, even though they have to process 2 transactions instead of 1.