Sometimes you can find yourself going overdrawn just because something goes into your account later than you expect or comes out earlier than you planned. So here are some ways of avoiding the charges that can result.

• Keep an eye on your balance – You can check your account balance in store, online, by phone using your mobile app, or through a cash machine to make sure you have enough money in your account to pay everything due. The money in your account must be available to withdraw – for example, cheques can take up to a week to be cleared.

• Keep a record of any cheques you write and when they have been paid – It is possible for the cheques to be presented up to a year after the issue date, so make sure you know when a cheque is being cashed against your account. Check out our cheque clearing guide for more information.

• Track your regular payments – Review your statements and make a list of the dates of your direct debits, standing orders and other regular payments – for example, mortgage, loan or rent. Ensure that funds are available when those payments are due to come out of the account.

• Move the payment date if possible – If a direct debit payment is due at a difficult time in the month for you, contact the company and ask them to collect it at a more convenient time. 

• Transfer money into your account by 12.00 midday – If you ensure that sufficient funds are available in your account by 12:00pm at the latest on the day the payment is due, you will not incur a paid or unpaid item fee. These need to be cleared funds, as simply transferring funds from another account by 12:00pm is not sufficient as it can take a while for the money to be transferred, even with faster payments. Transferring from another Metro Bank account is however instantaneous.