Advice on claiming back charges [Natwest]

Hello,

I've been reading through the site and being subscribed for quite some time now and I never though I had gotten as bad as some people have on here, but I have gotten to the bottom of my depths and need a bit of advice.

I got an overdraft when I was doing an work based apprenticeship in 2004 of £50 (Big Mistake!) and had that upped to £100 in March 2005. I've been getting charges of £28 for as long as I can remember up until I got a job in Tescos in late 2007. I lost my job in early 2009 and the charges have started kicking up again.

I'm currently getting charged £50 for a £2.87 McDonalds meals (said I had £20 on online banking, and no ATM's in the area so used my card).

I'm just wondering if there's any possible way I could claim any of this back. I am waiting till this charge goes before collating the 6 years of charges etc.

Also, would I be classed as in Financial Hardship as I only get the Job Seekers Allowance of which £40 of that is paid out for board/keep to my folks (I still live at home!)


Thanks for taking the time to read this, I look forward to hearing for you :).

Dan

Comments

  • Fiddlestick
    Fiddlestick Posts: 2,339 Forumite
    liquidated wrote: »
    I got an overdraft when I was doing an work based apprenticeship in 2004 of £50 (Big Mistake!) and had that upped to £100 in March 2005. I've been getting charges of £28 for as long as I can remember up until I got a job in Tescos in late 2007. I lost my job in early 2009 and the charges have started kicking up again.

    What were you getting the charges for originally?
    I'm currently getting charged £50 for a £2.87 McDonalds meals (said I had £20 on online banking, and no ATM's in the area so used my card).

    Were there pending transactions?

    Also, would I be classed as in Financial Hardship as I only get the Job Seekers Allowance of which £40 of that is paid out for board/keep to my folks (I still live at home!)

    No.

    Being on benefits does not in itself count as financial hardship.

    To be classed as in financial hardship your priority outgoings need to exceed your income.

    You don't *have* to give the money to your parents - I'm sure they would let you live there out of the goodness of their hearts if push came to shove.

    If you had your own place and couldn't afford your rent and council tax if the bank took the charges, that might count.

    Even then they don't *have* to give charges bank for financial hardship cases - it's still down to their goodwill.

    The best thing to do would be to head over to the DFW board and post an SOA and see if anyone can help you with your spending.

    If you are living with your parents then you can't have that many outgoings surely?
  • Thanks for the reply, let me see if I can answer those for you.

    Charges were for being pushed into my overdraft generally from interest. I was on £40 a week back then. I was advised to extend my overdraft to compensate for the charges in the first place (the £100 one).

    There were no pending transactions. I use this card solely for outdoor shopping. If I have more than £10 in the account, I will withdraw it if I need something and pay cash, just so I am aware of what I have.

    Sadly, I do have to give the money to my parents, otherwise I would be out on the streets. That's not something I'd like to consider and due to stresses of work (or lack thereof), family and personal life it's much easier just to pay and have done.

    I don't really have any outgoings. £10 top up once a month if I have that spare, don't really drink anymore and rarely smoke (as I can't afford it, so good time to quit!)

    I'm hoping to get back into college or another apprenticeship scheme to get back into work and sort this out once and for all, but time is drawing in and I'm almost 24, the cut off for apprenticeships. It may only be small amounts, but it is rather stressful and depressing at the minute.

    Thanks again for the reply, cleared up a fair bit of information for me.
  • Premier_2
    Premier_2 Posts: 15,141
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    edited 21 October 2010 at 1:00PM
    liquidated wrote: »
    ...I'm currently getting charged £50 for a £2.87 McDonalds meals
    Good one, well it made me smileh just for that point alone :T
    This should be recommended for post of the month (if it was still going)

    ...Also, would I be classed as in Financial Hardship as I only get the Job Seekers Allowance of which £40 of that is paid out for board/keep to my folks (I still live at home!)...

    Probably not. Financial hardship is based on total household income so would need to take into consideration your folks situation and the £40 a week you pay to them in board.

    There's a great sticky about financial hardship online resources where you can find out all about what is meant by financial hardship ... but you've probably already seen that if you've been reading here for quite some time.


    Edit: Just saw your previous post (almost 2 years old since you last posted!)
    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=1345087
    Remarkably similar content.
    Shame you didn't follow the advise other MSE'ers gave then - you'd probably have stood more chance of getting a refund back then.
    "Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 2010
  • I was satisfied with the meal (for a McDonalds anyway!) just not with the hefty charge.

    I'll go through the paper work and such like and post them off to my Bank. No harm in trying, eh?

    Thanks for the replies, folks :)
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