Barclays decline first attempt

XEO25 · 7 July 2017 at 4:22PM

Hello

After reading Martin's bank charges reclaiming guide, I wrote to Barclays (using the MSE template) yesterday, under financial hardship guidelines (which I am well and truly in - and have been for several years).

My claim was for just under £4,000 of charges over the last 6 years, covering returned DD's and guaranteed payments which had bounced.

This morning I received a call from Barclays who advised they would not refund any charges due to the court ruling - even if they accept I'm in financial hardship. They did offer a goodwill payment of £77 (last 12 months charges), but said I would have to drop my case if I accepted, which I did not. None of my charges were for exceeding my overdraft as Barclays discovered today that I am not paying any overdraft fees due to an error on their part (but I will be moving forward, at £0.70 p/day!)

Based on above info, is it worth pursuing this via the Ombudsman? I don't understand why Barclays would pay out if they have previously stated they won't - does the Ombudsman have the power to force a bank to repay charges?

Thanks

societys_child · 7 July 2017 at 8:09PM

does the Ombudsman have the power to force a bank to repay charges?

Normally no, the banks won the court case but if there was an error, who knows.

-taff · 7 July 2017 at 9:15PM

No, it's not worht pursuing , the Ombudsman has no say in bank charges, since the banks won a court case in 2009.

XEO25 · 8 July 2017 at 2:59PM

So when Martin's guide says 'the first rejection is just another step in the dance' - this is incorrect? Very frustrating as I've just turned down a £77 good will offer based on MSE's advice.

-taff · 8 July 2017 at 3:59PM

Well, you can always tell them you've changed you mind and see what they say.

Martins advice is smetimes out of date, usually simplified too much.
Martin no longer owns this site, so it's the new site's owners you'll have to take this up with because at the time of writing, Martins advice was correct.

Chalkius · 10 July 2017 at 10:30PM

The FOS can't make them refund charges unless they were applied in error. What they will look at is if once they're made aware of your circumstances, if you're in difficulty, that they treat you fairly and reasonably. So refunding a portion of charges as a goodwill gesture goes towards that. (Also I think their charges are 75p a day!).

You can take it to the FOS but you're unlikely to get anymore than the goodwill gesture and a recommendation to engage with Barclays financial assistance team. Call Barclays up and advise them you want to accept the offer, see what they say.

safestored4 · 10 July 2017 at 10:52PM

It is of course quite possible that after looking at the pattern of your expenditure Barclays do not consider that you have reasonable grounds for claiming hardship and have decided to make a relatively cheap goodwill offer to keep your custom.

Barclays decline first attempt

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