Bank Charges Financial Hardship Disussion

natweststaffmember

greendollar wrote: »

What planet are you on,the benefits I receive,the minimum the goverment says we need to live,go towards our day to day living expenses,not to pay Nationwide's extortionate fee's due to a mistake....yes,our debts were steadily reducing,token £1 a month payments,until Nationwide decided to screw us for as much as they could and after complaining decide to screw us over again knowing full well what our situation is,what's up with you....do you think it's acceptable for Nationwide to take over half of someone's benefits in one week?Is this not going to make our situation worse,of course it will,anyone with half a brain can see that.
And your defence of the banks is laughable,wrong address...no it took Nationwide over 3 months to turn me down despite repeated attempts to get a final response.

Ok, clearly you don't get it but I will repeat this. I spend most of my free time on bank charges forums. In fact I have done forums since June 2006 when I was within the bank. Furthermore, I have spoken to an Ombudsman of the FOS because of concerns I had with regards to how banks settle Hardship cases and so my understanding of their mindset is pretty good. I don't gloss things over or use rose tinted glasses when I advise. I do say ask the question and I will be honest to you if I think you do not have a case. I don't as it stands at the moment but if you do, then I'll argue the case so you are certain of what you need to argue.
You have said that they refunded £60.00 of the £90 they charged you.
Furthermore, my defence of the banks is what is currently happening. People write to the branch and that causes a delay. People write to the bank and do not include notices of arrears on priority debts so there is a delay and furthermore, people do not include income and expenditure forms which could cause a delay or complete them for themselves and not the household which is the crux of financial hardship cases. Unfortunately, you can be in hardship but not necessarily financial hardship as defined by the FSA Waiver. Don't get me wrong, sometimes, I think the bank gets it wrong on the amount they offer so I advise negotiating a higher amount based on their circumstances.

natweststaffmember

I also just wanted to add a further comment not made by me on financial hardship which I think is relevant as well with regards to financial hardship

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=26307039&postcount=2

DaleCooper_2

I Started reclaiming in 2007 claims are about £3k but feel like i'm banging my head against a brick wall.

Earlier this year had my first baby with my partner and tried to claim hardship as we didnt have enough money to get a place between us. This was refused by the bank. Tried the ombudsman however no joy There either.

I have recently been made redundant and contacted the bank to tell them i wanted the case re-examined the investigator at the bank has said they can review but can only refund the charges between when i was made redundant and now ( i was mad redundant on the 10th Aug 2009.

At the beginning of this year switched to RBS and had no charges etc.

My question is that the FSA waiver Financial Hardship section specifically mentions loss of income as one of its possible reasons for financial hardship? where do i stand do they not have to fully review all of the charges?

Thanks in advance of any replies

Dale

dannylove11

I was wondering if anyone could help me??

My case has been going on for two years now against Lloyds tsb with regard to over £2000 worth of bank charges in three and a half years.

I am a full time student in a lot of debt and meet the hardship criteria under four different sections, which the ombudsman even agreed with me on.

I have been through all appropriate channels (using template letter from MSE, ombudsman) and have now gone down the court route. Lloyds have applied for a stay and got it from Northampton Court even though they (Lloyds) have accepted im in financial hardship.

Is ther anything else i can do???

Any help would be appreciated, Dan

NK74_2

Hi, It is HBOS and still have mortgage arrears which family helped me out with half and I have 17 months to pay back the rest. But I had the papers served on me and date for bailiffs, lovely man who looked as if he really enjoyed his job, gave them to me.
I don't know whether I should try the hardship again a third time with Bank
I have not gone to Ombudsman or anything as I really want to claim the whole amount back. My initial claim was in 2006, for the last 6 years. But what about the 3 years of charges I've had since then? Can i make another claim for them aswell?

Sorry, I know this info will probably be in here somewhere, but 4 month old keeps needing me when i try and look lol

Hope this made sense

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Which bank is it?
Do you have priority debt arrears(mortgage. council tax, utilities)? I am assuming that mortgage arrears remain.

Ali09_2

What have you done so far?
Have you written to Halifax? What was their written response?

I have spoken to Halifax,they weren't prepared to do anything bar give me money management advice. I told them I could manage if they didn't take the charges from my account. They sent me a 'Final Response' letter stating they could only offer advice on money management so I could forward it to Financial Ombudsman.

The Financial Ombudsman has this now, plus copies of statements. They have written this weekend to say they will approach Halifax, but things could take up to 2 months to sort as the adjudicator is extremely busy. They have given me contact numbers and email in case I need to get in touch. The only money going into my account at present is JSA and Housing Benefit so any charges are taken out of this money. My phone is due to be cut off and theres £267 CT arrears.

DanDaniel

Just a quick one, i sent all my documentation off to the FOS 2 weeks ago but have not even received an acknowledgment. Is this normal ? also since sending it off i have received proof of Mortgage arrears which i did not have before, should i send this in to form part of my complaint ? cheers Daniel

natweststaffmember

Ali09 wrote: »

What have you done so far?
Have you written to Halifax? What was their written response?

I have spoken to Halifax,they weren't prepared to do anything bar give me money management advice. I told them I could manage if they didn't take the charges from my account. They sent me a 'Final Response' letter stating they could only offer advice on money management so I could forward it to Financial Ombudsman.

The Financial Ombudsman has this now, plus copies of statements. They have written this weekend to say they will approach Halifax, but things could take up to 2 months to sort as the adjudicator is extremely busy. They have given me contact numbers and email in case I need to get in touch. The only money going into my account at present is JSA and Housing Benefit so any charges are taken out of this money. My phone is due to be cut off and theres £267 CT arrears.

I would contact the phone company and try and get a repayment plan with them if they are able to do so. Were the charges and are the charges still going out of the halifax account?

natweststaffmember

DanDaniel wrote: »

Just a quick one, i sent all my documentation off to the FOS 2 weeks ago but have not even received an acknowledgment. Is this normal ? also since sending it off i have received proof of Mortgage arrears which i did not have before, should i send this in to form part of my complaint ? cheers Daniel

How did you send the things through to the FOS?
And yes 100% yes send the additional information to the FOS.

natweststaffmember

NK74 wrote: »

Hi, It is HBOS and still have mortgage arrears which family helped me out with half and I have 17 months to pay back the rest. But I had the papers served on me and date for bailiffs, lovely man who looked as if he really enjoyed his job, gave them to me.
I don't know whether I should try the hardship again a third time with Bank
I have not gone to Ombudsman or anything as I really want to claim the whole amount back. My initial claim was in 2006, for the last 6 years. But what about the 3 years of charges I've had since then? Yes 100% you can Can i make another claim for them aswell? Yes absolutely.

Sorry, I know this info will probably be in here somewhere, but 4 month old keeps needing me when i try and look lol

Hope this made sense

It made sense. What debt was the bailiff chasing?