Bank Charges Financial Hardship Disussion

Anno_3

natweststaffmember wrote: »

That is completely FSA compliant and is how a bank should refund, ie from the point that hardship began. To be honest, you will be unlikely to increase that offer .

How can that be so when it had absolutely no bearing on my financial situation? From the research I've done and having read the success stories on here, the hardship clause enables my entire claim to be pursued, not just from the time my hardship began.
As I said the charges they are refunding shouldn't even be ON the account as I have evidence that ALL direct debits were cancelled and the account left with a small credit balance.
I remain optimistic so I guess I'll just have to wait. :rolleyes:

A.

natweststaffmember

Anno wrote: »

How can that be so when it had absolutely no bearing on my financial situation? From the research I've done and having read the success stories on here, the hardship clause enables my entire claim to be pursued, not just from the time my hardship began.
You have to be able to prove it and argue you point. Can you argue that a charges 2 years or 4 years ago contributed to a worsening of your hardship case.
As I said the charges they are refunding shouldn't even be ON the account as I have evidence that ALL direct debits were cancelled and the account left with a small credit balance.
I remain optimistic so I guess I'll just have to wait. :rolleyes:
Hang on, if you have evidence that ALL direct debits were cancelled and the account was left with a small credit balance why are you arguing FINANCIAL HARDSHIP and not BANK ERROR since the BANK ERROR approach is 100% bank charges irrespective of financial hardship.
A.

Anno, if it's bank error then stop arguing financial hardship cos that is daft to be honest. If you have evidence to back it up then that is how you should have started at the beginning and not have done the bank charge reclaiming templates.Can I ask why you didn't go that route?

natweststaffmember

sarahtimmoney wrote: »

Hello we are new here and have a problem with Bank of Ireland.

I completed a Budget Planner form and attended a meeting with the Bank Manager. She agreed that I am in financial hardship and said she would put it forward to some dept or other and it would be sorted out within 7-10 days. This was early October. She sent me a letter saying she would not be available until 16 November and I got a letter today from the Head Office saying lodge the money you are overdrawn etc. It is as if the meeting with her never happened and I do not know what to do next.
Should I proceed to the FOS or should I contact the branch manager. She was extremely rude and I felt so humiliated at the meeting. I only went overdrawn because my youngest son and I were in a car accident on March 24 and I couldnt work after and my son was disabled - the Bank know all this I have told them in writing and person. The account went overdrawn in June and I have ammassed 350 charges in this short time.
Thanks if anyone reads and can help me with some advice I would be so grateful.
Cheers, Tim

I would contact the branch manager and explain the above and see what they say and then we will go from there, ok?

natweststaffmember

Jacqui5460 wrote: »

Hi
Just sent my income and expenditure form back to Natwest, does anyone know how long they take to reply as just had letter from c/t bailiff saying got to pay £600 or they are coming round with a van. Getting desperate now!!!

Make the bank aware of this ASAP.
Has the council already taken you to court over this matter and have you made repayment plans with the council?

natweststaffmember

jill07 wrote: »

Hi all,
I have never posted before, so apologies in advance if I get anything wrong!

Just after some advice.... after a long drawn out process, Natwest have finally agreed to my hardship claim, and have said they will be sending out an offer letter within 21 days.
They are sending me new bank cards and have asked that I return old cards (I do not have these as I have not used my 2 Natwest accounts since May - although I cannot close the accounts due to what I owe - but I now bank with Co-op).
I have a DMP which Natwest have accepted, and currently owe to Natwest:-
Acc 1 - £2001
Acc 2 - £100
CC - £2000
Loan - £7984
I am presuming that Natwest are going to pay the refunded charges into one of my accounts with them.... what I need to know is if there is any way I can avoid this, and obtain a cheque from them for the refund?
I fully accept that I am in debt to them, but this money could be a lifeline for me, and help towards paying my utility and water arrears.
Total I claimed was £1300, although charges have been applied on a regular basis since starting claim (I have no idea what they will offer!)

Any advice would be very gratefully received,

Thanks,
Jill.

Any refund of bank charges under financial hardship is usually made to the account where the charges have come from but it will reduce your overall debt.

PeppyLaPugh

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Do you have priority debt arrears(mortgage or rent, council tax, utilities)?
Are any of the arrears being paid off?

No I do not have any of those debts. I have secondary debts and my debt has had to be sent to a debt management company, because of the charges I was getting from Natwest, I was unable to pay them and had to send them to a finacial management company who are now dealing with all my secondary debt. I pay them a fee every week, but am still unable to cope witht he charges, as they seem to of got higher and higher, whereas before they were £100 maximum they now add up to £176/9 every month.

natweststaffmember

PeppyLaPugh wrote: »

No I do not have any of those debts. I have secondary debts and my debt has had to be sent to a debt management company, because of the charges I was getting from Natwest, I was unable to pay them and had to send them to a finacial management company who are now dealing with all my secondary debt. I pay them a fee every week, but am still unable to cope witht he charges, as they seem to of got higher and higher, whereas before they were £100 maximum they now add up to £176/9 every month.

So how are the priority debts being paid?
We have done the questions re store cards, credit cards etc, right?

jill07

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Any refund of bank charges under financial hardship is usually made to the account where the charges have come from but it will reduce your overall debt.

Would there be now way around this? I know it would take my overall debt down, but at the moment I have bigger priorities debt wise (utility & water arrears). The DMP has been accepted by all of my debtors, and although it is not a permanent solution, it is covering all debts for the time being.

This money could prove to be a lifeline at the moment, and would really help me to get back on my feet....

Ps. Many thanks for your reply - the advice you give to people on here is fantastic and you are a star for taking so much time to help!
Jill x

Jacqui5460

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Make the bank aware of this ASAP.
Has the council already taken you to court over this matter and have you made repayment plans with the council?

Yes council did take me to court but defaulted on payment plan so was passed to the Bailiff. The Bailiff refused to accept anything less than £50.00 a week so needless to say due to lack of funds defaulted again. Now they say they want the whole lot in one go. Getting really worried now!!!!

Guapa1

Good morning, I've tried to read as much as I could but couldn't make all the way through this thread. I started claiming back in 2006 and got as far as court in 2007, but the case was held.

My charges start from 2000, which was obviously fine in 2006, but if I claimed hardship now, could I still claim from 2000? I've had to move out of my home back into my mums and am barely making up the mortgage as the rental prices in my area are lower than my mortgage.

I had also other charges added as I was going to court, but my memory has been affected by my painkillers and I can't remember if I had paid £80 to be seen in court? The bulk paperwork is packed away in storage, and I just have the folder I took to court with me.

Thanks in advance for any help.