Bank Charges Financial Hardship Disussion

moneymonkey35

wwwigz wrote: »

Just a follow up for the above post, anyone with a Natwest account read on...

I called their customer services, who couldn't help, the two people (seperate calls) I spoke to had no idea about any of it. I called Citizens Advice, and it took them about 2 minutes to find the correct contact details for getting the FH form.
And to save a few people a phone call, send a letter to the below address simply stating that you are a natwest customer (you don't need to send account details) would like the FH form.
Easy...I hope.

Customer Response Unit
Drummond House
1st Floor
1 Redheughs Avenue
Edinburgh
EH12 9J9

I send my request off this morning (by post) So I await progress.

I have also used this address although I sent the initial claim letter to my bank branch and they sent it on to the above address. Except for one unecassary delay, they have responded very quickly to my letters (5 days to the first and 4 to the second). I am now waiting for a response to my expenditure form and am hoping this will be quick too! 3 days and counting since I sent it.....

I would do everything by post to this address (could have saved myself a bit of time if I had sent straight to it!). I tried phoning the 'direct line' but all I got was a repeated recorded message about the test case.

Both letters I have received from them were from an actual person and I have addressed my letters back to that person. I don't know whether this makes things quicker, but at least you have a contact name to deal with.

They may ask you to also write a cover letter explaining the circumstances that led up to financial hardship. Again I don't know whether it makes any difference, but I have been pretty firm in my letter (giving them a time by which I want a response, stating I will only communicate in writing and saying I will be going to the Financial Ombudsman if I don't receive a satisfactory response).

Good luck to anyone else claiming! I will continue to post with any updates....

jenniewb

Have had overdraft charges turned over once before from Halifax back in July, it was for around £300.

I had charges again this last month- purely mistake (on my part) but the total amount I spent was below £20 and I was charged £133.

I wrote to Halifax, I am in financial hardship and in recipet of benefit, but they told me no this time. And that I would need to wait for the bank court case.

I don't know what to do other then keep on writing- I cannot afford £133 in charges! I don't myself even get that much in a week!

esmerellda

If you are on benefits and you need the money for essential living expenses (rent/utilities/food) and they are due to take the charges over 7 days away Then you can try writing to them exerting your ''first right of appropriation'' - detail what benefit, how much and when it is due to go in and what you need to use from it for essential purposes, and when you will withdraw it and ask them to not take charges from that money so you can withdraw it. Mention first right of appropriation in the letter and list exactly what you need the money for (eg: Rent £100 Food £35 Council Tax £14 Water £5 etc etc).

Doesn't always work but if they are being stubborn gits in taking charges from your benefits (or other income btw) and leaving you with nothing to leave on, it can work or at least nudge them in the right direction. Have a google on First Right of Appropriation (or Right of First Appropriation). Its common law.

hsbcboy

Nothing to lose by accepting the offer and then wait for the outcome of the court case.

stashingcash wrote: »

I wrote to HSBC in early January 2009 to say i would like to reclaim just over £1500. (I had already reclaimed £2700 sucessfully in 2004). I am in financial hardship, and 9 months pregnant with no income apart from Maternity Allowance, which is swallowed up by being over my overdraft limit every time it gets paid in. They sent me a reply saying they wouldn't pay out but to fill in a Personal Financial Summary. I filled it in and returned it the same day. I then got a call from someone in the hardship team who gave me the 3rd degree about my finances, telling me the only criteria that they consider for FH is if you can eat, pay your rent and pay your council tax, gas and electric. When I proved I can't, he said he had all the info he needed and someone would call me. Five days later I spoke to another person from this department, who went through everything again. This is what they have offered me... along with £7000 of other debts I owe £800 in council tax and £238 in gas arrears from a previous address. They have offered to directly pay off these two "priority debts" to the companies but won't give me a penny into my account. I have been on to National Debtline who reckon I can freeze these debts and make a offer of £5 per month due to my circumstances. I explained this to the HSBC woman, who said that is their final offer until the test case is resolved. I have complained to HSBC Customer Relations at Canary Wharf who have raised a formal complaint but say that the financial hardship team's decision is final.
How can they say they will pay off £1000 of my debts, i.e. admit I am in FH and they are in the wrong with the charges, yet not offer me a penny? I need to buy baby things, my "priority debts" they want to pay can be frozen and paid off interest free yet I can't afford a pram??!!!
THESE BANKS MAKE ME SO ANGRY!!!!!!

Does anyone think I should accept the offer?? (I just think I don't have anything to lose right now by waiting for the test case to be over if I can get my debts put on hold with minimum payments until then, and I might get the whole £1500 back instead of £1000 of debts paid now???!!!)

andyg0507

hi All New Post So Go Steady, I Started My Claim Just Over 3 Weeks Ago Under The Financial Hardship Route, Everything Has Gone Qiute Smoothly Until To Day When I Phoned To Get An Update On Everything, They Have Told Me That My Case Has No Been Passed To There Internal Credit Management Team At (natwest) Sorry Forgot To State That At Start Of Post, Basically My Question Is What Is The Credit Management Team, Im A Little Worried As I Pay A Company Called Allied International Money Each Month For Un Arranged Overdraft Fees From When I Had My Natwest Account, If I Am Offerd Any Money From The Claim Are They Goin To Pay It Off What I Owe Them??? If That Is The Case Then My Financial Hardship Will Not Get Any Better, It Just Means I Dont Have To Pay Them The Whole Sum Back(£3200) And The (£1900) Im Claiming Will Be Paid Off That First Sum, And After Getin Laid Off From Work At Christmas Really Need The Money To Pay Bills And Live Etc..... Any Info Would Be Great......thanks

mum2one

Has anyone had recent experience with Halifax, I've asked for my compliant to be dealt with under financial hardship and i got told that my complaint had been passed to another department and that they would get to me, they gave moe no time frame. Any help would be appriciated xx

krisskross

stashingcash wrote: »

I wrote to HSBC in early January 2009 to say i would like to reclaim just over £1500. (I had already reclaimed £2700 sucessfully in 2004). I am in financial hardship, and 9 months pregnant with no income apart from Maternity Allowance, which is swallowed up by being over my overdraft limit every time it gets paid in. They sent me a reply saying they wouldn't pay out but to fill in a Personal Financial Summary. I filled it in and returned it the same day. I then got a call from someone in the hardship team who gave me the 3rd degree about my finances, telling me the only criteria that they consider for FH is if you can eat, pay your rent and pay your council tax, gas and electric. When I proved I can't, he said he had all the info he needed and someone would call me. Five days later I spoke to another person from this department, who went through everything again. This is what they have offered me... along with £7000 of other debts I owe £800 in council tax and £238 in gas arrears from a previous address. They have offered to directly pay off these two "priority debts" to the companies but won't give me a penny into my account. I have been on to National Debtline who reckon I can freeze these debts and make a offer of £5 per month due to my circumstances. I explained this to the HSBC woman, who said that is their final offer until the test case is resolved. I have complained to HSBC Customer Relations at Canary Wharf who have raised a formal complaint but say that the financial hardship team's decision is final.
How can they say they will pay off £1000 of my debts, i.e. admit I am in FH and they are in the wrong with the charges, yet not offer me a penny? I need to buy baby things, my "priority debts" they want to pay can be frozen and paid off interest free yet I can't afford a pram??!!!
THESE BANKS MAKE ME SO ANGRY!!!!!!

Does anyone think I should accept the offer?? (I just think I don't have anything to lose right now by waiting for the test case to be over if I can get my debts put on hold with minimum payments until then, and I might get the whole £1500 back instead of £1000 of debts paid now???!!!)

As you are on a low income you should get the £500 Surestart grant. this will buy all you need for the baby. For further advice ask on the benefits board.

BigNige

Did not request amount, just alluded to the fact they had mis-sold me PPI.

Amount received £4400 including interest within 9 weeks

Apparently they used my case as a "test case"

you can do it too!!!

andyg0507

further to my first post yesterday thought id let you all know of the update, having phoned the glasgow collection office again today to see of any update was told AGAIN that my case had been passed to the credit management team so then asked to speak to them, they gave me the no and so i called up, the lady from the credit m team told me that they hadnt recieved my claim from glasgow collections yet, but 2 mkinutes before i had spoke to the glasgow office and they informed me that they had faxed my claim through to them on the 2n feb, so now have been told to wait YET AGAIN until they have recieved my claim:mad: - stalling??? who knows i shall call again tomorrow, and the day after and so on. below are the telephone no's i have been calling theses offices on if they are of any use to anyone.

GLASGOW COLLECTIONS OFFICE(DIRECT NO, NO ANSWER PHONE MSG REGARDING CHARGES)-0845 3012783

CREDIT MANAGEMENT TEAM- 01952 206217

Scottie_Boy_2

Hi,

I took my claim to the Ombudsman as was getting nowhere with Lloyds TSB. The Ombudsman has communicated with me now on three occasions. He admits that I am in financial difficulty but doesn't think the bank is to blame. According to guidelines I should come under the Hardship Ruling as charges in the last year were well over £500 and I have been on a Scottish Trust deed for three years (like an IVA). Actually, I would say the bank was a lot to blame ....but does that actually matter based on the ruling since even the regulator agrees I am in financial difficulty. I haven't seen anything in the guidelines to suggest this is a blame game thing. Surely you are either in difficulty or you are not?

Here comes the quote/s from the Ombudsman:

"It is evident from the documents that you have provided that you are experiencing financial hardship and in my view the bank has not disputed this. However, as I have suggested in my previous letter, your debts are elsewhere, so we would not expect the bank to refund the charges that you have complained about to assist. If the reverse was true and Lloyds TSB had made a demand that you repay a debt, then in this situation it may be appropriate for the bank to utilise one or more of the remedies available.

As expained, the bank is under a duty to treat cases of financial difficulty positively and sympathetically. But that does not mean that there is any kind of financial difficulties "threshold" which, once reached, triggers a refund of charges.

I acknowledge that you feel that the bank charges applied to your current account are unfair and that this caused your financial difficulties. Nonetheless, it remains the case that the issues surrounding bank charges will be concluded by the High Court. Therefore, at this stage there is no onus on the bank to refund the charges that you have complained about and that Lloyds TSB is entitled to apply charges and interest as defined within the terms and conditions of your account......"

".....If you have not responded by this date (11th Feb), I will then ask the bank to retain a record of your request for a refund of charges until the outcome of the High Court test case is known. The bank should then contact you direct"

The refunded charges would only just pay off expensive loans I've taken out to avoid more bank charges - but I get the feeling I'd be having more luck as a hardship case if the bank were hitting me with those charges all the time!

Do you think I should now lodge my case officially with the Scottish Sherrif courts rather than deal direct with the banks. I'm led to believe it might be easier to get a case heard in Scotland? Has anyone any advice?