Bank Charges Financial Hardship Disussion

Winnie79_2

barclays offered me apartial payment of £500 and the other day had a letter to say there were putting £1200 in to my account as a gesture of good well i was claming over £2700 and i can get this later after the court case dont know if this helps

proeleche

Hi everyone!

I need a bit of help!!!!!!!!!!!

I've currently moved back home to live with a relative and this person is in financial hardship:

Incomings are around 750 and outgoings 900ish; and this is before food!

There are C/T arrears from this current year and of course we are moving into the new c/t year next month and no single person discount with me being around :-S.
There are currently 2 months arrears on the mortgage which will go up to 3 on 1st April.
There are 4 months arrears on a secured loan.
And the credit cards (2) + o/d - I dont know when they were last paid!

This person is clearly in financial hardship - and i have started reclaiming their ppi on secured loan [this person was just about to retire and they were told! - cowboys at Household Bank(HSBC)].

And I'm waiting for staments on the rest so I can start proceedings to reclaim under the financial hardship clause/and get writing to the 2 credit cards.

Tho I have a couple of specific questions:
When an unsecured debt is defaulted, will the interest then be frozen? The relative was in a debt management programme to deal with the unsecured debts but fell behind with mortgage and secured debts so I have cancelled it so we can plow all we can into these for the time being. Not only that but these unsecured creditors have still been applying fees and interest etc [nationwide and household] left right and centre, so the debts were going up anyway.

Also, all of this info was unknown to me until a short time ago - I myself have applied for refunds [see my signature] as I am now unemployed; in arrears with previous commitments; and just been silly with payday loans/chq cashing etc and hence the moving home. I'm desperately trying to find work and so is this relative, i have a little money whereby I can help with the mortgage for the next 2 months - but basically, when I eventually get my I/E sheet from the banks [its soon approaching 14 days and no response so far] - can I also use my relatives info to display financial hardship and her mine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!

lostcrusader

proeleche wrote: »

Hi everyone!

I need a bit of help!!!!!!!!!!!

I've currently moved back home to live with a relative and this person is in financial hardship:

Incomings are around 750 and outgoings 900ish; and this is before food!

There are C/T arrears from this current year and of course we are moving into the new c/t year next month and no single person discount with me being around :-S.
There are currently 2 months arrears on the mortgage which will go up to 3 on 1st April.
There are 4 months arrears on a secured loan.
And the credit cards (2) + o/d - I dont know when they were last paid!

This person is clearly in financial hardship - and i have started reclaiming their ppi on secured loan [this person was just about to retire and they were told! - cowboys at Household Bank(HSBC)].

And I'm waiting for staments on the rest so I can start proceedings to reclaim under the financial hardship clause/and get writing to the 2 credit cards.

Tho I have a couple of specific questions:
When an unsecured debt is defaulted, will the interest then be frozen? The relative was in a debt management programme to deal with the unsecured debts but fell behind with mortgage and secured debts so I have cancelled it so we can plow all we can into these for the time being. Not only that but these unsecured creditors have still been applying fees and interest etc [nationwide and household] left right and centre, so the debts were going up anyway.

Also, all of this info was unknown to me until a short time ago - I myself have applied for refunds [see my signature] as I am now unemployed; in arrears with previous commitments; and just been silly with payday loans/chq cashing etc and hence the moving home. I'm desperately trying to find work and so is this relative, i have a little money whereby I can help with the mortgage for the next 2 months - but basically, when I eventually get my I/E sheet from the banks [its soon approaching 14 days and no response so far] - can I also use my relatives info to display financial hardship and her mine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!

Hi,

Sorry to hear on your situation. I am unable to advise on loans etc but I would say that you should try the following website entitledto.co.uk
just fill the information in and at the end it gives you what you may be able to claim, assuming you have not claimed it yet.

Write to the council tax office and explain the situation, they should allow you some extra months to catch up.
If you are renting you should also apply for housing benefit and council tax benefit. If you own the property then still apply for the council tax benefit.

Your local Citizens Advice or council may have debt advisory information. If not then use the C.A.B website, consumer credit council or just research this website as I am sure others have been through the same.

I wish you well

lostcrusader

I am just totally fed up with the Financial Services Authority and courts pandering to the needs of the bank.
When those on low incomes are still being charged high bank charges and collecting interest on the money they have taken from us it should be allowed to go through the courts or stop thebank charges.

I have today filed a complaint against the FSA for failing to protect the interests of the people and allowing the banking industry to dictate malpractice in its lending procedures.

I also believe that financial hardship should be based on what income the person lives on, health and well being which includes disability.
Yet Lloyds Bank dont reply or acknowledge financial hardship and the judge in the court dismissed the claim for hardship .

So what chance is there of any legal redress when people on low incomes and ill health can not be recognised by banks or the courts....

Totally fed up....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

natweststaffmember

lostcrusader wrote: »

I am just totally fed up with the Financial Services Authority and courts pandering to the needs of the bank.
I agree they put a waiver in place which allowed those in financial hardship to alleviate that hardship by going through the banks. Shame on them.
When those on low incomes are still being charged high bank charges and collecting interest on the money they have taken from us it should be allowed to go through the courts or stop thebank charges.
I agree, there is nothing in the FSA Waiver that says that they can stop the bank charges.
"15.
When dealing with complainants in financial difficulty, the firm should consider the following steps in respect of the period during which they are assessed as being in financial difficulty:
(a)
the firm might waive future unauthorised overdraft charges; and
(b)
the firm might not enforce debts against complainants in financial difficulty to the extent that these debts are made up of unauthorised overdraft charges."
I have today filed a complaint against the FSA for failing to protect the interests of the people and allowing the banking industry to dictate malpractice in its lending procedures.
Go for it, as it has nothing to do with the Bank charges test case and the OFT will be happy to hear that complaint.
I also believe that financial hardship should be based on what income the person lives on, health and well being which includes disability.
You have my vote. FSA does not even say what financial hardship is. do they?
"For the purposes of this direction, a complainant is considered to be in financial difficulty when his income is insufficient to cover reasonable living expenses and meet financial commitments as they become due;"
Yet Lloyds Bank dont reply or acknowledge financial hardship and the judge in the court dismissed the claim for hardship .
Typical, the Judge does not even bother to read the FSA Waiver on Bank charges even though it has no bearing on court claims. Shame on the Judge.
So what chance is there of any legal redress when people on low incomes and ill health can not be recognised by banks or the courts....
Depends really on how you tackle your claim and if you are in financial hardship.
Totally fed up....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I can understand your frustration but calm down, have a beer/tea/coffee and read the waiver again and approach your bank again if need be.

comicmankev

Ignore this post, found what I was looking for!

GRAVESTONE

Can anyone advise me i have put a claim in for around £800 from halifax for financial hardship. In the past we have successfully claimed from halifax but this was 2 years ago. today i received a letter stating they would pay £35 as a goodwill gesture am i being rude to think that this offer is a joke? i mean £35 doesnt even cover 1 charge as at the time charges were £ 39 . i have phoned them and told them i will not be accepting the offer what do i do now? can anyone help me here?
cheers nicki

Widelats

GRAVESTONE wrote: »

Can anyone advise me i have put a claim in for around £800 from halifax for financial hardship. In the past we have successfully claimed from halifax but this was 2 years ago. today i received a letter stating they would pay £35 as a goodwill gesture am i being rude to think that this offer is a joke? i mean £35 doesnt even cover 1 charge as at the time charges were £ 39 . i have phoned them and told them i will not be accepting the offer what do i do now? can anyone help me here?
cheers nicki

You wait!

I have sent mine in too, its only for £60 approx to Lloyds TSB, they said 5 days i should hear from them, should be Monday. If i don't get satisfactory response i will ask these Ombudsmen, although i reckon they won't be much use.

natweststaffmember

GRAVESTONE wrote: »

Can anyone advise me i have put a claim in for around £800 from halifax for financial hardship. In the past we have successfully claimed from halifax but this was 2 years ago. today i received a letter stating they would pay £35 as a goodwill gesture am i being rude to think that this offer is a joke? i mean £35 doesnt even cover 1 charge as at the time charges were £ 39 . i have phoned them and told them i will not be accepting the offer what do i do now? can anyone help me here?
cheers nicki

Do you have "priority debts? Have you anyone taking you to court for debt?

curioencore

Good afternoon

I have just heard back from the Alliance and Leicester regarding my claim following hardship!

I was made redundant Last August and I have gone back to college and am claiming dole money. They sent me the hardship form which I duly filled in and returned to them, which they received on 16th April. I spoke to them on 18th April to find out how long it would take to make a decision and they told me up to 10 working days. Monday this week (6th April) I rang and was told that according to their system it was still being worked on but no decision had been made and I could have a call back from that team, which would be within 48hours. I received a call yesterday and was told that they would not be refunding my charges as they had accumulated before my redundancy so it was not applicable! I have received confirmation in writing today where they say
"Thank you for completing the Income and Expenditure form recently sent to you. We are sorry to hear of your redundancy in August 2008 and that this has caused you difficulty in the management of your account. May we wish you every success in seeking further employment.

May we explain that when assessing applications for a refund of unauthorised overdrawing or payment review fees due to financial hardship, the aim is to rehabilitate the customers' account to enable them to manage it within the previously agreed terms and conditions. It is in these circumstances that we are willing to review the fees recently debited from the customers' account. We will not be able to refund them all should they meet the hardship criteria.

This process is within the guidelines required by the Financial Services Authority, Financial Ombudsman Services and the Banking Code when dealing with hardship claims.

Our records indicate that we have not raised any unauthorised overdraft or payment review fees against your account recently. While we appreciate your reasons for requesting a refund of fees previously applied to your account, we hope you will understand that we are unable to consider matters further until the outcome of the test case is known.
If you would like to discuss our decision in relation to your claim of financial hardship please call us on 0844 561 9726. We will keep your complaint file open for eight weeks to give you time to consider our response. If we have not heard from you within that time we will consider your complaint closed.

At Alliance & Leicester we aim to resolve all complaints internally' however we recognise that there are occasions when this is not possible. If we are unable to agree a way forward you may be able to ask the Financial Ombudsman to review your complaint. For information, we enclose a copy of our complaints leaflet, which explains the steps we take to deal with complaints and what to do if you are unhappy with any aspect of our response.

The following information explains what this means to your original complaint over the fees charged to your account and how this will be dealt with over the coming months."

There is another 3 pages about test case, my complaint and how to avoid paying fees, which if anyone would like a copy of I am more than happy to let them see!

Basically it seems to me that unless you are overdrawn and being charged when you are in hardship the Alliance and Leicester aren't interested!

I hope this helps people who are with Alliance and Leicester, I am looking forward to being in a position where I can actually choose my bank and it won't be them!