Bank Charges Financial Hardship Disussion

gailey_2

Need some advice

I mainly bank with barclays and have been charged approx 3grand of charges over last 3years.
Been over my limit and reserve last 6months purly down to reserve charges.
To keep them happy they recive my only income of £80 child benefit paid into that account and any extra i can afford if have good day on ebay yet my accounst hardly changing just piling on more charges.
Going to try ringing them next week to see if they could halt charges as within 3months can be back within my od limit.
I lost my job last july and only have cb as main income +ebay.
I also have other debts

£1200 barclaycard-making min payments
Lloyds tsb converted old od of £1500 into loan of £40 amonth over 6years last sept still have account no od but have gone into red few times as couple odf dds went out wasent expecting-blooming magazine subscription offer-never again and incurerd over £100 charges with them last few months.

Do you think I would qualify under hardship criteria.

recently applied for child tax credits and tax rebate.

If they did pay me everything they took could be debt free but not sure if I qualify or what 1st step is.

I need to know exact figures of charges over last 3years how do I go about getting that?

Then how long will process take?


Will they shut my account down or worse refuse to pay any charges then demand all od back my limits £1700 but keeps going over 2000 mark all due to charges no spending!

Hubby got £500 back from abbey before test case but sice had hundreds of charges he works but we struggle nots uer if he could applly under hardship?
He recently consolidated his debts into large loan!

natweststaffmember

turbostar wrote: »

Here's an update: My case is STILL being looked into by the Financial Ombudsman. They have advised me that they, of course, can not force Lloyds TSB to repay any charges until the court rules the charges to be unfair - and can only make reccomendations to the bank. This doesn't fill me with much confidence.

The adjudicator who is dealing with my case has had problems getting Lloyds TSB to cooperate and provide the Ombudsman with the information they have been requesting relating to my case. I was also told that Lloyds TSB are notoriously tough to deal with.

My bank account: Lloyds TSB froze all further charges, providing I keep paying £100 per month into my account. Since then backdated bank charges have been added to my account - and £65 of the £100 is interest. How do Lloyds TSB think making a customer pay £65 per month in interest helps with financial hardship? I haven't used the account since December 2008 and the overdraft is still at a sickly £4700. The majority of this overdraft stems from bank charges and interest.

During February Lloyds TSB did, however, offer me £150 as a 'goodwill gesture'. I told them i'd rather go hungry than accept this pitiful amount.

The Financial Ombudsman told me this week that Lloyds TSB now have 2 weeks to respond to a latest request for information. In the meantime, I am considering stopping paying the £100 per month towards the 'repayment plan' because I simply can not afford it. I could take the chance that a debt collection agency might freeze the interest if i refused to pay?

The battle continues...

Do you have priority debt arrears(mortgage/rent, council tax, utlities)?
I think you made a mistake rejecting rather than negotiating the amount btw.
Debt collection agency cannot get involved in a disputed debt.

mirrorimage0

hiya i put a claim infor my mum late in 2007 i belive it was or very early 2008 and she got the sual reply, cases on hold etc, but snce then she had a acdent at work and hasnt been back to work, she was onfull sickpay, then half and no on dla for the past year i think, work has jst been to see her again and said either leave te employment or go back to work even if its r an hour or so a day, she really cant go back as it was a back injury and she has arthirits as well and it was a counter assistant job, standing all day. anyway my dad has a good job still with good pay but would she be able to go down the hardship route seeing as she is not working. ty for help

natweststaffmember

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

hiya i put a claim infor my mum late in 2007 i belive it was or very early 2008 and she got the sual reply, cases on hold etc, but snce then she had a acdent at work and hasnt been back to work, she was onfull sickpay, then half and no on dla for the past year i think, work has jst been to see her again and said either leave te employment or go back to work even if its r an hour or so a day, she really cant go back as it was a back injury and she has arthirits as well and it was a counter assistant job, standing all day. anyway my dad has a good job still with good pay but would she be able to go down the hardship route seeing as she is not working. ty for help

What the bank does is assess household income. unless there is priority debt arrears it may be unlikely they will pay out. If its Barclays though, put the claim in cos they seem to be paying out a lot at the moment.

gailey_2

Will try for it next week then what I got to lose? will phone them tuesday tell them im struggling as paid £500 in last few months which would have put me back within limit but due to charges constantly over.
They sent me letter saying call them they will listen and be nice.
I know from previous reveiws at bank i have paid few thousand of charges before blooming reserve brought in so need to find out exact amount and set ball rolling I guess on getting those fees back as that would completly pay off my debts to barclays!

Wish I could find a bank I would be happy with in past tried natwest, abbey,baraclays and Lloyds and tehy all as bad as each other!

If they ask for od back well i cant pay what I havent got and already giving them £80 child benefit money which seems to keep them at bay for now.

turbostar_2

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Do you have priority debt arrears(mortgage/rent, council tax, utlities)?
I think you made a mistake rejecting rather than negotiating the amount btw.
Debt collection agency cannot get involved in a disputed debt.

Hi there. Yes, mortgage, council tax, utilities and credit card repayments, all of which I should be able to afford to repay, but by the time Lloyds takes their £100, I exceed my overdraft limit (on my new account with the Cooperative) and I have no extra money because I have had to pay council tax arrears over previous 2 months. Basic food bills, I have had to borrow from my partners student bursary. Gas/electric bill direct debit is due be taken out on Tuesday, but I can't afford to pay it. At one point I was paying £300/£400 + interest, per month to Lloyds in charges.

I told Lloyds I would only consider a figure that was closer to the £3000 I have paid out in charges. Remember, this is Lloyds I'm dealing with! There was no scope for negociation. It was £150 - take it or leave it.

Do you mean a debt collection can not get involved in the case has been referred to the Financial Ombudsman? The Financial Ombudsman did advise that I keep making the payment to Lloyds until the case is resolved, but did acknowledge that a debt collection could be a way to possibly to get interest frozen, but again did not advise going down that road...

Debt_Slayer

Debt_Slayer wrote: »

I've today posted the letter claiming hardship along with copies of all the charges. I've got an Income/Expenditure list here but i'm not sending it until they ask for it, which is a nigh on certainty.
Original claim went in around April 2007, but with the waiver i didn't follow it up. Now with my circumstances changing i'm firing on all cylinders again.
I have copies of all my statements which show the evident 'snowballing' effect of the charges being applied.
Like i explained in my letter to them, if i'm already on a tight budget, and i have £70 charges applied to my account, how am i supposed to find that £70 out of thin air without missing a payment on another bill? The answer is I can not.

I am claiming for £5,874 over 2 accounts. Originally filed the claims seperately but those people at Andover combined the complaints into one including both accounts.

Yesterday i recieved another letter from Lloyds basically saying they're "sorry i am unhappy about my bank charges and that they believe my complaint relates to the level, fairness and lawfulness of the charges"
They then go on to say they've forwarded a copy of my letter to the collections team to see if there's anything they can do to help, and also to discuss repayment solutions.

???? I dont owe Lloyds any money, its them that owe me, so what do they think i'm repaying?

They also refer to their charges as a "clear, fair charge for a banking service that is valued by our customers".

Also referring to the test case they say:
"in the first step of the test case the judge looked at our current terms and conditions and decided that unplanned overdraft charges are not penalties, but they were assessable for fairness. On february 26th the Court Of Appeal held that these charges were assessable for fairness.
During the determination of the legal issues in the test case the FSA has agreed we can suspend the normal timetable for dealing with complaints about unplanned overdraft charges.
The FOS has also generall decided that all determinations and investigations concerning fairness and legality of unplanned overdraft charges be placed on hold until the conclusion of the test case."

---

So what do i do now, write to them again, asking them to look at my claim again as the FSA Waiver suggests that those customers experiencing financial hardship should have their complaints looked at?
Do i phone them at Andover? Or do i go to the Ombudsman?

turbostar_2

Debt_Slayer wrote: »

Yesterday i recieved another letter from Lloyds basically saying they're "sorry i am unhappy about my bank charges and that they believe my complaint relates to the level, fairness and lawfulness of the charges"
They then go on to say they've forwarded a copy of my letter to the collections team to see if there's anything they can do to help, and also to discuss repayment solutions.

???? I dont owe Lloyds any money, its them that owe me, so what do they think i'm repaying?

They also refer to their charges as a "clear, fair charge for a banking service that is valued by our customers".

Also referring to the test case they say:
"in the first step of the test case the judge looked at our current terms and conditions and decided that unplanned overdraft charges are not penalties, but they were assessable for fairness. On february 26th the Court Of Appeal held that these charges were assessable for fairness.
During the determination of the legal issues in the test case the FSA has agreed we can suspend the normal timetable for dealing with complaints about unplanned overdraft charges.
The FOS has also generall decided that all determinations and investigations concerning fairness and legality of unplanned overdraft charges be placed on hold until the conclusion of the test case."

---

So what do i do now, write to them again, asking them to look at my claim again as the FSA Waiver suggests that those customers experiencing financial hardship should have their complaints looked at?
Do i phone them at Andover? Or do i go to the Ombudsman?

It sounds like you got the same letter as I did. The letters are standard responses. It took the Financial Ombudsman contacting Lloyds before I got a personal response - but even then it was the same regurgitated bumf.

Lloyds set me up on a 'repayment plan' so that I could re-pay all outstanding charges and bring my overdraft back down to the original agreed limit. Very difficult thing to do when charges for November are still being applied to the account in February and when interest is still being charged. Like I said, I pay £100 a month to the repayment pan to keep them off my back until the case is resolved. However, £65 of this amount is interest. Lloyds are usually good at helping you work out what you can afford to pay them, but if you dont owe them anything I don't understand what they are talking about.

I would write to Lloyds again and ask them to look at your case under the financial hardship waiver. Prepare yourself for another standard response letter and the offer to set up a 'repayment plan', then if no settlement can be agreed I would refer to the Ombudsman. Took around two months for an ajudicator from the Ombudsman to look at my case, but so far they have been very good to deal with. Unlike Lloyds they will actually listen.

natweststaffmember

turbostar wrote: »

Hi there. Yes, mortgage, council tax, utilities and credit card repayments, all of which I should be able to afford to repay, but by the time Lloyds takes their £100, I exceed my overdraft limit (on my new account with the Cooperative) and I have no extra money because I have had to pay council tax arrears over previous 2 months. Basic food bills, I have had to borrow from my partners student bursary. Gas/electric bill direct debit is due be taken out on Tuesday, but I can't afford to pay it. At one point I was paying £300/£400 + interest, per month to Lloyds in charges.

I told Lloyds I would only consider a figure that was closer to the £3000 I have paid out in charges. Remember, this is Lloyds I'm dealing with! There was no scope for negociation. It was £150 - take it or leave it.

Do you mean a debt collection can not get involved in the case has been referred to the Financial Ombudsman? The Financial Ombudsman did advise that I keep making the payment to Lloyds until the case is resolved, but did acknowledge that a debt collection could be a way to possibly to get interest frozen, but again did not advise going down that road...

They would have made a determination based on household income. I'm not sure I get what you are saying on arrears. It reads as yes you have arrears but that you can pay them off regardless of the bank charges claim. That's not financial hardship, imho. Having arrears and not being able to pay them would be imho.
Under OFT debt collection guidance the DCA cannot chase a debt under dispute. I would still have argued with LloydsTSB over the amount of their refund based on the arrears you have.

Debt_Slayer

turbostar wrote: »

It sounds like you got the same letter as I did. The letters are standard responses. It took the Financial Ombudsman contacting Lloyds before I got a personal response - but even then it was the same regurgitated bumf.

Lloyds set me up on a 'repayment plan' so that I could re-pay all outstanding charges and bring my overdraft back down to the original agreed limit. Very difficult thing to do when charges for November are still being applied to the account in February and when interest is still being charged. Like I said, I pay £100 a month to the repayment pan to keep them off my back until the case is resolved. However, £65 of this amount is interest. Lloyds are usually good at helping you work out what you can afford to pay them, but if you dont owe them anything I don't understand what they are talking about.

I would write to Lloyds again and ask them to look at your case under the financial hardship waiver. Prepare yourself for another standard response letter and the offer to set up a 'repayment plan', then if no settlement can be agreed I would refer to the Ombudsman. Took around two months for an ajudicator from the Ombudsman to look at my case, but so far they have been very good to deal with. Unlike Lloyds they will actually listen.

Like i said, i dont have any accounts with them anymore and dont owe them any money. My letter never mentioned any balances of any kind, just the charges themselves and asking them to look at my claim under the hardship rules within the waiver, even highlighting the Annexe 2 section of the waiver itself.
It is without question that i am currently in financial hardship due to the substantial drop in salary.

I'm gonna write to them again, this time i'm going to include an Income/Expenditure breakdown. I also referred them to statements i have which prove the charges being applied to my account were responsible for some of my finances crumbling. The classic snowballing effect.

Has anyone here had a claim honoured from Lloyds since the waiver?
I dont think there's anyone.