Halifax the worst for financial difficulty

richoneday

We have just hit on a particularly bad financial crisis - the first we have had in 15 years. All of our credtors have been great - Portman and Mortgage Express, Smile and Egg have all done their best to help us, suspending payments and reducing charges. The Halifax where we have our current account have been awful applying £900 of charges to our account despite the fact that we have been loyal customers for 15 years. This has compounded our financial problems hugely. Anyone who is thinking of being tempted by their money back marketing deals think carefully - if things go wrong for you their charges are exhorbitant.

bargainhunt_3

I know of several people who have bad problems with various HBOS group companies, all of which are in a similar situation to yourselves. I would advise anyone thinking of taking out an account to avoid them, or if you can move it to somewhere else.

Without fail they know that if you are in financial problems you will probably find it difficult to move elsewhere so they pile on the charges for as long as they can. They only freeze things when it becomes apparent you may be able to move elsewhere.

To be honest I've had minimal problems with them, but out of sympathy for those I know I am closing my account with them as I regard them as one of the worst financial services organisation in the UK.

I would urge everyone who can to close any accounts with them if you can. While HBOS is a 'responsible' lender they do need to be taught a lesson.

If you want to see all the companies they own look at :https://www.hbos.co.uk

So what I am closing? My IF account and I no longer use my VISA card, but havent done so for a while, so will probably close it soon.

dchurch24

Please, please sue them for recovery of the charges. If the charges are for bounced cheques, failed dd's or standing orders etc... then they are a breach of the Consumer Credit Act (unfair terms in consumer contracts) and there is a whole host of case law dating back to 1895 showing that punitive charges are not enforcable in English law.

I had a similar problem - I had just changed jobs and wage payments were sproadic to say the least (thanks to a bad employer - now defunct). Over that period, Abbey hurt me a lot with charges.
So I sued them(cost 120 quid - which you get back WHEN you win) for about 1700 in charges over the space of a year (including interest at 8% APR), and they gave in after attempting to scare me off, as they know as well as I do that they would lose in court. I did the same to Smile who also charged me over the same period, and guess what - I got the cheque on my doorstep within 2 weeks of starting legal proceedings.

Don't let them do this to you. What have they actually done to earn that £900 - very little, and thankfully a court will see it the same way.

PM me if you want help with this - I'm sure the 900 quid could come in handy for you right now - I hate these charges and have made it my personal crusade to see the back of them.

Incidently, I happen to know that any of the HBOS group give in when faced with legal action, if you were worried about going to court - not that you have anything to worry about - they are the ones that stand to lose big time - once someone actually gets this into a court and wins (which I believe is the only option open to a judge based on the evidence), then it's goodbye to these charges for good. So, what do you think any bank would do? - pay up the 900 quid is my guess - is it worth risking nearly a billion quid in charges each year for the sake of 900 quid? - it's not a risk I would take if I was in their position.
Thankfully the legal advisers at Abbey, LloydsTSB, Natwest, Nationwide (they publically admitted along with LTSB that their charges are a deterrent), Barclays, Barclaycard, Smile, IF, Halifax agree with the legal analysis.