bank closed the acc. I lose £1314! Legal help..but who?

knowangel

Since losing our house in 2005 I have been using my fathers savings account for child tax credit payments, csa etc etc.

Unbeknown to me my father got into difficulty with his HSBC overdraft and without warning, they closed all of his accounts on 15th Dec 2008. He didnt realise this had happened until a two days later. So it was too late to stop the payments I had coming in. three payments totalling £1314! Basically, the bank are holding the lot because my father owes them money.

Anyway, what I need to know is where I stand legally. This is such a grey area of law. Ive tried LSC direct & FSA but noone can tell me the category of law this covers?! OR better still a solicitor who knows banking law inside out.(This is far to complex for CAB)

I have ther evidence to prove the funds are mine.
HSBC were told previously that his daughter uses the savings account
They failed to give any notice of closing the account ( & yes they are supposed to)
The closing statement prooves the funds didnt actually enter the nominated account!!!
Moreover, the bank lied & signed a document to say the funds were returned when in fact they had them all along.:mad:

Sorry for sounding a cold & angry but this completely ruined our christmas. It broke my heart seeing three little dissappointed faces christmas day.

talana

HSBC were told previously that his daughter uses the savings account

First of all, why were you using your father's account rather than an account of your own? It's asking for trouble. In the eyes of any 3rd party, including the bank, funds in any account belong to the account holder, end of story.
It's not the bank's job to second guess than some money might belong to someone else. :rolleyes:

Rather than legal help, legal implications etc, first of all you need to find out where the money actually is.

The closing statement prooves the funds didnt actually enter the nominated account!!!

That would seem to suggest HSBC don't have your money.

Moreover, the bank lied & signed a document to say the funds were returned when in fact they had them all along.

If the bank has said the funds were returned, why do you say they're lying? What makes you think they have your money? You've already said the closing statement proves they don't.

Have you spoken to the CSA etc, and asked them whether the payments were returned?

nobblyned

If the money did make the account then your dad owes you £1314 as it will have been used to offset some of his debt.

Legally I doubt you stand anywhere, money in an account in your dad's name belongs to him. He owes you the money, not the bank.

97trophy

nobblyned wrote: »

Legally I doubt you stand anywhere, money in an account in your dad's name belongs to him. He owes you the money, not the bank.

I am with Ned, you need to chase your dad. HSBC have done no wrong here.

agsnu

It's not a grey area of law, it's clear cut. Unless it was transferred fraudulently, you were giving him the money.

masonic

As others have said, if it's his account, then it is his money. This is just one of the things that can go wrong when you give someone money to 'look after'.

Extant

knowangel wrote: »

Since losing our house in 2005 I have been using my fathers savings account for child tax credit payments, csa etc etc.

Can I ask why? Both Barclays and the Co-Op will accept undischarged bankrupts, which essentially means they'll take anyone, for a basic bank account.

I have ther evidence to prove the funds are mine.

You are the intended recipient of the funds, yes - but you nominated that account to receive them. This is essentially the same as you giving your father the money in cash. They are no longer yours.

HSBC were told previously that his daughter uses the savings account

Doesn't matter: it's not your account, you have no standard rights and no signing rights. It is your father's account and his responsibility.

Think of it another way - Mr X tells the bank his daughter is responsible for his overdrawn account. Do you really think the bank is going to go "oh, okay" and go after the daughter instead?

They failed to give any notice of closing the account ( & yes they are supposed to)

"Under normal circumstances, we will not close your account without giving you at least 30 days' notice."

These are not "normal" circumstances.

The closing statement prooves the funds didnt actually enter the nominated account!!!
Moreover, the bank lied & signed a document to say the funds were returned when in fact they had them all along.:mad:

How do you know they have the funds? They may very well have been bounced straight back to the CSA, HMG, whoever was paying them - as is standard for a closed account.

Even if they didn't bounce them immediately, they would be sat in a rejected entries account somewhere, and a HSBC employee would be sat looking for either a destination, or to send them back. There is no "tehehe think we'll keep this money" account.

What evidence do you have to prove HSBC have these funds, other than the other side - who deal with massive numbers of payments etc - saying they don't?

Sorry, but you really don't have much of a leg to stand on here.

sillystudent_2

Hi, my father is a solicitor and I asked him about your problem, from what he told me essentially you may well have a case (contrary to what everyone here seems to be saying.)

Legally, when you transferred the money to your father he was holding it 'on trust' for you - i.e. it wasn't legally his. The law generally assumes that if you give money to someone else you're merely giving it to them 'on trust' (i.e. they are looking after it but its not theirs) unless there is evidence to rebut it. The fact that it was child tax payments etc. means its pretty obvious that the money wasn't just being given to your dad (i.e. a gift.)
Generally trusts are protected from creditors - so, because your money wasn't your dad's, HSBC couldn't take it, however the problem is muddled up because you mixed your money with your dad's (which makes a significant difference apparently) - if, on the other hand, your dad had opened a separate account only for your money (but in his name) there'd be no question that it'd be protected.

My dad reckons the best idea is to consult a solicitor who specialises in trusts and property as he doesn't know enough about this particular area to give a definite answer one way or the other. However, he was adamant that the money was by no means definitely HSBC's to take just because it was in your dad's account (if they have actually taken the money.)

Hope this helps

dobbie82

If the payments didnt reach the account before closure, would it be possible to contact tax credits and ask them to recover the payment? As If the account no longer existed I assume it would bounce back? Contact them either way to switch you onto giros until you have a new account.

You can also get an account at the post office for receiving benefits, its an account that anyone can have.