RG vs Lloyds (Reclaiming charges under hardship waiver) Advice appreciated long read

Idislikemybank

Hi folks,
I have put wheels in motion to claim my charges back. Im totally new to all of this and find it quite daunting but not as daunting as letting Lloyds take my money and ruin me in the process.Im 100% convinced i fit the criteria for the waiver(unemployed, JSA, been off work due to illness continually excesive charges etc).
So let me tell you where I'm upto so you can better advise me.

Steps taken:
1 - Made an attempt at the phone call approach which resulted in being fobbed off, eventually I was put through to the customer support unit to discuss a payment plan to try and clear my "overdrawn" overdraft. The advisor said he couldnt help me as i wasnt in reciept of benefits (signed of to begin work which went pear shaped now due to start in two weeks.) he the refered me to the CCCS which i didnt pursue as i had wasted 30mins on the phone to lloyds and not knowing who they where thought they would be in lloyds corner at the time.

2 - Requested a detailed list of charges going back 6 years.

3 - Recieved the list and totalled up the charges.

4 - Made an appointment at my local branch after finding this cracking site. I explained to the advisor I felt I matched the hardship criteria. Again fobbed off. BUT she gave me an interesting piece of info, she had checked my info on the screen just before we went to one of the side rooms and said the words "the customer support centre have you down under the hardship criteria" Hhhmmm. She suggested my best bet was to just go down the official route of putting my complainr/request in writing.

5 - Put together my initial/preliminary letter and included a full breakdown of charges.

6 - Going to post recorded delivery tommorow to Lloyds TSB PLC, Customer Service Recovery Centre, 125 Colmore Row, Birmingham, B33SF.

Now onto a few questions if I may:
1 - Do I have the correct address to send my claim ?

2 - Is it worth mentioning in the letter what the advisor at my local branch told me (Customer service recovery have me down as a match for "hardship criteria" ?

3 - Should I contact the Consumer Credit Counselling Service for an independant decision to speed things up or am I best to wait for Lloyds response.

4 - Any other tips ?

I know its been a long read and alot to ask so if you have read this far thankyou so much. If you can answer any questions that would be fantastic.

I wish everyone on the site the best of luck with there claims and thank everyone who contributes to a smashing resource.:beer:

Orford

1 Yes
2 Yes detailing the charges taken, your personal financial situation, details of any debts/arrears etc and they should send you an Income Expenditure form to complete.
Have a look at the FSA waiver Annexe 2 (page 11) and include any points that apply to your situation:
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/Re...sp_monthly.pdf

3.CCCS are unlikely to be much help as regards claims under financial hardship

Idislikemybank

Thankyou for the speedy reply orford :beer: ,

Im really grateful for the info. I will have a good read through the waiver annexe in the morning and adjust/add to my letter where necessary. Then I'm off to the post office and battle commence's. I will give an update as soon as I have one for you all. Good luck all and remember its the banks in the wrong !

Idislikemybank

Just a quick update
I posted the the letter and have received a pretty standard reply as expected on the 3rd feb. It states that my complaint has been posted on to Andover customer recovery centre, who specialise in complaints of this type(as yet I have no confirmation it has arrived at Andover recovery centre). It also says I can expect to here from them within four weeks when there enquiries are completed.

Should I just wait to see what happens or phone the recovery centre to see whos dealing with my case and where there upto? I feel I have a very strong case so is it worth putting a bit of pressure on them?
Thanks again

CougarRules

Id would be interested to know what to do next also, i got the very same letter myself today!

Cheers Cougar.

Idislikemybank

I think the question I asked is of the how longs a piece of string variety thats why no answers. Im going to ring anyway cant hurt anything I guess ?.