state benefits & £35 bank charge...

Billy_the_fish

Hi guys Just got a letter from bank & virgin media saying they charging me for a payment that was missed! money was in bank on date they should of took the money and have pre-arranged previously because of my financial situation. spoke to VM where they was quite helpful and in the realisation that it was because they transferred my account from an old tariff to a new one. all good. rang the bank and explained my situation and that i was currently a single parent receiving such benefits and that taking money out of my state benefits (the minimum the law says i need to live) and they was dis-interested it was a joke. said in no un-certain terms that i will not be paying this and was informed that my account would then receive further charges!! rang a few solicitors but all unhelpful. rang legal services commission, they said they wasnt a bank!!!! ehh?!?! only thing i can think of doing at the moment is opening an account at another bank and having my benefits paid into that and ditching my old halifax account!! any help or information you guys can give me here? put a claim in for bank charges 2 years ago, got to the courts where it was put 'on hold' til the case is dealt with, so this is like a kick in the teeth from them. 'we aint paying out til we get the law sorted out, but we will keep charging the fees irrespective of circumstance' please and thanks Fish

elaina79

Hi

I found this info online.

under the social security act 1992 section 187 it states that any charges made on benefits are void meaning it is illegal for banks to charge you if your only income is benefit

Not had a chance to look at the social security act yet but will do in a min.

di3004

Hi there

I found something similar over at CAG here, is it the same thing?

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt-issues/36790-bank-taking-your-benefits.html

And found thid through googling as well here:
http://www.sykesssillysite.co.uk/useful_info_p61.htm

elaina79

Just found a bit more info that may be of use.

There is an Act of Parliament that Under section 187 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992: apparently, this makes it a criminal offence for banks to take bank charges out of the accounts of people who are entirely dependent on social security benefits.

so if your bank has taken charges out of your Benefits eg:

if you are in receipt of any of the following benefits.
Income Support
Tax Credits
Child Benefit
Job seekers allowance
Incapacity benefit
Disability living allowance
Attendance Allowance
CSA payments
Other DWP payments.

which means:
That the bank can not apply any charges to money received as benefit, and any such charges are unlawful and therefore disallowed.

di3004

Does that mean charges for an overdraft as well? (when charged for this)?


Sorry not used to this part of the forum lol.....:o

elaina79

I would imagine it would include overdraft charges as well. What I saw didn't exactly say it was overdraft as well but it did say any charges.

di3004

elaina79 wrote: »

I would imagine it would include overdraft charges as well. What I saw didn't exactly say it was overdraft as well but it did say any charges.

Thank you, its an interesting issue this, will keep a check on further posts, many thanks.;)

elaina79

I think we may be onto something here. I did see a post about this a while ago but the advise then was they could still do it. If it turns out that this info is correct then god help the banks, they best keep their bonuses as they will need them.

di3004

elaina79 wrote: »

I think we may be onto something here. I did see a post about this a while ago but the advise then was they could still do it. If it turns out that this info is correct then god help the banks, they best keep their bonuses as they will need them.

I agree Elaine;)

Just found this here as well
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/community/forums/t/can-banks-take-benefit-money-for-charges-9645.aspx

My hubby lost his job just before xmas, early Dec 08 I'm a full time carer for my son who has ASD (a form of autism) Aspergers Syndrome, anxiety disorders etc, even though hubby may be lucky to be back in work soon again, right now he receives JSA income based, i receive carer's allowance and DLA is paid for my son who is 14, so there is no income going into the bank, yet Carer's allowance is means tested, but as we are living on the overdraft, they take excessive charges for this and just found that link above which mentions about overdrafts as well.

We receive the usual, so
JSA
CTC
CB

Carer's

DLA for son.

Do you think I should just contact the FOS who may be able to explain this matter?
See what they say?

quietishone

You have been given some well meaning but incorrect advice above. The Social Security Administration Act 1992 does state that -

Subject to the provisions of this Act, every assignment of, or charge on-
(a)benefit as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
(b)any income-related benefit; or
(c)child benefit,
and every agreement to assign or charge such benefit shall be void; and, on the bancrupcy of the beneficiary, such benefit shall not pass to any trustee or other person acting on behalf of his creditors.Unfortunately this only means that the money has to be paid into your bank account. Once there it can be treated like any other deposit.

Also the state does not consider state benefits to be the minimum required to live on as the DSS is quite happy to recover fines, loans and overpayments from your weekly benefit which obviously leaves you with less to live on.

Your original post said that the money for the direct debit was in the bank on the day it was due to go out. Assuming that it was in the day before (as the terms and conditions of your account will probably state) then this charge seems to be the result of an error by either your bank or Virgin Media and that is the basis on which you should try to get the charge resinded or damages from Virgin Media to compensate you for them. A claim that the charges are unlawful may also work in the longer term but will be stayed until the ongoing court case is over unless you can claim financial hardship.

Sorry if this is not what you want to hear but the other two approaches are wrong in law and will just delay your more valid claim against them.


See some of the other threads in the forum for more information for example -
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1472391&highlight=Social+Security+Administration+Act+1992

KimYeovil

If it is the 'minimum the law says you need to live on' why are you spending it with Virgin Media? Do they sell food or fuel? Of course, when you receive benefits you can spend your discretionary income however you please. But the poorer you are the more important it is for you to use a bank account correctly and not incur unnecessary charges. If you want to pay using Direct Debits then it is your responsibility to maintain a sensible buffer.

And even if you don't want to accept responsibility and want to chase someone why are you targeting your bank rather than Virgin Media? From your first post it is not your bank that has made a mistake.