Do you have money worries and a loan or credit card with your bank?

leebarton

I had accounts with first direct for 10 years. I am currently on maternity leave and thought I would be eligible for housing benefit - when the hb came through it was only £12. I contacted first direct to ask for reduced payments for four months until I return to work. They said no. I wrote again having spoken to the CCCS to get some further advice and they are going to put me on a DMP. In the meantime first direct have closed down my accounts without my having defaulted yet! I have never missed a payment for anything in 10 years - the threat of missing one has meant that they have recalled the loan and overdraft in one go, all because I asked for four months grace.

On a positive note, I have found the CCCS to be very helpful and going on to a DMP will actually make it easier for us to live month to month, being able to afford to go to the dentist and have a haircut occassionally.

goldcd

Human_remains wrote: »

:mad: Are you aware that if you work for an instition ie Lloyds for example, You have to have an account with them or you dont get payed, is this not another way of stopping you moving funds to another bank ?? is this legal?

I've still got a Lloyds-TSB bank account after working for them one summer as a student. I've always found them to be pretty understanding to me (refunded the odd charge from student days when I phoned up and said sorry) - but starting to reform my opinion after reading this thread.
Way it was explained to me was that they'd prefer all financial services were taken out through them - and staff got rates better than the market to compensate for this. Reasoning for this is that it enabled Lloyds to see if you were in financial difficulty (and therefore more likely to walk off with those lovely bundles of 50s you got to play with in the safe room).
Having a cheap mortgage with them probably helped with staff retention as well.

jamesherbert

I had a business and a personal account with lloyds tsb who found it ok to set off credit card repayments to my personal account but still charged late payment fees and were ultimately expecting two minimum payments per month also they decided to pay off an unauthorised overdraft on the business account (caused by excessive charging) with funds from the personal and then closing the business account whilst still accepting credits into what then became a non existent account.This action is apparently at the discretion of the business account manager concerned.

TinkyPants

I have had a credit card with Lloyds TSB for 5 years now and until 2 months ago had never missed a payment. Due to a genuine case of forgetfulness I missed a payment and to my horror Lloyds decided to take the missed payment from my Savings Account. I only found out about the transaction when I called their card services team after a missed payment letter was sent out and a member of their staff very calmly told me not to worry as the payment had been taken from my account!

Now I have spent 5 years working for both Barclays and Lloyds TSB in the past and I had never once been informed of this 'Setting Off' rule that seems to now be in use.

I am now clearing off my credit card with Lloyds and applying for one with another provider as I no longer feel in control of the money in my own accounts.

mel_odious

I've banked with HSBC since they recruited me in the first year of secondary school. A few years ago, at the age of 21, they offered me a £7000 loan, plus 2grand ppi... I was so young and naive, and needed it at the time. Of course I struggled to repay the hefty monthly repayment. I also had a savings account with them, where my partners wages would get paid. We used this whilst my main account was in debt. On one occasion, after failing to make the repayment again (we were £11 short. They take the standing order. They return standing order. They charge me £30 for this privallege, then £30 as they've taken me over my overdraft limit:mad: 5 years on and my charges returned, still this enrages me!!)

So, one monday morning we go to the tube station to get out some money so both of us can get to work. The card get swallowed. We are both furious and confused, and manage to convince london transport to let us travel to work. I then have to spend my lunch hour in a busy HSBC bank trying to work out what has happened. When I realise they have taken the wages to pay the debt I am furious! I then have to virtually beg them to let me have some of MY money back so we can actually afford to eat and get to work! They gave me £40 back for the week, so kind... I ended up in tears and so humiliated and traumatised by this whole scenario.

This happened a few more times, we just had to be crafty and withdraw all the money before they could get to it. I've had many problems since with HSBC, regarding this blasted loan, but here is not time or place! Needless to say I don't hold my main account with them anymore.

I think it is absolutely disgraceful that banks have this right. It disgusts me to the core. And once again, it is the people who are struggling that get totally, utterly and unjustifiably crushed. They treat us as numbers, a problem, and seem to turn a blind eye to the fact that we are trying to survive. When they take away your most basic right to be able to buy food, then it a total infrigment of human rights. This simply cannot be allowed to continue.

IJB_2

Lloyds TSB did this to me in December and wiped out what little funds I had towards my family Christmas. I was two months (£400) in arrears so they took the money out of my salary the day I got paid. The following month they withdrew my overdraft (£800) without any prior warning, although after an hour on the phone I managed to get it re-instated once I'd reminded them what they'd already done to me the month before. This has lead me to be in arrears with my mortgage which I'm still playing catch up with.

I've been banking with Lloyds since I left school 20 years ago and have always been fortunate to be working and had my salary paid into my Lloyds account. It is fair to say that I hate Lloyds with a passion and feel loyalty counts for nothing. What I find so frustrating is that you can no longer go into the bank and discuss issues with your account manager as you used to be able to do. What's that all about????

I tried opening a current account elsewhere but was turned down with no real explanation. My gut feeling is that because I recently bought my house I may now be in negative equity and therefore the bank I wont to move to can't sell me anything. Grrrrrrrrr...............

I understand about opening a basic account elsewhere but I need to travel abroad with my job and therefore need a debit card. I feel trapped with a bank who I detest.

sarahlou1971

Last week I was hit for £67 in charges, when I had nothing in my account. My benefits were due in the following day which meant due to them putting me overdrawn I had no money for the week. I rang Lloyds and begged them to give me the money back, defer the payment a week, anything so I could have my money to live on, but to no avail. Luckily my mum gave me some money to live on. Yesterday I went and opened a basic account with another bank and I am in the process of changing all my payments over to them, Lloyds have been nothing but unhelpful and I would never reccommend them to anyone. Why is it always the people who have nothing who get kicked in the teeth, if help is out there for the people in trouble it needs to be more forthcoming!

hutch610

Horrifying stories. Heartless bank staff. Cant believe that if you cant pay they are making things worse. Some of these banks dont deserve any customers.

Seems if you are rich its fine, looks like they trying to get rid ot the ordinary customer. Serves some of them right if they get into dfficulty because customer leave and its the banks bringing it on themselves.

Stepashka

I lost my job of 20 years due to illness, and at the moment my only source of income is Income Support. I'm therefore finding it impossible to meet my monthly credit card payments with Lloyds TSB. Unfortunately, I have my current account with Lloyds TSB too, and in December 2008, and without any warning, they took all my Income Support to cover a proportion of my outstanding credit card payments, even though I was already overdrawn on my current account. I believe they also took this action in the knowledge that an imminent Direct Debit would take me above my agreed overdraft limit, thus resulting in additional daily bank charges. Lloyds TSB will screw you for every single penny they can, even when they are aware you are already in debt & struggling. Yes, I have been in touch with them on numerous occasions to advise them of my situation, but their answer appears to be, pay us what we want or we'll take whatever money we can up to your overdraft limit, and we'll also take legal action. Well, so will I! I've fought Lloyds TSB in the past, and eventually reclaimed all my unfair bank charges just before the present hold on claims (although I was on the brink of going to Court), and I'll fight them again. Banks like Lloyds TSB seem to think they can do whatever they like & we'll all sit back and take it. Looks like I'm in for another legal fight with them now. I already have an ongoing PPI claim against them too. When I made a legitimate claim against my PPI policy, surprise surprise, I find out it wasn't worth the paper it was written on! Another Lloyds TSB money-making scam! :mad:
I am trying to open a basic bank account wth another bank, but no-one wants to know you when you are not working. When I get back into employment later this year, Lloyds TSB will not see me for dust & I will never use them again.

loveandlight

posted by bryonyhines
Any experience with Co-operative Bank anyone?

Co-Op are no better. Despite having a credit card with them for 25 years and never missing a payment once, I had naturally built up a good credit limit which I'd had through the lst rescession in the 90's as well.

I went in to my local branch about five months ago and they asked if I would be interested in taking out another credit card with them or a current account. I said no as I was happy with the one I had and I'd had my current accounts elsewhere for 30 years and saw no reason to change. The managers immediate reply was one of blackmail as he told me firmly that my credit limit could be wiped out with one touch of a button on the computer keypad if I didn't take out another product with them and guess what? That's exactly what he did!

A week later I had a letter from the Co-Op saying they had wiped out ALL my credit limit leaving me with a card that had effectively been cancelled. I hate all banks and credit card companies and I'm going to start keeping some of my money under the mattress now!!

What is going on with ALL the banks now is nothing new. They ALL did the same in the last rescession in the 90's. I had been made redundant back then and only had enough money for food to last me two weeks and the bank knew that and they also knew I had no-body else to turn to for help but they still took out all my money to repay a monthly repayment on a bank loan that was insured anyway. People are always saying we should talk to the bank and discuss our problems with them as they are there to help which speaking from experience is the absolute worse thing you can do - tell them nothing otherwise they will use it against you.