Bank Charges Financial Hardship Success Stories

paulthedude34

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Did lloydsTSB make you an offer or not?
There is nothing that decides what payout will be given or the amount involved.

hi again ltsb have not offered nothing as yet but do the fos force them now to pay out cheers

natweststaffmember

paulthedude34 wrote: »

hi again ltsb have not offered nothing as yet but do the fos force them now to pay out cheers

No they don;t force them to pay out but did LloydsTSB send you out a financial hardship closure letter because this may delay any finding by the FOS(plus we might be able to work on it for you).

urgenthelp_2

I put a claim in to Halifax for £5600 plus Charges equating to £8,000 + got an initial offer £1995, accepted it as partial repayment and went to Financial Ombudsman. Halifax has now told them they have done everything to help me - NOT - they upgraded my account which charges £12.50 which they have been taking out of an account which is in arrears of £2,500 and continue to add further charges and interest on!

Halifax told FOS that I asked for an upgrade - wrong I was informed this was the best move to keep charges down and when I next signed in online to click the upgrade button - hence they are saying I did it.

FOS are trying to say that they think the bank has been fair. I am not happy intend to go back to FOS - but any tips on what else I can do - if I go small claims route here in NI max is £2000

natweststaffmember

urgenthelp wrote: »

I put a claim in to Halifax for £5600 plus Charges equating to £8,000 + got an initial offer £1995, accepted it as partial repayment and went to Financial Ombudsman. Halifax has now told them they have done everything to help me - NOT - they upgraded my account which charges £12.50 which they have been taking out of an account which is in arrears of £2,500 and continue to add further charges and interest on!

Halifax told FOS that I asked for an upgrade - wrong I was informed this was the best move to keep charges down and when I next signed in online to click the upgrade button - hence they are saying I did it.

FOS are trying to say that they think the bank has been fair. I am not happy intend to go back to FOS - but any tips on what else I can do - if I go small claims route here in NI max is £2000

Ok, firstly I will deal with the last thing, the small claims court: The case will automatically be stayed pending the OFT test case issues.

The useful bit: Did you get the bank to change your account back from a fee paying account?
Tell the FOS that the bank advised you when you were struggling with bank charges that this fee paying account was in your best interests to reduce the charges(I have to ask this, did it reduce your charges?).
Ask the FOS if they received the financial hardship closure letter from Halifax, which should have outlined why they made that offer? If you haven't received it then ask the FOS to provide that to you so you make a decision as to whether to appeal and ask for more time to consider their final response.(We can work on it once we know why they have made the decision).
They won't payout anything on interest while the test case is ongoing so we need to see why they looked at the charges bit.

adewolves

I phoned up the BOS about a month ago claiming hardship, they sent me the forms to fill in which I did and posted recorded delivery right away. Its been 3 weeks now and I've heard nothing. Any idea how long the BOS takes to respond to my first letter. Should I phone them My original claim was put on hold a long time back.

natweststaffmember

adewolves wrote: »

I phoned up the BOS about a month ago claiming hardship, they sent me the forms to fill in which I did and posted recorded delivery right away. Its been 3 weeks now and I've heard nothing. Any idea how long the BOS takes to respond to my first letter. Should I phone them My original claim was put on hold a long time back.

Give them a call cos 3 weeks does seem a little excessive.

icklestar

Bank: NATWEST

Amount Reclaimed:£336
Amount they paid: £438

How long did it take: AROUND 8 WEEKS

The story: I claimed hardship due to being forced to use credit cards to pay for my living expense i had to provide proof of all current credit cards, outstanding loans and any other contracts i had. they kept calling me every week about my account. They threatened to close my account and stop all direct debits if i didnt return my debit card. i returned my card and they gave me a solo card after a week they decided to inform me i had lost my card and had stopped all activity on my account till a new card had been issued (i never lost or reported the card being lost it was in my purse and i had used it that morning but they insisted i had reported it lost??) ive now moved banks.
:j

urgenthelp_2

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Ok, firstly I will deal with the last thing, the small claims court: The case will automatically be stayed pending the OFT test case issues.

The useful bit: Did you get the bank to change your account back from a fee paying account?
Tell the FOS that the bank advised you when you were struggling with bank charges that this fee paying account was in your best interests to reduce the charges(I have to ask this, did it reduce your charges?).
Ask the FOS if they received the financial hardship closure letter from Halifax, which should have outlined why they made that offer? If you haven't received it then ask the FOS to provide that to you so you make a decision as to whether to appeal and ask for more time to consider their final response.(We can work on it once we know why they have made the decision).
They won't payout anything on interest while the test case is ongoing so we need to see why they looked at the charges bit.

Thanks for your help I will write to FOS today seeking the closure letter - This account did not reduce any charges they continue to be added on along with interest and taking out the £12.50 per month from an account seriously in arrears - if I were to use a card it would be instantly declined so how can Halifax continue to do so? I'll seek your help as soon as I get a response.

calleyrb

Alliance and Leicester over the last two months have charged me £225 in bank charges bascically I was told I was getting money and didnt get it and my account had insuffient funds.
My son suffers from a dairy allergy its very scary when it happens as his face swells alot and he come up in itchy red hives today it happened and I had run out of his medicine and had no money as my account was in the red.
I phoned my bank Alliance and Leicester and begged them to refund my charges I explained I was out of work and had no money and desperatly needed to buy allergy medicine for my son as soon as possible. I have to say the man on the other end of the phone was AMAZING firstly he offered me one charge back of £25 I explained that it still wouldnt enable me to withdraw any funds he put me on hold and came back within minutes telling me he had refunded £175 immediatly so I could buy my son his medicine and was sending me a form to reclaim any previous charges on my account under hardship as I was out of work. I dont know what I would of done if he hadnt of done this for me.
Just thought I would let everyone know that Alliance and Leicester may charge unfair bank charges but when it comes to an emergency and a crying woman with a screaming baby they are Fantastic :T :A

esmerellda

That is fab news, well done you and well done A&L for once Hope little'uns okay now.