Bank Charges Financial Hardship Success Stories

holl3

hi,

charges are due to direct debits which have been returned on a monthly basis, for utility bills etc, this then equated in charges which the sends us overdrawn. the lloyds then charge un authorised overdraft charges on a daily basis. our charges are equated in excess of £250 most months due to this. we have one income coming in and no additional benefits.

the lloyds have admitted themselves we are in financial hardship. so dont understand why they have said they dont have to help us any further??

thanks

natweststaffmember

holl3 wrote: »

hi,

charges are due to direct debits which have been returned on a monthly basis, for utility bills etc, this then equated in charges which the sends us overdrawn. the lloyds then charge un authorised overdraft charges on a daily basis. our charges are equated in excess of £250 most months due to this. we have one income coming in and no additional benefits.

the lloyds have admitted themselves we are in financial hardship. so dont understand why they have said they dont have to help us any further??

thanks

So is that a YES on priority debt arrears?
Being in financial hardship does not necessary mean a refund of charges so can I just get an answer to the questions asked in the previous post and I do have more questions from that.
I have one more additional question, is the only thing going into the account benefits? Were you made unemployed last year?

holl3

yes there are priority debts being missed. no benefits at all are paid into that account, we are only entitled to the usual tax cred anyway at the basic family rate. my partners wage is the only thing that goes into the account. i am in full time education, so not entitled to benefits.

thanks

natweststaffmember

holl3 wrote: »

yes there are priority debts being missed. no benefits at all are paid into that account, we are only entitled to the usual tax cred anyway at the basic family rate. my partners wage is the only thing that goes into the account. i am in full time education, so not entitled to benefits.

thanks

Are you in arrears? And are any of the arrears being paid off?

Will be back later to look cos I gotta go out so will respond further later tonight.

holl3

hi yes,

in arrears with a couple of the utility companies ie water and gas. paying a greater amount each month to pay off the debts.

thanks

natweststaffmember

holl3 wrote: »

hi yes,

in arrears with a couple of the utility companies ie water and gas. paying a greater amount each month to pay off the debts.

thanks

The fact you are paying more off to clear the arrears doesn't go in your favour, because if you have more money to pay off arrears then your financial hardship is not as bad(that is how the bank may well look at that). Those in really bad hardship will not have the money to pay extra on top of the existing payment, does that make sense?

holl3

we do pay extra for some cos we were told we had no choice but too. there are a couple which we still have an outstanding debt on which i have told them we cannot pay.

spoke to the lloydstsb customer service unit today who just increase the overdraft to cover the charges. they will not consider anything else, which consequently is getting us into even more debt!

thanks

[Deleted User]

Some good news!

I haven't received the letter yet as it was only posted yesterday, but Barclays have just credited my account with £326 as a 'goodwill gesture' following my hardship complaint.

In fact, the entire thing was incredibly smooth and easy. I sent the original request 5th August and 20 days later they've made a refund (albeit not the full amount - but I've yet to receive the letter and I'm assuming it says that I'm not precluded from claiming the rest).

Nickij01

Mercyknight wrote: »

I've just put in for financial hardship with Lloyds TSB. The guy agreed on the phone that I was in financial hardship and gave me a number to contact to arrange for all my outgoings to be reduced:

0800 917 78 04 - Does anyone know how this service works, apparently they aren't linked to Lloyds but will contact them on my behalf, apparently it is not an IVA, but will it effect my credit rating,

And secondly, and most importantly, he agreed to pass all my case over to the team dealing with bank charges, stating that I am in financial hardship and advised me that they will contact me within 5 working days...

Has anyone else gone down this process before?

I would just like to warn people, banks and the banking code itself recommends people seek debt managment plans HOWEVER, we did this last year, been paying for over a year to 12 different creditors covered by this plan BUT the hardest creditors to get to support and enter into the debt management program set up by Payplan are the banks. After following this advice we are still being taken to court a year down the line for the entire amount of the largest debt we have under this program and Payplan are not trained enough to offer fully researched guidance or advice. This is something I am complaining about to the OFT and Financial ombudsman as I feel it is wrong that when someone has made every attempt to repay their debts following the banks recommendations they then do not support these recommendations and ignore the payments made, well pocket it and then take you to court for the full amount, be careful and be under no illusions that it is the answer to all your prayers. Payplan staff haven't got a clue about your rights or fighting creditors when they are in the wrong! Good luck

rscottw

hi abbey agree hardship got letter today dated 17th aug stating funds will be put into my accounts.not in the accounts yet but at least we know its coming.£1800
thanks for the advice