Bank Charges Financial Hardship Success Stories

Laini

Received last week 900GBP as part payment until test case
total sum of charges 2k so something is better than nothing
still waiting for HSBC to deal with my claim will update you when I get some news.
Laini x:j:j

Laini

penguinofdeath81 wrote: »

thanks very much for your advice, but if i may be a bit more specific... i know that the list of charges should be included, my question was directed more towards the format of the list - do i just photocopy all the pages they sent me with charges on and send them as the 'list'?

i apologise if this may seem obvious, but i'd just like to make sure i do it in the correct way.

thanks again.

dont want to butt in but I used the calculator on this site and then just copy and pasted the list to my pc and then printed it off
or
just print it off from the site once you have listed the charges on the calculator.
hope that helps.
I know it takes a while but its worth it if you need the money.
I did mine when I couldnt sleep (through the night) through worrying about money and bills - try just breaking it up over a few evenings (an hour a night) listing it with a glass of wine
think of it as work cos if you dont do it you wont get your money back.

Also do an excel household expenditure ins and outs sheet to show your hardship even if the bills come out of that account.( I can send you a template if you need it) also there is a budget planner on this site which you could use instead.
and put in statements of arrears, payments and balances on all your bills including any letters from your creditors saying you are in arrears or demanding money the more bumpf you send the quicker it is dealt with.
My OH also has had a pay cut in the last few months and I was made redundant last year.
Laini xx:j

Debbs73

Bank HSBC
Amount £8,000

I just Wanted to share my Success, i put in a claim using your site in 2007, got nowhere as all court proceedings were put on hold. May 19th 09 put in a hardship claim but heard nothing from them, so went into HSBC 12th Aug, they found out in store that the letter i had sent had just been filed away and not dealt with at all, so they had to re open the file which took quite a few phonecalls in branch. On Thursday 20th Aug i got a letter asking to contact them and Apologising for the way the claim had been dealt with, i called them and they ran through my Fiancial Statement that i had sent to them on the 19th May, amended a few items, passed it to the team dealing with it, i was told they would be intouch within 2 wks as there are quite a few claims going on at the moment. On Friday 21st Aug i recieved a call from the claims department, they went through a few things again with me and the arrears i am in, they said it might take a few days to get back to me because of the amount owed.
Tuesday the 25th Aug he called again and said they would pay me £7166, but would pay my Mortgage arrears and Gas and Elec arrears which i was going to do anyway out of the money and they said they would send me a cheque for the rest owed. I recieved a letter the nxt day for me to sign and send back which i did, they have paid my Mortgage arrears and sent cheques to my Gas and Elec and i am now just waiting for my cheque to come. I am very pleased with the outcome as when i wrote to them the end of last year they said all their charges were fair ! Obviously not if they have just paid me out.

I would advise anybody to stick to your guns and dont back down to them.

Debbs73

Bank HSBC
Amount £8000


I just Wanted to share my Success, i put in a claim using your site in 2007, got nowhere as all court proceedings were put on hold. May 19th 09 put in a hardship claim but heard nothing from them, so went into HSBC 12th Aug, they found out in store that the letter i had sent had just been filed away and not dealt with at all, so they had to re open the file which took quite a few phonecalls in branch. On Thursday 20th Aug i got a letter asking to contact them and Apologising for the way the claim had been dealt with, i called them and they ran through my Fiancial Statement that i had sent to them on the 19th May, amended a few items, passed it to the team dealing with it, i was told they would be intouch within 2 wks as there are quite a few claims going on at the moment. On Friday 21st Aug i recieved a call from the claims department, they went through a few things again with me and the arrears i am in, they said it might take a few days to get back to me because of the amount owed.
Tuesday the 25th Aug he called again and said they would pay me £7166, but would pay my Mortgage arrears and Gas and Elec arrears which i was going to do anyway out of the money and they said they would send me a cheque for the rest owed. I recieved a letter the nxt day for me to sign and send back which i did, they have paid my Mortgage arrears and sent cheques to my Gas and Elec and i am now just waiting for my cheque to come. I am very pleased with the outcome as when i wrote to them the end of last year they said all their charges were fair ! Obviously not if they have just paid me out.

I would advise anybody to stick to your guns and dont back down to them.

Debbs

penguinofdeath81

Thanks Laini for that advice - that was precisely what i wanted to know :-) will do it this weekend i think, and see where i get.

re the excel spreadsheet, that is a good idea too, i think i can rustle one up - i think it will show a fairer idea of how much or how little i have to live on during the month.

i have no arrears to date, as when i have been struggling i've always tried to borrow money from family/friends to make up the bills, and even then manage to barely scrape by. i am trying to get a lodger in so that i can put that money towards my monthly expenses, but at the moment i don't have one. anyway, i'll try the hardship route and see where i get to with that. they can only say no, i guess.

thanks again :-)

slater9251

My daughter currently in hospital with Bipolar Disorder.Hospitalised 31.07.09.
Has since earlier this year run up debt,a lot of which is exacerbated by charges.
She already has a claim pending with HSBC for last six years,claimed 2008.
Charges are still being added even though the companies have been informed.
I have been advised to do nothing re her financial plight and feel that something could be done by someone,maybe Social and/or Health service
departments.
Any advice from similar cases ?

Flambee

HSBC - account has been closed for 2 years +
Claimed 700.00
Accepted 590.00

Whole process completed on strength of initial hardship letter, then submitting financial outgoings information via telephone (that was the hardest bit, took a great deal of perseverance to deal with the call centre, security centre and overseas call-centre staff) but success within 5 weeks max. Have banked the cheque and look forward to claiming on other accounts now..........

Nationwide Credit Card - account closed 2/3 years ago
Due to receive : 33.00

Natwest - live account
Claimed 850.00
Result : pending but being resolved on strength of sending hardship letter and subsequent financial evidence of hardship

I can now afford to fund myself on an MSc course at Uni...this could not have happened without the information I found on this website, I would never have known how / where to apply or even if I could on closed accounts!

Martin totally rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ralphy101

BANK: HSBC
AMOUNT CLAIMED: £850
AMOUNT PAID: £329+£100 Goodwill gesture.

As with previous HSBC success, it has taken perseverence.

I intially had a hardship claimed denied by HSBC on the grounds that I had bills in a payment plan.

However I had 3 outstanding utility bills, that i couldnt pay. So i resubmitted a claim. After speaking with various calls centres, i got the hardship team, who told me to fax through the utility bills, so i did last friday.

I contacted them Wedsnesday and was disapointed to note that i had to go through my income and exp. again with them, even though nothing had changed from last month.

I got told that i still didnt meet the hardship rule!? i questioned this as i had about £50 left after income V Exp. and my partner is on JSA. hardly enough to live on!?

I then spoke to a cracking girl called lucie, who told me to contact the utility companies and arrange payment plans to cover the arrears. i.e over payments per month, this would make my monthly outgoings for utility bills go up, thus giving my negative money on my income V expen. Lucie told me to call her back once i did this.

I called Lucie back and told her how much overpayments were, she then put me on hold and came back with the figure. Plus £100 goodwill. This will cover my bills and then some.

Though it was a cracking bit of customer service. Just goes to show if you get the right person that wants to help... she also said, that her and the staff at hsbc are being told next month is the month to watch out for, in relation to the ruling.... and they may be in touch next month.

I still have an outstanding £500 or so from HSBC, and £1000 with NW currently with the FOS. I am hoping that next month we all hear some good news.

mrsdarbs

natweststaffmember wrote: »

some guestimates say next year but if the OFT case currently in court goes in favour of the banks then it is over with perhaps.
I have highlighted parts of your post to give some people hope that they can overturn a NO or an offer and negotiate it higher.
Very pleased for you :beer:

The case was back in the court of appeals back in June and we are supposed to hear the outcome next month.

natweststaffmember

mrsdarbs wrote: »

The case was back in the court of appeals back in June and we are supposed to hear the outcome next month.

That is only whether the OFT can assess terms for fairness and not whether individual terms are unfair or not. Part 1 is what we are awaiting the result from.