Bank Charges Financial Hardship Success Stories

natweststaffmember

slater9251 wrote: »

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 ?

Write to the bank with regards to the issue of her hospitalisation(Banks are not completely heartless when it comes to situations that you have described.). Outline everything including the hospitalisation.

martino97

Bank: Barclays
Amount Reclaimed: £5800
Amount they paid: £3731.25
How long did it take: 2 months
The story: 3 letters (inc. Budget thingy), 2 phone calls, and £3731.25 deposited into my bank account. I did call again to ask them to quantify how they had come up with this amount, but was told as it is a goodwill gesture they have no obligation to provide such information.

A big thanks to Martin Lewis, I owe you one!!! The template letters and straightforward advice have been invaluable. This money has helped me get set up in my own business after being refused loan after loan from the banks after 6 months unemployment. I am solvent again, and I can't express my gratitude enough. Drinks are on me if I ever get to meet you.

Martin.

Laini

penguinofdeath81 wrote: »

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 :-)

just to add when you put in your living expenses ie travel, car, food, holidays, birthdays be realistic dont under cut yourself dont put say 100GBP when in fact its more like 200GBP.
Also we had no arrears until I started writing my letter also put you have borrowed money off family/friends too.
Good luck shout if you need help.
I am waiting now for HSBC to assess my claim.
LOL
Laini x:j

PovertyGirl_2

Bank: Abbey
Amount Reclaimed: £4805
Amount they paid: £4730
How long did it take: 2 months
The story: Used the template letter from the site, was sent a letter saying "we'll look into it" then an income/expenditure form, which I filled in and sent straight back - everything went recorded delivery. Got a letter saying "It's been four weeks, we're still looking into it". After another 2 weeks I rang to see what was going on, the guy advised me it was almost settled and to call back in a couple of days - I rang back Thursday and was told the bank recognised I was in hardship because of my mortgage arrears and so there would be a goodwill payment - today confirmed this would be £4,730 - just £75 short of what I claimed. Really pleased as it means I can pay off my mortgage arrears.

Thanks MSE!!:beer:

fineand_dandy

I sent a letter to Abbey regarding our financial problems and requested that they repay our bank charges. I had to send back to them proof of our hardship and three weeks later received a letter back with the fantastic news that they were crediting our account with £3989. I am so happy as it means we can now pay our mortgage and other outstanding bills.

Roisin92

I wonder if anyone has any advice.

I have written to the Halifax twice to ask them to review my claim under the Hardship rules and they have refused both times. There last letter states that because I no longer have an account with them they will not review my case and have said that they will not enter into any further correspondence with me until after the court case.

I stopped using my account with them because I was completely in my overdraft and any money that went into the account they took in either the overdraft or further charges it was a catch 22 situation with them they wouldn't stop and it couldn't go on any further so I moved to LloydsTSB.

Is this legal do they have a right to do this or should I complain to the OFT ?

They have not looked at my case at all, they have not asked me to complete an income/expenditure form they have just flatly refused because I don't have a live account with them any more.

Thanks for any help.

KeithSheppard

Bank: Barclays
Amount Claimed: £720
Amount they paid: £720
How long: years!

I have been helping my son reclaim bank charges and the saga has been running certainly for a couple of years possibly more. My son has mental health issues, hasn't worked for many years and survives solely on Incapacity Benefit. We put in a claim years ago, then it got tied up by the FSA case.

Using the advice from Martin's site, we wrote to the bank (still several months back) outlining the hardship case. Suddenly, and without any warning, the bank paid up last month. I can't remember the phrase they used but the gist was it was a discretionary payment. They were careful not to indicate they accepted any legal liability to pay up.

Mind you, that hasn't stopped them applying more charges to his account in the last couple of months. I recall seeing somewhere that it was illegal for banks to take charges out of benefit money as the money was intended to be the minimum for someone to live on. Can anyone clarify the precise legal situation?

DanDaniel

See post #702 for full story. Reclaiming £4455.00 from Halifax. Had an offer today for £508. Would love the money but it isnt enough to get me out of hardship. Should i continue to the FOS or should i call it a day and accept their offer ? Many Thanks. Dan

natweststaffmember

DanDaniel wrote: »

See post #702 for full story. Reclaiming £4455.00 from Halifax. Had an offer today for £508. Would love the money but it isnt enough to get me out of hardship. Should i continue to the FOS or should i call it a day and accept their offer ? Many Thanks. Dan

Accept and negotiate the amount because it means either way it's a starting point. You need to go back to when the lifestyle issue occurred ie loss of job, hours, and how it affected the ability to pay for priority debt arrears(mortgage/rent, council tax, utilities) because of the charges. That may not incorporate every single charge but I would argue for a higher amount including the priority debt arrears.
Keep us updated on your progress but negotiate prior to the FOS and ask them for a final response letter.

Laini

just received letter offering full amount of charges from HSBC

APPROX 1500.00

Laini x