Reclaiming with HSBC HASSLE!!!

tjdjer

Have removed posts due to fraud prevention!

TEDDYRUKSPIN

First thing first. Ombudsman? Your not even near.

You are trying to reclaim charges which you believe are unfair. Martin Lewis has kindly set up a template regarding obtaining back charges. Please be aware many people posting here have been waiting 24 months due to the court hearing yet to be completed.

tjdjer

Also I would like to add, I was charged £100 in January 2008 and January 2009 whilst in reciept of benefits, surely this is not allowed?? I went two months having to sell basically everything I had to be able to eat and pay bills. All I can say is HSBC are lucky I don't have children cause the people who do have famillies to support in genuine hardship are the ones I feel sorry for the most

natweststaffmember

Once benefits hits the account it is treated as income so the "they can't charges as I'm on benefits" argument is not one that you can use since the legal status on bank charges and benefits relates to assignment of debt. Bank charges are not assignments as stated within the act. HSBC are tough nuts to crack and priority debt arrears are the things that banks are looking at.

Hailz86

not being funny but I am in actual hardship, I cant go off spending money on clothes, sounds to me like you're not in hardship at all. People in genuine hardship do not have spare money to spend on luxuries at all.

MLisking

I am also a student banking with HSBC, and I was also charged £150 in one month for three failed direct debits.

I tried to argue the case that I am in financial hardship when I contacted them - I haven't been on holiday in THREE YEARS, the last time I went clothes shopping was at christmas (and even then all I spent was £30 which I had saved up) and I wasn't accepted in the "hardship criteria".

If I wasn't accepted, then you certainly wont be!

I would advise you hold out for the courts to decide on charges, and claim when the rest of us do. I'm sorry hun but I don't think you're going to get anywhere with them.

ML

natweststaffmember

To clarify financial hardship;
point 13.19 states

"(19)
from the date of this direction, the firm must ensure a fair, consistent and intelligent filtering of new complaints in order to identify relevant charges complaints from complainants who claim to be in financial difficulty and then assess whether that claim is justified. For the purposes of this direction, a complainant is considered to be in financial difficulty when his income is insufficient to cover reasonable living expenses and meet financial commitments as they become due;"

However there is also Annex 2 which gives some criteria as well:

"2.
In making an assessment of financial difficulty the firm will take into account:
a.
evidence of changes in lifestyle, including loss of employment; disability; serious illness; imprisonment; relationship breakdown; death of a partner; starting a lower paid job; parental/carer leave; and starting full-time education;
b.
evidence of the following events:
i.
items repeatedly being returned unpaid due to lack of available funds;
ii.
failing to make loan repayments or other commitments;
iii.
discontinuation of regular credits;
iv.
notification of some form of insolvency or court proceedings;
v.
regular requests for increased borrowing or repeated rescheduling of debts;
vi.
making frequent cash withdrawals on a credit card at a non-promotional rate of interest; and
vii.
repeatedly exceeding a credit card or overdraft limit without agreement (and, in this regard, where a complainant has incurred over £500 in unauthorised overdraft charges in the previous 12 months, that is to be treated as indicative of financial difficulty)."

There is nothing in the waiver about benefits and have highlighted above about students. The way banks are looking at it are in terms of priority debt arrears. Furthermore, with income and expenditure they are looking at the whole income and whether there is room for manoevre even before looking at any offer for financial hardship. I hope that clarifies what Financial Hardship claims are about(from the way people are getting responses on here together with the FSA Waiver on Bank Charges that I have quoted).

Stanai

I just applied for my charges of £550 from HSBC, they wrote to me saying I would have to wait until the decision from the court case. I told them the FSA exempts me from waiting until they're court case is decided, as the charges put me in financial hardship. The HSBC employee ran through an in-goings/out-goings form with me on the telephone and told me they don't consider me to be in financial hardship. She said they're court case should be decided in June 2009 and if they lose the case everybody will get they're bank charges back. So I have to wait until June to see if I get my £550.

Stanai

I also was charged a further £150 bank charges on may 06th and it took my account overdrawn, then a cheque for £25 that I wrote out before the charges, took it further overdrawn aswell as the hsbc plus fee of £12.95 per month leaving me £190 overdrawn. They have charged me another £25 for the cheque which charges are due to come out on june 6th. The main thing is my income support payment of £250 went in on monday and was totally swallowed up by the overdraft leaving me a measly £50 with living expenses needing to be be paid. I have to wait 2 weeks until I next get paid now and it has been a fortnight since I last got paid, leaving me waiting for a whole month. I emailed HSBC asking them to refund the £150 charges as they would be leaving me in severe financial hardship for 2 weeks and if they didn't I would close the account and go with another bank and they replied with a no and they said that their bank charges are fair and they can't refund them as they gave me a refund on april 09th. I'll probably wait for it to blow over and still bank with them but for all they know there decision was to lose a customer rather than refund a bank charge. Anyway I might stand a chance to claim all my charges back if the court case which is due to be decided in June 2009 goes the customers way.

tjdjer

Karl_Chapman wrote: »

I also was charged a further £150 bank charges on may 06th and it took my account overdrawn, then a cheque for £25 that I wrote out before the charges, took it further overdrawn aswell as the hsbc plus fee of £12.95 per month leaving me £190 overdrawn. They have charged me another £25 for the cheque which charges are due to come out on june 6th. The main thing is my income support payment of £250 went in on monday and was totally swallowed up by the overdraft leaving me a measly £50 with living expenses needing to be be paid. I have to wait 2 weeks until I next get paid now and it has been a fortnight since I last got paid, leaving me waiting for a whole month. I emailed HSBC asking them to refund the £150 charges as they would be leaving me in severe financial hardship for 2 weeks and if they didn't I would close the account and go with another bank and they replied with a no and they said that their bank charges are fair and they can't refund them as they gave me a refund on april 09th. I'll probably wait for it to blow over and still bank with them but for all they know there decision was to lose a customer rather than refund a bank charge. Anyway I might stand a chance to claim all my charges back if the court case which is due to be decided in June 2009 goes the customers way.

From my impression, the case in June will in no way provide an outcome and the banks will only appeal! It's a lost cause really, to be honest I am regretting even starting this, MSE has made sweeping statements on their site which have left me believing one thing and gave the impression I could claim the charges back, unfortunately I really doubt I will get anything back. Waste of time really!

HA! I go to re-read the hardship line and what do I see, it's been completely re-worded, how convienient!

Hailz86

Karl_Chapman wrote: »

I also was charged a further £150 bank charges on may 06th and it took my account overdrawn, then a cheque for £25 that I wrote out before the charges, took it further overdrawn aswell as the hsbc plus fee of £12.95 per month leaving me £190 overdrawn. They have charged me another £25 for the cheque which charges are due to come out on june 6th. The main thing is my income support payment of £250 went in on monday and was totally swallowed up by the overdraft leaving me a measly £50 with living expenses needing to be be paid. I have to wait 2 weeks until I next get paid now and it has been a fortnight since I last got paid, leaving me waiting for a whole month. I emailed HSBC asking them to refund the £150 charges as they would be leaving me in severe financial hardship for 2 weeks and if they didn't I would close the account and go with another bank and they replied with a no and they said that their bank charges are fair and they can't refund them as they gave me a refund on april 09th. I'll probably wait for it to blow over and still bank with them but for all they know there decision was to lose a customer rather than refund a bank charge. Anyway I might stand a chance to claim all my charges back if the court case which is due to be decided in June 2009 goes the customers way.

Being in reciept of benefits as your only means of income should be enough to prove your financial hardship x