Fireworks at my BANK!

MrScabby

Hello all,

I am having to deal with my Bank again over overdraft fees and to be honest I'm finding it difficult this time due to medication.

Can I list what has happened here and get advice as I go along (without personal details obviously). This is the case so far,

My Bank and I have an adversary relationship. This started when I re-claimed my £30 bank charges. Each end of month I have to watch with eagle eye over my account because if I make one mistake they jump and place a charge on the account.

For example, One day I was in the Bank and I was worried as I had gone over the limit by a few pence and I had raced down there to pay in a few quid to cover it. The lady on the counter told me it did'nt mater as they use a £10 buffer zone so people do not have this happen. So when the next time I was in the same position I thought, "ok no worry she said it's ok", horror when the statement came in as they changed their rules and stung me with another £30. I successfully argued that this was unfair.

On this occassion my Son (10) wanted me to renue his 'Club Penguin membership" £3.99. I told him to wait as it was the end of the month and I never know what trick the Bank is going to come up with. Kids are Kids and he kept on so I changed my mind and said to him lets go up there and pay in £5 then come back and pay it via Paypal. So this is what we did,

When the statement came in they had done me again, in between me paying in £5 and Paying out £3.99 to Club Penguin they applied a small amount of interest, took my £5 and then my payment came through behind it and pushed me overdrawn.

This little episode has now bubbled into a £45 charge,

I am furious, this is my Road Tax money (disabled and in reciept of DLA)

I went up to the Bank yesturday to voice my opinion on this illegal charges and to point out that OFCOM has told the Banks to process claims in cases of Hardship (ie in reciept of means tested Benefit)

She didn't want to know any of it. I tried to tell her about the rules and she didn't even know herself. I gave her the first letter and signed it. She tried to threaten me with closing my account, to which I replied , "you can I do not care" She accused me of shouting, I wasn't, in the end she told me to leave and not come back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm now barred from the Bank for telling the truth!!!!!

How to I conduct things now,

I have delivered the first letter, I want to write a stinging letter to the Banks headquarters but I don't know how effective this will be.

I'm angry because I didn't shout, swear or in anyway unreasonable but this Manager knew nothing about her job or the current Laws of the Land.

These people operate like loan sharks,

(if this duplicates please delete one, thanks)

Gorgeous_George

Look, I sympathise to some extent but why do people (try to) run their bank accounts to the last penny.

I know money is tight but it doesn't take much to leave £10 (even £50 or £100) credit in your account at all times. Think of it as a refundable insurance premium that will pay for itself time and time again.

Take charge of your finances. They are the bank and the bank sets the rules. If you don't like the rules, change your bank but remember, the grass will probably be equally green.

GG

Crisp_£_note

I can understand how you feel especially as you are surviving on benefits but to be honest maybe this should be a lesson and you should use it to explain to your 10 year old son about money and using it wisely. Im not suggesting for one minute this is either your sons or your fault or either of you are 'not careful or wise to money' so dont get me wrong here please, I am just observing what you have vented and think now might be a good oportunity for you to put things into perspective. Next time your son goes on and on about £3.99 and you tell him to wait make him wait! I know kids are kids and they can be very persuasive (weve all been there ) but a lesson in patience might have prevented all this latest trouble. Also next time you get told something different from a cashier at the bank dont relax your ideas and think 'what the heck it must be right once wont hurt' after all thats now switching the argument in your favour just because you need it that once isnt it? And its lapses just like that that cause charges and debts!

As for the woman in the bank barring you I would just ignore it you have a right to bank there else move your account elsewhere. Unless of course you have written request you are not permitted by law to enter the bank I would just ignore it, them losing 1 customer is hardly going to cause uproar is it? Perhaps you could do your banking online or over the phone infuture and set up a small savings account as previously suggested so you can transfer a little 'buffer zone' when things are looking tight.

Im not accusing anyone of anything just saying what I see so please dont all shoot me down.

Best of luck anyway and keep us updated were all here and happy to help.

:beer:

MrScabby

First off, I have to watch all money closely, I have been on benefits for 13 years and still have a good credit rating. Trust me that deserves a medal in it's self!

As for managing my account, only a person who's worked for so many years they have forgotten what life is like on benefits.

Since I moved in here I have lost 3 stone in weight, I regularly forgo food, I have no phone, no luxuries, no holidays nothing! I would say I run my account with expert skill,

The reason I have asked if I can post here is I have a compression injury in my back and rely on painkillers to manage the pain, these make me a little cloth headed so I need a sort of reporitory or diary to refer back to, This would be a whole lot better if someone was watching over me in case I make a mistake as I have claimed bank charges before, but not as Hardship because I was leaving this card up my sleeve till I needed it, which it now.

As for the idea of leaving a £10 in my account, you try that when you have no bread, milk, tv, petrol, and now ROAD TAX!

She was dismissive, arrogant and knew nothing about the current laws for which her company is breaking and she is in charge of the account that I trust her to handle. When confronted with questions she retorts back with threats of closure of my account, and when I said do it she told me to go and not come back.

THESE PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS TO MY MONEY?

Gorgeous_George

I'm sorry you did not like my advice and/or found it unhelpful.

I suspect that your attitude may be the problem and maybe you should work at your communication skills. Getting the answers you want can sometimes be achieved by improving the way you ask the question. Remember, it is you that wants the other person to do something. Shouting or talking with lots of exclamation marks will not improve your chances.

If you don't like my post, please ignore and a cuddly person will be along shortly.

GG

Crisp_£_note

MrScabby wrote: »

First off, I have to watch all money closely, I have been on benefits for 13 years and still have a good credit rating. Trust me that deserves a medal in it's self!

As for managing my account, only a person who's worked for so many years they have forgotten what life is like on benefits.

Since I moved in here I have lost 3 stone in weight, I regularly forgo food, I have no phone, no luxuries, no holidays nothing! I would say I run my account with expert skill,

The reason I have asked if I can post here is I have a compression injury in my back and rely on painkillers to manage the pain, these make me a little cloth headed so I need a sort of reporitory or diary to refer back to, This would be a whole lot better if someone was watching over me in case I make a mistake as I have claimed bank charges before, but not as Hardship because I was leaving this card up my sleeve till I needed it, which it now.

As for the idea of leaving a £10 in my account, you try that when you have no bread, milk, tv, petrol, and now ROAD TAX!

She was dismissive, arrogant and knew nothing about the current laws for which her company is breaking and she is in charge of the account that I trust her to handle. When confronted with questions she retorts back with threats of closure of my account, and when I said do it she told me to go and not come back.

THESE PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS TO MY MONEY?

:T Well I applaud you for your efforts.

However I m also living on benefits my husband is self employed and in these times of financial hardship for everyone earns enough to barely cover his overheads. He gives me his Working Tax Credit which I combine with my Incapacity Benefit to pay for household bills and food.

We live no life of luxury, are in rented accomodation I have a degenerative condition of the spine and other areas (Ankylosing Spondilitis) amongst 101 other medical ailments and cannot see me ever returning to work as the pain fluxtuates hour by hour. I was refused DLA even though I appealed for it.

However I can still manage to have a buffer zone (even though I am in severe debt) and pay for the occasional 'treat' for my hubby, I often go without to allow this as he is the one who goes out and works and also cares for me whilst I sit at home pondering what life would be like if we had money!

We have to make do and mend time and time again, we have to figure out how to get through a week with a loaf of bread a pint of milk and a tin of beans some eggs and a box of cereal sometimes - but we do it when we have to as it pays the bills.

If the £10 road tax was that important why didnt you explain this to your son about priorities and made him wait for his £3.99? Or asked him to sell one of his belongings to pay for his fee? Or earnt it somehow from a friend or neighbour for claning their car or something?

Again I dont mean to offend or accuse I am just expressing what I see from your comments. Like many of us though you are not the only one finding life hard at the moment.

Welcome to the board and best of luck and speedy recovery and please say hi to your son from us all! Hes a lucky lad to have a dad like you

natweststaffmember

MrScabby wrote: »

Hello all,

I am having to deal with my Bank again over overdraft fees and to be honest I'm finding it difficult this time due to medication.

Can I list what has happened here and get advice as I go along (without personal details obviously). This is the case so far,

My Bank and I have an adversary relationship. This started when I re-claimed my £30 bank charges. Each end of month I have to watch with eagle eye over my account because if I make one mistake they jump and place a charge on the account.
That sounds fairly standard.
For example, One day I was in the Bank and I was worried as I had gone over the limit by a few pence and I had raced down there to pay in a few quid to cover it. The lady on the counter told me it did'nt mater as they use a £10 buffer zone so people do not have this happen. So when the next time I was in the same position I thought, "ok no worry she said it's ok", horror when the statement came in as they changed their rules and stung me with another £30. I successfully argued that this was unfair.
OK, if it isn't written down I would not necessarily take the word of bank staff,
On this occassion my Son (10) wanted me to renue his 'Club Penguin membership" £3.99. I told him to wait as it was the end of the month and I never know what trick the Bank is going to come up with. Kids are Kids and he kept on so I changed my mind and said to him lets go up there and pay in £5 then come back and pay it via Paypal. So this is what we did,
Not sure I would have given in, but I do understand
When the statement came in they had done me again, in between me paying in £5 and Paying out £3.99 to Club Penguin they applied a small amount of interest, took my £5 and then my payment came through behind it and pushed me overdrawn.
Do you have an overdraft on your account? Was the interest part of being overdrawn the previous month? The interest charge has occurred for a reason.
This little episode has now bubbled into a £45 charge,

I am furious, this is my Road Tax money (disabled and in reciept of DLA)

I went up to the Bank yesturday to voice my opinion on this illegal charges and to point out that OFCOM has told the Banks to process claims in cases of Hardship (ie in reciept of means tested Benefit)
OK, you did get this bit confused. The Banks Waiver is from the FSA. The test case is OFT and OFCOM are not involved as that is to do with telephones.
She didn't want to know any of it. I tried to tell her about the rules and she didn't even know herself. I gave her the first letter and signed it. She tried to threaten me with closing my account, to which I replied , "you can I do not care" She accused me of shouting, I wasn't, in the end she told me to leave and not come back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Branch staff DO NOT DEAL with hardship cases. A heated debate where the conversation is going nowhere can lead you to having to tell a customer to leave the branch. You aren't banned by the way but I wouldn't get angry with branch staff.
So I'm now barred from the Bank for telling the truth!!!!!
You're not barred and they don't necessarily know the rules and I suspect you haven't yet grasped the Financial Hardship rules fully quite yet(but we can get you there)
How to I conduct things now,
Always in writing to their head office or from the address that will deal with Financial Hardship claims.
I have delivered the first letter, I want to write a stinging letter to the Banks headquarters but I don't know how effective this will be.
Wouldn't bother with stinging letters becuase you are claiming back the charges.
I'm angry because I didn't shout, swear or in anyway unreasonable but this Manager knew nothing about her job or the current Laws of the Land.
A strong tone can appear to be aggressive even without swear words.
These people operate like loan sharks,
I don't think they do since you went into their home so to speak and not the other way round.
(if this duplicates please delete one, thanks)

Ok, The bit in red above is from post 1 so I will take a look at other posts but can you confirm which letter you handed in to the bank, was it the first reclaim letter or the SAR/statement letter?

natweststaffmember

MrScabby wrote: »

First off, I have to watch all money closely, I have been on benefits for 13 years and still have a good credit rating. Trust me that deserves a medal in it's self!
Apologies but I have spotted this post and is indicative of the fact that I am not sure you will get anything back under financial hardship rules UNLESS you have priority debt arrears(mortgage/rent, council tax, utilities).
As for managing my account, only a person who's worked for so many years they have forgotten what life is like on benefits.

Since I moved in here I have lost 3 stone in weight, I regularly forgo food, I have no phone, no luxuries, no holidays nothing! I would say I run my account with expert skill,

The reason I have asked if I can post here is I have a compression injury in my back and rely on painkillers to manage the pain, these make me a little cloth headed so I need a sort of reporitory or diary to refer back to, This would be a whole lot better if someone was watching over me in case I make a mistake as I have claimed bank charges before, but not as Hardship because I was leaving this card up my sleeve till I needed it, which it now.
You will get advice on here and it is in all shapes and sizes.
As for the idea of leaving a £10 in my account, you try that when you have no bread, milk, tv, petrol, and now ROAD TAX!

She was dismissive, arrogant and knew nothing about the current laws for which her company is breaking and she is in charge of the account that I trust her to handle. When confronted with questions she retorts back with threats of closure of my account, and when I said do it she told me to go and not come back.
OK, she was following her banks' rules as she was taught. The current laws are that bank charges are fair since the OFT test case has no been resolved. The FSA Waiver on bank charges is not a law but a regulatory tool so cannot be relied on in court. The bank can close an account if it is in debt. I think being aggressive towards staff is one way in which you will get staff to ask you to leave, even if you felt that you weren't.
THESE PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS TO MY MONEY?

You can open an account with another bank unrelated to that one, commonly referred to as a "parachute" account ie an account which you move all your credits and debits to. I do think that the bank perhaps could have looked at why the charge was incurred in the first place, ie where the debit interest was from.

natweststaffmember

I think if the username is McShabby then I think you may have been caught out on the debit interest thing from last year hitting accounts now(with Abbey). I have got something on that if it was that. Were you overdrawn in November 2008? or is that when the charge was taken out originally ie the first charge and not the recent one?

bengal-stripe

MrScabby wrote: »

I'm finding it difficult this time due to medication.....

I am furious,.....to voice my opinion....and to point out......I tried to tell her about the rules and she didn't even know herself....I want to write a stinging letter to the Banks headquarters......but this Manager knew nothing about her job or the current Laws of the Land

It might not be your intention and for all I know, it might be due to your medication, but on this forum you come over as extremely aggressive.

Do not tell anyone how they ought to do their job, that is aggressive!

MrScabby wrote: »

How to I conduct things now,

Do not blow your lid! Gently, gently does it!!!

TighterThanTwoCoatsOfPain

This is just an idle general observation not directed specifically at the OP, but the growing number of people in general who come on here claiming they live hand to mouth and that £3.99 (or a tenner or whatever) is enough to tip them over the limit and already live without luxurys....

Do they receive free internet? I personally consider that a luxury to which noone is entitled, much in the same way as those who drink, smoke and have Sky then complain that they are down to the last penny and get hit with a charge.

Like I say OP, not directed specifically at you, more a general observation which this post reminded me of.