A new start for Mooloo

Savvy_sewing

Twin2 has relented and let me look at her bank account on line She is £263 over drawn. Living on benefits, the only thing that seems to be going out are topups on her phone. The rest of her money is bankcharges. £35 a time for a £2 withdrawal!. She has amassed, and lost £301 alone in charges this month!!! I was not goingto interfere, but this is rediculous. I cant standby and see a bank steal money from a person who doesnt understand things. She needs help. NOW.
I am going to have to go and see the bank with her, and see what we can do to sort this all out.!. Reclaiming is going to be urgent, but we need to stop her money going in to that bank account NOW.
i AM GOING TO GO AND SEE WHO I CAN GET TO DEAL WITH THIS.
today. I am in tears here, no wonder she never has any money.

MiniLaura

Hi

Earlier this year it was said that although bank reclaiming still on hold, if somoene is in dire financial straits then they can reclaim charges immediately - or soimething to that effect - should be more info in Martins article but agree that Twin2 would definately qualify - let us know how you get on and Ill try dig out the letters and info if its any help?

~Chameleon~

Who does she bank with?

HSBC and Lloyds are notoriously difficult to get charges reclaimed under hardship. They will often try to get you to complete an expenditure list over the phone which doesn't give you chance to check you've included everything essential then turn you down on the basis of that. Always request a paper form to be sent out to you which you can then fill in and return. The people on the debt board can help with what is classed as essential

lolababy

Hi Im sure there is a law that prevents banks from taking someones benefits for bank charges. It would be worthwhile looking into this.
The two Acts of Parliament that govern how benefits are paid are the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and the Tax Credit's Act 2002. Both of these have clauses which apparently make it unlawful for banks to impose bank charges on benefits:

Social Security Administration Act 1992 Section 187: Quote:
187.—(1) Subject to the provision of this Act, every assignment of or charge on–
(a) benefit as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
[3(aa) a jobseeker’s allowance;]
(b) any income-related benefit; or
(c) child benefit,
and every agreement to assign or charge such benefit shall be void;
Tax Credits Act 2002 Section 45: Quote:
45. Inalienability
(1) Every assignment of or charge on a tax credit, and every agreement to assign or charge a tax credit, is void;
HOWEVER by 'charges' they DO NOT MEAN BANK CHARGES. What is meant is things like attachment of earnings, which is a court order allowing a creditor to take money from income at source (like income tax).

Although there is some ambiguity, if you took a case to reclaim bank charges to court based on s187 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 or s45 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 the court would almost certainly find against you.

No one is saying that the banks have the right to take money from benefits, only that you can't use the Social Security Administration Act 1992 or the Tax Credits Act 2002 to stop them. Money taken from benefits is unlawful - but unlawful by virtue of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 (although this is still the subject of litigation in the High Court), not under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 or Tax Credits Act 2002 (unfortunately).

What you should do if your bank is taking your benefits in charges

Unfortunately, if you are on benefits (or even on a low income), once you get into the cycle of bank charges it is difficult to get out. A lot of people find that a large proprtion of their benefit is taken by the bank as soon as it is paid in every week or every fortnight.

You need to put things in place so that at least you stop this happening.

This is what you need to do:

1. Open a basic account at a differrent bank or at the Post Office and arrange for your benefits to be paid there instead of your existing account. This will at least mean you have access to all your benefits from that point onwards.

2. Start a claim for the repayment of bank charges in the 'normal' way. You will not get the charges repaid until after the end of the current High Court case but you need to get your claim regitered as soon as possible.

What to do if your bank takes you to court

If you bank takes you to court because you are not paying back an overdraft and there are significant bank charges in what you 'owe' then you should countercalim for the charges as part of your defence. Curent experience is that you can get that part of the bank's claim stayed until the end of the OFT case. Start your own thread in your bank's forum and CAG users will help you through.

Bank Charges You should have started your claim for your bank charges by now.
Don't wait.
You should send your bank a Subject Acess Request asking for all personal data they hold on you - not just statements.
You should calculate all of your bank charges

Savvy_sewing

What a day. I am exhausted!.
I picked twin2 up, and then we went to see a bank advisor. She looked into the account, and has written to Headoffice to ask for the next £212 charges due to not be put onto the account. She has then pointed out that Twin2 is on benefits, and that the charges are exceeding her funds.
Next she suggested that we open an instant savers account that only has a cashcard. We are waiting to see if they have agreed this.
Meanwhile I now have twin2's bank card so neither her or her partner can take anymore money out!.
After that its contact the various departments of the gov and getting them to pay the money into a giro till she can get her new account up and running.
Meanwhile we are going to also ask the bank to justify the charges, and the type of account they "sold" her. So its started, and I will follow the templates here to get on to them from that angle too.
Thanks for the very important information.

On another note, I had a quick look at some cars on the way back. Found a small Ford Ka that I like, and Dad is going to go and take a look at it with me. If the test drive tomorrow is sorted we can have the car by Saturday!. Bye bye Big VW sharan!. (No more donkey work for everyone else!) and no mre hugh fuel bills on the horizon.

I managed to buy a 12" Zip on the market, at 90p so thats not bad. I can now finish the bag with the dalmations. (If I get the time and energy).

Tomorrow is a busy day, as I have to clear out the car, go test drive the KA, take twin2 and her BF andBBJ to the hospital for the 2nd Scan. And then take her to get a crisis loan (If they will give her one).
Then I will hopefully get Friday to rest!.
I am struggling with the pain at the moment. Heating up some dinner in the boil in the bag as I really cannot be bothered to do anything from scratch tonight.
Its cold, wet and windy, and I wish I could have a roaring fire, but alas its the duvet in front of the tV. (I can only get BBC1 and chanel 4 at the moment) the digital signal is dissmal.
I may even have a glass of wine, just because I can, and relax as much as I can so that tomorrow I am fit enough to gad about.
My limp is just too pronounced now.! And dont mention my left arm!! Dont go there or i might just start crying again.
At least I have started the ball rolling for twin2. (Ps. The bank charges since Jan is £1,000!!!!!)

minimoneysaver

Trying to remember back to the days when I worked for Lloyds. I'm sure that there is some law that prevents the mentally ill from being overdrawn. I just wish I could remember the act that it was in. There must be someone on these boards who is more up to date than me, but it sounds unlawful. Good luck. It would be fantastic if she could have the whole lot back!

Errata

If I remember correctly, the twins have a degree of learning disability. Perhaps it can be argued that Twin2 doesn't have contractural capacity ?

The law states that to have a bank account a person
must have contractual capacity. That means they
must be able to understand the nature of the
contract they are entering into and what might
happen if that contract is not followed. They must
also be able to give their informed consent to any
transactions or to give permission for someone else
to act on their behalf.

Js_Other_Half

I drove a rental Ford KA a few years ago, it was fab Mind you I almost ended up losing control going round a corner as it was so nippy.

Savvy_sewing

Js_Other_Half wrote: »

I drove a rental Ford KA a few years ago, it was fab Mind you I almost ended up losing control going round a corner as it was so nippy.

A young lad said the brakes are not that good! But I would say that at 19 he probaby is a C**p driver, who doesnt have a full license! Anyway I have a few choices, as they also have a fiat punto and an older Vauxhall Astra that is automatic. I am torn between getting a newer little car or a slightl older one that may be better for my arm? Perhaps I will test drive both.
Tonight after twodays of lots of driving the automatic is in favour, but if I have the smaller car, I will not be running around after the family so easily.

I am so tired and sore tonight. Even typing is a struggle. Perhaps I will have to learn to type with one hand, and stop touch typing. (My keyboard is also not responding and so I am having to keep retyping, which is not helping.).

This week has been hectic and its only Wednesday!!!:rolleyes:

Js_Other_Half

Mooloo wrote: »

I am so tired and sore tonight. Even typing is a struggle. Perhaps I will have to learn to type with one hand, and stop touch typing. (My keyboard is also not responding and so I am having to keep retyping, which is not helping.).

This week has been hectic and its only Wednesday!!!:rolleyes:

Voice activated software might be worth considering in the future - Martin Lewis uses it...:money:

I found this on google: http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/content/factsheets/pdfs/Dyslexia%20and%20Voice%20Recognition%20Software.pdf

http://shop.nuance.co.uk/DRHM/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayProductDetailsPage&SiteID=nuanceeu&Locale=en_GB&productID=109252300