Fighting on...

mandij30

Advice pls........

After sending my initial template letter off to HSBC and not getting any response, I sent the 2nd template letter. Finally they wrote to me saying' Until test case was resolved, all claims are on hold' But that if I were in financial hardship I should fill in the enclosed income expenditure and phone them to discuss it.

Well the unhelpful/ unsympathetic HSBC worker went through my finances, and said that I didn't qualify for finacial hardship as I have a disposable income left of £56 a month. She failed to see that even if that was true, the bank is then taking £125 from my account every month in charges. Leaving my account in debit by £69.

And because there is no money left in my account on the 23rd to cover these charges every month, they again in turn charge me again the next month.

I can't seem to get myself out of this ruck, after reading the info in here it suggests I continue my claim.
However I looked on the FOS website and it says:

' The Financial Ombudsman Service – and courts across the country – have put individual complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges on hold, while waiting for some important legal decisions to be made.'

Now the FOS was my next port of call, is it worth contacting them ? or wont they be able to assist me.
HSBC have already took £600 from me already since Jan 09

so my question is will FOS help me as I am financial hardship ????

natweststaffmember

Do you have priority debt arrears(mortgage/rent, council tax, utilities)?

mandij30

Yes I am in Rent arrears by over £200, however after contacting the council they have agreed on a payment plan, where I pay back £20 a month on top of my rent, until the arrears are paid off

natweststaffmember

mandij30 wrote: »

Yes I am in Rent arrears by over £200, however after contacting the council they have agreed on a payment plan, where I pay back £20 a month on top of my rent, until the arrears are paid off

Ok, where is the hardship?
Financial Hardship is being dealt with by the banks as priority debt arrears, however, at the moment, the only thing I see is arrears and the fact that you can make an additional £20 payment on top of your rent to decrease arrears. From an objective point, I was hoping you would say, that you have x amount or months of arrears on rent, utilities and threats to cut you off, etc,etc,. In my personal opinion, the FOS will not say you are entitled to anything back under financial hardship. There are a lot worser cases(and I'm not saying you're well off either).

mandij30

Thanks Natwest

However my outgoings outway my incomings

Salary / benefits: £1138
Outgoings : £1203
and thats before the bank have taken charges from account which have all been for £125 month.

I am also paying Gregory Pennington ( Debt management company) £90 a month to manage my CC and Next storecard Debt.

And before you say look at reducing outgoings, I have already cancelled BT, SKY and Health & Home insurance.
the rest of my outgoings I can't reduce anymore

natweststaffmember

mandij30 wrote: »

Thanks Natwest

However my outgoings outway my incomings

Salary / benefits: £1138
Outgoings : £1203
and thats before the bank have taken charges from account which have all been for £125 month.

I am also paying Gregory Pennington ( Debt management company) £90 a month to manage my CC and Next storecard Debt.

And before you say look at reducing outgoings, I have already cancelled BT, SKY and Health & Home insurance.
the rest of my outgoings I can't reduce anymore

Do you not see what I am getting at? You are paying by arrangement an EXTRA £20 a week that, at the moment, you can't afford to pay off arrears from Rent. They are your only priority debt arrears and as such the only indication of hardship is the charges themselves which is why I am saying that.
However, any charges on that credit card or Next storecard you could claim?
Or PPI?

mandij30

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Do you not see what I am getting at? You are paying by arrangement an EXTRA £20 a week that, at the moment, you can't afford to pay off arrears from Rent. They are your only priority debt arrears and as such the only indication of hardship is the charges themselves which is why I am saying that.
However, any charges on that credit card or Next storecard you could claim?
Or PPI?

Thanks again Natwest

I didn't know I could claim for charges from Virgin MBNA CC or next storecard, as such they have thankfully frozen interest on both, so My Debt management plan is paying them on my behalf.

What exactly could I claim from them ?? Interest back, or charges for late payments ??

Thanks for your advice Natwest

natweststaffmember

mandij30 wrote: »

Thanks again Natwest

I didn't know I could claim for charges from Virgin MBNA CC or next storecard, as such they have thankfully frozen interest on both, so My Debt management plan is paying them on my behalf.

What exactly could I claim from them ?? Interest back, or charges for late payments ??

Thanks for your advice Natwest

Late payment fees, default charges plus interest on them.
Overlimit charges plus interest on them. Not the £12 but the full amount. I think you need to request a list of the charges firstly, because if the amount is more than the amount owing then clearly it is in your interests to claim them back and reduce or even get rid of those debts.