help with closure of bank account

susannah1984

I opened a new bank account with HSBC and transferred all my money from my First Direct account to the HSBC . First Direct told me that my account had closed as I requested and thank you for being a good customer etc etc. A few days later I got a call from First Direct stating they couldn’t close the account as a payment I had spent the other day had come out. I paid the small amount and once again the they guaranteed they would now close the account and it would be sent to the department who dealt with this. A month later I rcvd a statement from FD saying I was £85 in the red as a direct debit payment to my credit card provider had come out of it. I called them and asked what was happening as the account was closed and they said it hadn’t been closed as it had never been sent to the department which close accounts. so I said I would make a payment to clear the overdraft as credit card took payment but I thought about it and thought why should I pay £85 to them as if they had closed the account on the two occasions they said they had, instead of receiving a payment of £85, I would have just rcvd a missed payment fee of £12 from the credit card people. I’m soooooo angry at my FD bank. They have sent me numerous threatening letters and have now demanded a final payment or they will send bailiffs round or get solicitors involved and report this problem on my credit file. They have not admitted at anytime that they should have closed the account and I need advice of what to do as im not going to pay them. HELP

natweststaffmember

Was your credit card paid in the end and did they waiver any charges that were made?
I think you need to go through the complaints procedures of the bank in a chronological order. Tell them that all you want is the account shut down completely and cleared since it was a bank error as to why it wasn;t done already. Furthermore, ask them for a final response if they are unwilling to do this. Send the letter recorded delivery and if any debt collectors call you tell them that the debt is in dispute and you are dealing with First Direct and no one else. If they threaten you then ask them for their full name and their companies name so you can check if they are actually authorised properly.

susannah1984

Yes the credit card got paid. I have already gone down the complaint route and it didnt get me anywhere, they just said, in so many words, they werent at fault and that i was and i need to pay them the £85. I also went to the FOS but they said they couldnt deal with it as it wasnt a big enough case for them.

natweststaffmember

susannah1984 wrote: »

Yes the credit card got paid. I have already gone down the complaint route and it didnt get me anywhere, they just said, in so many words, they werent at fault and that i was and i need to pay them the £85. I also went to the FOS but they said they couldnt deal with it as it wasnt a big enough case for them.

When it was guaranteed that it would be closed was this done in person or was it done over the phone? (I think we might just be able to have some fun with them on this one )

susannah1984

it was done over the phone, and as they record all of their calls, i told them to listen to it, they replied saying that again, they were right, i was wrong and to pay the money.

natweststaffmember

susannah1984 wrote: »

it was done over the phone, and as they record all of their calls, i told them to listen to it, they replied saying that again, they were right, i was wrong and to pay the money.

Ask them for a copy of the call or a transcript of the call.