hbos, hardship and me, advice would be good

chicaloca

hi everyone

ive just finished being a student and have no income coming in and waiting to find out if im entitled to any benefits at the job centre.

just back from a camping holiday (the first proper hol in 3 yrs) with my boyfriend on monday. waiting for me were 4 letters about bank charges and a further one arrived the next day. i was totally horrified, its my own fault and should have checked my account more often but i really dont think i deserve all those charges (then again noone does).

i went into the halifax and explained my situation about lack of job. they managed to waive 3 x £35 charges that happened on the same day. however this still means i have around £140 in charges. i phoned customer relations who were anything but helpful.

ive been back into the branch and explained my situation again. the woman was nice and she phoned up somewhere and she has got them to escalate my query. she said someone will look at my circumstances and they have til the first week in september to write to me and tell me what the outcome is.

ive been reading about the hardship claims. does anyone think its worth me filling out the form anyway and sending it into the bank? if so where do i send it to, my local branch or head office? any help would be appreciated, im about £200 in the red, ive never been in debt before to the banks and its bothering me

thanks

natweststaffmember

Personally I think that you are unlikely to be successful on the financial hardship element if you do not have priority debt arrears(mortgage/rent, council tax, utilities). 3 charges refunded is pretty good to be honest but I would be surprised if they increased that. Can I ask what degree you did?(there is a method in my madness)

chicaloca

thanks for the reply, yeah i appreciated them doing that and like i said i know its my own fault i just think that as ive never got into debt before with the bank, i think the charges are pretty harsh and still not sure how ill be able to pay them with no income at all

my undergrad degree is in german n spanish, just finished a postgrad in web design

natweststaffmember

chicaloca wrote: »

thanks for the reply, yeah i appreciated them doing that and like i said i know its my own fault i just think that as ive never got into debt before with the bank, i think the charges are pretty harsh and still not sure how ill be able to pay them with no income at all

my undergrad degree is in german n spanish, just finished a postgrad in web design

Maravillosa, estudiaba espanol para 4 anos y uno de ellos estaba en la universidad autonoma de Madrid. Cambio de idoma.(I am assuming I don't have to translate but my spanish is getting a little rusty )
They might increase the amount of the refund based on that postgrad cos your earning potential may be higher and therefore more value to them.

chicaloca

hehe i understood perfecto

thanks i never thought of that to be honest. i think i will send in that hardship letter just so i can explain my situation in my own words instead of relying on what the lady at the bank has said to her colleages as i dint think i mentioned id just finished a postgrad.

do you think i should send it in to my local branch and also head office?

thanks for your help

natweststaffmember

chicaloca wrote: »

hehe i understood perfecto

thanks i never thought of that to be honest. i think i will send in that hardship letter just so i can explain my situation in my own words instead of relying on what the lady at the bank has said to her colleages as i dint think i mentioned id just finished a postgrad.

do you think i should send it in to my local branch and also head office?

thanks for your help

Head office definitely...