Financial hardship complication

truth57

Hi there. First of all thank you Martin for this wonderful service to the online community and to all of you for accepting me on this forum. This is a complicated situation, but I will do my best to simplify and get to the point. I had no idea that it was illegal for banks to make these charges, and in fact I have had to pay a considerable amount in such charges, and subsequently had to close several accounts in the UK. The Halifax España bank is also charging me every time I cannot cover a bill payment by direct debit.

1. I am not currently resident in the UK, but I still have the use of my UK Halifax credit card and bank accounts, as well as an offshore account with BOS International. I was lucky enough to come into part of an inheritance (the capital being presently in trust to the receiver and not accessible to me), just before moving to Spain. I purchased a small property and a car, and the rest was invested on my behalf, in order to provide me with an income. But in fact it only provides me with around 200 pounds per month, and I have no other income (incidentally this is considered to be way below the breadline even here in Spain, yet I receive no assistance whatsoever from the state because I have never been well enough to work here). I am at the point where I am seriously considering letting out my property and trying to find a cheap flat to rent for in order to gain a little more income. I am also a musician, but sadly I am having to sell off my equipment just to make ends meet.

2. I am in a pretty dire conditional financially, but I am not eligible for any benefits from the UK (because I was unable to return to the UK every 3 months and have never been back in fact), although I had been receiving Incapacity Benefit, when I received the partial inheritance I left the UK on surgeon's advice and came to live in Spain in December of 2000. Hospital bills have exhausted my finances, such that I am now having to use my credit card to pay bills, and am unable to repay, although the current debt is not high, and this year I have not been able to continue to insure my property, and I can no longer afford the maintenance for my vehicle. Spanish Hacienda placed an embargo on my accounts because I was unable to pay for past hospital treatment as at the time I was not eligible for a Spanish Health Card. (Thank God, I do actually have one now, as a friend helped me find a loophole in the system, but that took all this time).

3. The banks continue to charge me for unauthorized transactions, both in the UK and in Spain, usually bill payments that bounce.

4. The little money I have left is in an offshore account and is literally not accruing any interest, because it is an Instant Savings account, and the capital has now dropped far below the threshold for the interest - but at least the capital is not diminishing. This is my emergency fund, and I am doing all in my power to not touch it. Again we are talking about a relatively small sum, and it could easily be frittered away very quickly.

So, to recapitulate: I need advice regarding how to go about making such a claim whilst being resident outside of the UK. And I need advice regarding how to go about shifting my offshore investment into an account that would provide me with a better return, such as an ISA. I have an ISA account, but not being resident in the UK I have been informed that I cannot make any payments into it, and this too is almost empty now.

I appreciate any advice or assistance anyone is able to offer. Thank you in advance.

David

natweststaffmember

truth57 wrote: »

Hi there. First of all thank you Martin for this wonderful service to the online community and to all of you for accepting me on this forum. This is a complicated situation, but I will do my best to simplify and get to the point. I had no idea that it was illegal for banks to make these charges, and in fact I have had to pay a considerable amount in such charges, and subsequently had to close several accounts in the UK. The Halifax España bank is also charging me every time I cannot cover a bill payment by direct debit.
Charges would be unlawful and not illegal(minor point but important to know)

1. I am not currently resident in the UK, but I still have the use of my UK Halifax credit card and bank accounts, as well as an offshore account with BOS International. I was lucky enough to come into part of an inheritance (the capital being presently in trust to the receiver and not accessible to me), just before moving to Spain. I purchased a small property and a car, and the rest was invested on my behalf, in order to provide me with an income. But in fact it only provides me with around 200 pounds per month, and I have no other income (incidentally this is considered to be way below the breadline even here in Spain, yet I receive no assistance whatsoever from the state because I have never been well enough to work here). I am at the point where I am seriously considering letting out my property and trying to find a cheap flat to rent for in order to gain a little more income. I am also a musician, but sadly I am having to sell off my equipment just to make ends meet.

2. I am in a pretty dire conditional financially, but I am not eligible for any benefits from the UK (because I was unable to return to the UK every 3 months and have never been back in fact), although I had been receiving Incapacity Benefit, when I received the partial inheritance I left the UK on surgeon's advice and came to live in Spain in December of 2000. Hospital bills have exhausted my finances, such that I am now having to use my credit card to pay bills, and am unable to repay, although the current debt is not high, and this year I have not been able to continue to insure my property, and I can no longer afford the maintenance for my vehicle. Spanish Hacienda placed an embargo on my accounts because I was unable to pay for past hospital treatment as at the time I was not eligible for a Spanish Health Card. (Thank God, I do actually have one now, as a friend helped me find a loophole in the system, but that took all this time).

3. The banks continue to charge me for unauthorized transactions, both in the UK and in Spain, usually bill payments that bounce.

4. The little money I have left is in an offshore account and is literally not accruing any interest, because it is an Instant Savings account, and the capital has now dropped far below the threshold for the interest - but at least the capital is not diminishing. This is my emergency fund, and I am doing all in my power to not touch it. Again we are talking about a relatively small sum, and it could easily be frittered away very quickly.

So, to recapitulate: I need advice regarding how to go about making such a claim whilst being resident outside of the UK. And I need advice regarding how to go about shifting my offshore investment into an account that would provide me with a better return, such as an ISA. I have an ISA account, but not being resident in the UK I have been informed that I cannot make any payments into it, and this too is almost empty now.

I appreciate any advice or assistance anyone is able to offer. Thank you in advance.

David

I think you need to repost this in the ISA and/or investment part of the forum.
There is not really a case for reclaiming based on financial hardship.