Halifax Hell

barcelonabombshell

Ok, so I missed a payment last month with Halifax. I rang them up and told them that things were really tight and I was struggling to make ends meet blah blah blah. Now, I expected the charges etc, but I did not expect them to hound me EVERY SINGLE DAY. Now I've paid what I believe to be 2 monthly installments-missed payment come up as ' new transaction'- but they are still calling me up, like today BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY!! When I spoke to the officious person at the other end of the phone he told me I was still over my limit and I needed to pay more money even though I had not used the card. I've had this prob with Egg as well. Two weeks before your monthly statement the interest is added onto your account and if you are close to your limit it puts you over your limit and then they keep CALLING AND CALLING until you pay off the interest that sent you over the limit only to pay it AGAIN when your monthly payment is due!!!!! Has anyone out the had the same experience or any advice as I'm rather close to losing my sanity.

opinions4u

My best advice to avoid this ever happening again is:

1) Always remain well within your credit limit

2) Always make payments when due

You are a high risk customer and they want to make absolutely sure you don't end up defaulting on your commitments.

vet8

Next time they phone tell them they are harrassing you which is against the law. Otherwise do not answer the phone, have you got an answerphone you could put on?

Write to them officially saying they are harrassing you and you will take action against them. I know you are over your limit, which is bad, but I do not think that gives them any right to phone you constantly. Personally, I always refuse to give my phone number to CC firms and banks.

LeeSouthEast

As it stands sounds like you're in breach of your agreement with them, so the quickest way to get them off your back is to (by any means possible), get back under your credit limit and make sure you stay there. How much are you over by? Is it an amount you can scrounge off a friend or family member?

Viper_7

Calling every day asking for money that has been taken but not given back isn't harassment. It was banks not chasing up people and allowing them to get more and more into debt that has caused so many issues.
Don't spend what you havn't got.

barcelonabombshell

Yes, I'm fully aware of my 'commitments' but does that give them the right to hound me day and night and squeeze extra interest ie paying my monthly interest TWICE?

dizzybuff

Under the telecommunications act , dependant on what is said on the phone , if the persistant phone calls cause harrassment , alarm or distress , they can be classed under this act ..

Persistant calls may cause distress , however i am doubtful any police force would record it as so.

vet8

Viper_7 wrote: »

Calling every day asking for money that has been taken but not given back isn't harassment. It was banks not chasing up people and allowing them to get more and more into debt that has caused so many issues.
Don't spend what you havn't got.

That is sound advice, but unfortunately too late for the OP now. He is in trouble and he needs help with what to do now, not some pious advice about how to spend only what he has, even if that is good advice.

I think calling someone every day is harrassment, I would be furious if it happened to me. And what is the point of it? He has told them he has not got the money, do they really think he will suddenly inherit loads of cash overnight. This is harrassment for the sake of it.

opinions4u

barcelonabombshell wrote: »

Yes, I'm fully aware of my 'commitments' but does that give them the right to hound me day and night and squeeze extra interest ie paying my monthly interest TWICE?

Although you say you are fully aware of your commitments, you chose to spend money that wasn't yours, exceeding a line of credit that was previously agreed to.

Your started off your posting here with "Ok, so I missed a payment last month with Halifax" which might as well have said "this isn't important at all".

You will not be paying interest twice on the same amount. Interest will be accruing daily. They are trying to stop you exceeding your credit limit again which is what will inevitably happen if you don't cover the new interest charges. Saving you from repeated £12 fees.

Now, you say they are harassing you day and night. Please list the dates and times that they have rung you. Keep a log. Feel free to post here on your thread exactly what is happening. Then you have a record and you can also get advice from people who know the legal position.

When they have called you, have you told them when you will next make a payment?

You really need to get a grip on this situation. Don't bury your head in the sand thinking that they shouldn't be telling you that there's a problem. There's a big problem.

Make the necessary payments as soon as you can. Make sure they know exactly when this will be. Get your debt under control, stop spending on the credit card.

You have already partially damaged your credit record. Failing to deal with the problem will blow a massive hole in your credit history that could blight your life for years to come.

One of the best things you could do now is to move over to the Debt-free Wannabe board and get some support in finding out the practical ways to deal your debts and hopefully to start reducing them. Good luck.

never-in-doubt

vet8 wrote: »

Next time they phone tell them they are harrassing you which is against the law. Otherwise do not answer the phone, have you got an answerphone you could put on?

Write to them officially saying they are harrassing you and you will take action against them. I know you are over your limit, which is bad, but I do not think that gives them any right to phone you constantly. Personally, I always refuse to give my phone number to CC firms and banks.

Quite true vet8 :T,

@ OP - have a read of this thread for advice to stop the harassment: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1837507

never-in-doubt

Viper_7 wrote: »

Calling every day asking for money that has been taken but not given back isn't harassment. It was banks not chasing up people and allowing them to get more and more into debt that has caused so many issues.
Don't spend what you havn't got.

Actually it is harassment. Read here for the proof: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1837507

It wasn't banks not chasing people at all - maybe you need to learn the facts before posting personal comments with no relevance.

I am not going to sit here are dictate the rights and wrongs of what the bank is doing, simply read for yourself and who knows - you may learn something: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1837507

As for spending what they 'do not have' - have you considered that peoples fortunes and/or personal circumstances can and do change? For instance redundancy.... do you for a minute think that the Woolworths staff that had mortgages etc thought their jobs were unsafe? Get real will you - please! :rolleyes: