Has your bank (esp Lloyds) ignored your hardship claim? 1 September 2009 at 7:02PM edited 2 September 2009 at 3:48PM in Reclaim Bank & Credit Card Charges 154 replies 19.1K views

MSE_Martin

[title=http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/images/dp/wtd_underline.gif] What's the issue?[/title]

Reclaiming bank charges is on hold, while the House of Lords hears a test case about the whole issue. This means banks don't have to deal with customers' reclaims. Yet if you're in finanacial hardship that doesn't apply.

While we get lots of Bank Charges Hardship successes, recently we've had a string of complaints, especially about Lloyds TSB. In a nutshell, these say the bank didn't acknowledge the hardship exemption in many cases and simply said customers would need to wait until the end of the test case.

[title=http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/images/dp/wtd_underline.gif]Please feedback your experiences[/title]

If your current account provider has ignored your bank charges claim, please email us so we can investigate and apply pressure on the banks.

If guilty, the banks would be breaking a key condition of the waiver that allows them to sit on complaints from the majority of consumers, other than those in hardship. See the Lloyds 'ignoring' hardship claims MSE News story for further details.

[title=http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/images/dp/wtd_underline.gif]How to feedback[/title]

• Direct to us (most important to help us tackle this).
  
  Most importantly, please include your full address, daytime telephone number, your complaint reference number (on any communication from your bank) and a brief outline of your story to [EMAIL="casestudy@moneysavingexpert.com"][email protected][/EMAIL].

• On the forum.
  
  As well as direct, feel free to post your experience in reply so other MoneySavers can benefit from the knowledge too. Though, of course, in that case, DO NOT include any personal details.

Martin

TheBex

First reply!

Lloyds claim they rang me to discuss my income and outgoings, but they really never did, I was at home all the time (unemployed) and never heard the phone without answering it.

I wrote to them with details over a month ago and have no received no response at all.

They were similarly bad at responding to my CC charges reclaim.

Should probably write to them again and ask what's happening... although I don't see them as being likely to respond this time either. Wonder if the use of a highlighter over the words "financial hardship" will help the letter get to the right place?

Thanks MSE team for showing me its not me, its them.

natweststaffmember

Martin, with all due respect, I am nor sure the people mentioned in your article are in financial hardship as defined by the FSA Waiver. One is on a DMP which is harder to argue on FD claims. The second I have yet to be certain in in FD.
Have you asked Lloyds for the correct address and processes that they take to deal with complainants in Financial Hardship?
I have and am awaiting a response which is not quite yet late but I do bit like a rottweiller.

esmerellda

I don't believe Lloyds are flouting the financial difficulty exemption to the waiver, however I think they are using it to the minimum possible.

Hardship doesnt mean a refund. It simply means they must look at your complaint.
Complaints should be made if hardship claimants are not acknowledged within 5 working days or if Lloyds simply refuse to look at your complaint.

The only guidance from the FSA saying a refund should be considered is in a letter to the banks on 19th March which stated

FSA__Letter_to_firms_19th_March_2009 wrote:

v. Firms to provide a range of measures to support customers, and to treat them
positively and sympathetically. These might include; help and guidance about
dealing with FD and avoiding charges; suspending collections and recoveries activity;suspending the accrual of further interest and charges; and a consideration of a refund of charges, in particular where the charges may have added to the FD during, or immediately before, the period of FD. The rationale for why a particular level of refund has been given should be documented and clearly explained to the
complainant.

But yes collect evidence and encourage genuine hardship claimants to complain to the central waivers team at the FSA ( [EMAIL="centralwaiversteam@fsa.gov.uk"][email protected][/EMAIL] ) about the situation with lloyds (send them copies of the letters) and maybe they will do something about it....possibly before the end of the test case you never know.


Bit of bad publicity for them doesn't go amiss either

PaulinWeston

Lloyds told my brother (we recorded the telephone conversation) that they had decided NOT to pay out on hardship cases until the House of Lords decision was announced. They also said that they had informed the FSA/FOS of their decision and that both had agreed with their approach!

My brother has a letter from the CCCS confirming that he meets the hardship rules and Lloyds response: "In that case, we must withdraw your overdraft facility with immediate effect!"

natweststaffmember

PaulinWeston wrote: »

Lloyds told my brother (we recorded the telephone conversation) that they had decided NOT to pay out on hardship cases until the House of Lords decision was announced. They also said that they had informed the FSA/FOS of their decision and that both had agreed with their approach!

My brother has a letter from the CCCS confirming that he meets the hardship rules and Lloyds response: "In that case, we must withdraw your overdraft facility with immediate effect!"

They are talking crap and I think you should send the FSA a transcript of the call. I emailed the FOS when they first started saying that. Their response was that it was wrong.
Email the transcript to: [email protected]
Tell them you are complaining that LloydsTSB are not dealing with claimants in financial difficulties and that should they require a copy of the original call that you have it recorded.

peed_off_3

although I dont have a case myself for bank charges, as a member of staff at lloydstsb this does not surprise me at all and I feel the need to post.
I work in telephone banking where we get a lot of calls from customers re bank charges cases however we have never had any training on how to handle these calls or been told anything about the special hardship cases. You will find staff are under such pressure for sales & to keep call time down that customers in difficulty get fobbed off as we cant sell to them. I feel the bank is using staff ignorance/lack of training to get around helping customers.
As Ive posted on here before the banks collections department is in India where the staff have no clue at all, again the bank hides behind staff ignorance/lack of training.
To be honest though its hard to decide who the bank treats worse, customers or staff. Its probs 50/50. The bank operates with complete arrogance towards both.
I would be willing to help this investigation anyway I can.

ladyl1976

I also applied to HSBC for Hardship funding but they wrote back to me and told me that there is nothing they can do until it is sorted out with the House of Lords, but, at the bottom of the letter they told me that if I was in Hardship I shoudl contact them and they can try and sort something out, meaning another loan or something like that to make more money out of me and get me in more debt?? what is wrong with them.

phonoplug

My wife applied for hardship consideration with her claim at Barclays. It took them 9 months to send the forms for the hardship application, by which time her circumstances had changed. Not surprised at all. Dont bank with them any more!

Carman777

I qualify as a hardship case and I wrote to Lloyds TSB. Unlike Abbey, who are almost chasing me for my details, Lloyds fob me off with a standard complaints letter. What the letter says is that they will pass it on to another department for follow up & nothing happens. I wrote to them last year AND this year and I have not been asked for my income & expenditure. :mad:
Esmerellda, I can categorically say that they have not LOOKED at my complaint yet according to the FSA letter that you quoted.
I also have the correct address because they have replied to me - however, they just say that they have contacted a certain department which will get back to me. Now, unless it takes a year for the department to ask for my details . . .
Just like TheBex, I'm glad to see that it's not just me being fobbed off!

JayD101

LLoyds have accepted that Im in "Financial Hardship" and set me up on repayment plans for my current overdrafts, but they still say that they will not pay out any refund until the case is over.

They've replied to one of my letters out of 3, everytime I ring they tell me someone will call me back. I've just given up, theres nothing more I can do, Im just going to wait because Im exhausted at the amount of time Ive wasted so far.

Martin, use me as an example if you wish, ring Lloyds on my behalf and hear the excuses they give first hand!