Help please

meg_jesse

Hi, I'm hoping i am writing this in the right place.

I'm a single mum with 2 children (5 and 2) and on benefits. I have tried to claim back my bank charges a while ago, but when it went to court, I got told I wouldnt get anything until it was all sorted out. I have just looked at my bank account and found that I have had my charges taken again, which has put me £77 over my overdraft.

I was wondering if there is any way I can have these stopped as I now have now cash for the next weeks worth of food, and although I do normally pay my charges, I really am stuck this time. I have been told before that because I am on benefits I can stop all my charges, is this true and if so how do I go about getting it stopped as I have rang them before just to be told there is nothing they can do as they refunded me £25 a the start of the month.

Sorry its a little long, just a bit worried now as I know I have another direct debit to be taken next week as well so really going to be in trouble again next month!!!

Thanks for reading and adding if you do.

esmerellda

Hi Meg xxxxxx

The only way to get charges back now is to go into the branch and explain your situation (ask to speak to someone privately dont do it over the counter), also take with you a letter of appropriation read below)

Cancel your direct debit due next week and sort that out manually.

I'm single mum with 3 kids under 10 and live on benefits (i dont even get housing benefit grr) i have opted to have all my benefits paid to a Post Office Card Account (ask at the job centre) I pay everything in cash via paypoint or if i need to pay something by bill payment or debit card I pay that cash into a basic bank account and use that, then its my choice exactly where my money goes and no one has any hold over it and theres no nasty suprises. It sounds like a hassle, but its relly not and you get used to it and adapt to suit quite quickly. (up to two years ago i worked, had a husband with a good income, a mortgage and all that malarky (and stacks of bank charges s it didnt matter so much then and which i since reclaimed) so it was a massive change but I'm MUCH happier now)

If they wont refund you then you will have to get writing letters to reclaim them on hardship grounds. If they won't help and you are immediately stuck you can ask the DSS for a crisis/budgeting loan which gets paid weekly from benefits.

me wrote:

Under common law you have a right of appropriation over your own money and money you pay to another.

If a bank informs you it will be taking money from your account to pay itself, for any reason, charges, offset of another account/loan, or just to be swallowed up by an unauthorised overdraft and you can't afford for them to take the money, then you MAY be able to use the Right of Appropriation to stop them taking the money temporarily.

You should take this letter to the bank at least 7 days before the payment is due in / they are due to take the money. If you are up to it, then take the letter in and ask to see someone and insist on it being actioned there and then. If you post letters they will often go to central processing centres and not be dealt with for days, by which time it is too late.

You need to tell the bank what date and the amount of the payment due in to the account, and the dates and amounts of payments that are essential to be paid.

The most common use of this right is to rescue your Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance from bank charges and enable it to still reach your landlord.

Your rights do not extend solely to benefits - and you may use this for ANY payments into an account which NEED to be used for a specific purpose.


If the payment you are needing to appropriate is something regular we would recommend that you open a basic account at a different bank and use that solely for the incoming funds and outgoing payments. For example, Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance - this should help stop any problems arising in the future.

Quote:

[your name ]
[your address]


[date]


[bank name ]
[bank address]




Dear Sir/Madam,

RIGHT OF APPROPRIATION
ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxx

I am writing to inform you that I am due to have a Benefit / Salary / tax credit payment of £xxx paid into my account on xx/xx/xx, and I wish to use my first right of appropriation for this money, for the following purposes;

Rent - Company/Landlord name/reference - due to be collected by Direct Debit on xx/xx/xxxx - £xx

Please ensure this payment is made.

I also need to appropriate the sum of £xxx for essential housekeeping and will withdraw this sum over the counter/by ATM on xx/xx/xxxx.

Please ensure this sum is available to me at that time and that any other payments out of my account or charges applied to my account do not interfere with this withdrawal.

If you have any doubt over my rights please contact your legal team.


Yours faithfully,


[signature]

Banks deal differently with this, and we are communicating with them to try and encourage front line counter staff training and awareness of the right. One building society alledges that their terms and conditions make the common law principle irrelevant - something which we do not agree with.

Using your right of appropriation will quite often be a signal to the bank that you are struggling financially, which can lead to removal of facilities and downgrading of accounts to basic. They should not do this without discussion and notification first. They are, in essence, quite right and needing to appropriate your income in this way can be a sign of impending difficulties.

First thing we would recommend people do who find themselves in this position is to complete an income and expenditure form - there is a simple one here Legal Beagles which you can use. If you would like some help and support then please post it on the forum or email it to [EMAIL="admin@legalbeagles.info"]admin@legalbeagles.info[/EMAIL] if you would prefer it to stay confidential for the time being.

We understand how difficult it can be discussing your finances, especially on a public forum - remember you are completely anonymous on here, and no one will judge you, as we have all been there in one way or another and are working on our own finances.

meg_jesse

Thank you so much, will try and see what happens