Hardship with Abbey - "goodwill gesture" not enough!

Brinnyunlimited

Hello everyone
I have an ongoing claim with Abbey for bank charges totalling £500. This claim is on hold in the courts and since I made the claim, I have had an extra £190 worth of charges applied to my account.

I have an outstanding bill to pay to a funeral home for my Mother's funeral which was last year. The remaining balance on the funeral is £600 which, without my bank charges being refunded I can't hope to pay. (The funeral home is threatening legal action if I don't pay up).

As I am a full time student, I sent all this information to Abbey and asked them to consider my case now as a hardship case.

Within 14 days I received a response from Abbey, stating they would be willing to refund me £190 as a "gesture of goodwill."

Now, as far as I'm concerned this isn't enough. I want/need at least enough refunded so I can pay off the costs of the funeral. Having said that, the extra £190 would help out.

If I were to take this case to the financial ombudsman, would there be much chance of getting more money from abbey and if so, how long roughly would I have to wait for it? Would I have to reject Abbey's £190 in the meantime?

If anyone could provide any pointers or suggest what to do next, I would very much appreciate it!

natweststaffmember

Brinnyunlimited wrote: »

Hello everyone
I have an ongoing claim with Abbey for bank charges totalling £500. This claim is on hold in the courts and since I made the claim, I have had an extra £190 worth of charges applied to my account.

I have an outstanding bill to pay to a funeral home for my Mother's funeral which was last year. The remaining balance on the funeral is £600 which, without my bank charges being refunded I can't hope to pay. (The funeral home is threatening legal action if I don't pay up).

As I am a full time student, I sent all this information to Abbey and asked them to consider my case now as a hardship case.

Within 14 days I received a response from Abbey, stating they would be willing to refund me £190 as a "gesture of goodwill."

Now, as far as I'm concerned this isn't enough. I want/need at least enough refunded so I can pay off the costs of the funeral. Having said that, the extra £190 would help out.

If I were to take this case to the financial ombudsman, would there be much chance of getting more money from abbey and if so, how long roughly would I have to wait for it? Would I have to reject Abbey's £190 in the meantime?

If anyone could provide any pointers or suggest what to do next, I would very much appreciate it!

This is a tough one to respond to since the issues also relate to someone close to you died. Can I ask how much you actually claimed through Abbey? was it £690.00 or just the £190.00 since the claim was on hold in the courts?

Brinnyunlimited

natweststaffmember wrote: »

This is a tough one to respond to since the issues also relate to someone close to you died. Can I ask how much you actually claimed through Abbey? was it £690.00 or just the £190.00 since the claim was on hold in the courts?

Hi there, thanks for your response.

I originally claimed through the small claims court for fees totalling £500. Since that time, an extra £190 in charges have been added to my account.

When I sent the letter regarding financial hardship, I requested Abbey to consider the £500 I originally had a court claim pending for. They replied, offering to repay the £190 charged to my account since I made my original court claim.

natweststaffmember

Brinnyunlimited wrote: »

Hi there, thanks for your response.

I originally claimed through the small claims court for fees totalling £500. Since that time, an extra £190 in charges have been added to my account.

When I sent the letter regarding financial hardship, I requested Abbey to consider the £500 I originally had a court claim pending for. They replied, offering to repay the £190 charged to my account since I made my original court claim.

This may sound harsh but unfortunately the funeral costs is not what is called a priority debt ie one that can lead you to jail, lose your house, or lose essential utilities.
You have to argue that the charges directly contributed to them.
Is there anyway of making payment arrangements with the funeral home?

Brinnyunlimited

natweststaffmember wrote: »

This may sound harsh but unfortunately the funeral costs is not what is called a priority debt ie one that can lead you to jail, lose your house, or lose essential utilities.
You have to argue that the charges directly contributed to them.
Is there anyway of making payment arrangements with the funeral home?

So you think it's better to just accept Abbey's offer then? Doing so won't effect my chance of claiming back the rest when the test case is finally over and the OFT have made their decision?

It's not just the funeral I'm struggling with. I also sent evidence of the Student loan I will be getting this year and the costs of my accommodation. My student loan for they year is actually less than the costs of my accommodation for the year. Bearing that in mind, would it be likely for the Ombudsman to rule in my favour?

natweststaffmember

Brinnyunlimited wrote: »

So you think it's better to just accept Abbey's offer then?
Accept and ask for more based on what I have said because the worst case scenario is £190.00 rather than saying no it's not enough and getting £0.00
Doing so won't effect my chance of claiming back the rest when the test case is finally over and the OFT have made their decision?
Doesn't affect it whatsoever
It's not just the funeral I'm struggling with. I also sent evidence of the Student loan I will be getting this year and the costs of my accommodation. My student loan for they year is actually less than the costs of my accommodation for the year. Bearing that in mind, would it be likely for the Ombudsman to rule in my favour?

I would doubt your chance with the ombudsman since they have offered £190.00. However, I would contact your student union about hardship funds and speak with them about your financial issues since that is what they are there to help you with.

Brinnyunlimited

natweststaffmember wrote: »

I would doubt your chance with the ombudsman since they have offered £190.00. However, I would contact your student union about hardship funds and speak with them about your financial issues since that is what they are there to help you with.

Thanks for your help and your speedy replies! They're most appreciated!

So, just to confirm, would there be any harm in writing abbey a letter basically saying, "thanks for your offer, could you meet me half way and make the refund £350?"

natweststaffmember

Brinnyunlimited wrote: »

Thanks for your help and your speedy replies! They're most appreciated!

So, just to confirm, would there be any harm in writing abbey a letter basically saying, "thanks for your offer, could you meet me half way and make the refund £350?"

I think you need to ask the question and if they are not agreeable then you will accept £190.00 but reserve the right to reclaim the remaining amount once the OFT test case issues are resolved.