When will the new templates be ready?

111222

I read on some website that mm are working on new template letter, will there also be one for hardship, when do you think they will be ready?

natweststaffmember

Hardship claims should be dealt with regardless of anything else. You need to state your circumstances and look at the period of financial hardship as ask if the bank will refund charges in that period especially if it has hit into your budget to pay your bills.

pingchris

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Hardship claims should be dealt with regardless of anything else. You need to state your circumstances and look at the period of financial hardship as ask if the bank will refund charges in that period especially if it has hit into your budget to pay your bills.

the halifax dont seem to think that,i rang there customer relations and was told my hardship claim was lumped in with all the rest,ie wait for a letter like all claimants

natweststaffmember

pingchris wrote: »

the halifax dont seem to think that,i rang there customer relations and was told my hardship claim was lumped in with all the rest,ie wait for a letter like all claimants

I don't care what they are verbally telling you because they have to look at claims under BCOBS formerly the banking code and that has nothing to do with the SC decision.

djnl

I don't care what they are verbally telling you because they have to look at claims under BCOBS formerly the banking code and that has nothing to do with the SC decision.

Since the supreme court decision my partner has received a debt collection letter demanding ~£2250 (ALL charges from a horrible spiral), otherwise court action.

We are in incredible financial hardship - any tips on where we go from here - we can't pay all the charges without losing our home as payment plans are set for mortgage and mortgage arrears caused directly by charges - crazy I know.

natweststaffmember

djnl wrote: »

Since the supreme court decision my partner has received a debt collection letter demanding ~£2250 (ALL charges from a horrible spiral), otherwise court action.

We are in incredible financial hardship - any tips on where we go from here - we can't pay all the charges without losing our home as payment plans are set for mortgage and mortgage arrears caused directly by charges - crazy I know.

Do you still use the account? Which bank is it?

djnl

It's with the Lloyds TSB (no surprise there then). We don't use the account it was suspended and closed as the charges increased and then escalated through to debt collection processes.

We have sent various letters/phone calls prior to the Dec-2009 SC hearing. Had a terrible time with it. The FSO had rejected a previous unrelated claim against a HBOS account. Is it worth trying with the FSO again with this Lloyds TSB account as they take months to get back to a reply and by experience reject said claim even when a mass of evidence has been produced to show just how much financial hardship we are facing currently (arrears in: mortage & secured loan, personal loans, utilities, council tax). Our situation is improving steadily and over the next 9mths all loans will be cleared - leaving just living costs to pay for which are well within our budget. It has to be said, all arrears were a direct result of bank charges and the horrific spiral it causes. We are fortunate enough to have been able to set up payment plans with creditors - but this recent escalation for court action will through all to the wall if we pay up (how, we don't know) for these bloody bank charges.

Premier_2

111222 wrote: »

I read on some website that mm are working on new template letter, will there also be one for hardship, when do you think they will be ready?

Q. Does the hardship rule still apply? Can I still claim if I'm in hardship?

A. The FSA's hold on banks dealing with the reclaim has been lifted, so there is no longer a specific hardship rule.

However, under FSA regulations, banks must treat you fairly anyway and be considerate if you are in hardship. If you think that hasn't happened you can complain to the Ombudsman (see How to complain to the Ombudsman guide). Though if it's about bank charges specifically it's best to follow the information below.

...

Q. How likely is it I will get my money back?

A. Much less likely than prior to the result, but not impossible. Still, the best thing to do is plan for getting nothing, but cross your fingers.

As we know many people would like a 'what's the chance' type answer, our instinctive guess is even with the new argument there is only a 10-20% chance of most people now getting charges back.

...

Q. What is the new argument that may help reclaimers and how do I get template letters?

A. In his judgment the Supreme Court President ended saying "the charges might still be open to assessment by the OFT on other grounds". The fact this was deemed important enough to be said in his very short verbal statement is of great significance.
Our analysis is it was a coded message to the OFT saying 'you can't take the case on this legal basis, but there maybe other avenues under clause 5 that you could try'.
Yet the Office of Fair Trading isn’t due to respond until December and meanwhile over a million peoples' claims are on hold, about to be chucked out. So we (MoneySavingExpert.com) have engaged a top banking barrister (see MSE hires top QC news story) to examine the legal arguments.
He will then redraft our template letters both for existing and new claimants based on the potential new arguments and by looking at other consumer protection laws.
You can see some very provisional details in the Bank Charges New Arguments story, we hope the new template letters will be on the site sometime in the week starting 14 Dec, ensure you’re getting the weekly email and we’ll send a reminder.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/reclaim/2009/11/bank-charges-qa-door-reopened-for-reclaimers

djnl

You can see some very provisional details in the Bank Charges New Arguments story, we hope the new template letters will be on the site sometime in the week starting 14 Dec

I fear the 7 days timescale for them to receive full payment of bank charges or face court action will have easily passed by Dec-14th. They really seem to have full weight of the legal system behind them.

Premier_2

djnl wrote: »

I fear the 7 days timescale for them to receive full payment of bank charges or face court action will have easily passed by Dec-14th. They really seem to have full weight of the legal system behind them.

What 7 days timescale?

djnl

7 days (from date of letter received) to make full payment for bank charges in dispute otherwise court action.