Report Bank Charges successes and failures

BOB_A_H

elnino1978 wrote: »

Just wanted to let you know of my success. :j

Bank name: Ulster Bank

Amount Reclaimed:£1153

Amount they paid:£900

The story: Used the templates on this site to ask for refund due to financial hardship around 12th April. Got reply on 26th requesting I complete financial statement and outline the circumstances leading to my financial problems. Got another letter on 6th May requesting payslip, mortgage statement and proof of debts. Had to wait on all statements coming in so wrote back with the info on 15th May and got a letter couple of days ago making me an offer which I've accepted

This will clear my overdraft with them and clear the credit card with them as well.

Have to give credit where its due, I had one point of contact and they where very prompt in dealing with the complaint etc

It really does pay to use this site and the templates etc Thank You :money:


Pleased for you, and I am pleasantly surprised that a bank is getting praise.

Wish I could say the same for Lloyds TSB. I am currently unemployed, have 11K of mortgage arrears, £550 of arrears on my gas and am on medication for depression.

Lloyds solution....do NOTHING to help, then to add insult to injury, remind me that I have £900 outstanding on an overdraft that they want repaid!

They have never even asked for proof of my situation. I give up!

Thanks for NOTHING Lloyds.

lauraloo111

Basics of my story-I was constantly being charged by natwest for going overdrawn. I approached my local branch asking to refund some charges as they had eaten money that was needed to pay bills and I didnt want to incur further failed DD charges etc that resulted in me losing money and none of my bills being paid. Natwest refused but offered me a high interest overdraft. (Please bear in mind I was in reciept of income support at this time) As I was young and on a low income, I didnt really understand interest and that I couldnt afford the interest payments which resulted in me gaining further charges and getting more in debt, with both natwest and other debtors. Natwests answer was always to keep increasing my overdraft even though I was never within my current one. I finally reached a £600 overdraft (still on income support) and my situation with charges was getting worse and worse. None of my bills were getting paid, natwest was eating all of my money with charges. I decided to open another bank account and start afresh. I asked natwest to close my account but they said I would need to pay what I owed them in full before they would shut it down. This was impossible, I asked them to freeze interest and charges and offered to pay in installments but they wouldnt let me. I stopped using the account and started again with my new account at Yorkshire. Since being with them for over 24 months I have not gone overdrawn once.
I have recieved letters from Natwests credit management team stating that I owe them £960 and they want this paying. This is charges and interest from natwest and also my overdraft.


I first sent a letter to Natwest requesting a refund of charges on 18/11/09 not realising that the court case was within a few days!! I used the template letter on this site and worked out my charges and interest to be a total of £2266.58.
I didn't get a response from my letter and sent another to Natwest in Jan 2010 after I read that people were still being able to reclaim even after the court case. I threatened to contact the ombudsman as they were ignoring my letters, I had sent them recorded delivery knowing they had actually arrived.
I finally recieved a response 18th Feb, saying that they could not find my first letter and basically that they didnt have to pay me a penny because of the result of the court case. By this time I had already begun a complaint with the ombudsman.
The ombudsman had been "investigating" and I was asked to fill in a financial statement, which once complete showed that I was left with £10 at the end of every month. Natwest sent me a letter stating that I was not in financial hardship as I had understated my income-which I hadnt!! I have noticed that others have recieved this same letter, it must be sent as standard. I ignored their letter and carried on dealing with the ombudsman. I finally got a response from them on 7th May, where I was being offered £195, which was charges added since I stopped using my account. (only charges not any interest added in this time) which would be taken off my £960 debt with natwest.

As you can imagine I am not very happy with this response. The ombudsman think that the natwest have treated me fairly. I have looked through the banking and lending code and found that the natwest have not been following either in the way they have dealt with me as a customer. I have sent a response to the ombudsman regarding this and asked natwest to reconsider their offer to me. *fingers crossed*

If anyone has had similar dealings help would be much appreciated on how they have managed to deal with natwest/ombudsman

thank you

sfinch_3

i have gone through the financial hardship stage and after first refusal and then sending them a second letter to natwest i have eventually received a reply stating that they believe i am in financial hardship my original claim was for £2,100.00 they said on the letter they would be prepared to repay me £45 for charges within the last 6 months?????? what is that about i went into hardship from charges over the last 6 years? any one else had this type of reply? and ideas as how to handle this, i rang them and they said they can only return the last 6 months

natweststaffmember

sfinch wrote: »

i have gone through the financial hardship stage and after first refusal and then sending them a second letter to natwest i have eventually received a reply stating that they believe i am in financial hardship my original claim was for £2,100.00 they said on the letter they would be prepared to repay me £45 for charges within the last 6 months?????? what is that about i went into hardship from charges over the last 6 years? any one else had this type of reply? and ideas as how to handle this, i rang them and they said they can only return the last 6 months

The cause of your financial hardship is not bank charges, the fact is that the charges are the cause of you having less income to cover outgoings. The issue you have is proving that the charges reduced your income to a point that it would not cover priority creditors(mortgage/rent, council tax, utilities) and excluding loans, credit cards and loans from family. You have to argue that point and if you cannot then the offer is unlikely to be increased by the FOS. They don't even have to refund 1p under financial hardship even if they deem you to be in hardship.

natweststaffmember

lauraloo111 wrote: »

Basics of my story-I was constantly being charged by natwest for going overdrawn. I approached my local branch asking to refund some charges as they had eaten money that was needed to pay bills and I didnt want to incur further failed DD charges etc that resulted in me losing money and none of my bills being paid. Natwest refused but offered me a high interest overdraft. (Please bear in mind I was in reciept of income support at this time) As I was young and on a low income, I didnt really understand interest and that I couldnt afford the interest payments which resulted in me gaining further charges and getting more in debt, with both natwest and other debtors. Natwests answer was always to keep increasing my overdraft even though I was never within my current one. I finally reached a £600 overdraft (still on income support) and my situation with charges was getting worse and worse. None of my bills were getting paid, natwest was eating all of my money with charges. I decided to open another bank account and start afresh. I asked natwest to close my account but they said I would need to pay what I owed them in full before they would shut it down. This was impossible, I asked them to freeze interest and charges and offered to pay in installments but they wouldnt let me. I stopped using the account and started again with my new account at Yorkshire. Since being with them for over 24 months I have not gone overdrawn once.
I have recieved letters from Natwests credit management team stating that I owe them £960 and they want this paying. This is charges and interest from natwest and also my overdraft.


I first sent a letter to Natwest requesting a refund of charges on 18/11/09 not realising that the court case was within a few days!! I used the template letter on this site and worked out my charges and interest to be a total of £2266.58.
I didn't get a response from my letter and sent another to Natwest in Jan 2010 after I read that people were still being able to reclaim even after the court case. I threatened to contact the ombudsman as they were ignoring my letters, I had sent them recorded delivery knowing they had actually arrived.
I finally recieved a response 18th Feb, saying that they could not find my first letter and basically that they didnt have to pay me a penny because of the result of the court case. By this time I had already begun a complaint with the ombudsman.
The ombudsman had been "investigating" and I was asked to fill in a financial statement, which once complete showed that I was left with £10 at the end of every month. Natwest sent me a letter stating that I was not in financial hardship as I had understated my income-which I hadnt!! I have noticed that others have recieved this same letter, it must be sent as standard. I ignored their letter and carried on dealing with the ombudsman. I finally got a response from them on 7th May, where I was being offered £195, which was charges added since I stopped using my account. (only charges not any interest added in this time) which would be taken off my £960 debt with natwest.

As you can imagine I am not very happy with this response. The ombudsman think that the natwest have treated me fairly. I have looked through the banking and lending code and found that the natwest have not been following either in the way they have dealt with me as a customer. I have sent a response to the ombudsman regarding this and asked natwest to reconsider their offer to me. *fingers crossed*
Which bit is not compliant with the lending code? They increased the overdraft which is fine albeit from what you have described I think I perhaps would have advised differently and at least spoken to you face to face so you clearly understood how and more importantly when the interest went out.
If anyone has had similar dealings help would be much appreciated on how they have managed to deal with natwest/ombudsman

thank you

If you are expecting 100% of charges then it is unlikely to happen since the bank does not have to refund 100% of the charges.

dippynina

Well, after a 2 year battle with Lloyds TSB, trying to claim back over £2000 in bank charges - we finally received a letter from FOS, saying our complaint will not be upheld. We are in, what the FOS considers to be financial hardship and this account (along with a loan account) is in fact with Lloyds debt collectors and because they suspended all interest and charges when this account was passed on and also are accepting reduced payments, Lloyds feel that they have 'taken adequate steps to assist us with our financial difficulties'.
Bit gutted - I thought even if I got something back this would get us closer to paying off the debt. On the positive side I was recently successful in claiming back miss-sold PPI on Lloyds TSB credit card, which helped us a great deal.

shaunpcollier

Hi all,

First time reclaiming attempt....how did it go?

Well, my first letter went more towards the "human argument", ie I told them that I thought the charges were disproportionate and it was pushing me into a spiral of debt. I asked them to review my account and consider a refund of at least some of the fees.

They replied stating that their fees are in line with their terms and conditions (irrelevant argument number one!) and guidelines etc, but they offered to refund £25 as "gesture of goodwill". A start, you may think, but on the same day, I got a standard letter from them saying they were charging me £25 for a Direct Debit they had to pay - I had been overdrawn by about £10 by then I think - so what they gave me with one hand, they took away with another!

I wrote back, dismissing their response of "all in the terms and conditions" as that was not what I was querying, and they sure as heck knew it!! Again, I reiterated the human argument, and asked them to reconsider their response.

I've just got a letter from them today, once again stating that their fees are in line with their terms and conditions (irrelevant argument number two!!!), they are not going to make any further considerations to the fees, and they now consider the matter closed. On top of their TnCs arguments (something I have not mentioned whatsoever in my original letters) they have also said that they will not consider a full refund of my fees - again, something I have not mentioned, all I asked was a review of my recent fees!

I work in a customer service environment, and I know from a retailer's point of view what "this matter is now considered closed" means! Should I keep up the fight? They've ignored my main points twice now, despite me putting in plain English what it is I actually would like them to do!!

Thanks

Shaun

natweststaffmember

shaunpcollier wrote: »

Hi all,

First time reclaiming attempt....how did it go?

Well, my first letter went more towards the "human argument", ie I told them that I thought the charges were disproportionate and it was pushing me into a spiral of debt. I asked them to review my account and consider a refund of at least some of the fees.

They replied stating that their fees are in line with their terms and conditions (irrelevant argument number one!) and guidelines etc, but they offered to refund £25 as "gesture of goodwill". A start, you may think, but on the same day, I got a standard letter from them saying they were charging me £25 for a Direct Debit they had to pay - I had been overdrawn by about £10 by then I think - so what they gave me with one hand, they took away with another!

I wrote back, dismissing their response of "all in the terms and conditions" as that was not what I was querying, and they sure as heck knew it!! Again, I reiterated the human argument, and asked them to reconsider their response.

I've just got a letter from them today, once again stating that their fees are in line with their terms and conditions (irrelevant argument number two!!!), they are not going to make any further considerations to the fees, and they now consider the matter closed. On top of their TnCs arguments (something I have not mentioned whatsoever in my original letters) they have also said that they will not consider a full refund of my fees - again, something I have not mentioned, all I asked was a review of my recent fees!

I work in a customer service environment, and I know from a retailer's point of view what "this matter is now considered closed" means! Should I keep up the fight? They've ignored my main points twice now, despite me putting in plain English what it is I actually would like them to do!!

Thanks

Shaun

They don't have to refund anything so the fact that they are is not exactly giving up the fight cos if you hadn't asked the question they wouldn't have refunded £25.00.
You're only other route is the FOS who will only look at current financial hardship or bank error.

corrinap

bank: barclays
got a letter from barclays last month stating that they are not going to pay me any monies, is there anything else i can do

Rainbow_Liberty

Reply from the FOS they have contacted all the organisations included in my claim and are awaiting further information / offers from them. They have already refused an offer from Capital One on my behalf (didn't even know they had offered anything) so fingers crossed everything going well.