Report Bank Charges successes and failures

bejam1975

anyone have any advice on how to stop Halifax charging me £552 for going £1.97 overdrawn, i have appealed to them to drop the charges, as i am really under financial pressure. They say they have been trying to get hold of me for over a year BUT I filled out chddress forms in halifax twickenham branch which they say they have no record of these and have been sending my mail to my previous address which i have not lived at since april 2009.

Premier_2

bejam1975 wrote: »

anyone have any advice on how to stop Halifax charging me £552 for going £1.97 overdrawn, ....

Hi bejam1975, and welcome to MSE :hello:

£552 charge for going £1.97 o/d? Surely some mistake unless you've allowed the situation to continue for months/years?

Don't you use the account? If not consider closing it (after you've paid off your debts to them)

Otherwise, to stop them charging, don't spend money you don't have. If you do, act quickly to resolve the situation and you won't suffer charges of that magnitude

Regarding the apparent failure of them to change your address, haven't you noticed the lack of regular statements over the last 18 months???

jules1980_2

my case is in the hands of the ombudsman at the moment as LLOYDS TSB refused to give my charges back. i think they are the worst and most unproffessional bank around. i was in financial hardship, in rent arrears and on a debt management plan and in receipt of income support and they didnt even offer me a financial hardship form to fill in, instead i had an advisor ring me up to ask if i could cancel any bills going out of my account to reduce the risk of going over again, i told them there was nothing that i could cancel and then i had a letter off lloyds to say their advisor had tried to contact me on several occasions but was unsuccessful. I was told over the phone that i should be more carefull with my money and the last straw was when i asked them if i could increase my overdraft to stop me being charged and they told me i couldnt and to beg ,steal or borrow to put the money in the account. It is a vicious circle and i am still incurring charges i have just had a letter to say i am being charged £47.52 on 1st nov and that is for going overdrawn by a few pennies and as thay couldnt make a standing order payment for me i am being charged £20 for that. I am hoping the ombudsman will decide i should get my money back but after reading a few stories i am trying very hard not to rely on that.

jules1980_2

i would also just like to add to my last comment that if LLOYDS tSB THOUGHT THEIR CHARGES WERE SO FAIR THEN WHY ARE THEY FROM DECEMBER THIS YEAR GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY THEY CHARGE, IF ANYONE GOES OVER THEIR OVERDRAFT BY ANYTHING UP TO £10.00 THEY WILL NOT BE CHARGED AS THEY ARE INTRODUCING A £10.00 BUFFER AND CHARGES FOR OTHER THINGS ARE DROPPING SIGNIFICANTLY, IIF THEY HAD DONE THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE I WOULD CERTAINLY NOT BE IN THE MESS THAT I AM IN.

rockingrobbo

My partner and I complained to the halifax earlier this year in relation to bank charges.We were both unemployed with 3 children aged 7 and under living off benefits.
All of the charges which amount to over £300 were for small amounts and were of less value than the tax credits which went into the account on a weekly basis.
The halifax refused to help,even though we have both recently completed debt relief orders,proof of our current financial situation.
We complained to the ombudsman whom sent us forms to complete which were returned in august this year.
Today,we recieved the ombudsmans response.Basically,the bank have acted fairly and the complaint has not been upheld.
All the bank have done is taken money from our children which is what child tax credits and benefit is for.They managed to take their £15 charge out of the account when not enough funds were in the account,also adding a £10 charge for going overdrawn!
My advice is quite simple.If you dont need a bank account dont have one as the banks are opportunists who take money from you with the slightest mistake on the customers behalf.
Thanks Martin,but sadly no successs story here!

poohbear59

bejam1975 wrote: »

anyone have any advice on how to stop Halifax charging me £552 for going £1.97 overdrawn, i have appealed to them to drop the charges, as i am really under financial pressure. They say they have been trying to get hold of me for over a year BUT I filled out chddress forms in halifax twickenham branch which they say they have no record of these and have been sending my mail to my previous address which i have not lived at since april 2009.

Exactly the same thing happened to my son. He has appealed to them to drop the charges. The charges were over just 3 months!! £500 for going less than £5 over! And they are refusing to pay him back. We now have an arrangement to pay them £50 a month for 10 months! A great way for Halifax to make money out of someone who was a tiny bit overdrawn! I wonder how many other people are in the same situation?

My son went into the branch to talk to them but they said no one there could deal with it and while he waited for them to try to resolve the situation they clobbered him with a further £200

poohbear59

rockingrobbo wrote: »

My partner and I complained to the halifax earlier this year in relation to bank charges.We were both unemployed with 3 children aged 7 and under living off benefits.
All of the charges which amount to over £300 were for small amounts and were of less value than the tax credits which went into the account on a weekly basis.
The halifax refused to help,even though we have both recently completed debt relief orders,proof of our current financial situation.
We complained to the ombudsman whom sent us forms to complete which were returned in august this year.
Today,we recieved the ombudsmans response.Basically,the bank have acted fairly and the complaint has not been upheld.
All the bank have done is taken money from our children which is what child tax credits and benefit is for.They managed to take their £15 charge out of the account when not enough funds were in the account,also adding a £10 charge for going overdrawn!
My advice is quite simple.If you dont need a bank account dont have one as the banks are opportunists who take money from you with the slightest mistake on the customers behalf.
Thanks Martin,but sadly no successs story here!

I agree with you too. Halifax are not budging an inch for my son who is in severe hardship. My recommendation to all my family has been to close their Halifax accounts and move their banking elsewhere.

qmpete

Hi folks,

Got a very disheartening letter at the weekend from an FOS Adjudicator, stating that my bank have not acted unfairly, and rejecting my claim for a refund of charges.

They seem to have taken the stance that as I am not currently in hardship, I have no case, which I find ludicrous! In 2005, I was in a cycle of charges, and was up to my eyes in defaults on various credit agreements. I've worked really hard to turn things around, and have been charge-free since 2007. I found this website this year, and felt that I had a case, as I was suffering severe hardship as a result of the charges. I wrote to my bank to advise them of my difficulties, and that I was seeking advice from the CCCS. However, they didn't reply.

I really do think I have been treated unfairly, and suffered for a couple of years as a result of the charges (my claim is for just under £2,000 plus interest), but the FOS Adjudicator seems to have just dismissed my complaint, saying there is no evidence that the bank have acted unfairly.

Is it worth taking this further, and asking for an Ombudsman to look at my complaint? Or should I just give up now?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

Premier_2

qmpete wrote: »

...They seem to have taken the stance that as I am not currently in hardship, I have no case, which I find ludicrous! In 2005, I was in a cycle of charges, and was up to my eyes in defaults on various credit agreements. I've worked really hard to turn things around, and have been charge-free since 2007...

It's now almost the end of 2010

See the sticky thread on financial hardship online resources to discover what that's really all about.

The FOS won't deal with bank charge reclaims unless they are based on genuine financial hardship (or charges clearly incorrectly applied as per the agreed terms of the contract)

They won't deal in legalese based arguments of bank charges being unfair, not since the Supreme Court gave it's ruling almost 12 months ago.

qmpete

Premier wrote: »

The FOS won't deal with bank charge reclaims unless they are based on genuine financial hardship (or charges clearly incorrectly applied as per the agreed terms of the contract)
QUOTE]

So because I didn't complain at the time when I was suffering genuine financial hardship (having checked the other threads and links, I am convinced that my circumstances fit the bill at the time the charges were being imposed), I don't have a case? Seems to me that this is penalising me for having turned things around for myself. If I'd just ignored the problem, letting it get worse, and then complained now, the FOS would probably consider my case, and possibly cleared the whole lot for me. Hardly seems fair.

Thanks for your comments though, I guess I should just reluctantly drop it.:(