Report Bank Charges successes and failures

rachelcupcake

Amount Requested - £390
Amount Refunded - £291.44
Accepted: errr... YES!!!

Really stuck for money, wondering if I'll ever pay off my creditors so have been chasing overdraft charges for some time now. A WONDERFUL chap called Stephen has been dealing with my case, kept in touch plenty and even though I didn't meet their criteria, offered me a goodwill refund of £250, as well as waving this month's interest on my overdraft and the charge that was due to be added to my account tomorrow...

Although a relatively small amount compared to some, this really will make a dent in my debts and I couldn't help but get a bit weepy with gratitude!

Stick with it.

terry1040

HSBC

Amount Requested, £3332inc interest
Amount repaid to date £591.95

Acting on behalf of my 82yr old grandmother who is on a tight budget. Her home was sold to another housing association and the rent was taken twice, charges for that hit £750 by the time it was sorted. The rest was over the last 6 years when they have stung her for upto £150 a month for being £50 over her limit. On the £591.95 are nearly 2 years account fees as she was mis sold an advance account! It covered her for travel insurance to the age of 70! and roadside rescue in the event of a breakdown, she does not drive! Oh and not to mention privelaged interests on savings which she has none of!!!

Question is, Do I go for more or think ourselves lucky for what we have got back???

JaspaC

qmpete wrote: »

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.:(

I agree with this,

there doesn't seem to be any guidance as to whether or not previous hardship (at the time of the charges) has any significance for a claim. All the guides and the FOS website seem to suggest you should just make a case anyway and see what happens. I recently had a reply from the FOS rejecting my case and apparently ignoring the fact that I was in hardship but am not anymore! Seems very unfair.

Also when defining hardship, I looked at the various guides and statements and from reading those I would have placed myself in the hardship bracket (even now) but my bank got me to fill out a financial assessment. Then replied with "your income is sufficient for your outgoings and other creditors", which I don't believe to be the case. I asked them to explain this in detail but they wouldnt. I highlighted this to FOS who just said they dont think the bank needs to.

Essentially the bank (Natwest in this case) does not need to justify why they don't want to pay me. How is that allowed?

The Court Route (Post Supreme Ruling):

I am right in saying that no one (to the best of anyone's knowledge here) has ever won with these legal arguments (from the guide)? Does this mean that some have lost in court? or just that everyone has got scared and backed out or that the process is so long that even those that applied to court when the guide was first published, are still waiting to hear back?

I will confess, that I haven't read the guide in great detail yet but am I right in assuming that the legal arguments are the same for everyone, and that they will not differ from case to case? if so:

a)If people have lost in court, then what's the point in trying? surely that means everyone who uses those arguments will lose, no?
b)If and when someone wins, doesn't that then mean the floodgates will open and people who use those arguments will win by default?

If the above is true then would it not be possible to invest money into hiring a lawyer to help win one case which would in turn mean every other case would win?

Also: Am in right in saying that so long as the situation remains in the small claims court, I do not have to pay NatWest expenses. But likewise, I would not be able to hire a lawyer and get NatWest to pay for it?


I know this has probably all been explained before and that there are reasons why you promote individual cases etc.. which I'm sure will all become apparent when I read the guide. But out of laziness, is there any chance some one could put the answers in front of me please :)

Kdalglish7

I have had my claim for a refund of my bank charges turned down again by RBS , Yorkshire ( Clydesdale ) and Lloyds .
These banks owe me £4000 approx in bank charges and even though I have a huge debt and my finances are handled through the CCCS they have decided I do not qualify and are sticking by the Supreme Court judgement .
They advised that should speak to the fincial ombudsman which I havedone but they say it could be months andmay stil result in another rejection !
My wife and I both work and I am looking to get a second job to honour my debt but I feel that if the banks showed some compassion and empathy then I amy be able to py off one of my loans in full .
Wha qulifies as financial hardship ?- my debt currently is six figures and at the current rate will be paid off in 68yrs !!! , yes thats sixty-eight years .

Please help.

Any advice is welcome .

mrs-stressed

Kdalglish7 wrote: »

I have had my claim for a refund of my bank charges turned down again by RBS , Yorkshire ( Clydesdale ) and Lloyds .
These banks owe me £4000 approx in bank charges and even though I have a huge debt and my finances are handled through the CCCS they have decided I do not qualify and are sticking by the Supreme Court judgement .
They advised that should speak to the fincial ombudsman which I havedone but they say it could be months andmay stil result in another rejection !
My wife and I both work and I am looking to get a second job to honour my debt but I feel that if the banks showed some compassion and empathy then I amy be able to py off one of my loans in full .
Wha qulifies as financial hardship ?- my debt currently is six figures and at the current rate will be paid off in 68yrs !!! , yes thats sixty-eight years .

Please help.

Any advice is welcome .

Hi, I read your post with interest. Banks will not show any signs of caring, compassion and empathy towards you (or anyone else for that matter). They are running a business not a charity. They will do their damdest to sell you anything that makes them money. They will penalise you for anything becasue that makes them money. They will not listen to you when you are down and out. In fact they will kick you further if it makes them money.

My debt is so big that my eyes water when I think about it (which is every minute of every day) and I have been down the hardship route. That got turned down as I could pay my council tax (would go to prison if I didnt pay that), pay my mortgage (house would be taken off me if I didnt), pay my energy bills (I would be clobbered for that and threatened if didnt pay them, water rates (water would be turned off), pay minimal amount towards my debts (taken to prison for that if I didnt pay) - the list is endless. My hardship is that I cant afford to eat. That is not taken into consideration whatsoever.

Thankfully I wont be around in 68 years. I do so sincerely hope you can find someone to help you. Whatever you do DO NOT trust a bank - ever.

Mrs s

Smigger5

qmpete wrote: »

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.:(

I am on the verge of giving up, been sending letter back and forth for 12 months including hardship letters, got a final no from HSBC.

I then put my case to the FOS, who responded quite quickly with a the usual stuff about the court rulng and found in the banks favour, I then responded saying is this the case even though we have filled out the hard ship forms etc, I have received another response today saying they found in the banks favour end of story.

Is this the end of line ?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

jules1980_2

well i have just this morning had a letter off the FOS and they are on LLOYDS TSB side saying that there is not much they can do as the bank have acted fairly and that as i am not over my overdraft whilst they were looking at this matter then there is no obligation for lloyds to do any more for me at this stage, i am absolutely furious how can anyone say that taking a single mums weekly income off her in charges is fair, i am now looking into closing my account with lloyds and making them wait for their £200 overdraft to be paid back, i am disgusted with the way they treat people and they have no compassion and are not willing to help out in any way.

mrs-stressed

This post is really to di3004 and amersall as they both have supported me throughout my saga with PPI recaliming. I have had to complain twice to Lloyds as in both recent letters to me from Lloyds had another persons account details on them. I was flabbergasted to get a letter today to say that the number was actually my old account number and that they had been using this number on all correspondence and didnt realise that it wasnt pertinent anymore. They had also tried to ring me but I have moved 4 years ago and they dont have a new phone number. They havent been able to ascertain who sent these letters off with the incorrect account number on. I would have thought that was quite simple. But this is Lloyds we are dealing with.

The main thing is that the wriggle and squirm techniques they adopt are still prevalent BUT I still dont have my money back! No mention of that at all. So I am back on the road of getting nowhere fast.

JayMac_3

Been trying to reclaim over £3000 in charges from HSBC. Took the case to the Ombudsman via the hardship route.

Ombudsman have phoned me today to confirm that HSBC have made an offer of £210.

Does anybody know if that's an offer I have to accept? Or could the offer be increased if I reject it?

I know they are not obliged to refund me a penny but that does feel like a pitiful offer.

goose32

I seem to be in a similar position to a lot of people over the past 2 or 3 pages that i've read, in that I have received an offer but unsre what to do next.

I decided recently to seek advice from a local organisation that provide a free of charge service to help get my debts under control.

I am focusing on 1 bank at a time, currently reclaiming around £1400 in previous charges, with an overdraft of £1250 on the account, which had went into the dreaded unauthorised zone. Within 5 working days I had received a letter refunding £198.00 of charges and cancelling fees that were due to be added at the end of the month. This letter made reference to a letter that had been sent by the local organisation I contacted a few weeks ago stating that I was in financial hardship. I realise that I am fortunate to receive a positive reply in such a short space of time.

What I am unsure about is what to do next. My gut instinct is to persue further, but what I'd really like clarification on is that if I due pursue the matter further, by responding to their letter and ultimately writing to the FOS, could the bank withdraw the offer that they have currently made? I haven't came across a post yet that suggests that this is a possibility?