Bank Charges Reclaiming Guide discussion

AJHOP

Just sent this to my bank:

I am writing to request that you review my account and reconsider the current overdraft and fines that i have been charged for using my reserve fee.

I recently attended my local branch of *********** in ****** and made an appointment with a member of staff there to review my current financial situation.

I brought along a spreadsheet demonstrating that i was planning my finances and aiming to have reduced my debt profile significantly by Christmas of this year.

All i needed for assistance was for the bank to review my overdraft and provide me with an additional buffer to prevent me needing to use my reserve fee each month which at present costs me approximately £88.00 per month each month.

Add to this the monthly account fee and that means that per month i am paying £103 per month for a £250 overdraft!

On this basis i am writing to request a further review of my account and also the fees that i have been charged to date for the following reasons:

I have attended your bank and attempted to demonstrate that each and every month the reason i have had to incur these reserve fee usage charges are because i have to use the reserve fee to ensure that i have enough money for my family.

I presented a spreadsheet on which i have rationalised my finances to show that i am in control of my payments to creditors and have an active and effective debt repayment plan that i have been administering myself for the past two years.

I want to have a plain conversation with someone who will review my reserve account usage and consider a partial refund of these charges.

I would also be interested to discuss increasing my overdraft to £250 given that i am already paying £15 per month for an account which was advertised as having a £300 interest free overdraft.

At present i remain concerned that i have to consistently use my reserve account and incur fines which is not assisting me to get out of my current situation despite me taking the time to attend a branch and feel as though i had to plead with a computer.

Probably on a hiding to nothing but hey i am fed up with how i am being treated so thought i would just write how i felt without getting too 'legalese' with them.

leclerc

AJHOP wrote: »

Just sent this to my bank:

I am writing to request that you review my account and reconsider the current overdraft and fines that i have been charged for using my reserve fee.

I recently attended my local branch of *********** in ****** and made an appointment with a member of staff there to review my current financial situation.

I brought along a spreadsheet demonstrating that i was planning my finances and aiming to have reduced my debt profile significantly by Christmas of this year.

All i needed for assistance was for the bank to review my overdraft and provide me with an additional buffer to prevent me needing to use my reserve fee each month which at present costs me approximately £88.00 per month each month.

Add to this the monthly account fee and that means that per month i am paying £103 per month for a £250 overdraft!

On this basis i am writing to request a further review of my account and also the fees that i have been charged to date for the following reasons:

I have attended your bank and attempted to demonstrate that each and every month the reason i have had to incur these reserve fee usage charges are because i have to use the reserve fee to ensure that i have enough money for my family.

I presented a spreadsheet on which i have rationalised my finances to show that i am in control of my payments to creditors and have an active and effective debt repayment plan that i have been administering myself for the past two years.

I want to have a plain conversation with someone who will review my reserve account usage and consider a partial refund of these charges.

I would also be interested to discuss increasing my overdraft to £250 given that i am already paying £15 per month for an account which was advertised as having a £300 interest free overdraft.

At present i remain concerned that i have to consistently use my reserve account and incur fines which is not assisting me to get out of my current situation despite me taking the time to attend a branch and feel as though i had to plead with a computer.

Probably on a hiding to nothing but hey i am fed up with how i am being treated so thought i would just write how i felt without getting too 'legalese' with them.

You could cancel the Barclays Reserve and therefore no longer receive the useage fees of £88.00 per month

AJHOP

Thanks Leclerc but at the moment i have need to have the overdraft facility and have not had a month yet where i can afford to cancel this facility.

Know it sounds daft but that is how bad things are at the moment

sortedatlast

Hiya,

*********

Premier_2

sortedatlast wrote: »

Hiya,

Long time lurker here...finally joined properly!
Last week i finally got round to calculating my bank charges with Ulster Bank - totalled approx £3500 . Using the template letter here I sent off initial letter on 12th August regarding financial hardship. ( I have mortgage arrears, rates arrears, credit card debts - arrangements in place now , also still paying off overdraft from a joint account with ex-partner.) Debts have arisen due to former partner leaving - having to pay mortgage alone, having to get second loan to pay him off and also having to pay off debts that he had run up. Also, had to leave a well paid job due to bullying and there has just been a cycle of debt ever since. Bank charges incurred have really crippled my monthly bank balance . My current salary barely covers the basics....
I received a letter back from Ulster Bank yesterday 14th August - asking me to complete Income and Expenditure form etc. and to provide proof of debts etc. The letter also states that as well as looking at charges, they will also review my account type - currently current account with £750 overdraft - I am permanently overdrawn. Is it likely, does anyone know, that they will either close my account or remove my o/d facility? I can't imagine being able to survive without it and due to having really poor credit rating, won't be able to get another account. Should i simply forget about the claim as it may not be worth losing my overdraft in the long run?
Any advice gratefully received!!!

They should not look to close your account, especially if this is your only or main current account.

What they have said is not that they will close the account, but review the account type. They may be looking to switch you to a different current account to help the financial difficulties you claim.
Don't worry, you should still retain the same bank account and sort codes if they do this.

As to the authorised overdraft, again they should review this and it may be appropriate to offer you a better and more cost effective way for you to continue this borrowing and agree with you an affordable way to pay the money borrowed back.

Overdrafts are not designed for long term borrowing and to use them for such purpose is expensive and therefore will not help the financial hardship you claim you are suffering.

If you are in genuine financial hardship, continue with the claim and the bank should offer you a resolution that helps your situation. If it doesn't, you can always take the matter further and let the independent ombudsman review it

sortedatlast

Hi Premier,

Premier wrote: »

They should not look to close your account, especially if this is your only or main current account.

What they have said is not that they will close the account, but review the account type. They may be looking to switch you to a different current account to help the financial difficulties you claim.
Don't worry, you should still retain the same bank account and sort codes if they do this.

As to the authorised overdraft, again they should review this and it may be appropriate to offer you a better and more cost effective way for you to continue this borrowing and agree with you an affordable way to pay the money borrowed back.

Overdrafts are not designed for long term borrowing and to use them for such purpose is expensive and therefore will not help the financial hardship you claim you are suffering.

If you are in genuine financial hardship, continue with the claim and the bank should offer you a resolution that helps your situation. If it doesn't, you can always take the matter further and let the independent ombudsman review it

JaspaC

I submitted my case to the FOS on the 9th August and have proof of delivery.

As of yet, I have not heard back from the FOS acknowledging receipt of my case. I know they are very busy, but does anyone know how long they ussually take to respond, or what period of time I should wait before chasing it up?

All the best,


J

JaspaC

in case anyone interested it took just over 3 weeks for my confirmation letter to arrive.

pennyc1968

Hi, I put in a claim to my bank before the supreme court decision. I then received a letter from the bank saying my claim was dismissed. Have I left it to late to pick this back up? I didnt realise that claims were still going through!!! I am now suffering severe financial hardship and getting even more bank charges

HELP!!!!

:mad:

bjm83

QUICK HELP!!

Just about to send off a letter to HSBC to request my charges history and get the whole process started. 2 quick questions:

1. If I have both a bank account & a credit card with HSBC can I request the info for both with the 1/same letter and £10 cheque or will I need to write a seperate letter/request and pay a seperate charge for each of them?

2. Can I simply request just the charges that have been made rather than my entire statement history? (Save the trees!!) and If so, do you have a template for the letter of request?

Thank you for your help!!