Lloyds overdraft charge, I need some advice please...

MonsterFrank

Dear all,

I am writing here in hope that someone can help me or point me in the right direction. I have done research on this myself but on a topic as complex as this someone might be able to give me some extra help...

So here we go:

I opened a bank account at Lloyds TSB bank back in 2008, it was my second bank account in the UK and more as a backup account. I never really used it... And it never really had more than a few quid in it. End of 2008 I had a problem with my main account at Natwest and had to pay my mobile phone bill to Orange, so I put money into my Lloyds account and paid Orange from that. Big mistake... Orange now had my bank details and instead of charging my Natwest account the next month they decided to charge my Lloyds bank account, but only once...

Like I said, this account never really had any money on it and I did not check it because noone (so I though, ORANGE!!) had the account details.. Anyway, after having problems with my bank account at Natwest and paying Orange once from my Lloyds account I just got a bill sent to me every month and I paid Orange every month via bank transfer manually from my Natwest account . I did not notice that they had taken one payment, only one, of around 30GBP off my Lloyds account until about 1 month after getting a call from Lloyds telling me my account was in debt.

Ok, I though, 30GBP in debt.. I'll transfer the money over from my Natwest account and all would be good. Wrong. First I got some crazy charge of 30GBP for the "unauthorised overdraft"... Frank=pretty angry...

To cut the rest of the story short: I was done with uni shortly after and had to go back to Germany for personal reasons. I got a text (!!!) from Lloyds every 2 weeks telling me what my account looked like and every few weeks they kept adding more and more charges. Two times the charges were over 200GBP each (!), at the moment I am around 700GBP overdrawn, of which only 15GBP are still from the money Orange took back then... I sent a complaint to them via template letter from this website here and they just said sorry, blabla, we will wrote to you. They never wrote another letter... I have given them my new adresse, but never received anything from them. I only get texts every few weeks telling me that they added some new charges, sometimes a call, usually in the middle of the night or while at work so I cannot answer it and when I call back it just gives me some 0845 number to call and puts me in a queue... yea, I really want to pay them more money for talking to those *******!

I was wondering if there is anything I can do? Should I write them another letter? I have now moved to the UK again, full time employment, but they do not have this adresse. I just guess my credit score is getting wrecked..

If anyone has any ideas about what I could do, please let me know.. I am grateful for anything.

I know that I have to deal with this and I am, I just do not see a point in paying them 700GBP for being 30GBP overdraw for money Orange took from my account without my permission!

Thanks for reading this and I look forward to your answers/help.

Thanks
Frank

MonsterFrank

Can anyone please help/provide me with any hints on what to do? please...

hicskis

Your way out lies with the fact that orange took money from your account without your authority. If i understand right you made a manual payment from the lloyds account to orange and then continued to pay them manually from natwest.

You would have had to authorize orange to take the money and as there are safeguards in place lloyds would have had to verify that authority.

Lloyds could not have verified your authority if you did not give it.

Therefore asks lloyds for evidence of that authority. No authority, no 30 quid withdrawn, no reason to charge.

Read my thread found here entitled "Taking thr Fight Back".

Be nice and polite at first and maybe try to deal with this with the Manager at your local branch in person. Check you credit files to see where you stand there too.

If they do not roll over straight away and refund all the charges and repair your credit files then play hard ball.

Good Luck.

naomi_r_2

Hi Frank,

This seems pretty similar to what happened to me - - charges started in 2006 after forgetting about a phone insurance. Lloyds repeatedly bullied me into making a payment plan which I did follow for a few months. However the charges were extortionate ( overall £2000 for a £35 direct debit) .

I began the reclaiming fight last May and have today been offered half this amount which I intend to negotiate on.

You should not give up, keep on writing and press the financial ombudsman. If you are struggling to pay debts or living expenses you need to say so as this will help. If you are refused credit cards due to a bad credit score then this can also prove you are in difficulty.

Go Frank Go!