Those bank charges - question

raven_3

Hi

My OH is trying to claim back around 1.4k in bank charges from Barclays, but at the moment it's with the small claims court. We've realised the bank, if they do cough up, are likely to shut his account down - it's got a 3k overdraft on it that he can't afford to pay off

I'm a bit worried now. If it DOES go this far, what would they do in order to claim that money back? Would he be in serious trouble or would it be more like a debt collection agency job where you pay back so much per week/month?

Thank you.

Gemmzie

They do suggest opening a parachute account - another account with another bank as they do have the right to close the account.

Not sure what that means in terms of the overdraft but I'm sure someone will

Floss

You need to open another account with a different bank ASAP.

Try NatWest's Step Account, Alliance & leicester or Co-op Bank too.

They may not close his account, but if so, they will probably want the money back fairly quickly. Maybe he could pay off some of the O/D with his fees refund? And convert the balance into a loan or pay so much off a month.

CLAPTON

An overdraft is usually repayable on demand i.e. the bank can at any time demand repayment. It is therefore somewhat risky upsetting your bank while you still want an overdraft facility with them.

You haven't said what your OH's financial situation is or whether he has a good credit rating but maybe OH could open a new a/c with an overdraft facility or use a credit card with low LOB or similar.


At worst, if you can't repay the o/d when demanded they could default the amount and OH credit rating would be marked accordingly. It would then be like anyother debt and they could pursue it as any creditor would.

raven_3

Hi
Thanks for the replies.
He does already have another bank account, a First Direct one he opened a while ago so that may come in useful.
He's in a lot of debt (around 20k), 12k or so of which is a loan, the rest credit cards and overdraft I suppose he could try to add it to his loan if they'd allow it. His credit report isn't as bad as I imagined it would be - he's been good with payments I think.
Aah, this claiming back charges seems a good idea at the time but he's in a very fragile position with them anyway with the amount they lend him in overdraft!

Thank you for your help!

Dr.Shoe_2

I'm in a similar position which is why I have prevaricated so long, but sod it! the SAR goes off tomorrow!