Blind/Disabled+1 Day Overdrawn=£136.00 In Charges From HBOS

LizzieT84

Hi,

I received a letter from Halifax Bank Of Scotland this morning informing me that as my account was overdrawn when they attempted to pay direct debits for £15, £19 and £53 and as the money was not in the account until the next day I was to be charged £136.00.

I phoned Halifax and the first lady I spoke to seemed to find it quite amused about the whole affair and when I said about wanting to speak to somebody superior she suggested I put it in writing and (knowing I was blind) decided to add that I better make sure I signed the letter.

I spoke to her superior who said that there was nothing they could do and as a 'good will' gesture HBOS were willing to 'waive' £30 meaning the only charges I'd incur would be a tiny £106.00 for being overdrawn for a day.

She then transferred me to the customer relations department who told me they weren't the customer relations department and gave me the correct number for the customer relations department.

I spoke to a lady in the customer relations department who wasn't especially interested in customer relations and said that if people choose to 'abuse' the terms and conditions of their account then any and all charges they incur are their own fault... not sympathetic in the slightest.

I then spoke to a guy in the Chief Execs office who said that he had the discretion to waive the charges but wouldn't.

Does anyone else think that it's not entirely fair that a disabled person who struggles enough as it is should be charged £136 for being overdrawn for 1 day?

Lizzie

chipmunk

LizzieT84 wrote:

Hi,

I received a letter from Halifax Bank Of Scotland this morning informing me that as my account was overdrawn when they attempted to pay direct debits for £15, £19 and £53 and as the money was not in the account until the next day I was to be charged £136.00.

I phoned Halifax and the first lady I spoke to seemed to find it quite amused about the whole affair and when I said about wanting to speak to somebody superior she suggested I put it in writing and (knowing I was blind) decided to add that I better make sure I signed the letter.

I spoke to her superior who said that there was nothing they could do and as a 'good will' gesture HBOS were willing to 'waive' £30 meaning the only charges I'd incur would be a tiny £106.00 for being overdrawn for a day.

She then transferred me to the customer relations department who told me they weren't the customer relations department and gave me the correct number for the customer relations department.

I spoke to a lady in the customer relations department who wasn't especially interested in customer relations and said that if people choose to 'abuse' the terms and conditions of their account then any and all charges they incur are their own fault... not sympathetic in the slightest.

I then spoke to a guy in the Chief Execs office who said that he had the discretion to waive the charges but wouldn't.

Does anyone else think that it's not entirely fair that a disabled person who struggles enough as it is should be charged £136 for being overdrawn for 1 day?

Lizzie

Hi Lizzie,

It's not "entirely fair" that anyone should be charged in this way. Sorry if this sound harsh but the fact that you are blind is of absolutely no consequence to them at all. For it to do so would mean that they would have to have a concience and they don't. This just makes it even more blatently obvious of the total disregard the banks have for their customers and the disgraceful way they treat them and clearly shows that their only concern is to continue making their obscene profits.

Do what I did, write to them requesting they refund your bank charges, if they refuse to, follow the procedures as shown on the Consumer Action Group http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/ and take the theives to court. You need to be determined and persevere but you WILL get your money back. I did and so have many others.

Don't let them get away with it any longer. !!

ts_aly2000

It's absolutely appaulling. But. I'll tell you what it also is. It's equality and equal rights. Or shall we say, 'selective' equality and equal rights.

On the one hand a bank will charge-let-rip someone who is disabled and clearly disadvantaged. Then on the other hand, will discrimiate against them during employment selection.

It seems to me that the banks (and alot of companies) apply equality rights to suit themselves and in their favour.

Halifax by the way, have a dreadful reputation when it comes to charges. My partner suffered a £1000 fraud, and with say another £1000 in charges on top. They weren't interested. Now, seeing as he is bankrupt, he had the last laugh, wiping out £15k of debt with them. And if they were reasonable, I would not have pushed my partner into going bankrupt. And still the threatening letters and calls came. "We've just charged you xyz." Bully for you, it's your money! Do what you want. Charge 1 million pounds for all I care.

There is another thread on here too. I assume you are using a reader to listen to this. The clickable link follows as the next paragraph on it's own;

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=2910403#post2910403

I do not know what I would do in your position, as I am not in your position. I think that I would go to your local branch and sit there all day until it was dealt with. And tell as many people as possible while there. The worst they can do is to call the police. Which then firmly puts you into media interest land, as in the newspapers.

So. What we have here are three examples of how banks treat those who are clearly disadvantaged. You. The Other Thread. And the link in the other thread which relates to Barclays and a Downs girl. The link for that story follows alone in the next paragraph as before;

http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=zNews&itemid=IPED23%20Apr%202006%2013%3A51%3A32%3A130

With three of you, and with each case clearly documented, this is clearly coming across as an unfair practice.

Please write to your local newspaper. Or write to Which, the consumer group. But, possibly the best people to see would be the Citizens Advice Bureau .

Chin up. We are behind you. What I have read here is plainly unfair when there are those in many thousands of debt, and the banks continue to encourage them. So while there is you, struggling to get by and being careful, they are plainly penalising you for a minor indisgression.

I hope someone with media interest is reading. This is a very big black mark for the banks, who we already know to be underhand but we cannot openly prove it. Those who spend irresponsibly are one thing, but those who become in this position due to a disability are something else.

kuohu

What was the breakdown of the £136?

LizzieT84

2x£39 for unpaid DD, 1x£30 for paid DD, £28 for being overdrawn this month

kuohu

That's astonishing, it really is. I know there are terms and conditions that we all should abide by but that's a hell of a penalty for a one day slip-up. I do hope you fight it and get a good outcome.

Good luck.

Rex_Mundi

chipmunk wrote:

Do what I did, write to them requesting they refund your bank charges, if they refuse to, follow the procedures as shown on the Consumer Action Group http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/ and take the theives to court. You need to be determined and persevere but you WILL get your money back. I did and so have many others.

Don't let them get away with it any longer. !!

I can't recommend the consumeractiongroup highly enough. I've been dealing with my friends account for him. We are in the last stage now before we take it to court. The bank has until a week friday to pay all the charges for the last six years, or we issue a court claim. The amount he is claiming is over £2600. With the court claim, and interest charges, this will go up to over £3200.

Worth reading the advice on the other website.

pulliptears

I feel your pain. We have just been charged £130 in excess overdraft fees by first direct, they cunningly time it though to take payment the day before payday so as to push us overdrawn again and get yet more charges.

We have gone down the court route, they owe us around £1700 now. As soon as they pay up we are moving to Natwest. For the simple reason that it has a branch, and a manager! We can actually go in and argue the fees and (Im told) usually win.

Banks have had it too good for too long.
Jane
x

skintchick

I agree that the charges are outrageous, but I don;t think your disability is relevant to the issue.

£$&*"($£&(

Claim the charges back.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1141050760,24632

Everyone else is:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=226762

woohoo_postingid

As has been said, you can try to claim your money back, you have the right to complaine etc etc.

But please don't bring your disability into this, it makes no difference as to whether you are disabled or not

Good luck