Barclays Bank (merged)

monkeymax

Hello all,
Yesterday i noticed Barclays had paid £2261 into my account 2 weeks ago with no reason why. I have recently asked Barclays to reopen my case (on hold since Aug 07) under hardship causes. Today i recieved a letter (overweight so i had to pay an extra £1.14 to post to recieve it) stating that this is a payment towards, financial hardship and my case is now closed... pfffft

I originally claimed for £3k of charges. Since then this has risen and with interest to date including court costs already paid comes to £5080. I have now sent Barclays a letter stating thanks but i want more or i'm off the the FSA. Hopefully as they agree i'm in hardship they will pay me the remainder instead of me having to go to the Financial Ombudsman.

I'll let you know what happens

grecianite

alanm2063 wrote: »

Sent my letter to reclaim and recieved two letters back one saying they acknowledge the complaint but are placing it on hold until the test case has finished even though ive claimed under financial hardship, the 2nd letter refers to the personal reserve fees and they have flat out said we will not be refunding these charges and state that in june 2008 they wrote to all current account customers stating about the new charges and that with the reserve it is fair and transparent as it shows how much you can use and that the fee is £22 for a five day period that you use the reserve. My complaint about the reserve will be stored for 8 weeks and if i have not made contact they will consider it case closed.

Hi Alan,

I'm in the same boat. Am tempted to raise a complaint still, but was wondering what others experience of this was and if it is worth it?

I see the charges as unfair and disproportionate, so am really tempted to prepair a letter.

Also, I am £1200 overdrawn at the mo and am abit concerned that this might be called (not having a parachute od), does anyone know if they do call in ods?

Thanks,

John

squink

grecianite wrote: »

Hi Alan,

I'm in the same boat. Am tempted to raise a complaint still, but was wondering what others experience of this was and if it is worth it?

Also, I am £1200 overdrawn at the mo and am abit concerned that this might be called (not having a parachute od), does anyone know if they do call in ods?

Thanks,

John

Hi - am one of those who made a claim back in 07 to Barclays (around £1K), used the recorded letters route (quoting all the arguments as per templates/advice available - have a good look around this site, and others, are a few) - got fobbed off by bank (quoting OFT case), left it alone, picked it up again last May I think and added on charges incurred since (as can do) got a total "no chance" response including when I threatened court, took to court, got stayed - had hoped might pay out off the cuff as others I had read, but won't budge with me to date, and now everyone seems to be sticking to the "wait until the ruling" response.

As per the advice given here I opened a parachute account (wise to do in the circ's as no guarantee the bank won't turn nasty - stories seem to be "luck of the draw". Alliance and Leicester are still giving away £100 to open a new account - also if you transfer your d/d's AND have been in credit in 2 consecutive months (I think) then you get an interest free o/d for a year - doublecheck the terms - which you can use to pay off your Barclays o/d pay without interest....)

ONLY when all my d/debits and income had transferred did they try to close my account and reclaim the overdraft. HOWEVER I had read they're not allowed to do this (close account) if there's an unsettled dispute (so put your complaint in first) - I wrote a letter to this effect (found a template somewhere online) and my account stayed open.

Due to my circumstances I have (tried to) claim financial hardship having asked the FOS if my circumstances qualified - they say I do but the bank is hedging (I also cocked up with the claim, thinking it applied to the courts not the bank - another story). Anyway I've been using a debt management agency (CCCS; the CAB will do same) which helps manage my repayments (looks at your income/outgoings, works out what you can afford in repayments, sends to your creditor on official notepaper - gives more clout). The upshot here is, the bank will send you nasty letters demanding full repayment or threatening you with a default that goes on your credit file (I haven't had an actual one yet, just threats); providing you're paying them SOMETHING every month, and have (or an agency does for you) informed them that due to your financial circ's that is all you can afford (they'll ask you to give a budget breakdown to support this if you don't go through an agency) - then you're covered. They could take you to court (unlikely) but your paying reg. goes in your favour.

So, we got left alone re our (hefty) overdraft when I made a complaint about charges; it wasn't till we opened the new account that the bank got nasty. But that's no guarantee to you; others have suffered by claiming and NOT opening the parachute. It really depends on how much you are owed/need the money (which won't be forthcoming for a while by the looks of things) versus it being worth the hassle.

Lastly, I haven't tried this for the big claim but some people say they've had more success phoning up (re charges refund) - I think this relies on getting the right person (though I always found they'd refund me up to 2 charges when I asked nicely). I prefer having it in writing (use recorded) though much good it's done me!

This has turned into a short story - but you did ask! Is it worth it? Well I thought so on the basis of so many others getting a wodge back, and the advice is, the sooner you get your claim in, the sooner in line you'll be if/when the day of reckoning comes, so nothing to lose (well maybe your credit rating) - Barclays won't like you for it though!
Cheers y'all :hello:

squink

alanm2063 wrote: »

anybody able to advise or help??

I answered John's response to this not seeing your earlier message - I came out of Barclays before they introduced the reserve fees (what a scam) but the same legal logic must apply to unauthorised overdraft fees - if you read Martin's explanation of why they are refutable despite being clearly advertised ie.: the fact someone prewarns you that they are going to punch you doesn't make it legal when they do (or something like that!) Best advice is to spend some time reading through all his advice - it really will pay off, you feel more confident if you understand the system - also he gives some links to other sites which exist PURELY to fight the bank charges issue, with solicitors on, even. (One of them even does a "buddy" system if you take your bank to court!)

I tried the f/hardship route (but cocked up as I said) - am going to tackle again this week with the bank but with a bit more care this time - you have to prepare well I've found - know your facts. I thought that the courts overruled the stay put on bank cases if you qualified for f/h - felt a right idiot in court when found wasn't the case - it seems to be that the bank has to unhold your claim if you are in f/h - what's ambiguous is that this seems to be at the judgment of the bank, who are hardly going to be fair and impartial. I phoned up the FOS, told them my circ's and they stated I counted as being in f/h - but the banks seem to be a law unto themselves here so far as I can understand. I presume if you escalate it to a complaint with the FOS, who agree with you, this must carry some weight (though I'm not holding my breath as to how much clout they carry).

Anyway, if you haven't done this already, they (have to) send you a budget sheet ie. to show where your difficulties lie. This is where you have to really plead your case I think, providing you can evidence your problems are genuine via the figures, and also write a supporting letter (go for it, lay it on thick). Having a debt management agency/CAB on your side lends some weight too ie. get them to send in the info. If they knock you back (unfairly) this is more evidence to pass onto the FOS.

Importantly, the bank made it clear that a charges refund claim is dealt with totally separately to a case of financial hardship (this is correct, I checked); they even insultingly implied it was not to be used as a shortcut way of paying off my overdraft! BUT qualifying for the second means the first has to be addressed - confusing.

Also get a copy of the banking code (should have sent you one) - clearly lays out how helpful they should be....you can quote it back to them when they haven't followed it .

They always flatly tell you no chance etc., and the first time it can be very effective (put me off bothering about 8 months) but that's the business they're in - keeping their money and yours with it - no better than politicians....You have to read the arguments, don't be intimidated (they're just a/holes) - it's all posturing - don't back off, and they may give in (bit like a stag rut really...don't be a hamster )
So take your time reading up, prepare well - just make sure it goes in before the 8 weeks (and recorded del.) . That's just the system - they have to reply to you in time as well.

One trick I found they do - for you to escalate your claim to the FOS (should you get to that stage), the bank has to clearly state it has given its' "final decision" - I've noticed they keep bouncing it back to me without saying this so making it difficult for me to take it further. Another thing I need to pursue - it can get into a load of gameplaying, again if you're not clear on the procedures.

Meant to keep this short - fat chance - hope it helps anyway :eek:

Manxrocker

Hi all first time poster just getting the ball rolling following the encouraging recent developments.

Have just contacted Barclays by phone to request charge list for last 6 years to be told that there is now a MINIMUM charge of £20 for statements and there is no other way they can collate the charge information separately without going through the statements with a fine toothcomb as I will have to.

Has anyone else experienced this or have an opinion on the honesty/legality of this policy? They made it clear they were the only bank doing this so I joked that that must be because so many people are trying to reclaim unfair charges from them!

chipbeck

Manxrocker wrote: »

Hi all first time poster just getting the ball rolling following the encouraging recent developments.

Have just contacted Barclays by phone to request charge list for last 6 years to be told that there is now a MINIMUM charge of £20 for statements and there is no other way they can collate the charge information separately without going through the statements with a fine toothcomb as I will have to.

Has anyone else experienced this or have an opinion on the honesty/legality of this policy? They made it clear they were the only bank doing this so I joked that that must be because so many people are trying to reclaim unfair charges from them!

Was only £10 when I asked a couple of years ago so I'm very surprised they are charging more now. Certainly not like Barclays to try and make money out of people.
I do think that they will have to pay some if not all of the charges back at some stage so will it not then be there problem identifying how much they owe everybody? Surely they won't just hope that people don't want the money back.

esmerellda

the DPA is a maximum fee of £10 - and thats for everything they hold on you. It will mean a list of all your transactions and you will have to go through it yourself, personally i think that is better than asking the bank to sort out your charges list for you, would you trust them ?

you also want ALL info EVER, not just 6 years

JemJam

When Barclays replied to my letter they didn't send the statements, just the list of charges. Did they do this with anyone else?? The list is about right mind as I have got most of the letters I was sent over the period I incurred these charges and it tally's up right, am just curious to know??
Jem

squink

Interesting (well not really) I first claimed July 07 and didn't get asked for a penny (statements not charge list) - if you explicitly ask for statements they would have to comply - suspect it varies in part to who you happen to talk to/luck of the draw - and perhaps they're getting nastier now too (imagine the training sessions these days: "milk the b***ards for everything you can get - customers, scum of the earth" etc. etc. "we won't be here for xmas anyway") - you have to be 110% explicit, know your facts/rights and let them know you do, and if they keep messing you about go higher, and higher, and higher....
Almost makes life worth living doesn't it....;)

Just out of interest, has anyone found a particular dept. who are nicer/more amenable to saying "yes" (apart from on the freephone customer relations no. where they dripping with niceness and sympathy since of course they can't make any decisions - how cynical is that)

squink

Manxrocker wrote: »

Has anyone else experienced this or have an opinion on the honesty/legality of this policy? They made it clear they were the only bank doing this so I joked that that must be because so many people are trying to reclaim unfair charges from them!

PS: lying toerags (they are)