First Direct - (merged)

nat8882

Hi folks,

I've been receiving Martin's emails and had contemplated reclaiming bank charges but hadn't done anything about it until they charged me for withdrawing cash at an ATM which took me over my limit (here was me thinking that an OD limit would prevent me from taking money out :wall: - what annoyed me most about this was that the money was sitting in my savings account to be transferred over!)

And so it brought me to this forum (now on a mission!). After reading my way through all 17 pages, I sent off a letter to First Direct asking for my statements.

They sent me a reply on the 9th acknowledging my letter which I received today (13th) saying they will send my statements by courier. Does anybody know how long the statements are sent after this letter? (simply as I'd like to be here when the courier comes with highlighter and calculator at the ready!)

Nat


PS Can I also mention that I used to work for them....

aprile_2

I have recived similar letter yesterday I am interested to know when to expect the curier, also in the summary of the charges there is overdraft fee/excess overdraft fee and debit interest. do I have to add them all up or fees only. thank you

zml

It took a couple of days from receipt of the letter for my statements to arrive by courier, which was DHL. I have claimed for overdraft fee, excess overdraft fee and interest on these charges. Use the calculator off this site to work this out. I only had 2 yrs worth, it make take a bit longer to get the full 6 yrs worth.

lmeehan67

howardmcheng wrote: »

Hi guys,

I'm new to this forum. The money saving tips on bank charges attracted me here. Thank you Martin!

I was just wondering if someone could help me with First Direct charges. They have 2 types, one is an "Overdraft Fee" the other is an "Excess Overdraft Fee". I think they say one is for going over firstly, and the other is for making further transactions when having gone over.

Can I claim for both or just the one where they charge me for firstly going over?

Thanks guys in advance.

Hi, just to let you know you CAN claim for both of these charges

michymong

Hi

I already had my last 6 years worth of statements, so I sent the standard letter to First Direct on 6th March requesting that they repay all my charges totalling £2935.50. I have received a letter from them today (can't believe how quick and only one letter) offering me £2250 in full and final settlement and they are not willing to consider a claim for charges relating to unpaid direct debits (which total £262.50). They say their offer will remain in place for 10 working days.

Can I claim unpaid direct debits and has anyone had any experience with First Direct, hwo do they react? Do I accept their offer or do I send them a letter saying 'I will accept the sum offered only as part settlement and on the clear understanding that I will pursue recovery of the remainder, with a County Court claim if necessary'. Although this terrifies me! Don’t know what to do, could do with the money and don’t want to risk it, but then again don’t think they should get away with not paying the full amount.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Twinkly

michymong wrote: »

Hi

I already had my last 6 years worth of statements, so I sent the standard letter to First Direct on 6th March requesting that they repay all my charges totalling £2935.50. I have received a letter from them today (can't believe how quick and only one letter) offering me £2250 in full and final settlement and they are not willing to consider a claim for charges relating to unpaid direct debits (which total £262.50). They say their offer will remain in place for 10 working days.

Can I claim unpaid direct debits and has anyone had any experience with First Direct, hwo do they react? Do I accept their offer or do I send them a letter saying 'I will accept the sum offered only as part settlement and on the clear understanding that I will pursue recovery of the remainder, with a County Court claim if necessary'. Although this terrifies me! Don’t know what to do, could do with the money and don’t want to risk it, but then again don’t think they should get away with not paying the full amount.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Unpaid Direct Debit charge falls within the charges that you can claim so you can pursue the remainder of the claim if you wish. Take a look through the success thread, dont be discouraged and good luck

jennyjudd

Every month, when my husband gets paid, he pays some of his wages into my account. They automatically transfer from his account to mine via a regular payment set up online.

2 Weeks ago this happened as usual, but on the same day I had a direct debit going out.

The direct debit was returned and I was charged £38 for this :eek:

I normally use the internet well into the small hours and do a fair amount of internet banking, so I am very aware that changes to my account take place at 2 a.m.

When I phoned the bank to ask why they had returned the direct debit, they said it was because the funds needed to be in the account 24 hours before, and the direct debit clears at midnight.

Why then has this only just happened, this situation has happened before with no returning of d/d's?

Why doesn't my payment clear at midnight too?

Why doesn't my account change until 2.a.m.?

Are they just ripping us off again, because they think they can?

:mad:

I'm so mad with them

:mad:
:mad:
:mad:
:mad:

nickmack

jennyjudd wrote: »

When I phoned the bank to ask why they had returned the direct debit, they said it was because the funds needed to be in the account 24 hours before, and the direct debit clears at midnight.

Why then has this only just happened, this situation has happened before with no returning of d/d's?

Why doesn't my payment clear at midnight too?

Why doesn't my account change until 2.a.m.?

Are they just ripping us off again, because they think they can?

Sounds like typical bank logic. Make sure all the payments due out go first then charge the customer and allow payments in to cover the charges!

HariboJunkie

This has happened with me recently too. Most of my direct debits come out on the first of the month but recently they have been coming out on the last day of the old month but dated the 1st!!!
They are soooo sneaky. I once knew that I had enough to cover all my small direct debits but it was touch and go if a large one for my bank loan would clear. When I checked online at midnight al the small DDs had come off ok. When I looked again at 9am these had all been returned unpaid (5 at a charge of £35 each) so the large bank loan to themselves could be paid whereas if they had reurned just that one I would only have been charged once.

Outrageous!!

I had done everything in my power to avoid this and had moved all the money from my husband's business account to cover as much of the DDs as possible but one of his customers was late paying. The bank refused to extend our £100 overdraft to stop this happening.

DebtMan_2

Hi All,

New here, please be gentle with me.

For a while I was accruing bank charges at a rate of £130/month. When they became unmanageable and I was ridiculously overdrawn, FD offered me a loan as it would doubtless be cheaper to pay.

TBH, it got me out of a tight spot and, by and large, FD have been excellent to bank with.

I have asked for records concerning my history of bank charges with them and am awaiting a reply.

I was just wondering about whether or not to ask for them to repay the remainder of my loan, as it was designed to recover/repay the charges I had accrued. Or would that be pushing them too much? What would be my grounds for doing so?