How do i stop unfair bank charges?

Austinl

Hey there,

I'm currently being informed by my bank HSBC they i owe them £50 that are all in bank charges.

I was struggling to stay in finances when i lost my job in October and had to spend all my benefits just to survive. I then went a few pounds over drawn, which HSBC decided to charge me £15 for the privledge, but when this amount came out, it ate into my finances, meaning to live i had to dig into my overdraft, i went to the bank for help, and to try and stop these charges so i could get myself back in credit. I was basically told, its not our problem, you should learn to control your money more. In 3 months i managed to get fined almost £200, which i paid £150 of. I decided to stop using that account in December, at the end of December i recieved another £13, then another one of £35, with interest, it is now just over £50. They are threatening to pass my case to a debt collector, and destroy my credit rating over this. I have pleeded and tried to negotiate with the bank in order to help me clear this dispute but they just refuse, ive offered to pay £5 a month, they refused cause it would take too long to pay.

They have told me to borrow £50 off a friend to pay it off. But i currently have no income, no benefits, i live on a friends sofa, what can i do?

If anybody can help that would be fantastic, because i am quite young and not really well knowledged in what i can and cannot do in this situation.

Thanks guys, Lee.

Premier_2

I would suggest you start by reading the very informative MSE article on the matter - link at top of page