Dad and mum help with barclays - fos or court

beastra

Hi

I am not sure if this is in the correct thread.

My Dad and mum had trouble with Barclays and ended up having to go bankrupt because of them adding masses of interest onto a loan.

Barclays then harassed them by letters, phone calls from various numbers and threats on the phone saying they would have their house taken away from them.

We complained to Barclays and finally they offered a measly sum of £50 compensation and gave a final letter.

My parents have undergone stress, my dad has cancer and his count has increased and they asked for a higher sum to reflect the hassle they have suffered.

My problem now is which is the best way for them to go. Is it to go to court to issue a request or to complain to the financial ombudsman? Any help would be great.

Lokolo

If you reject their offer then you can go to the FOS. Or you can counter their offer with something you feel is appropriate.

Once you have exhausted the banks complaints department you can go from here.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

However, going to the FOS doesn't mean you will get anything, they may find in favour of the bank.

McKneff

And it could take a long time with added stress to be honest.

I had a case with my pension and it took the FOS exactly a year from start to finish.

meer53

More information would be needed before anyone could provide any constructive advice. Your post is quite vague.

beastra

My parents took out a loan and an account with an overdraft which really Barclays should not have given them.

The overdraft built up and was rising in charges each month.

In the end the total owed to Barclays was £20k and with my dad having cancer and those issues and mum have illness the stress was too much.

The adviser at their branch told them to change banks and stay away from Barclays. This is when the constant phone calls and letters began. Calls were coming in at 6 a day from all different numbers and letters of 2 a week.

One operator threatened them with taking their home and sending bailiffs in to remove possessions.

They sought advice and were told to go bankrupt. They started the process and still Barclays did not stop even after the court case.

We complained and have now exhausted the complaint procedure. Their offer has always been £50 but mum and dad asked for £2000 for the stress as per the two halifax cases that were won on that basis.

They do not know what to do now and that is why I am seeking advice as I am at a loss.

JuicyJesus

beastra wrote: »

My parents took out a loan and an account with an overdraft which really Barclays should not have given them.

The overdraft built up and was rising in charges each month.

Not really Barclays' fault - they didn't tell them to spend the money, nor did they make them apply for loans and overdraft inceases.

The adviser at their branch told them to change banks and stay away from Barclays. This is when the constant phone calls and letters began. Calls were coming in at 6 a day from all different numbers and letters of 2 a week.

The adviser should not be saying such things. The best thing to do in these circumstances is not to ignore calls, but to try to come to an agreement with the bank to repay the debt, even if only at a few quid each month. The frantic robodialling from an arrears team only usually takes effect if they don't receive any contact whatsoever.

Normally I would say this is the customer's fault and they should have come to an agreement, and that the worst thing you could possibly do is stick your head in the sand as it will only make things worse. But if they were explicitly told to avoid contact, that is an entirely different matter. I would get down pat exactly what this branch adviser said.

One operator threatened them with taking their home and sending bailiffs in to remove possessions.

They sought advice and were told to go bankrupt. They started the process and still Barclays did not stop even after the court case.

The former is definitely possible. The latter part is wrong. Bankruptcy writes off all debts. Period. If it was granted then Barclays are not allowed to try and collect on them

We complained and have now exhausted the complaint procedure. Their offer has always been £50 but mum and dad asked for £2000 for the stress as per the two halifax cases that were won on that basis.

They do not know what to do now and that is why I am seeking advice as I am at a loss.

Based on what you've told us here, your parents have a case. Being told to explicitly avoid contact with the bank is stupid - it is exactly what you should not do in this scenario - and trying to collect on a debt that was written off as part of bankruptcy is just plain naughty. The Ombudsman will most likely take a dim view of this. I would leave alone the loans and the overdrafts being granted, as Barclays haven't done anything wrong in that respect - they are allowed to grant requests for lending.

The issue with court is that while Barclays have been knobs, you don't have anything to sue them for, it will cost money and there is no guarantee of success. The FOS is free.

McKneff

And remember the FOS will charge the Bank £500 if it takes the case on.
and even if your parents lose, it will serve them right.

woody63

I just read about this thread on the balance between FOS & court, well I have just come off the back of a two & half year complaint with Nationwide C C , over a proven section 75 cca, & the ombudsman service was to put it politely, ineptly incompetent, they had evidence on their desks for nearly two years that proved the case but the ombudsman chose to ignore it, they have missed out important areas of proven consequential losses, they took two years until Nationwide agreed to settle to realise that my consequential losses tallied over the £100K set (£150 K from Jan 2012) then decided to inform me to consider court action, they lost emails, the initial adjudicator blamed me for a breach of contract & when I challenged where he had got his evidence against my bonafide evidence from government bodies, he sent me a defunct link from an old website that had no relevance to the case, they are hopeless, they are arrogant, they have already made errors which if I accept there decision will mean I absorb losses of over £20K.
Don't touch them with a barge pole, i now have to start all over again in the court room because of these useless inadequates. They interperet the law according to natural justice & fairness (so they say) in fact they interperet it to look after the financial houses, they mediate in the financial houses favour, another gov body (so called independent) with political guidance to look after the rich boys!

chanz4

£2k is quite funny, for that they must of called 8 times plus a day. Op move on take the £50 , afte all think of the loss the bank maade with your parents loan and od

Lokolo

woody63 wrote: »

Don't touch them with a barge pole, i now have to start all over again in the court room because of these useless inadequates. They interperet the law according to natural justice & fairness (so they say) in fact they interperet it to look after the financial houses, they mediate in the financial houses favour, another gov body (so called independent) with political guidance to look after the rich boys!

If that were the case - why do they charge the institutions £500 for every complaint thats handed to the FOS?

I doubt it was them being incompetent.

JuicyJesus

chanz4 wrote: »

£2k is quite funny, for that they must of called 8 times plus a day. Op move on take the £50 , afte all think of the loss the bank maade with your parents loan and od

I really don't agree.

First of all, they DID call 8 times a day. Well, 6, but to be honest that's still pretty bad.

Secondly, from what the OP says, someone working for the bank told the couple basically to stick their head in the sand and not do anything. This is the worst possible advice that they could have been given and would have made the situation worse.

Thirdly, they are continuing collections procedures after the couple have gone bankrupt. That is a nono.