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Santander - can I claim newish charges back?

I have a small bank account with Santander with a couple of direct debits – it’s not main account and it internet based – i work 80 hours a week with 2 jobs so took my eye off the balls with this – basically that account ran out of money and Im not left with £800 in charges from Santander – it’s just an accumulation of charges – they have been calling while Im working – am I best to call them to discuss or write to them – I can’t afford these charges and first time in my life that it has happened so i just want to close this account but can’t afford those charges or do i have no option but just to pay?
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Comments

  • How long has it taken to accumulate these charges? Have you paid anything into this account?
    You certainly need to speak to them - they might help you they might not you never know the telephone operator might also be on an 80 hour week doing 2 jobs.
  • opinions4u
    opinions4u Posts: 19,411 Forumite
    You can't claim anything.

    But you can appeal for mercy.

    Ring, and ask nicely if they'll reimburse all. If they say no, ask them to reimburse some.
  • YorkshireBoy
    YorkshireBoy Posts: 31,541 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    What's the total amount of charges?
    Over what period have they been amassed?
    What are they termed on your statement? ie underfunding, paid item, unpaid item, daily unauthorised overdraft usage fee, etc.

    When you run an internet based account you're expected to monitor it online (since you don't receive posted statements).

    Santander have been known to refund 1 x £25 fee as a goodwill gesture. I'm guessing your charges are a lot more than this?
  • meer53
    meer53 Posts: 10,217 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You must have had a problem with your "couple" of direct debits for a while to rack up that amount of charges ! Did i read correctly - £800 ? Is there other spending on the account too ? You might get a small amount refunded but why have you left it so long ? Everyones busy these days, it's no excuse really anymore, it takes a couple of minutes to check a balance online. Why did you think they were calling you ? Did you call them back at all ? Good luck !
  • The monthly cap on charges in Santander for unauthorised use is £150 in any statement month, so if you divide £800 by 150 you get just over 5 months. Quite a bit of time for not noticing.

    I highly doubt they'll refund £800 of charges, I suspect you'd be best speaking to the collections team on 0845 6039035 (ignore the IVR options about charges!) and when speaking to someone arrange a repayment plan. I've seen them sometimes knock off decent amounts, but not always. But as it's not due to Santander error, you may have to take this on the chin and pay off slowly.

    But I will warn you that this will already be showing on your credit file, so the quicker you come to an arrangement, the better. Best of luck. :)
  • Hi I called and was advised its been passed to collection the first person before colelctions said the max he could reduce was £130 but he said colelctions would not reduce for me - think its maybe worthwhile speaking to collections so will call them tomorrow - my working day 7 days a week starts at 830am and ends at 10.30pm 7 days a week im a single parent with a 5 year old - this is why its missed and at 40 ive never been in debt before so this isnt a laziness issue its a trying to get by in the world by working hard issue :) sometimes mistakes happen but we are all human !
  • meer53
    meer53 Posts: 10,217 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    MadMax wrote: »
    Hi I called and was advised its been passed to collection the first person before colelctions said the max he could reduce was £130 but he said colelctions would not reduce for me - think its maybe worthwhile speaking to collections so will call them tomorrow - my working day 7 days a week starts at 830am and ends at 10.30pm 7 days a week im a single parent with a 5 year old - this is why its missed and at 40 ive never been in debt before so this isnt a laziness issue its a trying to get by in the world by working hard issue :) sometimes mistakes happen but we are all human !

    Collections will probably just ask for a repayment plan from you for the remainder. To be honest, to get £130 off is a bonus. I'm not being judgemental here, i'm a single parent too who works and has 2 kids, but you really should find the time to keep up to date. Can you not check your account online ? To end up with £800 in charges is a huge mistake, your bank won't look on it as a mistake though, they'll ask why you left it so long. You'll need to check your credit file too, you may find it difficult to get credit in the future now.
  • MadMax wrote: »
    Hi I called and was advised its been passed to collection the first person before colelctions said the max he could reduce was £130 but he said colelctions would not reduce for me - think its maybe worthwhile speaking to collections so will call them tomorrow - my working day 7 days a week starts at 830am and ends at 10.30pm 7 days a week im a single parent with a 5 year old - this is why its missed and at 40 ive never been in debt before so this isnt a laziness issue its a trying to get by in the world by working hard issue :) sometimes mistakes happen but we are all human !
    Your first post was at 3.32 pm, today's at 4.53pm so it is obvious to me that if you can find time to post on here you could have found time to phone Santander or spend a couple of minutes checking your Santander statement.
    If the matter is in Collections then you must have also ignored a ton of correspondence.
    I agree take the £130 reduction and agree a repayment plan.
  • callum9999
    callum9999 Posts: 4,436 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Your first post was at 3.32 pm, today's at 4.53pm so it is obvious to me that if you can find time to post on here you could have found time to phone Santander or spend a couple of minutes checking your Santander statement.
    If the matter is in Collections then you must have also ignored a ton of correspondence.
    I agree take the £130 reduction and agree a repayment plan.

    I wouldn't agree. Keep pressing to get more back - emphasise your working hours and all the usual apologies, it will never happen again, you really can't afford to lose that amount of money etc.

    Write a detailed letter to and/or try and call the CEO office with all this in with a plea to cancel them.

    They aren't obliged to give any more back, but they have nothing to lose by keeping at it. And according to someone else on here who works in a branch, customers are supposedly entitled to get ALL overdrawn charges refunded once in a 12 month period (no idea how DD fees will come into this though). I doubt they will get it all back, but they have a half decent chance of getting more than £130 knocked off.
  • steve1980
    steve1980 Posts: 2,334 Forumite
    edited 15 December 2011 at 9:28AM
    MadMax wrote: »
    Hi I called and was advised its been passed to collection the first person before colelctions said the max he could reduce was £130 but he said colelctions would not reduce for me - think its maybe worthwhile speaking to collections so will call them tomorrow - my working day 7 days a week starts at 830am and ends at 10.30pm 7 days a week im a single parent with a 5 year old - this is why its missed and at 40 ive never been in debt before so this isnt a laziness issue its a trying to get by in the world by working hard issue :) sometimes mistakes happen but we are all human !

    So you work 14 hours a day? 98 hours a week? And that's without your travelling time. I hope your employer got you to sign away your rights to the Working Time Directive and they don't find out that you're posting on internet forums instead of working.
    Estate Agent, Web Designer & All Round Geek!
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