Wherediditallgo’s ‘path to enlightenment’ bankruptcy diary

wherediditallgo

15 June - My branch rang me this morning, & said that the credit card dept have agreed to refund the £60, but not the £135 taken in May as they said they only knew about me being BR yesterday. I know that's a total lie because I'd rung them at least twice already - even when I rang credit card services this morning, the woman (I've got her name) confirmed the records showed that I rang them on Sat 14 April & gave them the BR details, so I don't know what they're playing at. I've told them that I'm not a thief or a liar so a complaint will be going in. Rang the Financial Ombudsman, & found out that, once you've gone BR, the Financial Ombudsman won't help you on anything to do with current accounts unless it was an account opened after your order was granted. I won't be passing that detail on to the bank, otherwise they'll probably down tools.

I've basically got to argue my case with the bank myself - it's just as well that I made a note of the dates, & kept the letters. I spent ages on the phone with them this morning, & they're going to get the bankruptcy department to call me tomorrow (they've only had two months to do it in). They'll refund the £60, but until they have details of my order they won't refund the £135 or any charges associated with the two amounts being taken. They've admitted it's a bank error (I've got the woman's name who told me that, & her position), but can't do any more without the BR order's details. The fact that they've had those details for over two months doesn't seem to have sunk in with them. :mad: I've faxed a complaint to credit card services & their collection department, & have also sent a copy of it to my branch.

As soon as I get my money back & have submitted my charges claim, I'll withdraw everything except £1 from the account. Once my charges claim is settled, I'll close it completely.

NekoZombie

Have you called the OR to find out when they wrote to them? In addition to your correspondence they must also have heard from the OR by now.

wherediditallgo

I'm sure they have, because I was told that in two separate phone calls. It looks to me that credit card services either haven't given collections all the info on my account, or didn't give it all at the same time, so they can add maladministration to their faults. They acknowledge that they knew I was BR before they took the money, so I'm leaving the OR out of it until I find out whether I'm definitely getting the money back or not. Involving him will probably make things more protracted, & I don't want to be in a position where they try to send him the money instead of giving it to me. :eek: At the moment, they're giving me the £60 & if they do the same with the rest of it I'll better off than if I ask him to sort it (he hasn't replied to a letter sent to him two weeks ago yet), & things will get resolved a lot sooner. I've ranted & raved today with them, so I'm hoping a decision will be made one way or the other tomorrow.

The woman who told me that the BR dept would call me tomorrow acknowledged that they knew of my BR on 14 April & said the taking of the money was "a bank error". She also said that once the date I went BR is clarified then any debits and charges done after that date would be refunded to me. If I get any nonsense on that score tomorrow, I'm going to remind them that the money was taken in breach of the insolvency regulations - if I'd have tried to pay them, I'd have been in trouble for trying to give money to a creditor instead of going through the OR, so I couldn't have given it to them even if I'd wanted to. I wasn't allowed to give them money, & once they knew of my BR they weren't allowed to try to take it, with or without my involvement.

owetoomuch

WDIAG next time you speak to your OR ask for an email address to contact him/her. When I had my interview I asked my OR if there was an email address I could contact him on as I wouldn't be able to make calls from work. He said he would prefer to get emails as his desk was overflowing with paperwork, this might explain why your OR hasn't been in touch yet.

wherediditallgo

I've got his e-mail address, but I just didn't think to use it. :doh: I'll send an e-mail Monday morning, so that it's at the top of his inbox.

Remmer

I emailed him/her almost daily about this and that! Early D was his/her way of getting rid of me. Bless it

NekoZombie

Remmer wrote: »

I emailed him/her almost daily about this and that! Early D was his/her way of getting rid of me. Bless it

Remmer, excellent plan! I think that's what I'll do!:rolleyes:

wherediditallgo

22 June - Looks like I've won the battle with the bank, & without involving the OR too. I got a letter today confirming that they're going to send me a cheque for the money they took that they shouldn't have. :j It seems I'm stronger than I thought.

The OR has also confirmed that I can spend the £45 cheque I got from the other bank when they closed my account, so I'll be able to bank both cheques some time next week.

wherediditallgo

23 June - The promised cheque arrived today. :j

"Beat The Bailiff" is back this weekend, & every weekend until late August. I've decided to put some of the episodes on dvd, with the amounts each person owed in the title. I sometimes worry that the pain/effect of going BR may wear off in a year or so, especially if I get offered credit facilities. The dvd should serve as a very good warning of what the future might hold for me if I take up the offer.

Posthinking

I think you, I and many others here have a lot more sense than to do that again sweet