Reclaim Unfair Bank Charges article discussion Part II

u87

hi, i am currently a second year student at university and in need of desperate help so any advice will be greatly appreciated.

i opened a bank account with Lloyds TSB about 1 and a half years ago and it was registered to my university halls address. i bought some presents for my family this christmas and i wasn't aware of the fact that i had gone over by £16 in my account. my bank account did not have an overdraft and i have always been under the impression that if you dont have enough money in your account, then your visa debit card that comes with account does not go through.

i just got a call couple of days ago after all this time from Lloyds telling me that I owe them nearly £235 because they have been chargin me something like £7.50 everyday and then another £15 a month.

i have been told to pay this much by may 1st, 2008. can someone please help me as i am not sure of what to do because i am in debt as it is because of being a student in london. i never used the lloyds bank account after i did that christmas shopping, and i wasnt aware of this problem becuase i had actually not changed my address from university halls to the flat i live at now.

pch3

how long does this whole process work. does it apply to bank accounts which were closed due to the charges. i had a business account with natwest and their charges came upto £900.00, i was unable to pay them as i felt i was unfairly charged and felt that it was money simply being robbed from me by the bank in broad day light, so they closed off the account. the more i deposited, the more i was charged. One wonders when something is going to be done about these ridiculous charges especially for an industry that makes billions and billions of pounds and pays their staff peanuts.

pregnantmum

ok....so I put in my claim (see my previous threads) have sent a settlement offer, first one they said they didn't receive, so sent another letter recorded delivery. It has been signed for etc so I know they have received it, but have just spoken to them over the phone and they are denying getting it. Was told there is nothing that can be done to follow it up. I cheekily asked would it still be the same case if I had sent in money to them, I got the reply yes it would. They are not being very helpful at all and seem to be ignoring my requests. It's frustrating really, I want to put in a claim and have said that I will do this at the end of week. They have had two letters now both giving 14 days for a response so I think I have been more than fair. I'm starting to lose faith in doing this, I know that is what they want but I will continue.

Has anyone else had the same sort of problem with Barclays? I haven't even charged interest but the total amount comes to just short of £8000, I have offered to settle at 25% less of this. I fore warned them if settlement was not excepted then I would add interest etc, but I'm just woundering if anyone is having any joy at the moment and if they can petrhaps advise on something other than court claim?

:-(

kidtechnical

Hi there, I've not posted on these boards for ages but find my self in a bit of dilema. In June of last year I got copies of bank statements for 2 accounts going back 5 yrs (I'm from Coatbridge, Scotland). I have recently written to my bank asking them to refund my charges as I consider myself to be a hardship case (full time student, silly overdraft 0% until aug 09, small bursary to live on).

I have had a letter back from them asking me to fill out a form of my income/outgoings to enable them (rbos) to review my overall financial position. The letter goes on to say:

"if we determine that your case can be considered as financial hardship we will take it forward in line with our Hardship policy. This aims to help you avoid further debt and to assist you recoever from hardship. In doing so we will review your existing banking facilities which may involve:-

• opening a new account or changing your account to a type with no lending facilities attached.
• cancellation of non essential Direct Debits and Standing Orders on yoru account - essential direct debits and standing orders can be set up on the new account if necessary (eg mortgage, rent, council tax, utility bills etc)
• retrun and cancellation of cheque guarantee cards/switch cards - a cash card can be issued on the new account
• return and cancellation of cheque books
• income to be diverted to any new accounts opened
• a mutually agreed monthly sum would be set up on a standing order from the new account to any debt on the existing account"

Interestingly, the form they want me to complete wants to know what my partners income is, but doesn't want to know what his outgoings are. My partner has just started a new job last monday which is double his previous salary. Do I need to tell them my partners salary? after all it is not my information to give!

So I think my options are this:
1. open a new account elsewhere, fill out their form & if they pay up use the money to clear my student overdraft and cease banking with them.
2. don't fill out the form and pursue them through the courts (in my case Airdrie Sherif court who has some kind of test case in the process and if it goes through then everyone one else wanting their charges back via that court will go through).

Any other options? any suggestions as to which direction I should go in?

Many thanks,
A

showergirl

does anyone know why some banks are refunding charges whilst others are making you wait until the test case is over

loopyloo22

hi i have had problems with natwest and they wont give me my money back how did you get it in the end thanks send it me in personal mail if its to long thanks and well done for getting the money

showergirl

:T welldone for getting your money back from the HSBC. They are obviously prepared to lose this case, and are doing the right thing by paying the money back. I just wish all the others would do the same. Instead they are hiding behind this test case and making interest off our money.

edinburgharch

just got 100% of credit card fess back from hsbc after applying a little further pressure hoping that this will work on the current account too, thanks for advice edinburghlass have filled in their form whilst reiterating that i still hope for a reply within the orginal 14 days, failing that will be off to the small claims court in Edinburgh

edinburgharch

kidtechnical wrote: »

Hi there, I've not posted on these boards for ages but find my self in a bit of dilema. In June of last year I got copies of bank statements for 2 accounts going back 5 yrs (I'm from Coatbridge, Scotland). I have recently written to my bank asking them to refund my charges as I consider myself to be a hardship case (full time student, silly overdraft 0% until aug 09, small bursary to live on).

I have had a letter back from them asking me to fill out a form of my income/outgoings to enable them (rbos) to review my overall financial position. The letter goes on to say:

"if we determine that your case can be considered as financial hardship we will take it forward in line with our Hardship policy. This aims to help you avoid further debt and to assist you recoever from hardship. In doing so we will review your existing banking facilities which may involve:-

• opening a new account or changing your account to a type with no lending facilities attached.
• cancellation of non essential Direct Debits and Standing Orders on yoru account - essential direct debits and standing orders can be set up on the new account if necessary (eg mortgage, rent, council tax, utility bills etc)
• retrun and cancellation of cheque guarantee cards/switch cards - a cash card can be issued on the new account
• return and cancellation of cheque books
• income to be diverted to any new accounts opened
• a mutually agreed monthly sum would be set up on a standing order from the new account to any debt on the existing account"

Interestingly, the form they want me to complete wants to know what my partners income is, but doesn't want to know what his outgoings are. My partner has just started a new job last monday which is double his previous salary. Do I need to tell them my partners salary? after all it is not my information to give!

So I think my options are this:
1. open a new account elsewhere, fill out their form & if they pay up use the money to clear my student overdraft and cease banking with them.
2. don't fill out the form and pursue them through the courts (in my case Airdrie Sherif court who has some kind of test case in the process and if it goes through then everyone one else wanting their charges back via that court will go through).

Any other options? any suggestions as to which direction I should go in?

Many thanks,
A

Hi Kid where did you find out about the Airdrie court and what they are doing about charges, i tried edinburgh sheriffs and the guy didnt have a clue.. is there somewhere on the courts website where i can find this information?

showergirl

pete0773 wrote: »

Result! From the advice and tips from this site I have just had an offer from HBOS for FULL refund (£2500) on my Bank Charges! Used MSE template, sent letter 17/3/08 so just over 2 weeks.

Thank you!!:beer:

well done.Did they not try to hide behind the test case and fob you off