Reclaim Unfair Bank Charges article discussion Part II

leemrobinson

broke_girl wrote: »

i need some serious help, today i got the shock of my life, i realised that i don't have enough money to survive till i get paid in 4 weeks- what is killing me the most is £100 informal overdraft charge. this is not the first charge but i really can't afford it, im constantly in my overdraft and it seems like i go over my overdraft without realising it. im paying off a loan in ireland and a credit card and i just cant seem to survive. do you think that i would have a case to reclaim some of my charges back. today was a shock and it has made me realise that i cannot survive anymore and i need to sort my life out big time. please help me if you can.

Don't despair. Send a copy of martin's letter (from this site) with a tenner to your bank's customer relations dept and ask them for a list of all the charges they have stolen from you.

Once you have that, send them a formal letter request (again available from this site) and request your money back outlining your claim to be considered under the financial hardship rules. There is no saying that they will look at your clain until the conclusion of the pending court case but it's well worth a try.

Just one other point... have you asked your bank to refund some of your charges verbally? If not it may be worth a call and ask nicely....they might just cancel a few for you straight away and help you out straight away.

Good luck!!

natweststaffmember

stuntmanbob wrote: »

hey just postin for abit of advice, and if i have a next step to go to.

sent my letter off to HSBC 3-4 months ago, claiming financial hardship. They rang me to say they had received the letter but it had been put on hold, due to this investigation on fairness of the charges etc.

I have council tax bills, utility bills, amongst other stuff building up due to the charges, not to mention im allready in debt.

What can i do? any advice would help

Be proactive. Resubmit the claim.Have a look at this thread
http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?t=18427
I am NWSM there as well as here and post 2 and 3 which include their hardship form and correct address to write to and include notices of arrears. Financial hardship is about household financial hardship.

jojospacemunky

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Which account does the priority creditors take their money from? (mortgage or rent, council tax, utilities)

None as both accounts with Natwest and Halifax have been closed for well over a couple of years so i am wanting to claim back my charges on these accounts which is why i sent letters originally to be told didnt meet the criteria then and that i would be held with all the others pending decision in court, but i am now in hardship financially and i need to know how to have my original sent letters re looked back over with both these banks and possibly claim back my charges

natweststaffmember

jojospacemunky wrote: »

None as both accounts with Natwest and Halifax have been closed for well over a couple of years so i am wanting to claim back my charges on these accounts which is why i sent letters originally to be told didnt meet the criteria then and that i would be held with all the others pending decision in court, but i am now in hardship financially and i need to know how to have my original sent letters re looked back over with both these banks and possibly claim back my charges

The will decline you because the charges are not currently causing financial hardship. You need to go after your current account provider. If the account is closed it cannot produce charges that bites into your current income and therefore reduces the amount of money available to you to pay essential outgoings. Remember, you can be in financial hardship as defined by the FSA Waiver on one account but not the other.

ruhy

I have totted up my bank charges and they come to £2500 over the last 7 years. I have written my letter and have the list of fees. But to whom do i post it and address it to? My account holding bank? The address its states 'correspondance' to? Or the main registered bank in central London? or all three, I am with Barclays. I am reading and re-reading the site but this doesn't seem clear.

jos004

leemrobinson wrote: »

There is no saying that they will look at your clain until the conclusion of the pending court case but it's well worth a try.
Good luck!!

The FOS wrote to all banks last week, reminding them of their responsibilities insofar as dealing with financial hardship claims. Several banks inc. LTSB and HSBC had told customers, incorrectly, they do not have to deal with their claims for a possible refund, under fin. hardship, until the test case has been concluded. This of course is wrong. Banks must deal with such cases but they do not have to refund any money.

jos004

ruhy wrote: »

I have totted up my bank charges and they come to £2500 over the last 7 years. I have written my letter and have the list of fees. But to whom do i post it and address it to? My account holding bank? The address its states 'correspondance' to? Or the main registered bank in central London? or all three, I am with Barclays. I am reading and re-reading the site but this doesn't seem clear.

Send it to:

Barclays Bank PLC
Charges Refund Team
1 CHURCHILL PLACE
LONDON
E14 5HP

Tel: 0800 282390

natweststaffmember

ruhy wrote: »

I have totted up my bank charges and they come to £2500 over the last 7 years. I have written my letter and have the list of fees. But to whom do i post it and address it to? My account holding bank? The address its states 'correspondance' to? Or the main registered bank in central London? or all three, I am with Barclays. I am reading and re-reading the site but this doesn't seem clear.

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?t=18427
post number 7

gugitsa

So what about all of those who were in overdraft more than once more than just couple of quid? Do we still have the right to claim?

natweststaffmember

gugitsa wrote: »

So what about all of those who were in overdraft more than once more than just couple of quid? Do we still have the right to claim?

Yep absolutely, if you have had 1 charge or 5 charges then you have the right to reclaim.