Halifax/BofScotland Insider Hints

Andrew24620

bigmoodog wrote: »

evening folks

its good to hear lots of you are gettin refunded but all i seem to get is fobbed off. received rejection letter on 21st of may and spoke to halifax later on that day to have claim re-assessed and have heard nothing since. twice rang for update to be told it will be 8 weeks from date of re-assement request (still unsure if this is true or not). called them today to advise not ahppy with lenght of time taking to deal and will be lodging complaint with FO, only to be given their telephone number and that they have logged that i will be doing this. nothing i try speeds up the process. dont have the cash to take them to court. will try FO later on.

any suggestions?

cheers

Hi

Halifax are bound by FOS / FSA complaint rules saying they must deal with complaints within 8 weeks OR refer you to the Ombudsman. The clock starts ticking from the day Halifax received your ORGINAL complaint and NOT the re-assessment date.

Check with halifax when they received the original complaint, work out 8 weeks from then and politely advise Halifax they have XX days/weeks to respond.

It worked for me (see earlier posts). be patient, be polite and be persistent too. It's worth the wait.
A

Andrew24620

Banks_rule_the_world wrote: »

We're getting nowhere fast!

90 days have now past sine the initial charges breakdown request, the wife spoke to the correct Dept. on Monday whom said they could print off and send out the last 3 years of charges, still not had them.

She said to my wife that the 3 years over and beyond the ones she could do had been ordered again, this after receiveing a letter nearly 3 weeks ago telling us they had been ordered!

We're beginning to think that we'll never get anywhere.

I'm considering writing a letter about going to Court to claim an unknown amount, can anyone advise me further on this process please?

I'd rather write a 7 day letter tomorrow and get the charges description in 7 days and then simply file for them all back with MCOL than even bother telling them I intend to do so, there is no law that states I must inform them of intent to claim, it is up to them to settle once receiving the Court documents.

That entitles them to make an out of Court settlement.

I will, of course, to simplfy matters confirm that without further notice to them I will begin Court proceedings.

Is there anyway of persuing the bank for their failure to provide the relevant information within the time period set down?

Cheers.

Mark.

Hi - understand it's frustrating...but be persistent.

Firstly, did you request statements via a Subject Access Request (SAR)? This is a formal way of using the Data Protection Act to force a company to send you info they hold about you. Often a charge is made for the info (max £10) BUT, the Halifax have 40 days from the receipt of the request/money to send the info otherwise they'll breach the DPA rules.
If you did suggest you call Customer Relations on 08457 253519 and push them to help as they've breached a SAR under DPA and (nicely) what are they goig to do about it? I had issues too and pushed HBOS firmly by phone - statements arrived within a few days (twice in fact!).

I'd really wait til the statements arrive before claiming -it WILL take HBOS up to 8 weeks to respond even then. Firstly you wil get a straight rejection, you can them call them to ask for a review of that decision and you'll them receive a derisory offer whichyou should refuse by phone and negotiate.

The other option is to go MCOL route -loads of threadsand advice on this forum re that. usual outcome is HBOS will cough up.

Good luck

Ev

barnishroader

IZZY01 wrote: »

Believe me ,
There has got to be a better way of saving money.
I am looking for a refund on 2 accounts, totalling approx. £5500.
The pressure we were under during the time of these charges (mostly 2003/2004) was unbelievable. We haven't had a holiday in about 10 years, and were constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul! We have a good going business, and have had a constant income for 25 years, however most charges were due to waiting on cheques clearing on the ancient clearing system. My 8 weeks are up at the weekend, so waiting patiently for the postie to come each morning with an offer. If not satisfied, I intend to hand my case to FOS.

Sorry i was only joking about being a great way of saving money!

I understand that to have those charges when you think there is nothing you can do about them must have been really tough for everyone, just glad i have not had to deal with those unbelievably excessive amounts.

You must all thank god for Martin and highlighting this issue.

barnishroader

Andrew24620 wrote: »

Hi - understand it's frustrating...but be persistent.

Firstly, did you request statements via a Subject Access Request (SAR)? This is a formal way of using the Data Protection Act to force a company to send you info they hold about you. Often a charge is made for the info (max £10) BUT, the Halifax have 40 days from the receipt of the request/money to send the info otherwise they'll breach the DPA rules.
If you did suggest you call Customer Relations on 08457 253519 and push them to help as they've breached a SAR under DPA and (nicely) what are they goig to do about it? I had issues too and pushed HBOS firmly by phone - statements arrived within a few days (twice in fact!).

I'd really wait til the statements arrive before claiming -it WILL take HBOS up to 8 weeks to respond even then. Firstly you wil get a straight rejection, you can them call them to ask for a review of that decision and you'll them receive a derisory offer whichyou should refuse by phone and negotiate.

The other option is to go MCOL route -loads of threadsand advice on this forum re that. usual outcome is HBOS will cough up.

Good luck

Ev

I was just wondering is the claim still valid if i didnt request my statements?
I had all of mine online so checked them that way and my first correspondance to them on 30/04/07 was to request the money, not the statements, so therefore i didn't have to pay the £10.

I notice you included the following: "the Halifax have 40 days from the receipt of the request/money to send the info otherwise they'll breach the DPA rules." so does this mean that they should have got back to me already, and not 56days (ie 8 weeks) or is that 40 working days?

I have called them 2 or 3 times this month and have been told that my rejection will be reinvestigated but i would have to wait until the 8 weeks have passsed, which is on 25/06/07, but i was hoping to have it resolved before then as i could do with the cash.

Are there any other steps i should follow for now or should i just sit it out until the 8 weeks pass?

dnnmccrnr

I would like to add to this post by saying that I was impressed how Halifax/BOS dealt with me on the telephone (still dont have my money though!!)

I had hand delivered my letters for back dated bank statements into my local branch. Some time later when I still had not received them I went into my branch and asked if they had a record of my complaint on my account. Answer was no. Luckily I had an incredibly nice bank teller who gave me 'quietly' the direct dial number for the head office complaints department. I called immediately and explained the situation. They informed me that no letter(s) were received. I politely reminded them that it would have been recorded on the branch cctv. The girl was very nice and made out a complaint over the telephone, aparently this is not standard practice but because of my circumstances if was acceptable, and said that my statements would be out within 3weeks. I expressed my dissatisfaction at this timescale but politely accepted it. Several weeks later some of my statements arrived but only for one of my bank accounts. I got straight on the telephone again and apparently the girl forgot to order statements for my second account. I was put straight through to the manageress in charge of complaints and she instantly resolved the situation. All of my charges arrived the following day. She also gave me her direct dial telephone number!

My excellent treatment by the bank was either policy or because I was polite, patient and understanding with them.

I sent my claim letters and I was sent 2 letters of decline within 5days! The comment within this post of automatic rejection letters registered with me, so I think the authenticity of this inside information may be accurate.

I have threatened court action but I am now going to go through FOS 1st since my charges are almost £5,000.

If anyone reads this post and has already went through this route in Scotland, could you please post a reply with the outcome (hopefully favourable) and timescale of the process.

Thanks
dnnmccrnr

CazMc_3

Getting annoyed now, its turning into such a long process!! My 8 weeks had passed since I had first submitted my claim, I had asked for a re-assessment 2 weeks ago. I phoned the bank today and the man said it was now the FO that was dealing with it. So, I phoned them and they are waiting till the bank send them my file and then they can sign me an adjudicator. The lady there said that if I don't hear within a month to phone them.........such a long time.

Any other ideas?!

Caz x

gawain_2

Just called HBOS to re-evaluate my claim, had a good chat with the fella, I said to him I suppose you guys are loving Martin Lewis, 'Yeah' he replied, 'We're his biggest fans, we are constantly checking his website for news on this'.
I thought it was quite funny that they check in here for the news when surely they should have a grasp of what's going on in their own organisation/sector.

Anyway, his words were 'you should get an offer within 8 weeks of the original complaint'. Which was nice.

Banks_rule_the_world

Andrew24620 wrote: »

Hi - understand it's frustrating...but be persistent.

Firstly, did you request statements via a Subject Access Request (SAR)? This is a formal way of using the Data Protection Act to force a company to send you info they hold about you. Often a charge is made for the info (max £10) BUT, the Halifax have 40 days from the receipt of the request/money to send the info otherwise they'll breach the DPA rules.
If you did suggest you call Customer Relations on 08457 253519 and push them to help as they've breached a SAR under DPA and (nicely) what are they goig to do about it? I had issues too and pushed HBOS firmly by phone - statements arrived within a few days (twice in fact!).

I'd really wait til the statements arrive before claiming -it WILL take HBOS up to 8 weeks to respond even then. Firstly you wil get a straight rejection, you can them call them to ask for a review of that decision and you'll them receive a derisory offer whichyou should refuse by phone and negotiate.

The other option is to go MCOL route -loads of threadsand advice on this forum re that. usual outcome is HBOS will cough up.

Good luck

Ev

Thanks, Ev.

Today we've had some progress, after my wife got through to customer relations they advised her that she could print off the last 3 years of charges and send them to us.

This morning they've arrived and they total £5183.00!!! for just 3 years.

She also said that she'd re-ordered the 3 years beyond what she could find.

If nothing tomorrow then a further call to press the matter will be afoot!

Mark.

kingken

I am about to use the money claim website to try and get my cash back from The Bank Of Scotland. However their address is in Edinburgh and I need an English address to use the online service. Can anyone help as this seems to be the simplest way of taking court action?

gusdud

Andrew24620 wrote: »

Hi - understand it's frustrating...but be persistent.

Firstly, did you request statements via a Subject Access Request (SAR)? This is a formal way of using the Data Protection Act to force a company to send you info they hold about you. Often a charge is made for the info (max £10) BUT, the Halifax have 40 days from the receipt of the request/money to send the info otherwise they'll breach the DPA rules.
If you did suggest you call Customer Relations on 08457 253519 and push them to help as they've breached a SAR under DPA and (nicely) what are they goig to do about it? I had issues too and pushed HBOS firmly by phone - statements arrived within a few days (twice in fact!).

I'd really wait til the statements arrive before claiming -it WILL take HBOS up to 8 weeks to respond even then. Firstly you wil get a straight rejection, you can them call them to ask for a review of that decision and you'll them receive a derisory offer whichyou should refuse by phone and negotiate.

The other option is to go MCOL route -loads of threadsand advice on this forum re that. usual outcome is HBOS will cough up.

Good luck

Ev

Do you mean 8 weeks from letter 1 asking for statements or from letter 2 asking for your charges back