MSE guide to using the Financial Ombudsman

mabsey

My first post and many thanks to this site.

I thought I would give it a shot and wrote to the Natwest in an attempt to claim back the late charges.

I wrote to them with the standard template and 6 days later got a reply offering me £248.36. The calculator says I am due £453 and I only owe £148 on the card so I have accepted there offer.

This was a nice and easy and got £248. I could have gone for the full amount, but as this was a smaller claim I was happy with what I got.

Going to try:

Virgin
RBS
Halifax

Mabsey

netty_sland

willtheywontthey wrote: »

Just wanting to share experiences that might assist newbies wondering whether using the Ombudsman is actually worth it in relation to credit card charges.

I basically started asking for charge detalis and sent form to ombudsmanin November / December.

It was mainly January I reveived replies from credit crad companies saying no way or have a token sum. Late January I then started getting Ombudsman stating the credit card companies were not budging (lies damned lies!) which led to Ombudsman then sending serious letter off asking for more info. It was at this stage the companies came back saying we deny liability but have the full amount as a goodwill gesture. A whole heap of these came in last couple of weeks.

So far:

Halifax - £350
Alliance + Leicester - £400
Barclays - £90
Norwich Union - £250
RBS - Mint £300
Marbles - £1500
C-operative - £400 + telephone record deleted at last so no more harassing phone calls off this annoying company.
and a few others I canor recall - mainly RBS spin offs.

Now I've refused Capital One's offer as they did not deal with my telephone harassment issue in their financial settlement offer - cheeky sods.

Am after HFC again now for telephone harassment

so perservere be organised and patient!

Hi there I,m new so this is my 1st thread. When u say telephone harrassment , is it from a credit card company you are claiming charges from? I am being harrassed at least 3 times a day from MBNA(Global Vantedge) who they referred me to for outstanding arrears. Got card in 2000 with £1,000 limit and still owe £1,271 from last statement 1st April 08. Havent used card in 6 years. Currently got a reclaiming charges going on, requesting £1,558.73 including interest. Rang them yesterday 29-04 they said they had credited my account £530 goodwill gesture( ha). Still waiting for official confirmation of this!!! What can I do about those annoying calls in the meantime. Any advice appreciated.

netty_sland

netty_s/land wrote: »

Hi there I,m new so this is my 1st thread. When u say telephone harrassment , is it from a credit card company you are claiming charges from? I am being harrassed at least 3 times a day from MBNA(Global Vantedge) who they referred me to for outstanding arrears. Got card in 2000 with £1,000 limit and still owe £1,271 from last statement 1st April 08. Havent used card in 6 years. Currently got a reclaiming charges going on, requesting £1,558.73 including interest. Rang them yesterday 29-04 they said they had credited my account £530 goodwill gesture( ha). Still waiting for official confirmation of this!!! What can I do about those annoying calls in the meantime. Any advice appreciated.

Hiya all, this may sound silly but I cant find any replies to my telephone harassment question, even though I apparently have 22. Have looked everywhere but to no avail. CAN ANYONE HELP ME PLEASE???

dearbarbie

just had a letter from cap one. here was my process:

-first letter asking for charges
-got them from cap one
-letter sending charges asking for about £1.5k (£1k charges + interest)
-got letter back offering £430
-i sent a letter back refusing this offer, accepting it as past-payment and threatening court action, and offered another amount for them to settle with.
-received letter today saying 'dont waste the court's time, its still £430, take it or leave it'

i intend to go ahead now with the FO but a) haven't a clue how to and not sure if worth it? im really not happy to settle, has everyone who has gone through the FO been successful?

Cliffo78

Hi dearbarbie,

I am currently going through the FOS for my credit card charges. Its really easy to fill in their form - if you find the bit on here martin even tells you what to write and where. I sent my form to the FOS at the beginning of May, since then I have had 2 letters from them. The FOS have given the credit card company 14 days ro respond to me (they previously sent me the usual get lost letters) and I am still waiting - the bank has until the 17th

What do you have to loose? The FOS is free and they are working quite quickly (to say how many cases they must be dealing with)

maz1964

Yes i guess the companies really dont like consumers to go to the FOs neither - so nothing to lose but try like cliffo78 says.

its the route im looking to try to, after reading so many positive posts, i think its time, we all stood up and be counted, if the law is there to protect the bank they will use it, so if the FOS is there to protect the consumer .Why dont we use it>>>>>>>>>>?????

Apathy is a real sin, but courage is wise to have, have a bit of faith and persue it as a business transaction and see how far it get's you.

good luck to all, keep positive and thanks cliffo78 for your inspiration for me to continue this path.

Ciao for now MAZ -all have a fun sunday

vixsta7

I have pursued the Ombudsman route as I am claiming back charges from my store card company. I have recieved a letter from the Ombudsman saying that they cannot deal with my complaint as the company I am complaining about were not part of the ombudmsan until April 2007 and have told me to get in touch with the Finance and Leasing authority. Does anyone know anything about this company, and if they hold the same power as the ombudsman. Many thanks

Zapp_from_Planet_Zogg

Yes, we have experience of the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA). They are only there to monitor whether their members adhere to their (FLA) Lending Code. If the lender can be shown to have broken the Lending Code then the FLA may take some action.

If you can't clearly demonstrate a breach of the FLA Lending Code, then my experience (even if you can!) is that all the FLA will do is forward your letters to the bank. Then forward the banks reply to you.

Those that I have dealt with at the FLA seem to have had some sort of lobotomy. In my case, they haven't volunteered any useful advice or been proactive in chasing the bank for me. I guess this is what you get when the 'regulator' is directly funded by the banks!

My experience of the FOS is that they are infinitely more responsive, proactive and have been rather more supporting of our claim.

If your store card company is GE - don't waste much time with the FLA. Once you get the initial brush off letter back, file with the courts. (You should demonstrate that you have tried all other routes before you take someone to court. Failing to do so will risk you being criticised by the court and, possibly, made to pay costs).

dee60_2

Thanks to Martin and the team and also the FOS I have reclaimed credit card charges from Lloyds TSB even though the account was closed just over a year ago £420 ish. I have just heard that Citi cards will also pay, I requested £1579.67 and they have offered £1718.19 this not only clears my account (thank God) but gives me £500 + to spend which I'll use to pay off another credit card I have. Both banks did not accept that the charges were illegal or unlawful but said that they did not want the FOS investigating them hmmmm.

brightonman123

The coop (visa card) seem to be playing silly vurgers, re sending statements..

i got an initial thanks forr your request letter, but nothing even after 2 chasers - I reported to the ICO last week, though nowt back from them yet either..?

2nd card (Cap1) currently with FSO, after declining to improve on a derisory offer..

FSO acknowledgement letter says they are currently experiencing a heavy workload.. i wonder why!