Help me £2.64.. Charged £100+ :o

spike2012

First off, :money:= Amazing!!

lol Sorry, but this site is much appreciated.

I'm 18, currently unemployed and will be starting an apprenticeship in September (just thought I'd introduce myself, this is my first post)..


A couple of months back, I tried to make 2 payments through Paypal (I will gather more details soon)

What it boils down to, is I tried making a payment to someone for £2.64 (twice) Which was the $4.99 market rate at the time of the "attempted" payment.

I say attempted, because (I will check) - Paypal said the payment had been refused by my bank.. (so therefore, no funds would/should have left my account)




I received a letter in the post from nationwide explaining I was going to be charged 2 x £30 for "unpaid direct debit"

this bought my account to around the minus £60 mark

A month later (I am unemployed so didn't have access to £60) I received a second letter saying because I had an unauthorised overdraft, I would be charged £20

New balance -£80

Another month had passed, and because nationwide was always my "backup" account, I didn't feel the urgency to find the money to pay the illegal "fines".

Now I'm on an average charge of £21+ (£20 + interest) per month, for an original mistake of trying to pay £2.64 from the nationwide account.

I need to double check, but if the payment WAS in fact REFUSED from nationwide, and they continued to charge me, it could be the same as being prosecuted for stealing a mars bar, simply by asking a shop owner if you can "have it"

If that mars bar never leaves the shop, its not theft.

Surely the analogy fits the bank, not only are the charges illegal, but this is a case of theft, if no monies had ever left the account?

I wrote them a letter (the standard template) from MSE, and received a reply basically threatening me and saying "leave the bank" - Not a very nice reply to be honest, but I got the feel that it was a standardised letter...

Can anyone advise me on what to do?

I was going to pay everything off with my wages in October from my apprenticeship, but I'm thinking WHY.. It will be nearly £200 by then, £200 which I and my family will need.

Many thanks for the time in reading this. Any help is much appreciated.

Luke (spike2012)

wigmel

you should definetily claim these charges back its really simple if you use the template letters provided. good luck

Stephen_Leak

The nightmare scenario you describe is called "snowballing", and is a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks that you only get charged if you are cr*p at managing your finances. There, but for the grace of God, go we.

In fact, because of the way this situation started and has been allowed to spiral out of control, I would suggest referring your claim to the Financial Ombudsman (which you can do now, as a result of the bank's reply) would actually be better than threatening to start court proceedings.

I would strongly recommend also writing to the bank, advising them that the account is "under dispute" and telling them not to raise any more charges until the matter is resolved.

Please read the Reclaim Bank Charges Help thread for information and the Reclaimed Bank Charges Success Stories and Reclaimed Bank Charges Success Stories II threads for inspiration.<O:p</O:p

spike2012

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

The nightmare scenario you describe is called "snowballing", and is a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks that you only get charged if you are cr*p at managing your finances. There, but for the grace of God, go we.

In fact, because of the way this situation started and has been allowed to spiral out of control, I would suggest referring your claim to the Financial Ombudsman (which you can do now, as a result of the bank's reply) would actually be better than threatening to start court proceedings.

I would strongly recommend also writing to the bank, advising them that the account is "under dispute" and telling them not to raise any more charges until the matter is resolved.

Please read the Reclaim Bank Charges Help thread for information and the Reclaimed Bank Charges Success Stories and Reclaimed Bank Charges Success Stories II threads for inspiration.<O:p</O:p

Since I posted my first post, Paypal has tried to make 2 more "payments"

It says in PP that the "bank transfer" Failed... So again, no monies should have left the account

NAtionwide said this morning I will be charged in 1 months time, a further £80 (2 x £60 plus £20) + interest ~£1.70

I read on MSE main site that there is a risk with the FOS ? What if I lose lol

Ahh its scary.. I'm a confident person, but courts and financial letters are still daunting for an 18 year old :$

I'm going to start the process again (write and ask for the money back)

If the respons is again, no, then I will follow step-by-step as shwon on MSE

What do I do now to stop the snowballing effect?

Can I ask them to "suspend" or close my account?

Thanks for the advice

Luke

spike2012

I am sorry to bring this thread up again - but I received a letter from Nationwide saying if I didnt like their service, I should move elsewhere

After settling these charges, I have now learned that the reason I am paying massive rates on both my previous loan, and now credit card, is due to my poor credit rating (checked on credit check online) which says I have had 5 months of RED/MISSED payments in succession.

this has damaged my file massively, I had always believed that a child under the age of 18 could NOT enter into a credit agreement? Surely allowing direct debits is a credit agreement? Im not sure how this should go, its not so much about the money now as the damage it has done to my file!!

Thanks in advance for any advice
Spike