Santander.

windswept321

I had bank charges of over £700 from Santander for 5 months of unpaid direct debits etc. I wasn't aware of any problem as I had moved but forgot to tell the bank.
I have previously had problems of a similar nature with a TSB account and they refunded me in full and even gave me a a little extra to cover the cost of the call. Great experience so far with them.
Via the phone, Santander offers £150.
I was surprised at how much they cover themselves - maybe, perhaps, possibly etc.
Straight answers were not forthcoming.
The first person offered the £150 after speaking to her manager. After some difficulty the manager agreed to speak to me directly and preferred to talk over me. She suggested that it might just be possible to go outside of their policy of one month's refund after I asked her directly...
The first one was keen to pass me over to another department, as was the manager. I talked to the next person. This one said that there was no possibility of a higher refund. That my financial difficulties and the fact that I am a full time student didn't matter and that all he could offer me was the possibility of a damaged credit rating and a repayment plan to pay these crazy fees.
Way to drum up future business...
I'm in Scotland if that has any bearing on anything.
Can anyone offer me some advice as to where I can go next with this please?

dunstonh

Way to drum up future business...

Perhaps they are not interested in having you as a customer considering you couldn't be bothered to tell your bank your change of address.

Can anyone offer me some advice as to where I can go next with this please?

You are totally reliant on the goodwill of the bank. There appears to be no wrongdoing by the bank. You just had bad money management. In these cases, the bank doesnt need to refund a penny. If you were in financial hardship then the bank may consider a greater refund or alternative options (which may not be a refund of charges but interest/charge free repayment plans or similar). However, financial hardship would be debatable considering you didnt check your balance for 5 months.

You can refer your case to the FOS but they cannot force the bank to repay an amount. All they can do is ensure the bank has considered your hardship fairly. They would look at your current spending habits, how you got into debt and why and has the bank been fair.

The fact you are posting suggests you feel the bank is not being fair. How would you persuade the FOS that they are not being fair?

roonaldo

windswept321 wrote: »

Way to drum up future business...

They won't want your business!

Can anyone offer me some advice as to where I can go next with this please?

Accept the £150 its probably all you are likely to see. They are under no obligation to refund you all of it, they are allowed to charge you fees.

w00519772

Accept the offer from Santander. That is generous of them. They have lost £550. I bet you would not be happy if you lost £550 through no fault of your own.

[Deleted User]

w00519772 wrote: »

They have lost £550.

The actual figure appears to be £150.

w00519772

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

The actual figure appears to be £150.

Santander offered 150. 700-150=550. I assumed the op meant 150 cash back. If op meant 150 then Santander were very generous in my opinion. If I made the mistake then I would expect to pay the full amount. If and only if the bank made a mistake then i would take issue with them like the op did.

[Deleted User]

w00519772 wrote: »

Santander offered 150. 700-150=550. I assumed the op meant 150 cash back.

The OP complained that he paid £700 in charges.
The Bank offered £150, so all they "lost" was £150.
It is the OP therefore who is £550 out-of pocket, not the Bank.

I'm not sure why we need to be discussing this as it's in black and white in the OP's post?