Has Anyone Claimed Charges When They Owe Banks Money

isp_2

I have been asked by a friend to assist in claiming their money back by using the advice given on this forum. Started the process blah blah blah.

After questioning them closer they informed me that they actually owe the bank money, in particular Lloyds TSB.

They had a serious car accident last year meaning they had no sufficent form of income due to being self employed. They were struggling to pay debts and the banks were not very sympathetic. They were using Lloyds TSB for their current account. Lloyds TSB started to take money from their bank account to pay their credit cards. Each time the person put money into the account to cover direct debits, Lloyds TSB took the money to pay outstanding credit cards and then bounced all of the direct debits and standing orders for household bills.

In the end the person walked away from Lloyds TSB and has left the matter unresolved.

After the help I have given so far I am not sure whether it is worth continuing.

Has anyone else tried to take on the banks whilst owing them money. Would they simply offset the debt against what they end up having to pay.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Don't go mad at me if you think this is absurd, I am just the messenger.

Thanks :A

Beate

It is perfectly possible to claim charges whilst being in debt to the bank, they will offset all won charges against the money owed. Have a search on this forum, there are a few threads dedicated to this scenario.

millow

I agree with Beate, im hopefully about to win off natwest by default if they do not respond by tommorrow morning, they owe me nearly £5k but i owe them £2k so they are just going to deduct the amount that i owe them and then pay me the difference. Everyone has their own reasons for owing the bank money, and it usually stems from an unsympathetic ear on the banks side and ends in a snowball.Good Luck

kellymundy

I think you'll find it varies from bank to bank and what sort of debt it is. I owe my bank around 2500 on an overdraft and just got about the same back from my charges and they haven't asked me to pay the money back.
It may be because i do stick to within my overdraft limit these days although i do use it every month at the moment, so they are making money from it at the moment. If they asked me to pay it back and took the facility away then they would make no money out of my account at all (i don't pay for any extra services on my account).
At the end of the day the bank is a business and it is there to make money, hence the bank charges. The way things are going with bank charges i can't see them lasting at this level (cost wise) for to much longer so they are going to end up relying on overdrafts etc to make money, so it doesn't make sense them asking for it back, does it!
So in answer to your question, i think it depends on the type of debt and the sort of people you are dealing with.
Good Luck.;)

Elise1309

Kelly - don't forget that the banks make interest on the money from all the people whose accounts are in credit, plus money from account fees and overdraft interest (where applicable) from everyone - whether they are in credit or not. These types of charges cannot be reclaimed so I think you'll find the banks are doing allright....... 8-)

kellymundy

Point taken Elise and i am painfully aware the bank makes money from every account one way or another (believe me, i know!!!). But it wouldn't make good business sense for any business to turn down even the smallest potential profit would it!
Put it this way, if you were a greengrocer, would you turn away a customer just because they only wanted to buy one apple? No you wouldn't because we all know that if you look after the pennies the pounds would look after themselves, why else would we all be using Martins' site clawing back every penny possible!.
If you do have a debt to a bank and it is running smoothly and has been for quite a while now, why would they turn down the chance to squeeze those extra pounds out of you every month. You get people paying say 10 pounds a month for those extras on a platinum account and getting stuff back for it right? Well i pay 40 pounds a month on my account for no extras other than to have that overdraft on one account (i have 3, the other 2 are in credit at all times). If i have had that overdraft at that level for 5 years (it's been about that long since i started using it) then i will have payed them 2k in interest alone in that time, would any business in their right mind turn that down.
I do see your point but like i said the bank is a business and will take every penny it can get from you any chance they get.;)

Elise1309

But it is bad business Kelly. It's better business to charge, say, £5 a time and be able to hang onto it all because it's a fair charge, rather than charge £40 a time and have to pay the whole lot back (plus interest!), years down the line, because it's punative and illegal.

The banks could have levied lower charges in the first place, in which case no-one would be able to legitimately claim they were being overcharged and therefore no-one would have qualified for a refund. Because they wouldn't, the banks are now having to pay back the whole lot to pretty much anyone that files a claim.

isp_2

Thanks to you all. Will do some searching and will continue with the claim :T

kellymundy

You misunderstand me Elise, the 40 that i pay every month isn't a 'service charge' as they like to call them these days, that 40 is purely interest on an agreed overdraft and is perfectly legal, i have no way to claim it back, so it is very good business for them (i only wish i could claim that back to, my claim would have been in double figures!lol).
The charges you are talking about are on a non-agreement overdraft and they are unethical though at present not completely illegal (hence all the court battles). If they were illegal as you have stated the banks would all give up at the first stage and just hand the money back.
No bank in their right mind would turn down someone paying them 40 a month legally for 5 years in a row, that would be madness!
isp we can't really answer your question without figures. How much are you claiming for your friend and how much do they owe? Also what type of debt do they currently hold with their bank, loan, overdraft etc? If they money you are claiming back is similar to or over the amount owed then i'd carry on, because even if they do ask for the debt back your friend would have the money to cover it, if it's less than the amount owed then it depends on the type of debt and their current financial situation.
Let us know and we'll try to help.;)