What can we do if we are on benefits (merged)

chambta

gunnapaul2 wrote: »

Can someone give me some advice here, I am on hardship/benefits and was when Barclays were charging me, what can I do to make this known and who should I make it known to, can i claim because of a different law and if so how do i go about it?

I was meant to be in court yesterday but like most other people it was put on hold because of the test case and I did not need to attend.

thanks.



p.s. i'll probably get moaned at for new thread, but i wasnt getting any replies in the sticky threads.

I'm people's personal circumstances, however difficult, can have no bearing on the legality of the charges.

gunnapaul2

chambta wrote: »

I'm people's personal circumstances, however difficult, can have no bearing on the legality of the charges.

That sentence didnt make sense but if you're saying we cannot claim just because we are on benefits you're wrong according to these moneysavingexpert articles:

Q: What else can I do if I am living on benefits?
A: If you rely on benefits for your main income, such as Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance, there is still possibly a way you can claim; though it relies on a slightly different law. All past claims have been based on contract laws but there is another law called the Social Security Administration Act 1992, which says that banks must not take charges from benefits as this money is needed for a person to live on.
If you are in this situation, contact your bank to tell them that you are living on benefits and it should process your compliant. If it still does not help, contact the Financial Ombudsman, but make sure you tell it that you are receiving benefits and your case will be dealt with.



Q: I am currently having financial difficulties, is there any way to reclaim?
A: The waiver that allows banks to suspend claims does not apply to people who are having financial difficulties, also known as a hardship case. Banks will have to conduct a filtering process to ensure that cases of genuine hardship are still dealt with during the waiver period.
Although there is no firm definition of what genuine hardship is, it generally applies if your income is not enough to cover reasonable living expenses and afford your financial commitments such as example utilities, rent and council tax when they are due or if you are struggling to pay your debts for example you have mortgage arrears and lots of credit card debt that you cannot afford to pay back.
<o:p></o:p>[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Examples of how you may be in this position include; [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Loss of employment, disability, serious illness, imprisonment, relationship breakdown, the death of a partner, starting a lower paid job, parental care leave or starting full time education.[/FONT][/FONT]


I have wrote to my bank asking for the refund because Im on benefits, I will update when they reply.

techspec

Write to the bank pointing out that you are a hardship case.

They will open a seperate claim, and have 8 weeks to sort it.

If not, write to FOS. Put hardship rule in big letters on the letter and the envelope, otherwise it will just get filed until the test case.

Barclays ignored my friends request, until i sent this for him:-

I am sorry, though not surprised, that Barclays Bank has chosen to ignore the ‘hardship rule that was agreed with the FSA. Under the terms of the suspension of the normal timetable, it was agreed that cases of financial hardship would still be dealt with. In fact, it formed a major part of the ‘waiver’, which favoured the rich banks greatly, at the expense of the poor consumer.

I will now write to the OFT, FSA and FOS, to report this breach of the terms of the ‘waiver’. I understand that this will be revued next month, and I hope that my evidence of abuse by Barclays, will help them come to a decision to overturn it.

If you decide to honour the hardship rule, which you failed to even acknowledge, then I look forward to a response within 14 days.

10 days later, he received a letter saying that his case is being dealt with.

msmicawber

Hi, are you asking whether there is a way to flag your case (and those of others in your position) to be dealt with now rather than having to wait until the investigation has been completed? If so, I'm afraid the law doesn't work that way - it's the point of law that's being decided, irrespective of who it affects and how, I'm afraid.

If you're still being hit by bank charges, they aren't allowed to take them out of your benefit, apparently, as that is given for you to live on and nothing else. There are some words that you can quote at a bank doing that. See this link: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=269424&highlight=bank+taking+benefit

gunnapaul2

techspec wrote: »

Write to the bank pointing out that you are a hardship case.

They will open a seperate claim, and have 8 weeks to sort it.

If not, write to FOS. Put hardship rule in big letters on the letter and the envelope, otherwise it will just get filed until the test case.

Barclays ignored my friends request, until i sent this for him:-

I am sorry, though not surprised, that Barclays Bank has chosen to ignore the ‘hardship rule that was agreed with the FSA. Under the terms of the suspension of the normal timetable, it was agreed that cases of financial hardship would still be dealt with. In fact, it formed a major part of the ‘waiver’, which favoured the rich banks greatly, at the expense of the poor consumer.

I will now write to the OFT, FSA and FOS, to report this breach of the terms of the ‘waiver’. I understand that this will be revued next month, and I hope that my evidence of abuse by Barclays, will help them come to a decision to overturn it.

If you decide to honour the hardship rule, which you failed to even acknowledge, then I look forward to a response within 14 days.

10 days later, he received a letter saying that his case is being dealt with.

This was the information I was hoping to receive, thanks techspec. Ive sent a letter to the bank explaining im on hardship and was when the charges were made, what you're saying is if they dnt respond within 14 days i can go to the FOS, which i will do.

Cheers.

k1mmie

I emailed the bank telling of my circumstances and they did nothing. I called the CEO and told them and they called me back same day and said that they had looked at my file and all my emails and were sending me an offer within the next week.So you do not need to be on benefits - but if it is genuine hardship on day to day living then they do have the power to pay up!

novelli

Please, does anyone know who the CEO is at HSBC and how i conact them???
Asked the same question several times but no answers yet??

thanks

Smickan

I rang my bank - and I'm slightly confused, but nonetheless have a little update to the benefit side.

I have a £28 charge due to come out for a £3.09 unauthorised step over my overdraft. I rang on Saturday and couldn't do anything about it as the various departments were closed and I'd forgotten about it yesterday so have just come off the phone to them now. I spoke to a lady who wasn't helpful in the slightest, and she put me through to a gentleman who wanted a word about a credit card [yeah. like I'd take on more debt]. After i'd refused that and explained what I'd rang about in the first place, he was much more helpful and he told me the amount that i'd gone overdrawn [all £3.09 of it] and where it had gone overdrawn - despite it not showing up on my statement online as it's 'between two statements that it happened' which is a con in the first place (and if I was more cynical, I would perhaps wonder if it's a load of crap), but anyway. I digress.

He put me through to a woman in the claims department who was rather snippy and not happy. I explained about only having my income support to live on as I'm ill and the doctor's signed me off and only getting £90 a fortnight to live on which I struggle with as it is, hence the occasional dalliance in the dark side. She said that it was irrelevant and if charges arrise, no matter how much for or how - they have to be paid back, despite only having benefits paid into the account. I said something about the Social Security Act and she just ignored me saying that charges had to be paid off, even when I pointed out that it's a third of what I get into my account each fortnight and would result in another charge as I wouldn't be able to live on the £60.

Anyway, according to her, when she checked it - the charge had been cancelled on the 3rd of September! She thinks it was through my branch as there was no note on it, but I only recieved the statement Friday and dared open it Saturday so I hadn't made any contact about it! Very strange (but a lovely outcome!)

The charges are absolutely ridiculous, the sooner banks wise up and make a lower charge rate, like Capital One of £12, the better for everyone concerned (except obviously for them, not making their millions of profit!)

the_missis

:embarasse <TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">Im sorry to say that i have got myself in a slight pickle with my money yet again. Im on benefits so money is always tight. Anyway, i had a letter this morning saying i had gone £5.07 over the OD even though Barclays usually give you the £5 buffer and charged me £30. Ive looked at my statements and added another £195 of charges all for really silly amounts!!!

Anyhow, i rung the bank mentioning that im a hardship case and they should follow the social security admin act and the manager had never heard of it!!! He wasnt willing to persue the matter and couldnt wait to get off the phone. I should look after my money was all he was saying. Yes i try to but when they charge me for 7p i want to cry. The cheeky git said he was putting it on the cpu as a complaint that had been resolved. No way.

I just want to make sure that i am a hardship case and is there anything else i can do. This is alot of money for me but the bloke was saying hes not willing to give me my money back and take better care of my finances.
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zena2105

novelli wrote: »

Please, does anyone know who the CEO is at HSBC and how i conact them???
Asked the same question several times but no answers yet??

thanks

http://www.connectotel.com/marcus/ceoemail.html

This has all the CEO for most banks including HSBC.