Yorkshire Bank Charges reclaim

Natalie6999

I am trying to reclaim charges under hardship.

I never really had problems until November 2003 when my then husband became ill with Multiple Sclerosis, at the time I was pregnant with my son who was born in January 2014. My then husband never worked again & our income reduced from £40000 to £15000 as I was only able to work part time in order to care for my son & husband. We began to struggle as we had a new baby, rising household costs from the extra heating, washing, hospital visits & adjustments we had to make to our home so my husband could manage. At the same time I got diagnosed with an illness which led to me becoming disabled as well. I was frequently charged by my bank for being overdrawn & direct debits were bounced. I was getting charged for charges on charges which were snowballing, taking us further into debt. The bank were unhelpful & eventually my marriage broke down, leaving me as a single parent, I also got finished at work due to poor health.

I applied for my charges back in 2008 & went to the Ombudsman but after the ruling in 2009 I lost my case. I recently tried again through the hardship route but was only refunded £1680 out of an estimated total of £5000 plus interest. I took my case to the Ombudsman but the adjudicator has thrown my case out.

Has anyone got any further ideas how I could get any further help to get my money back please?

dunstonh

I applied for my charges back in 2008 & went to the Ombudsman but after the ruling in 2009 I lost my case.

The ruling only affected those that put in complaints about unfair bank charges. it had no impact on those requesting their situation being reviewed under the financial hardship criteria.

I recently tried again through the hardship route but was only refunded £1680 out of an estimated total of £5000 plus interest.

Thats a good result. Remember that the bank is not required to refund anything. Most banks only look at the last 6-12 months. How far back has your bank refunded?

I took my case to the Ombudsman but the adjudicator has thrown my case out.

Seeing as the FOS cant force the bank to refund anything and that 6-12 months is the norm for refunds, they probably felt it was a fair outcome.

Has anyone got any further ideas how I could get any further help to get my money back please?

its not your money. It belongs to the bank and you are asking them to pay you some of the charges back. They have looked at your situation and agreed that they will offer some as a refund.

There is nothing further you can do. It is the bank that decides what it does. If it has hit a limit (and by going to the FOS, that would appear likely) then its game over.

Natalie6999

You say it's the bank's money, how fair is it to charge charges on charges for sometimes overdrawing by maybe £10 but being charged £8 a day & charging £35 to bounce a £16 direct debit? They are no more moral than the payday loan companies of today.

If they had been more understanding maybe I wouldn't still be in debt

dunstonh

how fair is it to charge charges on charges for sometimes overdrawing by maybe £10 but being charged £8 a day & charging £35 to bounce a £16 direct debit?

Fairness does not come into it. The banks won the court case and you cant complain under fairness anymore.

If they had been more understanding maybe I wouldn't still be in debt

And if you hadnt spent money you didnt have then you would not have incurred charges. I know that is tough to hear and can be difficult when short of money but taking someone else's money (the banks) can be costly when done without permission. It is better to actually not pay certain bills and work on cash rather than pay a bill and incur large costs for it.

Its too late now though as you cant go back and change things. £1680 refund sounds like a good result. You should be happy. Is that the total or your half (with the other half going to your ex?)

Natalie6999

So it would have been more sensible to have not paid the bills, like gas, electric, water, mortgage, Council tax etc?

I was more concerned about keeping a roof over our heads, keeping us warm, dry & fed whilst caring for a severely disabled man who was frequently hospitalised &
Our young son. The refund I got was all mine as the bank account was in my sole name & we settled our finances long ago.

I am looking for constructive help not criticism as I know some customers are still getting refunds due to hardship.

tomtontom

dunstonh's posts are constructive - his advice is accurate. If you need help managing your debt post a statement of affairs on the Debtfree Wannabe board, they'll be able to help you budget and hence pay more towards your debt.

Natalie6999

I'm not asking about the debt, that is being sorted, I'm more concerned with reclaiming the charges. Just because our income had dropped by over 50% doesn't mean our outgoings fell because they didn't, gas, electric, mortgage etc still cost the same.

tomtontom

Natalie6999 wrote: »

I'm not asking about the debt, that is being sorted, I'm more concerned with reclaiming the charges. Just because our income had dropped by over 50% doesn't mean our outgoings fell because they didn't, gas, electric, mortgage etc still cost the same.

You have been given accurate on your charges reclaim. Is there anything more you need explaining?

My suggestion of posting on the DFW board is to help you budget more effectively. Perhaps they can help you cut costs?

dunstonh

So it would have been more sensible to have not paid the bills, like gas, electric, water, mortgage, Council tax etc?

In some of those cases yes. Or offering a smaller amount over a period and making them aware of your hardship.

I'm more concerned with reclaiming the charges.

You have done that and need to move on. Your focus should be on other things.

-taff

Natalie6999 wrote: »

I'm not asking about the debt, that is being sorted, I'm more concerned with reclaiming the charges..

You have explored every avenue available to you and have been given some charges back.

That's it, there is nowhere else to go, so as has been said, concentrate on other things now.