Halifax Cancelled 'Overdraft Control' Service - Overdraft Fee Claim Help

edbutler

Hi All,

I am asking for your help on behalf of my fiancee's mother. Very long story short, im trying to get her out of a massive rut that has plagued her for many years - shes a lovely person and despite her willful ignorance with debt deserves far better. Unfortunately she has probably never checked anything other than her 'Current Balance' in a decade or more.

I've found out that since the mid 2000's she appeared to be a serial overdraft user; she literally pays £30-£100 (occasionally was higher!) every month due to her Halifax current account OD fees. She had a £300 arranged OD applied ~5 years ago but this barely helped, constantly at the bottom of it. I've immediately paid this off for her and got her to downgrade to a cash account end this OD saga for good from now on (she doesnt need anything else).

I since compiled the list of OD transactions and using the template on this site, tried to ask Halifax to recalim the fees, to no avail. They instead fobbed us off stating that the charges were deemed fair by a court ruling etc.

Last week however she innocently asked me "Why have i been paying overdraft fees, i pay £10 a month to stop that". After some phone calls with a Halifax debt advisor, we found that she was indeed paying £10/mo "Overdraft Control" to prevent payments from incurring overdraft charges, but this was cancelled in 2009! Halifax told her this would only be cancelled if she had requested it be cancelled - needless to say she claims this isnt the case, and why would she?

So finally, my question is, does anyone know how i would go about formally enquiring how this "Overdraft Control" could have been stopped and asking Halifax to refund the OD charges (minus the £10/mo ofcourse)? Does anyone have any useful advice for me to help her further out of this mess?

Many thanks all - i will keep the thread updated as i know theres nothing worse than a thread without an outcome! Ed

societys_child

You don't think, as a 'serial overdraft user', she may have cancelled it herself in 2009?
Possible she may have forgotten, as it was 8 years ago.

JuicyJesus

societys_child wrote: »

You don't think, as a 'serial overdraft user', she may have cancelled it herself in 2009?
Possible she may have forgotten, as it was 8 years ago.

This. It would be really, really strange for them to have cancelled it off their own backs since, well, it's guaranteed money and stops people running up bad debts.


Any complaint is probably on a hiding to nothing because all available information says she cancelled it.

eskbanker

edbutler wrote: »

So finally, my question is, does anyone know how i would go about formally enquiring how this "Overdraft Control" could have been stopped and asking Halifax to refund the OD charges (minus the £10/mo ofcourse)? Does anyone have any useful advice for me to help her further out of this mess?

The Data Protection Act may work for her here, in terms of their legal obligation to disclose all their data about their dealings with her - get her to submit a Subject Access Request to them, which should prove one way or another whether there was a valid request to remove the control.

JuicyJesus

eskbanker wrote: »

The Data Protection Act may work for her here, in terms of their legal obligation to disclose all their data about their dealings with her - get her to submit a Subject Access Request to them, which should prove one way or another whether there was a valid request to remove the control.

From 8 years ago...?

edbutler

Many thanks for all your responses.

Admittedly, my first instinct was also that she had cancelled it, but that simply wouldn't make sense (to me anyway). At that time, she never had an arranged OD. Back in those days, Halifax charged around £25 for every £10+ transaction that didn't get blocked!

EskBanker - Thanks ill look into that as a possibility and report back.

Doesn't really look good on the whole

eskbanker

JuicyJesus wrote: »

From 8 years ago...?

Yes, I don't see why not - admittedly there are all sorts of time limitations both for data retention under DPA and for complaint handling with the banks and FOS, but if Halifax are specifically contending that it was cancelled in 2009 (rather than 'before records began' as it were) then it doesn't seem unreasonable to ask them to evidence this in some way. I do agree it's a bit of a long shot but surely worth it for no more than a tenner?

PeacefulWaters

I don't think Halifax had overdraft control until a couple of years after they merged with Lloyds. 2011.

JuicyJesus

eskbanker wrote: »

Yes, I don't see why not - admittedly there are all sorts of time limitations both for data retention under DPA and for complaint handling with the banks and FOS, but if Halifax are specifically contending that it was cancelled in 2009 (rather than 'before records began' as it were) then it doesn't seem unreasonable to ask them to evidence this in some way. I do agree it's a bit of a long shot but surely worth it for no more than a tenner?

I suppose. Seems like good money after bad to me though, to be honest - a formal complaint then escalation to FOS (which is free) would probably be more productive.