Claiming back account fees (Halifax)

Toffeelady84

Hi,

I hope someone is able to give me some advice. I have had an Ultimate Reward account with Halifax for a number of years. I was originally told I could not have an overdraft without upgrading my account. As a single parent my OD usage became higher and higher until I had gotten myself into a state with money. So i entered into a debt management plan. Since 2014 I have not been using the bank account but paying money off monthly. This was all done through a debt management company. Yesterday i finally cleared the balance to discover that I have still being getting a monthly usage charge of £17. I complained through resolver.

Just wondering if I am in the wrong to expect not to be charged? I have only ever claimed one insurance once back in 2012. However since i ran into money problems I have not used a thing.

Halifax are ringing me back tomorrow to discuss. Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks in advance.

dunstonh

Just wondering if I am in the wrong to expect not to be charged?

There is nothing wrong with them charging you. They are providing a service.

That doesnt mean it wasnt missold originally. Just a case that they can continue to charge it until you say stop.

Nasqueron

You state why you feel it was miss-sold and see what they come back with.

They may agree to refund (minus the sum of the payout on the insurance), they may not feel it was miss-sold. You should just be honest and explain the issue - maybe mention the debt problems you had and whether they should really have offered you the option to move to a cheaper account or similar though of course you could have done this yourself

Toffeelady84

Thank you both. I spent a long while on the phone to a lady from customer services today going through various details.

I was blocked out of my internet banking when I set up DMP. However it allowed me to reregister yesterday. The lady on the phone was very helpful however was concerned about the amount of fees I was getting charged. I never thought much of it but when I got off the phone i look at my account right back up to my dmp starting April 2014. For 2014 i was charged the bank account only Jan 2015- Sept 2017 i was also paying OD fees. My DMP barely covered that and bank account fee. Then Sept 2017- present day account fee only.

I am waiting for a call back tomorrow from someone who can discuss the od fees with me.

So not sure where I am up to really!

dunstonh

Sounds like the bank is correctly looking at it. So, that is good. The referral on the od fees is positive but you have to paint a picture of hardship. Get that person on side with you.

Toffeelady84

I was pleasantly surprised by how thorough she was. I would not say I am in hardship as such now I am much more financially stable. However I do have to pay back the overdraft amount which has been paid off for me.

I guess I need to see what tomorrow brings. It makes no sense to me that they would freeze charges some years and not others.

Toffeelady84

Just to update you both. I had a call back today in which Halifax offered to pay back my bank charges and fees. When I entered into DMP they should have put my account into default which they did not. They made a mistake with my account so I was refunded in full from the beginning of my DMP.

Nasqueron

Following the system properly works, good for Halifax for being understanding