Financial Ombudsman overdraft complaint - any experience?

debtfreein2020

Thank you to those useful comments in the mix, particularly @jonnygee2 who points out I really was just looking for similar experiences...!
@dunstonh I am still in and finally beginning to overcome financial hardship, I'm still in debt and now thankfully in a position to pay it off fairly aggressively but there is no question these charges contributed to this debt cycle which has lasted six years. Following the 2009 ruling, Martin Lewis published a success story here of a MSE forum user successfully reclaiming unfair bank charges in 2014 using a 2012 European Court of Justice ruling which suggested the tide is beginning to turn and this sort of thing is worth a question to the FOS. 
"Oliver Foster-Burnell, a 28-year-old Trade Union Organiser from Taunton in Somerset, has successfully reclaimed £743 in overdraft charges, plus interest after winning his case against what was Lloyds TSB at Taunton County Court last month.

He was also awarded an additional £1,000 in damages, after Lloyds TSB applied a related incorrect default to his credit file.

He won after successfully arguing the charges were unfair as they caused him to get into a cycle of debt. He was able to do this using a new legal argument based on a general 2012 European Court of Justice ruling that allows charges changed without explanation to be assessed for fairness."

dunstonh

 Following the 2009 ruling, Martin Lewis published a success story here of a MSE forum user successfully reclaiming unfair bank charges in 2014 using a 2012 European Court of Justice ruling which suggested the tide is beginning to turn and this sort of thing is worth a question to the FOS.

That was in 2014 and there was hype around it with consumer groups but it did not go on to open the floodgates as they predicted.   There are just two known successes via the courts. The other involved someone who was locked in the interview room and intimidated.   

You need to decide if you can afford to take the bank to court and suffer costs if you lose.    

The FOS will not consider a complaint if you go down the unfair/unlawful route.  It is an automatic rejection.  They confirm this on their website.   They only consider current hardship cases and you should avoid any mention of words like unlawful or unfair.

John_

How does your statement of being in financial trouble match your statements on your other thread?

” Ultimately, aside from maternity leaves, the crux of my issue is that I'm a Spendy Sandra with expensive taste. I need to really work hard that going forward. Weaknesses are clothes, home wares and gifts for family during birthdays/Christmas etc”?

The charges don’t seem unreasonable given how much you borrowed, and for how long. I think that you’d do better to learn from the experience, and get your spending under control.

jonnygee2

How does your statement of being in financial trouble match your statements on your other thread?
” Ultimately, aside from maternity leaves, the crux of my issue is that I'm a Spendy Sandra with expensive taste. I need to really work hard that going forward. Weaknesses are clothes, home wares and gifts for family during birthdays/Christmas etc”?

The charges don’t seem unreasonable given how much you borrowed, and for how long. I think that you’d do better to learn from the experience, and get your spending under control.

Another poster giving unwanted and patronising 'advice'.

Why not link the thread you posted. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/debt-free-diaries . It's a post about someone wanting to clear their debt who is trying to get their spending under control. What point are you trying to prove by only posting this one sentence?

OP is asking for help with making complaints to the ombudsman in this thread. Stick to the topic.

dunstonh

Another poster giving unwanted and patronising 'advice'.

Actually, it is relevant (even if that wasn't the intention)

Financial hardship complaints do see the bank look through the spending habits of the individual before making a decision.  The person has to be in genuine hardship and not be someone who just lives beyond their means through buying consumer goods.

If that other thread indicates consumer goods overspend is the issue then it will not bode well for the OP.

debtfreein2020

Goodness me, I came here for very specific experiences of others. I didn’t ask for your opinions on my own circumstances and I certainly didn’t ask for your picking apart of my debt free diary, somewhere which is meant to be a safe supportive space within the forum. As an IFA you don’t seem particularly assertive. Surely the fact I am making good progress now shows my dedication to changing my habits and getting out of this situation. I’m not even sure why I feel the need to defend myself to you but here we are 🤷🏼‍♀️

HobgoblinBT

Have you looked at the Financial Ombudsman website Case studies for Banking and responsible lending?

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

I’m lost here. OP had two threads. One trying to reclaim charges on an overdraft  they have obviously used. And the other thread about paying this overdraft back. So OP has come to their senses and realised their financial position, and putting mends to this.

But, if you used the facility of the overdraft, and now wished you had not, is not the base for a complaint.

Oh, by the way. My overdraft at my bank has been £0 for the same period!

debtfreein2020

Congratulations @Blackbeard_of_Perranporth, that must be a wonderful feeling. 

If you feel you want to understand the context of my overdraft, read both threads. These charges I have asked for advice here for are historic and ceased in 2018. My current overdrafts were £0 until I was offered 0% on a certain amount through COVID support which I took advantage of to pay off interest inducing credit cards. I have now paid off one of the overdrafts and will do the same with the other next month prior to the 0% deal ending.

dunstonh

Goodness me, I came here for very specific experiences of others. I didn’t ask for your opinions on my own circumstances and I certainly didn’t ask for your picking apart of my debt free diary, somewhere which is meant to be a safe supportive space within the forum. As an IFA you don’t seem particularly assertive.

Please do tell me where I have picked apart your debt free diary?     

Also, I tend to get accused of being too assertive.  So, its quite novel to be accused of the opposite.

Surely the fact I am making good progress now shows my dedication to changing my habits and getting out of this situation. I’m not even sure why I feel the need to defend myself to you but here we are 🤷🏼‍♀️

I fail to see why you are directing those comments at me.

However, if you cannot handle the slightest scrutiny of why you claim to be in financial hardship then you are going to have a lot of fun when the bank interviews you.