Spiral of debt and defaults caused by overdrafts - Can I reclaim bank charges?

Martin_o03

Hello all, 

I'm looking for some advice as to whether it would be worthwhile attempting to reclaim bank charges from the period 2007- 2011.

I had just turned 17 in 2007 and about to start university, I wasn't working and my parents weren't well off. Over the course of 2 months I was able to open up 5 student accounts with overdraft totally around £7,000. I was able to go into the branch and open them without even a question about employment, only waving a student loan agreement... Now I know how much of an idiot I was and I suffered because of it but should it have been so easy for a 17 year old back then to do so. I was living on my own had rent to pay from my student loan I blew the overdrafts on trying to stay adrift and was regularly being hit with late direct debit fees/overdraft fees of £30 to £35 a time. I remember Lloyds being particularly bad. I ended up in a lot of debt, unable to pay back, had to leave university, lost my flat and had around 6 defaults which I've only got rid of in the past few years. 

So within the space of 1 to 2 years I was in over 10k of debt had defaulted on the accounts and this has affected me and my credit rating for over 15 years now. Despite the defaults dropping off and me now earning a decent salary and having no missed payments for years my credit rating is still awful, I struggle to get accepted for a basic bank account when I apply.

Sorry to waffle on, I know things changed after the court hearing, so is it worth my while to try and reclaim and what do you think my chances are. Thanks

MorningcoffeeIV

No. Banks will look at offering support if you're in current hardship but that doesn't appear to be the case.

With regard to your credit rating - you don't have.one. Lenders look at your credit history and current circumstances, not the fictional rating, so if you're struggling to be accepted, you need to look at the detail.

fatbelly

This won't be the reason you are getting turned down for credit so get copies of all three credit files and see if you can work out what is causing it.

How much were you charged in fees during that period? If you can itemise it you can make a complaint about it but Lloyds will probably not uphold your complaint.

FOS do not apply a strict six year limit so you could still refer it to them

Court claims do have a strict 6-year limit so you no longer have that recourse

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/bank-charges/

dunstonh

FOS do not apply a strict six year limit so you could still refer it to them

It is up to Lloyds if they feel the 3 and 6 year rules apply.    If the accounts were closed more than 6 years ago, then they can decide to timebar it.      The FOS can only look to see whether the timebar is being applied correctly or not.

There have been a small number of old financial hardship cases that have resulted in money being paid back, but typically, they are where the bank is still open, and it's relatively recent.    The objective of bank charge refunds is to ease current financial hardship by not being too excessive on the fees.   If hardship no longer exists, then its more of a struggle to persuade them that support is needed.

retiredbanker1

Can I just comment here that one of the terms and conditions of a Lloyds bank student account was/is that you do not have a student account elsewhere.
So go ahead and try to claim but be aware there is a potential fraud here if one of the banks decide to hit back at you.