Bank charges letter

MissG80

I just came across this thread.

So in March 2020 I left a job after 6 years. The job I went to suddenly changed as it was affected by the pandemic. I was very worried about my job security. The 1 week that you had to have been in employment to be eligible for furlough, I had opted unknowingly to have 1 week unpaid leave between jobs. Honestly couldn't write this stuff.

I called my bank 1st Direct. I didn't have any savings as the idea with the new job was to be able to save as it was a bit better paid.  I requested a 4 x increase on overdraft which I got.

The job then became very stressful, I didn't do well with budgeting, I have ADHD diagnosed in 2019 and was just trying to stay afloat.

Everything came to a head last December, which I won't go into, but I basically started getting proper support for my ADHD.  I'm doing better in a lot of ways, medication, strategies, etc., and I am trying to get back on top of financial situation.

I now have about 7.5k of credit card debt which thankfully is on 0% cards. I'm a little worried as my mortgage rate is going to increase from 2.1% to around 5.9% in October, so paying back high interest debt is a priority.  I'm planning to get out of my overdraft next month on payday.

Long story short, tldr or whatever the acronym is, I've been charged around £15-£20 a month in overdraft fees since Dec 2020 every month. I was thinking of just explaining  what had happened with work and ADHD and that I now want to cancel the overdraft and start afresh with budgeting, and would they consider reversing the charges which are around £600 over the last 4 years.  As its just a letter explaining there is nothing to lose. I've kind of decided while writing this out to just ask but if there's an obvious reason not to please comment 😅 

fatbelly

I can't see a reason not to, if you follow my double negative.

Obvs set out what happened and what you have been charged

See sections 5&9 of this guide. Other sections may be relevant too. Your highest effective apr will probably be that overdraft

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/cut-overdraft-costs/

There are template letters in this link. You will need a written response o that you can escalate it if negative

born_again

MissG80 said:

I just came across this thread.

So in March 2020 I left a job after 6 years. The job I went to suddenly changed as it was affected by the pandemic. I was very worried about my job security. The 1 week that you had to have been in employment to be eligible for furlough, I had opted unknowingly to have 1 week unpaid leave between jobs. Honestly couldn't write this stuff.

I called my bank 1st Direct. I didn't have any savings as the idea with the new job was to be able to save as it was a bit better paid.  I requested a 4 x increase on overdraft which I got.

The job then became very stressful, I didn't do well with budgeting, I have ADHD diagnosed in 2019 and was just trying to stay afloat.

Everything came to a head last December, which I won't go into, but I basically started getting proper support for my ADHD.  I'm doing better in a lot of ways, medication, strategies, etc., and I am trying to get back on top of financial situation.

I now have about 7.5k of credit card debt which thankfully is on 0% cards. I'm a little worried as my mortgage rate is going to increase from 2.1% to around 5.9% in October, so paying back high interest debt is a priority.  I'm planning to get out of my overdraft next month on payday.

Long story short, tldr or whatever the acronym is, I've been charged around £15-£20 a month in overdraft fees since Dec 2020 every month. I was thinking of just explaining  what had happened with work and ADHD and that I now want to cancel the overdraft and start afresh with budgeting, and would they consider reversing the charges which are around £600 over the last 4 years.  As its just a letter explaining there is nothing to lose. I've kind of decided while writing this out to just ask but if there's an obvious reason not to please comment 😅 

You can ask. I would very much doubt that they would refund the charges, as they are fair in respect of you asking for the increase & not raising the issue before.

Not something to really put in a letter to them. As they are a telephone bank best to physically speak to them & explain the situation. As they should be far more receptive.

When you say "Cancel" the overdraft, do you mean pay it back or default on it?

Nasqueron

If you are in financial hardship, that is the time to ask for help - banks can refund some charges, freeze future ones etc. Retrospective charges they can, and probably will, just say no. Any mention of unfair charges will automatically be rejected with reference to the supreme court case the banks (effectively) won. Historical fees are rarely refunded, certainly not for the last 4 years but you never know.

MissG80

I'm just on the phone to the bank, I am 99.9% sure they are coming back, no 100%, with we can't refund the charges but we can reduce the overdraft gradually over the next few months. Currently on hold. 

MissG80

Well never call on a Sunday...they put me through a team to talk about doing a budget, but if I need to call about reducing charges, I should call on a Monday to speak to the financial support team. 

To be honest they could not have sound more bored and less interested, I am not sure what happened to their customer service or maybe it's just the weekend.

fatbelly

Can you not email or write, and make them respond the same way?

Keeps a paper trail.