lots of charges, please, please help.

Gadget-guy

Hi Guys, got the shock of my life a few days ago, I do not have a joint account with my wife and have nagged at her about this for a while. Money has been getting tighter every month for about 9 months and I have just found out how bad it has got. My Wife has informed me that we are 3 months behind in Mortgage payments and also behind in lots more, this I found out has been caused by my Wife edging over her overdraft by £10 here £20 there every month incurring a £35 charge every time that happened, my wife insists she new nothing of this and was not informed until it all got out of hand and is now at a total of about £3,500 (this includes about £500 from previous problems concerning another matter).
My Wife has gone from being a very upbeat person to a nervous wreck. I can not believe Bank of Scotland has charged £35 for every transaction over the overdraft, never trying to stop you, speak to you, or help you. I am at home looking after a baby and a toddler while she is out working and sometimes we need that extra £20 for essentials so this has caused the charges. I am sorry for going on but I am very worried about my Wife and I am struggling to cope also. I got her to make an appointment to speak to the bank but they were not intersted. What do we do now , we have requested all statements but have been told not to expect them soon. Again sorry for taking up you time but any help would be great.

ecoelle

I don't really know much about bank charges but thank you for posting. There is so much help on here that i'm sure someone better equiped than me will be along soon. You obviously love your wife 'm sure you can work this out.

Gadget-guy

Thanks for the reply ecoelle. :hello:

ecoelle

bumping you up to the top:p

Superly_Vince

Gadget-guy wrote: »

, we have requested all statements but have been told not to expect them soon. Again sorry for taking up you time but any help would be great.

For a start the bank should have not have said that. You are entitled to request your statement history! In fact, tonight I called my bank (RBS) requestng my bank statements for one account (I requested all statements for another August last year). I agreed to the £5.00 fee for me to get them and they advised I should receive my statements within the next 7-10 days. if I could also add, when asked why I wanted my statements I told the advisor on the phone that I wanted to keep all files up to date as many months of statements have gone missing, it's easier for me to request a full bundle as opposed to specifying each month as it would have taken too long!

If I could refer you to the reclaiming section of the site http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/bank-charges#guide

Some banks will send you the information if you phone to ask (I’ve had feedback that Barclays, Halifax and HBSC have done this) so try this first. If not, you have a legal right to demand this information under the Data Protection Act; though they are legally allowed to charge a maximum £10 for it (and banks being banks, they tend to charge the full amount). So to save time, enclose a cheque for a tenner in your letter.

There is a template letter you use within the link provided, if you haven't asked for your statements via letter I would use the template letter provided. I was able to request both statements verbally. If you have many accounts with one bank you may want to request them all on the same letter, I think it would save you from having to pay time and time again (someone may have to clarify though)

I'm sorry I can't provide anymore advice, I'm only at the initial stages of claiming myself . I wish you the best of luck in working through this.

Gadget-guy

Thanks Superly Vince, good luck to you. :beer:

Merlot

Gadget-Guy, Can I sugest that you come over to the Debt Free Board and maybe post on there as well, the peeps on that board could possibly help you with your monthly outgoings, do you have secured debt besides the mortgage, take a look at this website, its the CCCS, its a debt charity website, they are fantastic, they will help you and its a freephone number
http://www.cccs.co.uk/

Come over to the debt board, we want to help you and your wife.

Merlot.x.

Gadget-guy

Thanks for the info melot, we have no secured loans, I think what we need most of all is to know that there might be a chance of getting some of these charges back, is there any chance of pushing the bank now or is it going to take waiting until the final court outcome. We will discuss things a little further and will re post on the debt free board. :beer: