abbey whammy

[sjn]

hi - have i a hope in hell?
I have mortgage/savings /credit card/insurance/current account with abbey & have been a good reliable customer for years.

I made the mistake of going over my overdraft limit in january for 1 day only (a £25 debit transaction). I didn't know it had happened & hadn't got around to looking at my statement so didn't know about the £55 charges they were going to apply on 10th feb.
So i used my debit card around that time (3 transactions total about £50) & had a d.d of £3 go through.
I was only over my limit for a couple of days until a cheque cleared.

I only realised I had gone over my limit when I got this month's bank statement this week & found out they are going to take a further £170 out in charges on march 10th.

I have a toddler & work part-time & very much live from month to month & normally keep on top of things better than this.

I phoned the call centre & after about 5 minutes of trying & getting upset was offered £50 off my charges & a promise of a standard complaint form to fill in coming in the post in "10-14 days".

Can you advise please? - should I
1 - learn from my mistakes & check my statements in future. (borrow money on expensive credit card to cover charges)?
2 - go into my local branch & see if they can help (suspect they will just offer to increase my o/d to cover charges)?
3 - try & speak to someone on the phone?

I am time poor as well as cash poor & don't have time for a huge letter-writing effort or hundreds of phone calls.
Is there any point me pursuing this?

Thanks - sorry for going on so long!
SJN

[BankFodder]

Yes, you can pursue this. However, you will need at least to invest time in reading the FAQs and the forum material on this site.

Do that and then come back here.

[Docubot]

Have a read of the FAQ's etc...

We have letters already drawn up - it's only as time consuming as you let it be.

All you have to do/be is aggressive when it comes to the banks - don't let them dictate that it will take 4-6 weeks to 'look into it' etc...

Tel THEM when they will answer and if they don't then they can expect only one thing - legal action.

If you want to pursue it - you will get your money back. It all depends on how much you want to let these thieves get away with it.

That money yours - you earned it. What did Abbey do to deserve it?

Nothing.