Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
January this year i went over my £250 agreed free overdraft by £36 when Lloyds decided to pay a direct debit for me instead of bouncing it and charging me a standard fee of £30. i didnt recieve a letter from them for around 4 days so this had already mounted up £15 charge for being overdrawn and a £15 daily charge for being overdrawn. this was at the beginning of the month, being straight after christmas i was pretty short of money so i had to wait till the end of the month to put my account back into the agreed £250 overdraft.
At the time i was very worried about how much i would get charged at a £15 a day fee, i rang customer services and was told to ring the staines branch themselves to disuss the matter. the lady who spoke to me was incredibly rude and said "she didnt have the time to waste speaking to me" and splurted the customer services number at me, (i had just been transfered from customer services to my branch as they said they couldnt help, but i didnt know this was the number at the time) i asked her could she please wait whilst i get a pen and she just splurted the number again very quickly. i replied "well if you cant atleast wait for me to get a pen to write this down can you atleast answer one question" she replied "goodbye mr wood" i shocking replied "are you seriously refusing to answer my one question" and she hung up. i was only on the phone to her for around 2 minutes and found this appauling as i was trying to come to an agreement over my financial situation. i take it they dont want you to pay money into your account when you are overdrawn as they are making money off you.
i rang back to the complaints department straight away and told them what had happened and they apparently faxed the branch manager whilst i was on the phone and was told they should call me back by the end of the day and probably within the hour. of course there was no reply call so i rang up customer services the next day to ask when they where going to call me. this was a saturday and i was told that the branch manager wouldnt reply to my complaint till atleast monday afternoon (sudden change from the first person telling me later that day). anyway i left it till tuesday and rang again, this time they tried to put me through to the branch manager but no reply so i was told another fax would be sent over. as yet i have still not been contacted at all.
due to the way i was spoken to on the phone and the incredibly bad customer services i chose to open a new account with alliance and liecester and to try and close my lloyds account.
i was hoping that i would be able to close my lloyds account and pay them back the £250 overdraft in installments over the next couple of months. they of course wont let me do this as apparently i cant close my account if i owe them money. very strange how i apparently need to pay in £500 to keep my account open but im not paying in a penny and they wont close it.
at the beginning of febuary i put my account back into a £250od state which is free without charge and they have now charged me £17 for having the account open, of course im not using the account for anything and dont want it anymore but they are refusing to close it. i havent been charged any fees as yet for being overdrawn but i know i have been overdrawn twice in the last 2 months for long periods and have atleast 2 sets of fees coming for around £160. all becuase lloyds decided to make me overdrawn instead of bouncing a direct debit. last year a couple of direct debits bounced and they just charged me £30 for them bouncing but now it seems they have a new tactic where they make you overdrawn and you dont recieve the letter for atleast 4 days and by this time have knocked up £60 in overdraft fees very sneeky.
can anyone help as to what i should do next? at the moment i have not been charged for these fees but i know they will be coming next month. im not using my lloyds account anymore and would just like to close it as soon as possible. unfortunatly i cant really afford £250 spare to close the account even though i know if i go in with £250 cash they wont let me anyway as they will then say i owe them crazy fees of around £200 or more in charges just for a direct debit they should have just bounced in the first place, why should they have the right to choose wether to bounce the direct debit or make you overdrawn?? now they are going to put charges on my account to make me overdrawn again and i suppose they are going to expect me to pay that back as well.
surely if thei goes to court then it is obvious bullying tactics to try and get as much money out of me as possible as i have clearly told them i wish to close the account.
Hi,
Personally I would never talk to them on the phone ever again. Do everthing in writing.
Make a formal complaint stating everything you have said in your first post but also send off for a SAR:
This will get you the info of how much you have been charged and if you're really lucky a transcript of the phone call to the extremely rude woman. If you're really really lucky, you might even get a copy of the actual recording (assuming there is one in the first place)
You can then start a claim to recover the penalty charges
The SAR costs £10
send it recorded delivery
give them 40 days to comply
fox
If you are asked to deal with any matter via private message, PLEASE report it.
Everything I say is opinion only. If you are unsure on any advice given, you should see a qualified solicitor
newbie help please
by £36 when Lloyds decided to pay a direct debit
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