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Just a quickie - can anyone offer any further input into this problem.
I'm about to send my complaint to the fos about the way the bank has mishandled my request for assistance on the grounds of hardship and that they refused to let me opt out of the RUF until I had put my account back to it's original level - not an easy thing when you're on JSA and totally stuffed.
So - is there anything I can add to my complain to the FOS about this?
The bank have consistently refused to assist in any way at all, even to refusing to 'service' my account today with the information that I'm taking my complaint to the FOS because I didn't have my debit card to hand (cut it up last year) and I couldn't remember when I opened my account - well, it is over 25 years ago!!!
Any help and advice is offered in good faith, based solely on my own knowledge and on experience gathered from this site. I am not qualified to offer legal or financial advice, which you should seek from an expert before making any important decisions. My opinions are therefore offered without liability.
Was it the branch who refused or telephony?
My understanding is that branch staff are not able to opt you out if you are within the reserve but telephony can do.
It was 'telephony' - two different departments, two separate phone calls.
I'm not sure I've presented my case very well, but I'll just have to give it a go and hope the fos can see that Barclays refused to help me out in any way at all.
The fos are 'very busy' and I have no idea when they will review my case.
In the meantime, Barclays continue to pile on the £22 each week and the FOS say there is nothing I can do to stop them as it's their decision.
So - what do I do????
Is it likely that the bank is actually deliberately driving me to bankruptcy?
Or do they believe that they can just pile on the debt so that when the FOS finally get round to talking to them, they agree to 'do a deal' to refund a small amount of the charges, leaving me with double (or more) of my original overdraft "in debt" to them?
They won't let me opt out, they won't put my account on hold, they're just trying to finish me off.
Open a basic account elsewhere, get your benefits paid in there, let them pile the charges if they want to, and if they get nasty, well, you know what to tell them, don't you?
Apologies to people who I was in the process of helping, I may be gone some time.
Hi bookworm, I've done all that - I'm actually working at present although the pay is not good, but at least I can keep going with everything else.
It's the fact that they're putting me deeper and deeper into debt - a debt which is not mine.
If the fos don't agree that Barclays are in the wrong, then I have this mountainous debt that Barclays have created.
It's the fact that Barclays refuse to call a halt to anything - it's like some obscene sickness - they're totally out of control because they've "won" and now no-one can stop them.
It IS a madness - but it's a madness that's ruining my life.
I'm just gobsmacked that they don't even care that there's a complaint with the FOS - they're just sticking two fingers up to everyone and carrying on doing exactly what they want.
That "debt" is not real. It's charges they're adding to a balance sheet. Once you're not in their clutches anymore, all they can do is what? Sell it on to a DCA? Great, we know what to do with those, lol. Take you to court themselves? Fine, let them, and defend it all the way, gettign them to justify how you asked, nay begged for them to stp the madeness and they ignored you all the way until the situation is solely of their own making and see how that impresses the judge... Then show the most you can pay them is £5 a month, ask for the charges and interest to be frozen, and then pay them off religiously at £5 (or less) a month for a long time.
It's only an issue if you let it become one. ;-)
Apologies to people who I was in the process of helping, I may be gone some time.
Re: Reserve Usage Fee - unable to opt out - but...
But it IS an issue - why should I be saddled with having to pay off anyone for a very long time in the first place when it's not a debt of my making?
Every 6 months, having to go through all the hassle of reviewing my payment plans with all the creditors, having to 'prove' I can't pay any more than £xx per month - and believe me, I can't even afford to pay my major creditors more than £5 per month right now. The stress is just abysmal.
I can't even begin to get my life back in order when there's more debt being piled on by another bank that I cannot stop!
AND - they have been asked for the charges to be frozen, last year and refused.
Anyway - I've had another thought about this.
If my 'contract' with Barclays is that I have a RUF up to a max of £150 above my 'authorised' overdraft limit, and they've carried on piling on the charges well above that without my permission or any other agreement, have they now broken their own contract?
Barclays are aware of my complaint through the fos, yet have refused to stop charging my account £22 per week.
They've refused to put my account on hold or in dispute. They have refused to accept I am no longer using my account - they've even sent me a new debit card despite my telling them I'd cut the other one up!
They're now sending threatening letters and still phoning my home nearly every day - I'm not in, but a 1471 tells me they've called again. I did pick up the phone on Thursday evening whereupon somene tried to talk to me by my given name - something that is known to be a kind of hidden intimidation practice as it devalues the other person.
They have failed to respond to my letters of complaint in November and January.
So - what to do next?
I cannot get my account put in dispute or hold, so they are still just piling on the charges. They have now stated that they will continue to add the RUF charges until my account is put back into it's agreed limit.
I believe they've already broken their own contract by going way beyond the £150 limit of RUF but I'm not sure about this.
If you have, and are now using, an alternative bank a/c, let Barclays keep racking up their charges if they wish.
Do you consider yourself to be in Financial Hardship. If so, make a formal complaint to the fos saying Barclays are doing nothing to help you. Indeed, just the opposite !!
The bank are stacking up their charges leaving you no hope of getting out of their trap.
Any help and advice is offered in good faith, based solely on my own knowledge and on experience gathered from this site. I am not qualified to offer legal or financial advice, which you should seek from an expert before making any important decisions. My opinions are therefore offered without liability.
Slick - I've got a complaint in with the fos - how long before they do anything is another matter.
In the mean time, whilst Barclays ARE racking up the debt, it's a debt in my name which they are now getting nasty about.
The bank are stacking up their charges leaving you no hope of getting out of their trap.
Exactly - I cannot find a way to stop this - which is what I need.
I really don't understand why I'm being advised to ignore it. Soon it will go to a DCA and then I'm in an even bigger mess.
I want to know what to do to stop this - not to just ignore it. What can I do to force them to stop adding the charges and put my account in dispute?
I am earning right now but only on a less than average income which leaves me with nothing to live on bar the basics. Technically, I'm not a harship case now, but I was when all this began.
The way this is going, I'm going to end up with yet another debt hanging over my head of £1,000's of £'s of their fees.
The FOS are not going to stop them - they've already said as much. They've said the bank can continue adding the charges and there's nothing they can do about it.
And I'm not able to consider declaring bankrupt either - it's just not an option because it will leave me in an even worse mess than I am at present which would include homelessness amoungst other things.
What I'm trying to do is to get a letter together which at least attempts to get them to hold on the charges "or else".
It's the "or else" that I'm lacking - what can I effectively threaten them with that will put things on hold?
I've written a letter which I will send to the the Collections & Recoveries department, and copy to their legal team?
One thing I'm trying to work out is if they've broken their own contract by actively forcing the account over the upper limit with their charges and not putting the account on hold as requested.
Do I have a leg to stand on to start threatening legal proceedings? Have they broken any other codes of conduct or consumer law?
Unfortunately, there isn't always a solution to this problem. At least, not the type you are seeking.
There's no letter or method which will stop the bank with the threat of court action, etc.
That's why we're saying you will just have to let them keep piling up their charges. As Bookworm said above, it is just a figure on paper.
If the bank want to pursue it as a real debt, they will have to justify their charges in a court. They will find that hard to do if you can show that you have taken all possible steps to reach a compromise with them.
Until they go to court (if they ever do), all they can do is use DCA's to attempt to collect. A DCA has neither power, nor authority so you just ignore them and refuse to play their game.
Any help and advice is offered in good faith, based solely on my own knowledge and on experience gathered from this site. I am not qualified to offer legal or financial advice, which you should seek from an expert before making any important decisions. My opinions are therefore offered without liability.
I found his thread (which included the link to that thread you've posted) somewhere else in the forums - I've saved it favs because I get lost very easily in this place.
I think I may have good grounds to take Barclays to court if necessary.
I've got my next letter to them, reiterating their failings and unfair treatment (including telephone calls which are now becoming harassment) so that they have absolutely no excuse.
I'll send a copy to their HO.
It ends with me essentially saying that if the case goes to court, I'll be producing all the relevant evidence to prove unfair treatment. I've worded it so that they can read it either as whether they try to take me to court, or that I may instigate proceedings - it's an open reading.
If you read threads in the Debt forums, and any of the credit card forums, you'll find them full of peeps who are being harassed by DCA's. And the general advice is often ignore them, or tell them to take a hike.
DCA's are just offices that chase debtors, relentlessly. When they see you will not respond to their bullying and harassing, they'll get bored and move on to someone they can bully.
I'm not saying you should always ignore DCA's but they have no power and no authority, despite what they like to portray.
The only thing they can do is place negative markers or defaults on your credit record. This can be contested in many cases because they fail to comply with regulations about defaults. However, getting defaults removed can be hard-going.
Keep an eye on progress with that Scottish case as that could be significant.
Don't assume that any bank will be concerned by your threat to take them to court. To them, such action is an acceptable risk.
Any help and advice is offered in good faith, based solely on my own knowledge and on experience gathered from this site. I am not qualified to offer legal or financial advice, which you should seek from an expert before making any important decisions. My opinions are therefore offered without liability.
Reserve Usage Fee - unable to opt out
about the way the bank has mishandled my request for assistance on the grounds of hardship and that they refused to let me opt out of the RUF until I had put my account back to it's original level - not an easy thing when you're on JSA and totally stuffed.
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Re: Reserve Usage Fee - unable to opt out - but...
