Hi,

I have a friend (no really) who has debt problems which are being added to I believe by the charges levied on her account.

She had a basic account with no overdraft facility

although she did keep going overdrawn and hence accrued charges,

these have snowballed as happens and resulted in the account being closed.

The thing is she is on benefits which the bank are obviously aware of and as soon as the benefits are credited they have been swallowed by charges adding to the debt problems she has.

I have tried finding posts on here but dont seem to be finding what I need so can anyone point me in the direction of reclaiming charges under hardship rules if this is possible.

would it be prudent to send an SAR or is this likely to be a dead duck ?

I am in the process of collecting all the info that I can.

Cheers

First things first is to get a NEW bank account with a separate banking group, otherwise the bank will steal anything that goes in.

SAR the bank yes, find out exactly what charges have been levied on the account, and the interest charged, then under the hardship rules reclaim them.

Thanks, yes that is in hand not quick enough unfortunately, got her to apply for a post office account yesterday but they have closed her account today. not good !

hardship letter should be in the debt collection section of our library

Thanks.

Thanks, yes that is in hand not quick enough unfortunately, got her to apply for a post office account yesterday but they have closed her account today. not good !

Matters not one jot if they closed her account, open another one, and reclaim all of the charges the parasites levied as they knew she was in financial hardship.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387436-Letter-for-consideration-regarding-Hardship-or-Financial-Difficulty

They closed it when she was in the black, refusef to let her have the 30 quid she had on saying that she might be overdrawn in a few days !!

Its the inconvienience of not having any alternative and done with no notice.

Really stinks.

They closed it when she was in the black, refusef to let her have the 30 quid she had on saying that she might be overdrawn in a few days !!

Its the inconvienience of not having any alternative and done with no notice.

Really stinks.

Then she needs to lodge a formal complaint with the bank, exhaust it, then escalate to the ombudsman.

yes, complain. notice should be required.

and any money available at time of closure or withdrawal should be paid back out, regardless of what might poss happen in the future.

it seems coop bank is on the way out.

I will pass this on thanks guys and get on with it.

My advice would be to get your friend to join your local credit union. Not only will they provide a Visa debit card, they will encourage her to save a little each month, even £10 mounts up. The other good thing with a credit union is that loans are available, some on joining. Typical loan of £300. They do everything a bank does, but a lot better and without all the charges. Unlike banks, they will lend £500. I've used the Lincolnshire Credit Union for many years now and have received an excellent service.

I had similar problems with the coop bank a few years ago now. They closed my accounts with very little notice, said that because I was just a basic account holder that it operates with different rules from a normal bank account. Even after banking with them for over 5 years they still closed the account and never upgraded it to a normal account.

I joined Barclays and opened apt heir basic account. 4 years on and it's been the best decission I've made. I now have a normal account. Their online van kings a great help, but what I've found the biggest help is that they will pay a direct debit, if you don't have enough in to cover it they will text you with the minimum funds needed to pay the DD and you have until 3pm of that day to get money in.

It's really hard when your at the bottom with no way out, but finding a better bank can really help you start yo straighten things out

Thank you, all advice is appreciated.