Be careful what you tell your bank

[valtonia]

Hi all,

 

Lasy year I left my full-time (and reasonably well paid) job to focus on the shop that me and the misses own - and the abject poverty that goes along with being self-employed.

 

We had a plan. Everything would be rosy. Then they closed the main road in front of our shop for 6 months to do sewer repairs and as a result our takings took a hit. The road is open again now and finally we are starting to see something of a recovery to our business.

 

Anyway, the point of this post is be very careful about how honest you are with your bank regarding your financial situation - and don't expect them to care/help one little bit!

 

Because things got very tough for us, I had to stop drawing any money from the shop leaving just the money my wife was drawing - this led to a shortfall between our income and outgoings. I worked very hard cancelling and/or reducing as many payments as I could, trimming our weekly spend on food etc. and managed to get the shortfall to around £400/month. As we had an overdraft facility and a credit card with a fairly good limit I figured I could manage this for a short while until the shop started making more money again and I could plug the hole.

Of course, six months is a long time. Looking at my expenses the biggest one I have is a bank loan for £400/month. Hmmm... so a payment break on the loan would an ideal solution for me.

 

I called my bank and explained the whole situation to them and they said "let's fill in a statement of accounts to see where we stand". So we went through all my income and expenditure and arrived at a shortfall (which they miscalculated at £633/month). I suggested a payment break on the loan to which they said there was no such facility available. They offered a three month break but I would have to pay all three outstanding months at once after that time, so that was a non-starter.

The other thing they "helpfully" did was immediately put a block on my visa card so I no longer had access to those funds. Then they said the only other thing they could do would be to "withdraw facilities".

 

Now, maybe I'm being a bit dim, but how can not having access to *any* funds be helpful to me? Ah!!! this is where I was mistaken, they weren't trying to help me at all, they were just trying to protect themselves and in the process ensure that I exceed my overdraft limit.

 

As this was happening I started a claim for unfair/illegal charges over the last six years for £3k, which would be more than helpful at this moment. My worry is that once they realise what I'm doing they're going to "withdraw facilities", which would be disastrous for me right now.

 

So the moral of this story - don't tell your bank squat about your financial situation as they are only in it for themselves.

 

That'll teach me for being honest and hoping they might help!

 

Which bank is this? Our friendly FD. You have been warned!

[callumsgran]

Thanks for that valtonia, good luck with your claim:)