Halifax & Hardship Help.

[HideBehindthesofa]

I spoke to the Halifax the other week regarding the unfair charges on my account and explained that I am suffering extreme hardship.

This morning I recieved a letter stating that QUOTE "It would be our normal approach to resolve your complaint through our internal complaints process as quickly as possible.However until the determination of the legal issues in the above proceedings, we have asked the Financial Services Authority(FSA) to suspend the normal timetable for dealing with unarranged overdraft bank charges complaints, and the FSA has agreed to this request subject to conditions to protect your rights" UNQUOTE.

 

 

It also goes onto say they are sorry they are unable to respond in full to my complaint now,and also given the court case we have asked the FOS not to proceed with unarranged overdraft bank charges cases.

And as a footnote the letter tells me if I am to manage my account in a similar manner future charges will be applied to your account.

 

 

 

What the hell do I do now, I have hardly any money and I could lose my house within a very short space of time.

 

Can anybody tell/ help me on what to do next.

 

 

Regards

 

HBTS.

[sea-sidelady]

This is the standard letter they are sending out. Please carry on with your claim.

 

Regarding your home, you should start a thread in the mortgage thread as the help you will get in there could be extremely useful to you.

[TheChancellor]

Hi HBTS

 

Dont panic! There are lots of us in the same boat & you have found your way to the right place which is a good start.

 

I'm new here so maybe have missed the point a little.Were you expecting a big "lumper" back on bank charges in the very near future?

 

How does this affect your mortgage, what is the position there & who is that with?

 

It just seems like they have said everything is on hold at present?

[HideBehindthesofa]

Hi HBTS

 

Dont panic! There are lots of us in the same boat & you have found your way to the right place which is a good start.

 

I'm new here so maybe have missed the point a little.Were you expecting a big "lumper" back on bank charges in the very near future?

 

How does this affect your mortgage, what is the position there & who is that with?

 

It just seems like they have said everything is on hold at present?

 

 

My mortgage is with GE Money, and I owe a few months, with regards my Bank Charges I spoke to the Halifax and explained that I am suffering extreme hardship and was informed by another person on this board that hardship cases are normally dealt with ASAP.

[TUTTSI]

Hiya HBTS

 

I have had my hardship claim agreed with Abbey last Friday they are paying 65% of my total claim £4.3k. It has taken just under 4 weeks to achieve this. My case against them started early last year and unfortunately due to high volumes of bank charge claims mine got held up in court and was then stayed. I have been fighting the hardship for some months now and I have now been fortunate enough to have had a payout. This payout will not prejudice the balance of my claim and Abbey have made no conditions.

 

What you need to do is:-

 

1. If you have not done so already a pre-lim letter and also include all your hardship details, with a brief description of why you are in this position.

 

2. Prepare an income and expenses schedule.

 

3. Prepare a spreadie of all your charges and compensatory interest at 8%.

 

4. Also enclose all evidence to substantiate your claim.

 

Good Luck

 

Tuttsi xx

[Karen22382]

HI there, I agree with Tuttsi. I sent a prelim to halifax and they sent the 'on hold' letter but with a income/outcome statement for me to fill in to prove that I am in financial difficulty. I did this and they have offered me about 95%of my claim without having to send the LBA or start cout action! They have suggested that I putthe money onto my overdraft which was my intent so am not gonna argue that.

 

One point that does annoy me with banks (among, but more so than others) is that they are allowed a stay yet do not put a hold on charges!! So its one rule for them and another for us! Even more unfair as they not only have the upper hand but also they are the multibillion corporations that in fairness could survive without the money. Unlike us.

[donal6343]

I sent a letter to halifax with details of my bank charges and requesting a full refund. I also stated that since i am in financial hardship, they must consider my case now.

 

They replied saying "our initial assessment of your case has not revealed any clear signs of finanical difficulties" and that they have therefore decided to place my complaint on hold.

 

Surely anyone who is suffering from bank charges is in financial difficulty, otherwise they would not incur the charges in the first place.

 

They have enclosed forms to prove my situation to them...which I find patronising. What criteria must i meet to qualify for financial hardship? surely receiving bank charges is sufficient!! Should I return the forms completed? or just write my own letter? or should i ignore the letter and write to the courts?

[TUTTSI]

I sent a letter to halifax with details of my bank charges and requesting a full refund. I also stated that since i am in financial hardship, they must consider my case now. Why!

 

They replied saying "our initial assessment of your case has not revealed any clear signs of finanical difficulties" and that they have therefore decided to place my complaint on hold. Correct

 

Surely anyone who is suffering from bank charges is in financial difficulty, otherwise they would not incur the charges in the first place.Not necessarily

 

They have enclosed forms to prove my situation to them...which I find patronising. What criteria must i meet to qualify for financial hardship? surely receiving bank charges is sufficient!! Should I return the forms completed? or just write my own letter? or should i ignore the letter and write to the courts?

 

You should complete the forms and also supply and send together with all evidences to support your claim with a polite letter explaining why you consider that you have a financial hardship claim.

To be honest I cannot understand why you feel that you do not have to prove your situation. If you were going for a loan or a mortgage you would have to supply evidences. The more information you supply in support of your claim the better the chance you have of receiving a sypathetic response. Do not forget the OFT test case is not over yet and our only hope of getting anything from the banks is to appeal to their better nature and under the FSA waiver rules.

Tuttsi

[Karen22382]

Hi, they sent exactly the same to me and I filled in the form which proved that i did not have enough coming in to cover what was going out and they sent me a letter giving me a little under what I asked for. This does not mean that they will do the same with you but its promising.

 

K

[HideBehindthesofa]

Hi,

 

Well I rang the Halifax today as advised and they have informed me that due to the recent takeover there is a wait of about another week until the claim could be settled.

In the meantime a letter is coming from the HALIFAX outling on how the takeover is affecting claims for people who have submitted hardship cases, when I pressed the agent "will the letter contain a settlement figure" the reply was"cannot say at the moment but everything is outlined in the letter".

So fingers crossed again.

[sea-sidelady]

Hopefully it will be.

 

But you know us curious lot...let us know when you get it.

[HideBehindthesofa]

Hi,

 

As you are all aware I have been suffering severe financial hardship, and today I rang the Halifax to see what was going on.

After a quite lengthy phonecall they offered me £4100 and a letter of acceptence was coming out in the post.

However when I calculated my charges the actual figure was closer to £6000, right not bad I hear you say but because my case is of extreme hardship do I have a right to claim the full amount or will they withdraw the £4100 offer and that will be that.

Any Ideas, Help.

 

Cheers

[sea-sidelady]

Yes you can accept it as part payment, but carry on your claim for the rest.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/25716-rejecting-offers.html

[HideBehindthesofa]

Thank you Sea-sidelady,

 

What is the 8% I can charge on top of my claim,any ideas.

[Mr lex]

Hi Hide

 

If you have to issue a court claim, there is a spreadsheet here :-

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/182-6-interest-calculation-spreadsheets.html

 

This will also calculate interest at 8% as allowed by s.69 the County Courts Act (1984) and which you will add to your claim at that point. NOTE: you do not claim the 8% unless you put in a court claim.

do I have a right to claim the full amount or will they withdraw the £4100 offer and that will be that.

 

This will depend on what their acceptance letter says. If it says 'Full and final settlement' and you decline it, your claim may well go back on hold. At least thats what happened to me (Barclays paid up in full, after I filed at court, before the stays were in place) You may find they say they will conceder the rest of the claim after the OFT test case.

 

At the end of the day, it's your call.

 

Lex

[TUTTSI]

Hide, under the FSA waiver rules, this will be an interim payment and the rest of your claim will be met after the test case should the OFT win. You have absolutely nothing to loose by accepting this sum at this stage and I am sure that the money will come in handy to help with your financial hardship. I calculate it is almost 70% and this should help you in your current situation. They dare not make it in full and final as they would be breaking the terms of the waiver.

 

Just to update you, Mr Justice Smith is handing down his judgment on the historical terms of each bank tomorrow afternoon. The banks if they loose will of course appeal..........

 

Tuttsi xx

Edited October 7, 2008 by TUTTSI
additions

[HideBehindthesofa]

Hi everyone,

 

Well this morning I recieved the letter from the Halifax, opened it and they have offered me 100% of my claim.

I have now signed it , popped a copy into my local branch and then popped the other in the post,a big big thank you to all those who have helped me get my cash back and now I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel..................:)..:)..:).

[sea-sidelady]

Well done!!!!!

 

 

Let us know as soon as the cash hits.

[HideBehindthesofa]

as soon as the cash comes in will let you know, and will make a donation to keep the site alive.

[sea-sidelady]

Thank you

[Mr lex]

Very well done Hide, A result indeed.

 

Lex

[TUTTSI]

Well done you, I am really pleased for you.

 

CONGRATULATIONS

 

Tuttsi

Edited October 8, 2008 by TUTTSI
spelling

[hollyjake]

I also think the Halifax have settled my hardship claim, I filled in my hardship financial statement 4 weeks ago and I spoke to them yeserday, and they said to me they were making a decision today, I looked at my bank account online and the balance has been wiped out to 0, and it also states the account is closed, so I am hoping I have a letter in the post with a cheque, but to me I was suffering extreme financial hardship, as I had my house repossed last year, and we are struggling to get by, but if they have settled, the halifax have been pretty good and understandable.

[sea-sidelady]

Fingers crossed. Hopefully you will hear soon!

[hollyjake]

Thank you my fingers are crossed too, but do they close the account down.

 

I too will be making a donation, as without this site, I would never of been enlightened at all, it was due to this site, that I deceided to fight back, even though I was very delicate, frightened, scared, and lost my home and my fight, but I deceided to fight for my rights, and not let the bullys win, and thats a first for me, and down to the banks and creditors, I lost everything I worked hard for and nearly my sanity, but to cag the fight will go on, I small fish can not bring us down, and Im with you guys all the way.