halifax charges for their mistake but i refuse to pay them ..

[freedomexpression]

hi there. i am on to my third letter to halifax customer relations. i have a thousand pounds overdraft with them. i am now around 500 pounds over that overdraft with charges and charges on charges. i have no problem paying my overdraft and coming to an arrangement, however, due to the way they behave, i no longer want to bank with halifax any more. more evidence of their bullying "rake back" regime. can i refuse to pay these charges and only agree to pay the overdraft at a reasonable repayment amount without them applying a default notice due to the way they have treated me as highlighted in this letter? they shouldn't be allowed to pull the overdraft away from customers if they have been paying default interest on the overdraft amounts. i believe this is not "the benefit of an overdraft" as someone at collections said to me, because i have paid debit interest on this amount every month like clockwork. this post is long but i hope it helps others.

 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not be intimidated by this nasty little bank. i want everyone to bring maximum damage to their reputation and anything we can use against them we should. if you read this post, you will see that halifax broke data protection and they do many untoward things as a bank. i have a record and proof of where halifax broke data protection in a branch, revealing the address of another customer instead of checking mine against their database. the bank is a joke. please can you help me land them with as much inconvenience to every little point i have so as to stand up for all of us to their bullying outdated ways.

 

I have given halifax every opportunity to speak to me personally to deal with this situation yet I have only met standard letters, and one final letter saying that they are "sorry" but there is nothing they can do. now i have had enough.

 

can i get a subject access request for the phone call recordings that they hold?

 

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not paid any charges to halifax

 

i have not paid any charges to halifax, they are just mounting up. how can i put a freeze on this while i am getting my charges back? i was only only putting in what was covering my bills since i was led to believe that the amount at the time at december 140 pounds over the overdraft with charges was going to be credited back to my account. i am prepared to pay the overdraft, just not the charges.

 

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i can share with others a detailed log of all my dealings with halifax with names, dates and times if you want to pursue a harrassment claim or to highlight how unprofessional halifax are.

 

* i have phone bill charges to halifax's 08xx numbers amounting to 80 pounds that i want to recover.

 

* i want to pursue halifax for harrassment, breach of duty of care and negligence/untoward business practises and i will be looking for costs and compensation for all of my time spent and worry this has caused.

____________________________

 

this situation is now being handled by the financial ombudsmen who will be making a decision on this. THIS BANK IS A JOKE. I am willing to take this to court to resolve but I am also willing to resolve this amicably out of court.

 

I HAVE HAD ENOUGH. I WILL GET TOGETHER WITH PEOPLE AND PICKET OUTSIDE THEIR BRANCHES AND BRING MEDIA ATTENTION TO TARNISH THEIR ALREADY BLACKENED NAME. THEY BULLY PEOPLE AND WE HAVE TO STAND UP TO THEM. LET'S GET TOGETHER AND FIGHT THEM.

 

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MY OBJECTIVE:

 

 

however, I am looking to see the charges waived, my phone costs of 80 pounds paid for, and a goodwill gesture/compensation to cover the inconvenience and the stress this situation has caused, due to being hounded and harrassed by retail bank collections while simultaneously being strung along by customer services which will reasonably appear to anyone to be a delaying device to apply more harrassment and charges to a customer who has suffered from a mistake to which they have apologised for in their letter of 6th feb. I believe that this is a breach of their duty of care and a breach of the banking code.

 

if halifax are stalling to april (the date for review of the 1000 pounds overdraft), then are they planning to stall then cancel my account and refer to debt recoevery while still not addressing my complaint properly? if so then halifax are breaching their duty of care, and breaking data protection etc with threats of a default or impending actions.

 

i am going to bring this out in the open, highlight my personal circumstances in regards to this case with my MP with all correspondence and recordings of all the phoen calls that i have that show how i have been patronised, intimidated, harrassed and threatened and halifax's many breaches of duty of care.

 

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how it all started:

 

i had a problem with my local branch where a member of staff did not add the notes regarding a conversation, he also was quite nasty once before when i paid in the counter one day and said "oooo you just nearly got charged there", as if it was a cat and mouse game for him.

 

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the beginning?

 

 

i was late paying in one day, i didn't want this to get out of hand so i had a word with the bank and called telebanking to find that he made no note of our conversation. from then, things started to get out of hand, i wrote a letter explaining my circumstances and that i was unwell at that time and a person in the bank said that they should waive the charges, i enclosed proof of being unwell at this time. the response to my first letter, was as follows:

 

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17th dec 2008 letter from halifax:

 

I called the customer services a few days before the 17th and a girl said she had looked into it and read me the letter that was being sent to me. the 140 pounds, she said, was being credited to my account in the next couple of days. she said that no further charges would be applied to the account and that i would only have to pay debit interest. i checked this with her several times. i was relieved since this amount of money would have made the difference and put my bank account back into the authorised overdraft. i thought the banks had listened to my situation and responded in the right way for my situation. i was wrong. since the start of december to what is now mid february, i have just been messed around, while halifax simultaneously have given me more charges, and while "investigating the matter" with customer services, they have been harrassing me with retail bank collection notices and phone calls.

 

i have been prompt and precise all the way along, calling retail bank collections to explain the person who is dealing with the situation at customer services. both departments are not interested in checking with each other, but they still insist in applying more charges on charges. i think this should be unlawful for them to do this.

 

shortly after the 17th december 2008 i recieved the letter saying that "as a gesture of goodwill 140 pounds has been credited to your account in view of your circumstances. any charges that are correctly applied in the future will stand".

 

it follows,

 

"you will understand that we have to pass on the costs of paid and unpaid items tshould you use an unarranged overdraft. it's only fair to all of our customers that we pass these costso on to the specific account holders affected".

 

 

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6th feb letter from halifax:

 

i had a letter from halifax on the 6th feb saying they have fully investigated the matter, and the letter dated 17th december saying that "we have credited your account iwth 140 pounds, however the 140 did not credit your account as the charges had not yet been deducted. please accept my sincere apologies for the confusion caused by our previous letter".

 

"it is for the above reasons that the 140 did not credit your account. the carhges were simply cancelled before leaving your account, therefore halifax cannot accept responsibility for further charges incurred since this incident.

 

"Although my response is not perhaps the one that you would have wished for, i assure you that i have taken your complaint seriously and i hope you can understand the reasons for our decision. if i can be of any further assistance please do not ehesitate to contact me on etc".

 

since i was told this by staff, there was no "confusion", their staff made it quite clear, i have maintained that i want this to happen. on what legal grounds, if any, could i insist i want this to happen if their staff have told me so?

 

If the bank were not going to credit the 140 pounds back to the account within a few days or they were going to take this amount of time, they should have told me and not have allowed activity to continue on the account. A prompt telephone call to say that they were going to look into this account and freeze it would have stopped this confusion. It's confusing. I was waiting for a credit to go in the account. A query with my branch is dragging on and on and now into the 3rd month.

_______________________________________________

 

Halifax require their customers to be prompt and precise with their financial affairs in order not to incur any charges, yet they are anything but prompt and precise in their dealings, instead being told wildly varying things and levels of support by staff and promises that have not been met, taking actions without notice, causing further costs, charges and distress.

 

Halfax has treated this situatoin is far from professional and bordering on harrassment and negligence and the customer service process seems to have no other option or resolution and this is after speaking to possibly over 20 different staff at Halifax. They do not get back to you, if you speak to them they only stonewall you and you can't speak to the originator of the letter that was sent to you. they give you hope in one phone call and make promises they don't keep. i believe all to stall and apply more charges to the accounts. example of the way they talk,

 

DELAYING TACTICS ..

 

"you could argue that you would expect your balance to be 140 better off by around about the 20th or just after. if the letter was misleading then we have to look at the further charges and come to some understanding on those too. i would have to take a look at what was going on around the 20th and whether the 140 pounds would have made a difference".

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IT AMOUNTS TO NOTHING, THEY JUST STALL YOU ALONG AND EXPECT YOU TO PAY THE CHARGES THAT ARE INCURRING.

 

I have a detailed log of all my dealings and with some phone calls if anyone wants to GROUP TOGETHER to show how halifax is unprofessional and harrassing.

 

** EXTRACTS FROM MY LOGS:

 

EXAMPLE OF THE WAY I WAS TREATED DURING THESE THREE MONTHS

 

* HALIFAX say they are going to pass messages on but they don't return your phone calls, unless it's retail bank collections then they do.

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* I was on the phone with Anne Ganning at customer relations and really filled her in on the situation for some 20-30 minutes. Anne said on this call that the letter does say that 140 pounds will be credited to the account, yet there was nothing she could do. more stonewalling and unable to speak to the originator of the letter i have recieved.

 

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Harrassment - 20th January 2009

 

I called collections who put me through to the wrong department, the woman threatened to put notes on my file that would amount to saying that I was refusing to speak to collections, further phone evidence of twisting the situation and intimidation. I was then forced to after being transferred to call again and then I spoke to collections who put a ten day stop on any proceedings after a threatening and harrassing letter sent without due process dated 16th January 2009 demanding around £250 to be paid within five days or a default notice issued. "A record of this will stay on your credit file for six years". I notice the first time I spoke to collections, she alluded to the one thousand pounds overdraft being up for renewal in march 2009.

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More Harrassment - 27th January 2009

 

27th Jan i spoke to NILESH at collections who's only aim in that phone call was to accuse me for the so called "outstanding amount". his attitude was that he had the power and i was just a person that owed him money. all he could repeat was, "Further action will continue on your account". he found it very difficult to admit that the fault may lie elsewhere for the outstanding amount. he had no problem with saying that i am liable for that amount and the next stage is a default notice on my person as a result of this mess. he was not interested when i told him that sarah bradley is the person to speak to regarding this situation as she is dealing with it. he was only interested in collecting money and ruining my credit rating, which, when calling a representative of halifax i expect more from. the head office collections seems to be separate from customer services and they cannot speak to each other. this is convenient since they can collect without seeing if that amount can be cleared by dealing with each other and sorting out the situation. i then called and spoke to Mrs Booth who had no hesitation in telling me that this is not the first time i have called today. i was told that they are unable to speak to sarah bradley or customer relations in regard to this matter so it is me who has to keep chasing her up.

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I called Customer Relations the same day on 08457 253 519 .. he said that Sarah Bradley should have put a direct dial number on the letter since it was a "final response" but was not on there on the letter 17th dec that Sarah Bradley replied to.

 

He said that it sounds quite involved. if it was quick an easy he said he would have addressed it. another long list of 0845 numbers. Direct Dial - 0141 204 6474. no answer. 08457 39 49 59 .. given many different numbers .. 0856 602 9786. team. spoke to another lady who sent a note to sarah bradley along with my phone number stating that i am quite keen to speak to her, and explained the situation once again. at this stage i would just like this situation resolved, my bank account opened and would like to start paying off my overdraft to be honest because this all seems to be more trouble than its worth.

 

On the 30th January 2009, I call and speak to PARESH at Customer Relations. I quote from my phone logs ..

 

"you could argue that you wouldl expect your balance to be 140 better off by around about the 20th or just after. if the letter was misleading then we have to look at the further charges and come to some understanding on those too. i would have to take a look at what was going on around the 20th and whether the 140 pounds would have made a difference".

 

heard nothing since, apart from calls from retail bank collections trying to force me to pay money. more charges letters. with the account activity. to be honest they have frozen/closed my account and the have taken control of it adding charges and charges and expecting me to pay. instead of this i am going to make them pay costs and compensation for the way they have treated me.

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cut off in mid phone call, being transferred to bank collections and harrassed for their mistakes. on the 7th jan 2009, in the morning a woman in the branch broke data protection by revealing the first line of a local customers address that had a name similar to mine. i have a recording of this. and various recordings of the phone calls i have made to halifax showing how their responses vary and are just a delaying device to lump more charges on a customer. this is disturbing and frustrating and unprofessional.

 

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unprofessional and harrassing:

 

i want to pursue halifax for the unprofessional, harrassing way they have dealt with me. My faith in the staff that I have been dealing with has been misplaced because they have shown themselves to be inconsistent yet part of the same bank, contradictory, unprofessional and willing to make mistakes that they expect me, their customer to pay for. I have amassed detailed logs of all my calls, together with recordings of all pertinent calls.

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11th February 2009 14:39 -

 

CONCLUSION:

 

I am still reeling from the letter and i have a migraine and i am currently unable to respond by phone due to ill health and financial reasons to challenge and ask what is going on as a result of their staff misadvising me. i just got a blank sorry without them doing anyhting. while they continue to lump more charges on and hound me. for health reasons i cannot call them and pursue this today. i have a migraine and i am not sleeping properly. i am going to my doctor. what started as a simple problem has turned into a big one and the banks have made no effort to put it right.

 

I have been unable to sleep properly since this has started and I am going to my doctor. This situation is frankly disgusting and amounts to intimidation and harrassment. I am seeking a goodwill payment to cover costs and distress to put right what i have suffered due to all of the above, the harrassment, band banking practises, and widespread unprofessionalism that can not be viewed now as a simple mistake, rather an act of intransigence from a company that likes to bully individuals from all walks of life, including the sick and the vulnerable.

Edited February 16, 2009 by freedomexpression

[freedomexpression]

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[freedomexpression]

can anyone help me? today i received a default notice for the charges, not the 1000 pounds overdraft which expires in march 2009.

[freedomexpression]

where do i start?

[freedomexpression]

hello?

[freedomexpression]

halifax are misbehaving. where are the white knights? i need your help!

 

[freedomexpression]

i will do it myself then ..

[freedomexpression]

bump!

[Hugh Jeffort]

It sounds like you have been right through it with this one. I had a similar problem with A&L although after 4 months and countless letters and calls I did get my money back.

I'm a little confused with your explanation though, you said Halifax took £140 in charges that left you over your arranged O/D, but the letter they sent on 6th Feb says they never imposed the £140 on your account in the 1st place so how did you go £140 over? I'm sure i'm just not reading it right, i've got to say it is the longest thread I have ever read!!!!

[freedomexpression]

hi hugh. thanks for reading and replying. halifax took me 140 over the arranged overdraft with charges, it started with a bunch of charges, claimed hardship, they replied saying they would credit my account with 140 pounds and staff member said on phone that would go back in two three days and no further charges. i took that person on face value, just recently told sorry for any confusion, what was meant that 140 pounds would be waived of charges. sorry it's not the answer you were looking for, then swiftly after a default notice. i will get them for this though.

[Hugh Jeffort]

That must be so frustrating! The letter you recieved on the 6th Feb says that they never charged you the original £140, thats obviously not the case if you went over your arranged O/D, have you mentioned this to them in a written letter to the name on the 6th Feb letter? As I said before I ended up with £400 or so in charges in one month cause of A&L's mess up. It took ages but eventually all was sorted!

 

Keep your chin up although its easier said than done!!