HSBC called me to pay £1.76 overdraft

[littleprincess]

i have just received a phonecall from HSBC as I have gone £1.76 overdrawn (i do not have a autohrised overdraft, as they wont give me one!).

they are charging me for being overdrawn and in total will take £176 off me in charges this month.

last month i was over £100 overdrawn and the month before that, yet they kept paying things, and charging me for the privelage and they never called me to ask me to apy it back!!!!!!

now i know i have some blame, im not one to always check my account! naughty i know!

but calling me today and telling me to pay it, and then said borrow it from a family member! give me strenth

over the past 3 months, they have taken £600 off me in charges. i dont want to give a sob story, but im a single mum living on nothing and trying to get my finanaces sorted, and this is not helping.

they are charging me £150 a month for something they call a agreeded extended overdraft, where tey will pay stuff and charge me £25 per item for doing so! i never agreed to this and have not signed anything to sday i want this, they just did it!

 

I have written a complaint letter today, and to be honest want all that money back.

 

does anyone know where i stand?

i cannot beleive i was called at work (when i have requested 4 times not to be called at work, that they called me asking for £1.76

 

some months they let me go over £200 overdrawn, and then other months they wont let me go a penny overdrawn, and i have never been called to pay it back, they wait till my wages go in then take it. i have never not paid, overdraft or charges! they always get their money. they will not give me a £100 overdraft cause they are making way too much money from me.

i have had enough.

[PGH7447]

My advice change banks

[littleprincess]

would love to change banks, but when i split from my ex my credit score was not great, and to be honest banks are so picky who they let in these days!!!!!!

i have a full time job ect. im not liability, but have been with HSBC for over 12 years, its only been the past 2 years ive had problems with them!

[PGH7447]

Have you attempted to reclaim the charges yet?

[littleprincess]

No, im that fuming though i am going to start trying to reclaim, they have made me feel so stupid today, thier call centre was rude, and to be honest, i laughed at her asking for £1.76

just gotta start the long process of reclaiming, dont know where to start, but im sure ill learn off here!

[Castlebest]

Hiya and welcome to the HSBC forum

 

Here's the step by step guide to reclaiming your charges

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/31460-example-step-step-instructions.html

 

Just shout if you have any questions

 

pete

[lee32uk]

I know exactly how you feel littleprincess.HSBC did the same to me over the last 12 months or so I hate them with a passion, even though i no longer bank with them.They owe me around £1500 in overdraft charges, so i decided enough was enough and i am now fighting back (See my thread below)

 

They are next on my ppi hitlist too when i get a spare minute.

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/hsbc-bank/185713-hsbc-overdraft-charges.html

 

You definately need to get your claim in at the court stage so it is protected, and you also get 8% interest on top of it

 

With regards to your account, can you not get a basic bank account with a different bank ? This is what i did, and now they cant get there grubby little hands on any more of my money

 

And just remember there are a lot of wonderful people on here who will be willing to help you if you get stuck

 

 

cheers

Lee

[littleprincess]

thanks everyone for your advice, i currently have a solo card with HSBC, and i like having the chip and pin option, but it is looking likely ill have to opt for a bank account with no debit card, and i feel this has to better than being charged like this!!!

 

thanks for the advice lee, and im currently also trying to get back my PPI insurance on a loan i took out with hsbc, although after my first letter they wrote back saying I had no been mis-sold it and blah blah.

they sold me it as a single premimum policy, and debited £5000 into my bank (the loan was for £4000) and then took out £1038 on the same day for my ppi, im so sure this is not right as i would then not ahve received the full £4000 loan!

i will keep battling with them on that and im just in the process of starting to get my charges back, first letter is due to go this week.

I find them un helpful, and the call centres are just a mess, with the operators having little understanding of how uk banks work!

 

thank you all again for your kind words, and fingers crossed i get this mess sorted out!!!

[johnnymitch]

Hi LP , let me echo pete's welcome to the forum .....

 

Good advice there from both lee and pete......

 

What lee is describing is what's called a 'Parachute' account.... one which you use for your daily Income & Expenditure , don't go overdrawn - and take it out with a completely separate bank .

 

Parachute Account

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/13832-do-you-need-parachute.html

 

With one of these you can keep any spare money out of HSBCs clutches , because while you're with them they can just help themselves .

This gives you breathing space to concentrate on getting your claim to court , like lee said .....

 

Once your SAR is off to HSBC , they have 40 days from when they receive it to comply with it .... so use some of that time to read up on the timetable of events which lead you to 'stayed in court earning 8% ' status . these links should help :

 

 

Step by Step Instructions post OFT Test Case

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/31460-example-step-step-instructions.html

 

Templates library

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/

 

Come back any time and ask if you're in doubt , LP -btw , I see you're giving help to others on here already ,...... well done ! :grin:

[johnnymitch]

Hi again , thought I'd use a separate post for your PPI stuff

 

When you feel ready to go down that road LP , there is an excellent PPI forum on this CAG site , if you direct your queries on there , you'll find loads of great advice from those who have done it before you ....... again , you'll only have to ask ......

 

Some more reading material for you .... LOL!

Reclaiming PPI

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/payment-protection-insurance-ppi/

http://www.consumerwiki.co.uk/index.php/PPI

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7608056.stm

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/payment-protection-insurance-ppi/61081-ppi-some-notes-claimants.html#post514670

 

All this may look daunting LP, but if you take it a step at a time ,and stick to your timetables , not HSBCs , you'll get there ......

[littleprincess]

thank you so much Johnnymitch, its just so over whelming, and to be honest the bank is so horrible!!!

i received a letter from the bank today telling me im £1.62 overdrawn, yes one pound sixty two!! and they said if it is not paid within 5 days they can take away my debit card, and cheque book and close the account if they have to!

i have been £200 overdrawn before and NEVER have they done this, i dont understand what i did so wrong for them to get like this, they have not received my bank cahrge claim yet so they are not getting funny because of that! i feel so vicitmised! i know people way over their overdraft, and they dont get this treatment!

[fatboydukey]

Hi Littleprincess,

 

Good advice given above, dont let HSBC get to you!!

 

I was in exactly the same position as you! Single mum, young kids - banked with HSBC and got charges of roughly £150 a month because same as you they let me go overdrawn but wouldnt give me an overdraft!!

I ended up opening a parachute account with A&L and with that got a cheque book and debit card (my credit history was really really poor).

 

My account with HSBC is still active (overdrawn because of the charges) I havent used it in over a year tho and wont ever use it again!!!

 

You can have a look at my thread to see what Ive come up against so far!

 

A bit of advice, if you log into your online banking and go to personal details you can remove all of your telephone numbers (if it wont let you delete just put lots of zeros instead)! I also changed my email address to one I never use anymore... Thats where you can get copies of the last 6 years bank statements also!

 

Hope that helps and gives you some encouragement!!

 

Cheers

FBD x

[johnnymitch]

Good advice from you too , fbd

 

Just one point ....where's your thread for LP to see your experiences ?

 

Can you copy and paste the shortcut on here please ?

[fatboydukey]

Hmmm, I dont know how to do that unless I copy and paste the http bit lol

[fatboydukey]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/hsbc-bank/151630-hsbc-2nd-claim-charges.html

 

How bout that?!

[johnnymitch]

Well done FBD - you can also right -click on the #(permalink ) and select copy .... then paste that .... it goes straight to the # you want then , instead of the whole thread which could be pages and pages lo-o-o-o-ng!LOL!

 

I like your opening sentence though ........

 

God Ive got a bee in my bonnet today! 3rd new thread I have posted this morning!!

 

:lol:

[littleprincess]

thank you so much FBD, its so comforting to hear im not the only single mum, having these charges on me!

i know its everyone and not just single mums, but i began to beleive i was a bad person....thats how HSBC make you feel!

i got up today feeling much stronger and ready to fight the world!! (well HSBC!!!)

 

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

 

will let you know of any progress!

oh and im going to a & l today to see about a account!

[johnnymitch]

will let you know of any progress!

oh and im going to a & l today to see about a account!

 

Well done , lp - you've made a positive start - keep it going , keep us posted please, and of course come back and ask if you need more help .

[johnnymitch]

from other post :

thank you (again!!!) ill revert back to my old post!

 

 

but thank you, just wondered if there was any legal system in place for this thats all, but does not seem there is!

im getting sick of it now!

 

thanks again x

 

If you've opened the other account lp, then you can move on from this fairly quickly...... keep your spirits up ..... you're doing well

[littleprincess]

update.......bank sent me a letter basically telling me im rubbish with money! they tried to phone me to discuss and when i asked them to verify who they were, they decided to send a letter!

 

i cant win with these guys, it seems all they wanna do is shoot you down!

they told me to switch for a basic account, no debit card ect and manage my money and if i need any help to call them! what a joke! they even put in the letter they wont give me a overdraft, so how the bloody hell can they help!

seems like they just like making people feel crap!

[johnnymitch]

Hi Lp , thanks for the update ..........

 

Don't let them get you down , keep your head up and look 'em in the eye ! You've nothing to be ashamed of ........

 

Did you get your 'parachute' account opened OK? If so you've already got what they were offering you - and they can't get at it in another bank.

If you open a 'basic' account with them they can plunder it for other charges if they feel like it !

 

Keep in touch, let's know how it's going ......

[yourbank]

update.......bank sent me a letter basically telling me im rubbish with money! they tried to phone me to discuss and when i asked them to verify who they were, they decided to send a letter!

 

i cant win with these guys, it seems all they wanna do is shoot you down!

they told me to switch for a basic account, no debit card ect and manage my money and if i need any help to call them! what a joke! they even put in the letter they wont give me a overdraft, so how the bloody hell can they help!

seems like they just like making people feel crap!

 

Were the clarifying hardship? It is within the FSA Waiver on Bank Charges, Annex 2 page 12 section 6.

I think the waiver is still on my signature.

[johnnymitch]

I think this is the one yourbank is referring to , lp : (try not to laugh ...

 

FSA Waiver -Annex 2 – Dealing with complainants in financial difficulty

1.

The firm will be sympathetic and positive when considering any financial difficulties claimed by the complainant. Firms will not subject a complainant to harassment or undue pressure when discussing their problems.

2.

In making an assessment of financial difficulty the firm will take into account:

a.

evidence of changes in lifestyle, including loss of employment; disability; serious illness; imprisonment; relationship breakdown; death of a partner; starting a lower paid job; parental/carer leave; and starting full-time education;

b.

evidence of the following events:

i.

items repeatedly being returned unpaid due to lack of available funds;

ii.

failing to make loan repayments or other commitments;

iii.

discontinuation of regular credits;

iv.

notification of some form of insolvency or court proceedings;

v.

regular requests for increased borrowing or repeated rescheduling of debts;

vi.

making frequent cash withdrawals on a credit card at a non-promotional rate of interest; and

vii.

repeatedly exceeding a credit card or overdraft limit without agreement (and, in this regard, where a complainant has incurred over £500 in unauthorised overdraft charges in the previous 12 months, that is to be treated as indicative of financial difficulty).

3.

If during the handling of the complaint the firm becomes aware (including by notification from the complainant) that the complainant may be in, or heading towards financial difficulties, the firm will contact the complainant to outline their approach to financial difficulty cases and to encourage the customer to contact the firm if the customer is worried about their position. The firm will also provide signposts to sources of free, independent money advice.

4.

The firm will make available to complainants straightforward information in plain English on the firm’s procedures and systems for dealing with customers in financial difficulty.

5.

If it becomes clear to the firm that the complainant needs specialist assistance, the complainant will be referred promptly to a specialist team that deals with customers in financial difficulties, if one exists. The firm will give a phone number on all communications that will put the customer in contact with a named person or a team dedicated to dealing with cases of financial difficulty.

The Financial Services Authority

25 The North Colonnade Canary Wharf London E14 5HS, United Kingdom

Telephone +44 (0)20 7066 1000 Fax +44 (0)20 7066 1099

Registered as a Limited Company in England and Wales No 1920623. Registered office as above

[yourbank]

NEXT page JM

 

6.

Where the firm does not have sufficient evidence to assess whether or not the complainant is in fact in financial difficulty, the firm will seek such further relevant information as is reasonably required to make that assessment. In the event that the firm reasonably requires relevant information to be provided by the complainant and the complainant does not provide the requested information within a reasonable period of time, the firm shall not be obliged to treat such a complainant as being in financial difficulty.

[johnnymitch]

Hee -hee .......Thanks yourbank

 

I haven't got that page for some reason ......can you post me a link to it please .... if you have it ?

 

TIA

jm