Barclays Special Reserve

[renifos]

My son had this added to his account recently. He gets paid weekly by Barclays cheque and used to pay this in by envelope in the special box outside the branch after work and it used to clear next day. Now they have taken the box away (vandalism!?) he takes it 4 miles away to the next branch. Anyway, now they are saying that Barclays to Barclays do not clear in the same day anymore. My son did not know this and he went overdrawn and they charged him £22 (he only earns £80 a week, is this hardship?) He went to the branch and complained but they would not give him back the fee. He had the reserve removed, was offered an overdraft but refused this as he does not want to get into further trouble. In the meantime a direct debit was returned at £8 fees as his cheque had not cleared. He is getting more and more in trouble. For some reason he can also use his debit card to withdraw cash when the cheques have not cleared and go into unauthorised overdraft. He now ask for the £100 overdraft again and they refused because his credit rating has gone downhill. To top it all, when he paid some money in the other day they offered him an instant loan of £7000!!!! I have tried in Branch to get the charges back from a personal banker but it was like talking to a brick wall. Is there any hope of getting anything back?

[yourbank]

It's Barclays personal reserve fees, he needs to cancel the personal reserve.

Sounds to me as though the cheque was home branch to home branch which would be overnight but because its another branch then it isn;t the case.

Yes he needs to start reclaiming all the fees back.

[renifos]

Thanks. He had the special reserve removed. Do I write a nice letter first or should I use the template?

[yourbank]

Thanks. He had the special reserve removed. Do I write a nice letter first or should I use the template?

You use the templates on the site....why be nice when they are unlikely to be?

[slick132]

Hi Renifos,

 

You'll find the letters you need in here - The Consumer Forums - Bank charges templates (consumer)

 

Also read the Reclaiming Guide at Link No1 in my signature below.

 

If you think this is genuinely causing Hardship, consider seeking a refund of the defalt charges on this basis. Item #7 in the link above refers to Hardship cases.

 

Bank charges claims are still Stayed (on hold) when they go to court because of the OFT test case. But Hardshipp claims should be d/w speedily by banks and may result in a quicker refund.

 

Given the level of earnings you mention, I'm sure you'll have a chance under the Hardship rules.