Ross V Halifax ** WON **

[vikiross]

Hello everyone

This year, we've had a really bad time, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer at Christmas. She was operated on, got pneumonia, very nearly died, and then had months of chemotherapy, now she's about to start radiotherapy. She's been so ill, and has been unable to work as much because of this. I have been battling with doctors over whether or not I have a brain tumour and arthritis. Because of my bad health over 6 years, I haven't been able to work until 3 weeks ago, and my mum is self employed and so she had to take a pay cut.

I know it seems like that isn't really necessary to say, but if it wasn't for these problems, we wouldn't have incurred our charges.

Halifax have kindly given us £260 of charges this week. We did go in and warn them that we needed an extended overdraft this month, but were refused.

We thought we were stuffed this time, but found this site and today, we sent the bank a Data Protection Act and are actually quite excited to see what happens. It's about time we got some good news.

We also found out today that our wonderful mortgage lender/surveyors etc have gotten us into a negative equity situation to the tune of £40,000! Anyone know anything about how to sort this?!

We almost hope that the Halifax choose to take us on in court, imagine the headline... Halifax battles self employed single mum with cancer in court over ££££ illegal charges!

 

We are also so looking forward to donating a percentage of what we get to this site, we think everyone on it is so helpful, and that the original founders are incredible guys, well done you!

 

Viki and Lydia

[Pamneil4343]

Hi there,

Life sucks some times, hope you both have a better and healthier 2006 than previously.

 

Read some of the threads and see how easy it is to get your money back. All the letters are here prepared and ready for your own details to be inserted.

 

Mine took just 6 weeks. And they didn't want to go to court, their letter states as much,

 

Good luck to you both

 

Pam

[alanfromderby]

We also found out today that our wonderful mortgage lender/surveyors etc have gotten us into a negative equity situation to the tune of £40,000!

 

Before it is possible to say whether there is anything that can be done over I would need some further information. Why do you feel that your mortgage lender/surveyors have got you into the situation?

 

Was something missed on the survey?

 

What date did you buy the property, and what has been the general trend in house prices in your area since then?

[vikiross]

We're in this situation because we have been told by everyone apart from the valuers that our house should now be worth £190,000, but is apparently worth £155,000. Which is way less than the £169,000 the same company valued it at 2 years ago. Since the 2004 valuation, we've made a lot of changes to add value to the house, and we also took out a secured loan based on that valuation, and now that we've got no money left (my mum is self employed, and the budget is tight) we can't do anything because we're in negative equity.

[7givenchy]

To Viki and Lydia

 

Just to let you know how much I sympathise with your situation. I have been affected by chronic ill health and ended up in a dreadful financial mess, almost totally due to bank charges. I lodged my claim against the Halifax last week, still no reply but I intend to keep on fighting

 

My prayers and good wishes are with you both and I hope your health improves

 

Sandy

[vikiross]

Hello everyone

thanks for all your support, its been so nice to hear =)

We got our letters this week, in just under 200 envelopes, (obvoiusly where the charges go!)

We've sorted through and we are owed £2005, however our overdraft is £2000, and my mums business has just gone into administration, so we don't have any money coming in, and we've read a lot about banks paying, but closing accounts. My mum is worried that she wont get another current account, and they'll pay it but the money will cover the overdraft and then they'll close the account. The thing is, the money is desperately needed at the moment, so what do we do?

Thanks for your help guys

Viki & Lydia

[7givenchy]

You could try opening a new account asap for example with Nationwide.

Unfortunatley I have heard of one or two cases where the bank paid the money into the account to clear the overdraft. I know it does not solve your cash flow problem but you will still have acess to an overdaft facility of £2000 unless the bank then withdraws the facility. Hopefully you will receive advice from someone with a bit more knowledge of the process than myself.

[Lizzie R]

I was so sorry to read of what has been happening to you and yours and send you my very best wishes. I am sure that with support you'll find here that things will improve and you will get your money back. Just persevere and do it by the book; we're all here to help each other.

 

I got to the point with these Halifax people, of wanting to tear my hair out, but now I've seen all the figures, I realise that I may have been guilty of not keeping a close enough eye on things, but they were actually creating the situations whereby they could snaffle my hard-earned cash.... daylight robbery. And do they care how much they damage and hurt people in the pursuit of profit... ? Not a jot.

 

It's your money - get it back

[vikiross]

Hello

 

We just need a quick hand checking things out, we've read the FAQs but we don't want to get anything wrong and make it easier for the banks.

 

If our first charge was on the 24th March 2004, and the total charges to date are £2215, is it right that our interest is £461.09?

 

Also, why can't we put that we want interest on our preliminary approach, what if the bank just pays up the full amount, do we not get interest?

 

Thanks for all your help

Viki and Lydia

[Lizzie R]

Interest is only added if it goes to court as far I understand - I know it seems strange, but not adding interest intially is the route that that has been most successful for others.

 

Perhaps one of the Mods. can explain why this is the case, or point you to right bit of the FAQs.

 

All the best, hope things are picking up for you.

[vikiross]

Thanks for all your help =)

[nickyhutch]

Hi, this is my first post, so be nice to me! Liz I see from your signature that the Halifax withdrew your overdraft facility on receiving your DPA letter - is this normal? If they do this to me i'll be bankrupt overnight! I have an £800 overdraft that is right up to (but never over) the limit.

[vikiross]

Hello

For what I know (which isn't much) they aren't withdrawing too many peoples overdrafts, we're really worried because we have a £2000 overdraft up to the limit, but our charges are over that, so if they try and get the money back from us, we plan on arguing that the overdraft was caused because of the charges. I don't know how successful we'll be, but we don't have the money to give them at the moment!

good luck

[nickyhutch]

Thankyou Lizzie, I think I'll get my £800 clear (thanks to personal injusry claim payment for OH - yesssssss) before I send off my first letter, just to be on the safe side. I know my charges are way way over that amount but I don't want them to start slapping even more charges on. I haven't paid any since I looked at a 3 month period and I'd paid nearly £600 in charges - EEEEEK! That made me sit up and sort myself out - I could have had a lovely little holiday for that!

[nickyhutch]

Sorry - thankyou Viki

[Guest bluecloud]

Hi Viki

 

First bit of advice for you from me:

 

Don't Panic!

 

You've had a crap time and the bank have probably taken advantage of the situation.

 

If you haven't done so already then you need to open another account with a different account - this is the parachute account that loads of people go on about. From posts that I've read elsewhere, the Nationwide are quite accommodating. If you have any regular income, even benefits, then make sure it goes into the new account. I had major problems in the summer of 2003 and the Benefits Agency were brilliant (and that's not something that happens very often).

 

If the Halifax turn round and remove the overdraft facility then you can write back immediately and place the account "in dispute". This prevents the Halifax from sending the account off to Blair, Oliver and Scott (the Halifax debt recovery agency).

 

Regardless of what the bank do or say over the next month remain as strong as possible. You WILL get your money if you stick to the suggested timetable and use the templates provided. I know how difficult it is to believe that you can claim the money back, my other half didn't believe it until I received an offer of nearly £700 (which I rejected of course ).

 

Never forget that you will not just have the charges you've identified on their own returned. You are allowed to claim interest on the charges once it gets to MCOL/N1 stage. In my case this raised the amount by several hundred quid and means that the amount I get back will be more than double what the Halifax offered me.

 

Dont' worry about any extra charges between now and the calim at Court as any extra can be added to the schedule of charges. Any after the claim can be reclaimed with another claim.

 

Don't worry about the cost of filing the claim either, if you are on certain benefits or certain levels of tax credits then you don't have to pay the fee. If you do have to pay the fee then it will be refunded by the bank as part of the claim.

 

Finally never lose faith and never feel afraid to ask for help. If you've never done anything like this before then it can seem very daunting (I know it's easy for me to say because I've done it already, but despite being a law student, the whole thing scared the sh*t out of me). However, this is YOUR money you are claiming and it's amazing how empowering it is to be able to recover the money taken from you.

 

All the best, and just message me if you need advice.

 

 

 

.

[vikiross]

Hey

Thanks for all your help, we just could not work out when we were supposed to mention the interest.

Just another quick question, on the off chance they settle teh full amount before it goes to a court stage, does that mean we don't get interest?

Thanks! =)

[Guest bluecloud]

It does but I think hell will freeze over before the Halifax starts settling claims before the claim is served by a court.

 

 

 

.

[vikiross]

Just another quick question

When we're doing the schedule of charges, if we are changing the interest rate, is it the monthly rate (2.13%) or the Equivalent annual rate of 28.8%?

Thanks

[Guest bluecloud]

The contractual rate of interest (the 28.8% you mentioned) is a totally different kettle of fish. It requires lots of thought and even more calculations.

 

Very few people have tried to reclaim the contractual interest if only because the s.69 rate of 8% is so much easier.

 

You can follow this link for some more information:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/18313-why-no-one-claiming.html

 

If you're happy claiming it, go ahead but please be careful. It's a lot easier to make a mistake and if you overclaim, then the bank can have your claim dismissed more easily.

 

Really what it boils down to is, do you want to be "guaranteed" the return of your charges with a smaller amount of interest added or run the risk or not getting anything for the sake of a hundred pounds or so.

 

 

.

[vikiross]

Hi all

 

We have sent off our 1st letter (prelimary request) last week but wondered if anyone can advise. My business went into administration 2 days after finishing 9 months of treatment following a mastectomy. I have been offered a part-time role from the new owner but am now in serious debt. Last month I paid in £900 to my Halifax account but due to all the bank charges they are putting on my authorised overdraft is now about £2,700. I can't bring myself to look really and Viki and I are living on fresh air. I have sent the letter claiming £2,600 but obviously this is mounting all the time. We have been advised to file for bankruptcy but we don't want to lose the house (any advice, we are getting various opinions) I have been told I can claim some money back for holidays etc and hopefully this should be over £2,000 and along with the reclaimed bank charges we may be able to survive. However if we file for bankruptcy we will lose this. My question is when the Halifax refund their charges will they just take the money back against my now huge overdraft and close the account. At one point I thought we would actually see some of this money but am getting really desperate. Lydia

[vikiross]

I have to show everyone this, although I'm crying so much because I'm so happy that I might not type properly.

 

I sent this to Denis Stevenson and Andy Hornby a week ago on Tuesday, because I was so so angry at them and their company, and the thought of them spending a fortune on Christmas that people like us who couldn't afford to celebrate had paid for. So I told them that, and the rest;

 

Dear Sir/ Madam.

I am writing to inform you of a very serious complaint I wish to make against your company.

My mother, who has just finished a year long course of horrific anti-cancer treatment for breast cancer, is trying to reclaim bank charges from your greedy corporation worth £3221.40. You may think that she should not have got into the situation where she was charged by your bank for being overdrawn, or not having enough money in her account, but let me tell you a little bit about my mum.

When she was 15, her mum died of breast cancer, she found out through her brother in law who let slip what was wrong with her mother. She was left by her partner when she was 4 months pregnant with me. I was born in a womens refuge, because she had nowhere to live and her sister didn’t want to know. She worked so, so hard to get herself a degree when she was in her 30s and I was very young, to make things better for us and worked hard at her job to make our council house nice. We then moved to Leeds from Scotland 10 years ago, to be near family. Family who then didn’t want to know when I was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 11. I had a brain tumour and was so that ill after having a brain operation that I have an average of about 12% attendance at school over 5 years. I also came down with a serious bout of glandular fever at 13. Then I had lightbox treatment for a skin problem which burnt my corneas so badly I was hospitalised on six different occasions. Every time I was in hospital, or sick, or couldn’t walk, my mum was the only damn person who looked after me, with no support from anyone. When she was sacked for taking time off to look after me, she didn’t get upset. She set up her own business, feeding cats and walking dogs for people. She sold the business a few years on for a pittance, because she invented her own products. Scratch and Newton was my mums idea, and she has won awards for her inventiveness. But her business partner was so horrific to her that she wasn’t allowed to take enough salary to pay all the things we had to. To cut a long story short(ish) she was diagnosed with cancer just weeks before last Christmas, a double blow because her mother died of the disease. One New Year bout of pneumonia, 17 chest infections, 3 fungal infections, many, many bouts of depression, an arthritic spine and radiotherapy burns later, she finished treatment. 2 days after finishing treatment this year, her business partner told her they had lost the business. Just 4 days ago a woman she had gotten very close to through them meeting each other at a cancer centre, died of cancer. This has affected her so badly. And to top it off, here is a basic idea of the money problems we are facing. Nearly £2000 of mortgage arrears over 2 months. £898 per month to pay the mortgage each month. Outgoings of £2600 per month. Incomings? £700. This is health insurance payments and my wage. We face losing our home, and already have 2 defaults filed against us, unless we get our money back, sharpish.

Now, I understand that you are a business. And I understand that we should maybe have been more careful with money. I also know that there are people worse off. But my mum is one of the most outstanding, inspirational people you could ever meet, and she has been told so by some incredible people, and she has tried so hard to sort our situation out. But to sit here and type this while trying to comfort her because she’s on the phone, trying to get some poxy benefit money till we get on our feet (when some MUCH less deserving people get benefit so easily) and she’s crying uncontrollably because she doesn’t think she’ll get the money back that you wrongly took from her, and it’s added to all these problems. Well, that makes me completely and utterly disgusted in your company and your policies. I would be ashamed of myself, if I were you. I may be 18, but I know what’s right and what’s not, and these charges hit people who have the hardest time in every way in the most difficult way to recover from. I would like to know exactly what you plan to do about our case specifically, and cases like ours in general.

I have just had to literally find the money to send a letter recorded delivery to your company, otherwise you’ll do what you did when we asked for our statements, and say you didn’t get the letter, even though we dropped it through our branch door, asking for my mums charges back.

My mums details are:

Lydia Ross

Bank sort code xxxxxx

Account number xxxxxxxx

You may think this is a most ridiculous letter, but it upsets me so much to see my mum in such a state that if I don’t get a satisfactory reply, or don’t get a reply, then I’ll send this letter and your reply to the newspapers. (Which we’ve already been in with regard to what my mum has been through.)I trust that you will respond to me accordingly. My nature and my conscience tell me to apologise if you take this personally, but as I am so annoyed, I will make you a deal. I will, when you do. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a letter to write to our mortgage company.

Yours Sincerely

Viki Ross.

So today, I opened my mums post (she is too scared to do it herself at the moment) and having had a terrible day, I get this;

Dear Mrs Ross,

Your daughter Viki has written to both Denis Stevenson and Andy Hornby and I am responding to her letter on their behalf.

May I first say how sorry I am Viki has found it necessary to contact us regarding your dissatisfaction with the charges applied to your account. We pride ourselves on providing an excellent level of customer service and it is always disappointing when customers feel we have failed to achieve this.

As we have previously advised you, the Halifax incurs additional costs for every transaction, when we pay an item against an unauthorised overdraft, or return an item unpaid. This is because we have to manually intervene in a process that is designed to be as automated as possible and so keeps our costs to our customers to a minimum.

We are keen to help you avoid any unnecessary charges by providing various ways to keep track of your account. You can do this via telephone banking, online banking or mini statements at cash machines. You can also contact one of our banking advisers at your local brach. However, I should point out that it is ultimately your responsibility to manage your account.

My colleague Patsy Parkes wrote to your yesterday increasing our offer to refund charges from £1,485.00 to £2,382.00. From reviewing your account, the total charges incurred over the last six years totals £3,257.00. I am therefore offering to refund the total amount of charges in full and final settlements of your complaint. I have also arranged to prevent any further charges being applied to your account until 1st March 2007.

I hope you will accept my proposals and would like to thank both you and Viki for taking the time to draw your concerns to our attention. If you are happy to accept my offer, please sign and return the acceptance form in the envelope provided.

Yours Sincerely,

Helen M Kirwin

Executive Office.

NOW, here are a few amazing things.

It is actually properly signed.

It's personal. They refer to us and everything!!

AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE CHARGES EVER AGAIN BECAUSE WE'LL BE FINE AFTER MARCH!!!!!!!!!.

I'm astonished, extatic and aware that I possibly owe them my apology now! WOOOOHOOOOO. It feels like Christmas again. I never ever thought that when I read a letter from the Halifax I could feel so happy that I cry hysterically. And I truly, truly hope that this helps so many other people keep going. My mouth is too small to smile as largely as I would like to.

We will be donating to this site, as soon as we get the money.

[mommywend]

I'm crying too...you very brave people I am so pleased for you and I hope that your future looks brighter. It amazes me the courage that some people have and you certainly have, all credit to you for keeping going. That letter should go to the national papers. My very very best wishes to you.

[vikiross]

Aww thank you ever so much! I've been waiting excitedly for somone to reply haha so thanks for that too! How are you getting on? Viki XX

[mommywend]

Well ive been helping my daughter who's 21 get her charges back. She left home last year and got herself in to dept and Halifax helped her to get into a bigger mess giving her a credit card,overdraft etc. She was being charged almost £90 per month and they knew that her income wasnt enough to cover her dept, she just wasnt getting anywhere. When I found out about it I went into the branch with her to see what could be done but nobody could help us. The girl behind the counter was very helpful and apologetic but said that there was nothing she could do. We tried to get help from the Halifax via the phone and "Dave" (couldnt give me more info about himself due to data protection act) told me to let her get into dept until the bank decided to stop her account, he said that they would only do something about it then. I couldnt believe it, I then found out about this site and we are now up to the court action stage we filed MCOL a week last Thursday and have received court details today saying they intend to defend, so we are just waiting.