Halifax Overdraft - Changes to Accounts £1 a day

[nilocjr]

i applied to a&l yesterday and have been accepted for a current account, but don't yet know what overdraft they will give me. so either way bye bye Halifax.

 

let the switching begin.

[jiminy678]

ive also switched mine to a&l, i'm hoping they'll match my current overdraft. but i'm gone regardless. one less loyal customer for halifax to worry about

[KimIsMint]

does anyone know Iappliedfor an overdraft and have to go in and sign nextweek what do i do if i change my mindand dont want the overdraft anymore?

[Bookworm]

You just say you've changed your mind and don't want the overdraft anymore. ;-)

[KimIsMint]

do i go tell them when i go to sign?

[sigsoldboy]

Hi Bookworm, yup totally with and I think understanding our rights is the first step (hence why I got onto this forum). Can Anxious refuse the new T&C's ? If he/she has closed the account and does not have an overdraft then should he/she not pay the new Fee ?

 

If Anxious is agreeing to pay the overdraft off and closes the account what is his rights in reagrds to continuing interest payment ?

 

I would not recommend this approach but I defaulted on my Barclays overdraft by moving house and ignoring them (Not intentionaly I moved bank and just put it off and off). Barclays eventually sent my debt to a DCA who dont charge interest, so I pay a lesurly £40 a month back on my £2800 debt.

 

The Bank racked up £1000 in charges, but I can negotiate an agreement with the DCA after 2 years of being a pain in the arse to wipe £1000 off the debt if I repay in one go, eliminating the charges the bank gave me and no interest on the repayment. I've been saving outside of the agreement with the DCA to achieve the total amount to repay it at netural cost.

[poppie173]

Ward of warning. When I phoned to complain about the charges coming into effect in December they switched my current account to the reward account with immediate effect.

That way, they told me, I`ll at least get £5 per month credited to my account so long as I pay in £1000 pm. My usual charges are £20pm, they`ll jump to £30, but with that extra fiver, I`ll be only £5 pm worse off instead of £10 !

WHAT he didn`t say, was that the new charges kick in immediately now that my account has changed.

 

I didn`t realise until I just received an online statement showing the new charges. I`ve called Halifax and asked that they get the recording of my call , since there is NO way I would have agreed to change the account knowing I`ll be worse off. I would have waited until December.

[indebtstudent]

"We MUST stop thinking like victims."

 

Completely agree it all depends how you approach the situation...

 

"Section 29

 

29.5 At any time we may required you to pay us the whole or part of any overdraft, interest and fees or charges which you owe on your account."

 

All this means is they can stop offering the overdraft facility. In other words they can ask you to pay it back. They have no powers to do this, they are relying in inertia and the fact people don't like to change thier bank accounts.

 

ANY overdraft is repayable on demand but as I've said many times in practice if they were all called in the country would grind to a halt.

 

Tell them you DO NOT ACCEPT this unfair change to the terms and conditions. Open another account somewhere else, tell Halifax you will pay off the debt under the T & C's which you do accept.

[john]

Ward of warning. When I phoned to complain about the charges coming into effect in December they switched my current account to the reward account with immediate effect.

That way, they told me, I`ll at least get £5 per month credited to my account so long as I pay in £1000 pm. My usual charges are £20pm, they`ll jump to £30, but with that extra fiver, I`ll be only £5 pm worse off instead of £10 !

WHAT he didn`t say, was that the new charges kick in immediately now that my account has changed.

 

I didn`t realise until I just received an online statement showing the new charges. I`ve called Halifax and asked that they get the recording of my call , since there is NO way I would have agreed to change the account knowing I`ll be worse off. I would have waited until December.

 

Also you will be charged the interest charge from the previous charging system aswell, so at the end of the first month with reward you will get 2 sets of charges, for most people at the end of december. This was confirmed by head office today as the bank worker I saw today did not think that would be right, but on ringing head office they confirmed that this was correct.

[sigsoldboy]

550 Signatures on the petition now, which is good but need more to get noticed.

[coolchris]

Got a reply from the OFT regarding this entitled "Enterprise Act 2002 re Bank of Scotland plc t/as Halifax.

 

They go on to say that the have received my email (i did not send an email, I sent a letter...this letter looks a photocopy job). The also say that a substantive reply will be sent to me asap.

 

Hmmm....anyone else??

[coolchris]

Anyone thought of bringing all this to their local paper?? Dont bother with the major ones, as they are controlled by the very people we are fighting.

Local papers go a long way to get your voice heard.

This is a MAJOR issue and deserves to get out to everyone. These fatcats must learn that they just cannot move the goalposts to suit themselves and leave the customer out in the cold.

[180]

Sent my template letters to Halifax and OFT over 2 weeks ago now and still no response from either.

 

I can put a slight delay down to the postal strike but how long should I allow before following up my letters, considering the changes are soon to come into effect.

 

I have in the meantime transferred to a First Direct account and made a £100 gesture payment towards repaying my overdraft, which I will continue to do each month

[cath3672]

I've now received my new account number and my new card from A&L and they are sorting out switching my direct debits, they've given me an overdraft (which is free for first year so will be a weight off my mind come christmas ) and I will get the £100 for switching so hopefully in a few weeks I can close down my halifax accounts and not have to bother with them again

[jiminy678]

got a reply from halifax today. It basically says that they are investigating the issues raised in the letter, and if they are are unable to respond fully to my concerns within the next 4 weeks they will write to update me of their progress.

[cath3672]

got a reply from halifax today. It basically says that they are investigating the issues raised in the letter, and if they are are unable to respond fully to my concerns within the next 4 weeks they will write to update me of their progress.

 

No doubt you will get a letter in 4 weeks time to tell you they are still investigating - by which time they will be just about ready to start implementing their charges !!

[jiminy678]

that's what i thought, my a&l account should be set up well before then anyway so they can investigate all they like, bankers!!

[surprise]

My acknowledgement is different.

 

"Thank you for your letter dated 26th October 2009 regarding the overdraft fees on your banking account.

 

Please be assured that a Customer Relations Manager will contact you as soon as they can to discuss your concerns on this matter."

[bigyeti]

I received a reply from Halifax this morning. The stock template letter that says 'we are looking into it'. In fact, I think I've got the exact same letter from them when I first sent them a demand for my charges back.

[coolchris]

Not got mine yet. I sent mine dated 19th October.

[surprise]

Well, I've received another letter from the Halifax - see attached.

Halifax Overdraft Response.doc

[2ltr16valve]

Well, I've received another letter from the Halifax - see attached.

 

 

LOL !

 

if thats not a "tough poo poo go away" letter I do not know what is !

[surprise]

I see other people sent their letter before mine yet I have had a reply already, I was wondering if this was because I have an complaint currently being investigated by the FOS? I shall be drafting a suitable response unless 'BOOKIE' has one in mind for when everyone starts getting their replies!

[coolchris]

OMG, that reply from them was just so pathetic. Is that there reply to our STATEMENT that we will NOT ACCEPT THE NEW T AND C'S? They DO NOT address ANY issues raised within the letter sent to them whatsoever. They merely skirt around the edges and quote their usual PR crap.

 

We want SPECIFIC answers to OUR legitimate concerns on SPECIFIC questions, such as if this is all "open and more easily understood", why then dont they openly publish what the new policy will mean when worked out as an APR??

Go on Halifax..publish that FACT and see how many customers "accept and like" the new policy.

 

I really cant wait for my reply.

[Docman]

Well, I've received another letter from the Halifax - see attached.

 

This is known as a FOS 'FOD' letter from Halifax. If puzzled, treat as an anagram and rearrange the letters !