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gemmabe Vs. Halifax - again!


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Sending the below letter tonight which is hopefully self-explanatory. Have seriously had enough and am switching all my payments over to another bank by 6th December. Have already sent template letter to say I do not agree to the new charges and got the standard "F OFF" back and a reply from my MP. Anyway, the letter:

 

 

 

Halifax plc

Customer Relations

PO Box 548

Leeds LS1 1WU

 

1st December 2009

 

 

Sort Code: 111111

Account Number: 22222222

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

I am writing to complain about the recent poor customer service I have received when calling your central helpline.

 

I telephoned your offices on 2nd November 2009 to give notice to downgrade my Ultimate Reward account to a Reward account. The lady I spoke to told me that there was no notice as it was an instant process, so I would simply need to phone the day before the next £12.50 fee was taken out.

 

I then telephoned on 27th November 2009, as I was advised to do, and the gentleman I spoke to informed me that it was not in fact an instant process, as insurance policies, etc. needed to be cancelled, and he would refer it to the business support team. He also reassured me that the £12.50 fee should not be taken out the following day but if it was, that it would be refunded and the downgrading of my account would be backdated to 27th November – the day I called.

 

Imagine then my surprise when, upon checking my account via online banking, I saw on 30th November that my account was still showing as Ultimate Reward and I had, in fact, been charged the £12.50 fee which had not subsequently been refunded! The lady I spoke to on this third occasion regarding this matter told me that they would not normally backdate the downgrading of an account, and that I should have been told that any such downgrade would occur the following day. Why, then, when I called on 27th November, was my account not downgraded until today, 30th November? And this was only after calling for the third time! It seems the gentleman I spoke to on the second call I made on 27th November did not action this.

 

During this call I repeatedly asked for a refund of the £12.50 fee but was advised that the relevant telephone calls would have to be listened to first, which could take up to five working days! The operative was unwilling to refund this figure despite the fact she could clearly see this left me with just £4 available funds. I asked her to get the calls listened to as a matter of urgency.

 

To add insult to injury, you have today taken interest of some £15 which has taken me into an unauthorised overdraft for which you have charged me a further £5! Clearly, had your staff given me the correct information then the £12.50 fee would never have been withdrawn and there would have been enough funds to account for the interest you have taken! Given that the only reason I am downgrading my account is due to your new charges schedule coming into force on 6th December (which I still refuse to accept), I feel rather aggrieved that I have had to spend a great length of time on the telephone - and have been left out of pocket – to initiate what surely is the very simplest of tasks.

 

In summary, I trust that you will:-

 

1. Provide me with a full refund of £12.50 taken on 28th November 2009.

2. Cancel the £5 charge due to leave my account on 31st December 2009.

3. Compensate me for my time, telephone calls and stress caused by your failures.

4. Provide me with a full explanation of these incidents, including why three different members of staff gave me three different stories on procedures for the downgrading of my account. Please also clarify what the actual procedure is!

 

Whilst writing, the second member of staff I spoke to on 27th November was due to ring me at 7pm this evening to discuss a loan to pay off my Halifax overdraft. Unsurprisingly, no such call arrived. Having since tonight seen on your website the APR in the region of 22.9%, I have now had second thoughts on this.

 

I trust you will deal with my complaint both promptly and fairly.

 

Yours faithfully

 

gemmabe

Edited by gemmabe
wrong date!

  1. 09/08/2006 - Halifax Account 1 settled in full! £2597.50 :D
  2. 05/10/2006 - Halifax Account 2 settled in full after Prelim ;)
  3. 07/02/2007 - Halifax Accts 1 & 2 further charges - won by default, settled in full
  4. 12/02/2007 - Halifax Account 1 - further charges whilst 3. court claim progressing. Settled in full.
  5. 13/11/2009 - Halifax Account 1 - action begins to fight new overdraft charges

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Have had what appeared to be a personal response, apologising and allocating my complaint to a customer relations manager.

 

In the meantime I still refuse to pay £1 a day for my overdraft which is double what I am paying now. So, today I have swictched all my standing orders and direct debits to my Lloyds TSB account. I will make sure all my income is paid in there too and will pay off Halifax overdraft as I would do any other creditor.

 

Does anyone know the implications of this, i.e. with it being Lloyds TSB? Can they offset my overdraft with the funds I will have in the Lloyds account? If so, will have to open another account elsewhere.

  1. 09/08/2006 - Halifax Account 1 settled in full! £2597.50 :D
  2. 05/10/2006 - Halifax Account 2 settled in full after Prelim ;)
  3. 07/02/2007 - Halifax Accts 1 & 2 further charges - won by default, settled in full
  4. 12/02/2007 - Halifax Account 1 - further charges whilst 3. court claim progressing. Settled in full.
  5. 13/11/2009 - Halifax Account 1 - action begins to fight new overdraft charges

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Halifax appear to have paid £37.50 into my account today, bless. Of course, I have transferred it straight out again :) This would be refund of the £12.50 fee they took in error and £25 for my troubles, then. Oh well, bye-byes Halifax!

  1. 09/08/2006 - Halifax Account 1 settled in full! £2597.50 :D
  2. 05/10/2006 - Halifax Account 2 settled in full after Prelim ;)
  3. 07/02/2007 - Halifax Accts 1 & 2 further charges - won by default, settled in full
  4. 12/02/2007 - Halifax Account 1 - further charges whilst 3. court claim progressing. Settled in full.
  5. 13/11/2009 - Halifax Account 1 - action begins to fight new overdraft charges

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got a 2nd letter back from Halifax re. the new charges. Basically the current position is that I have repeatedly refused to agree to the new terms & conditions and requested that all interest and charges were frozen until such a time that I am able to repay my overdraft (£1500) in full.

The key sentence in my reply from Customer Relations says:-

"Regrettably, this is not something that can be agreed, therefore overdraft charges will be applied until such a time as the balance of the overdraft is repaid in full."

My reply:

"I do not agree to the change in conditions of my account. If you insist on charging me until I repay my overdraft then please ensure that such charges are limited to those included in the terms and conditions prior to 6th December 2009 as I have NOT agreed to the new terms and conditions. Once you have agreed this I will then do my utmost to make sure the overdraft is paid off as soon as possible. Any charges levied to my account as per the new terms and conditions will NOT be paid as I have not agreed to them."

They have me between a rock and a hard place right now but I refuse to give in. I have an account elsewhere and have not used my Halifax account since the new charges were put in place. I do not intend to pay them a penny until such a time that they let me pay back my overdraft as per the OLD T&Cs.

  1. 09/08/2006 - Halifax Account 1 settled in full! £2597.50 :D
  2. 05/10/2006 - Halifax Account 2 settled in full after Prelim ;)
  3. 07/02/2007 - Halifax Accts 1 & 2 further charges - won by default, settled in full
  4. 12/02/2007 - Halifax Account 1 - further charges whilst 3. court claim progressing. Settled in full.
  5. 13/11/2009 - Halifax Account 1 - action begins to fight new overdraft charges

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