a very confused cherry v hsbc? maybe?

[cherryc]

hello!

 

i'm so new to all of this and am starting to read my way through all the necessary bits of information in order to try and get my head around everything i need to know. i've managed to work out so far, that since november 2005 i have paid a grand total of £1387 in charges, most of which are because i have gone over drawn, even though i've never had an agreed over draft.

 

HSBC have been charging me £125 a time for having done so. in some cases, i have gone over drawn by as much as £100 even though i didn't know i was doing so. does this therefore mean that their £125 charge is legal? i'm trying to figure out whether or not i can make a claim.

 

i've been with HSBC since the age of 12 (i'm now 22) and they've done nothing but mess me around. i'm now a struggling student, and tried desperatly to change my account to a student one, but was not allowed to, as i've accidentally gone over drawn one two many times (even though, as i previously said, i've never had an over draft) and this has given me a bad credit rating. i simply cannot afford to be paying such high charges, or any at all, i don't earn enough as it is!!

 

if anybody could let me know whether they think i might be able to go ahead with a claim, then please let me know, as i will obviously need to start looking on line for my statements over the past 6 years or so. this could take some time!

 

i was also wondering... is it necessary for me to calculate the amount of charges i have paid over six years, or may i simply be able to claim for one or two? i'm worried that i may go over £5000 and have to pay to take the matter to court?

 

 

thank you in advance, for taking the time to read this at least. i'm truly grateful. well done to all those that have been successful, you're an inspiration!

 

cherry

[magicmerlz]

Hi again Cherry

 

Right here goes - you DONT have to make 2 seperate claims just because they are listed differently. Just add them all up over the 6 years and you have your total amount that you are claiming for. Make sure you check the link that I gave you to see which charges exactly you can claim back.

 

My claim was less than £5000, but as I understand it anything over £5k cannot go through the small claims court (can anyone confirm this?). My advice would be to go through your online statements and get your total first. If it exceeds £5000 then break your claim down into 2 seperate ones. Claim back the oldest charges first (upto £5000) then when that has been repaid to you, just start another one for the remainder. By doing this you will familiarise yourself with the process involved and hopefully be more confident about getting the 2nd amount back. However be warned that if you do take this option and make 2 seperate claims one after the other then the bank will probably close your account. Be prepared and have another bank account open with another bank just in case this happens.

 

Mine has taken 2 months to the day and I won by default last Tuesday but have still not had my money back - others have had their money back after their first letter. There is no consistency to the timescale so just stick with it.

 

Again there is loads of info on here so take a couple of hours to read a few cases and the FAQ's, but if you get stuck then just ask.

 

Good luck!!

 

Regards

 

Magic

[cherryc]

aww thank you so much

 

i've started going through my on line statements, and have also printed off the data protection act 1998 subject access request to send off to, now i just need to find out who to make the £10 cheque payable to, presumably just HSBC?!

 

i'm hoping i don't have to make two claims, though it really depends on how much the owe me - i intend to get every penny back! should they close my account however, will this effect my credit rating in the future when applying for credit cards/a mortgage etc? this is what really worries me!

 

thanks again Magic, glad to hear you're getting some of your money back! even if you did have to wait two months!

 

cherry

[magicmerlz]

Cherry

 

I wouldn't bother with the Data Protection letter if you can get your statements online - I didn't. All you will receive are exact copies of the online versions wasting you a couple of weeks.

 

Just fire off the next letter in the process 'Preliminary approach for repayment' I think its called.

 

This will save you a couple of weeks messing about.

 

Regards

 

Magic

[cherryc]

right, i've gone through all my statements and got a final figure, i haven't however, put all of this info in to a spreadsheet yet. when doing so, do i calculate the 8% interest too, or does that come at a later date? i'm also a little confused at how to go about this. can i whack an 8% interest fee on all of the money i want to claim back?

[andyinlondon]

just use the template spreadsheet in the templates section.

 

the 8% comes later if you issue a summons (mcol)

 

have a read through the guides they are great, a full step by step, you cannot go wrong.

 

i would wish you good luck .... but you wont need it

 

Andy

[cherryc]

i've tried opening the spreadsheet, but don't seem to be able to change any of thhe information. i'm thinking this might be because i'm using a mac? so am going to go and try to use it on my boyfriends computer tomorrow.

 

thank you for your help Andy, hopefully i won't have to go as far as the mcol, though most people seem to have to. i'm claiming under £2000, so i'm hoping they just let me have it. this is possibly a little too naieve!

[andyinlondon]

i think they are getting flooded with claims, so many are going strait through to mcol wothout any response from them at all.

and dont forget if you do get to mcol then you will be able to claim for the 8% interest. so it is not all bad

[Spiceskull]

i've tried opening the spreadsheet, but don't seem to be able to change any of thhe information. i'm thinking this might be because i'm using a mac? so am going to go and try to use it on my boyfriends computer tomorrow.

 

thank you for your help Andy, hopefully i won't have to go as far as the mcol, though most people seem to have to. i'm claiming under £2000, so i'm hoping they just let me have it. this is possibly a little too naieve!

If you are using a Mac, you can download a Mac compatible version of Open Office, for free, from here. Then download the Open Office version of the spreadsheet from here. If you need help with either, just PM me...

[cherryc]

thank you for your help i'm totally hopeless when it comes to computers.... and looking after my finaces it would appear, given the amount of charges i've paid over the years!

hmmmm.... i tried your link already, but apparently i don't have an X11, though i have no idea what this is!? and so can not install the free version of office. i have previously installed a test drive of officce 2004, so am not allowed to do this again.

 

i shall have another go, see if i can sort something. thank you again for your help though, much appriciated