OD added without authorisation, now charges!

[Guest Alison82]

I'm writing this on behalf of my partner. He is having some trouble with Barclays

 

Some months ago Barclays made an error with regards to a payment; a standing order can out and later bounced due to the error. Consequently Barclays added a reserve fee on this amount and he was being charges £22 every 14 days, when he opened this accounts less than 2 years ago he specifically requested that no type of overdraft be added to the account.

 

Now Barclays have terminated his account and have reached up about £400 in charges and interest.

 

I'm not sure what the current standing with regards to charges, also the fact that he asked not to have any type of overdraft but they put it on anyway.

 

Does anyone have any advice???

 

Thanks

[slick132]

Hi Alison,

 

Have a look here, at a case similar to your own - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/barclays-bank/264067-ukc-barclays.html#post2984884

 

[Guest Alison82]

Ok, Thanks

[Guest Alison82]

Hi, can anyone help me word this POC proplery for the N1 form??

 

Thanks in advance

 

.................................

 

On the XXXXXX I went into Barclays Stratford branch to open an account for me and my partner to use for our rent payments. Unfortunately her passport had expired so I opened the account just in my name.

 

It was at this time that I clearly requested that “no type of overdraft or any overdraft related services” to be added to this account as it was only going to be used for rent payments.

 

The account was being maintained correctly until my partner transferred £490 from her Barclays account to this account. It was at this transaction that an error was made by the Barclays team member and £460 was transferred. This was an unusual amount as we usually added money into the account at amounts of £245 or £490 which was the amount of the cheques we deposited for rent once cleared.

 

As a result of this the rent payment of £1,100 was not paid as it was short £30, I was only made aware of this when my landlord contacted me.

 

I then received a letter dated XXXXXXXXXXX stating that I had to pay £8 for this unpaid transaction. I went into the Stratford branch and paid this £8, I thought that was the end of the matter.

 

As I do not receive statements from Barclays monthly it was over 2 months that I saw a statement from them showing that I was being charged £22 every 2 weeks.

 

It was at this point that I entered into a dialogue with Barclays to resolve this dispute but unfortunately that matter has not been resolved.

 

This dispute and outstanding charges have left a negative effect on me and my credit file. I am currently not working and I am in the process of starting a business which I require funding. This dispute with Barclays means I have been unable to seek funding from high street banks, and I am left at a loss of where to obtain funding.

 

As a token I have been paying Barclays £1 per month

 

I claim

a) The refund of £xxxx in charges into my Barclays account

b) The refund of £xxxx in interest into my Barclays account

c) The removal of any adverse credit that has been a result of these charges since DATE

d) Compensation of £xxxx for the negative effect this has caused to me and my business

 

I believe the contents of this claim are true

[Guest Alison82]

Hi can someone briefly explain to me or direct me to the new information regarding bank charges since we lost the court battle. I understand that the unfair angle is not used anymore but what has replaced it??

 

Kind Regards

[rebel11]

Hi Alison82

 

Yes lost the battle but not the war,

 

Just scroll down to FAQ - How do I reclaim my bank charges if they have been misrepresented The Consumer Forums - Welcome to the The Consumer Forums

 

Before you make any claims contact the site team, just to make sure you've got all the info in your claim.

[Guest Alison82]

Ok thanks

[slick132]

Hi Alison,

 

Please bear with me as I've had major internet probs tonight.

 

Will come back on this tomorrow.

 

[slick132]

HGi Alison,

 

Before you whizz off to court with this (probably not a good idea anyway), you must raise the complaint with Barclays in writing and give them the chance to put things right, to your satisfaction.

 

I suggest you write first to Barclays Cust'r Services and briefly point out that the error was caused by them so you want all charges refunded to the a/c.

 

Ask for refund of interest too plus compensation as mentioned in your draft POC above. But I just don't think this is a good case to take into court right now.

 

If they fail to respond adequately in 14 days, escalate your complaint to B's HQ in London.

 

This isn't so much about whether you wanted an o/d or not. It's about them screwing up with the transfer of £460 instead of £490.

 

Have you opened an a/c elsewhere - it may be that B's will not reopen the a/c.

[Guest Alison82]

Hi sorry for the delayed response. We have already done that, we have sent them letters and they briefly put the account on hold but they don't think they have done anything wrong.

 

We have now sent in a SAR

Edited July 15, 2010 by Alison82

[slick132]

Hi Alison,

 

So you've already complained but got nowhere with them. Time to escalate your complaint to Barclays London HQ giving them 14 days to put matters right, or you'll make a formal complaint to the FOS.

 

You didn't say if you have an a/c elsewhere, or whether you want to continue using this a/c if Barclays agree to keep it open.

 

[Guest Alison82]

Hi CAG users

 

I'm starting to look into this issue again, but were a bit lost as to do next, we will write to Barclays before issuing an N1 to court but I'm not sure of we should be arguing the fact that a reserve facility was specifically requested not to e put on the account, or a mistake was made on their end, or these are unfair penalty charges.

 

Thanks in advance

[Guest Alison82]

Update:

 

We are going to go after the charges but also want some advice regarding the overdraft, I have been reading around and noted that you have to opt out of the reserve fees, he did opt on on sevral occasions and Barlays say this in their notes in the SAR.

 

Does anyone have any advice regarding compensation for Barclays not actioning a request (he requested the removal of the reserve 3 times and once when he opened the account)

 

Help!

Edited April 19, 2011 by Alison82
New info

[slick132]

Hi Alison,

 

Even if you opted out of the Reserve system, Barclays would still have charged you if your a/c went overdrawn.

 

Surely this is more about Barclays making the original mistake causing the a/c to be overlimit and not just about the Reserve Usage Fee opt-out.

 

My concern is that your "case" may be seen as one simply seeking a refund because the charges are not fair, even though this is not what you are claiming.

 

I wonder if this would be more suited to a complaint to the FOS. If they fail to get you the outcome you want, then you can still take court action.

 

[Guest Alison82]

Can someone please direct me to the latest template for P.O.C for reclaiming bank charges?

 

Thanks in advance

[dx100uk]

there is not one

 

you cant reclaim bank charges as such anymore since the court case.......

 

dx

[Guest Alison82]

Really? I was advised to take court action in another post, so what are people doing now, can you point me in the right direction as it has been some years since I claimed back charges, I thought that case was 2007?

[dx100uk]

Really? I was advised to take court action in another post, so what are people doing now, can you point me in the right direction as it has been some years since I claimed back charges, I thought that case was 2007?

 

then it would be better to post on that thread then

 

dx

[Guest Alison82]

Ok I found this information on MSE incase anyone else needs it.

 

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/bank-charges#step4

 

Reclaiming bank charges from current or closed accounts specifically for busting your overdraft limit, bounced cheques and direct debits was once an open door.

 

You simply threatened to take a bank to court or the Ombudsman and it sent you back a goodwill cheque for six years’ worth of charges plus interest – yet since the result of the widely publicised shock Nov ’09 Supreme Court ruling on the Bank Charges test case it’s been more difficult. Read about why

 

Bank Charges Reclaiming – why it’s been more difficult

 

We believe bank charges of around £35 a pop for going beyond your overdraft, bouncing a cheque or direct debit are unfair, so you should be able to claim back the money you paid out over the last six years or more – often adding up to thousands.

 

In 2007, after banks had already repaid roughly £1 billion, they finally agreed to go to court in a test case against the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

 

The case looked at whether, under a specific European regulation, it was possible for bank charges to be legally unfair. If so it'd then have been the OFT's job to decide if they actually were unfair - and provisionally it said they were.

 

The banks lost in the High Court and then in the Court of Appeal, showing there was real strength in the argument. Yet in the type of turnaround that can only happen in the law, with a shock decision in November 2009, the new Supreme Court overturned this on a technicality and it was decided that 'fairness rules' didn't apply (see Shock Bank Charges Loss news archive).

 

Then worse was to come, the following month the OFT decided it wasn't going to fight on; having looked at its options it decided it did not think it appropriate to continue (see OFT gives up the fight news story).

[dx100uk]

we know all this why are you posting it here?

 

dx