HSBC - letter of appropriation- and bank charges action

[dotred]

Hi everyone!

I have been reading these forums for some time now!

I run my own business and have encountered a 2 month dry patch, which has now thankfully ended. But my bank, HSBC, have turned very unfriendly.

My DDs and SOs have been cancelled and a large chunk of my overdraft now is bank charges.

I hand delivered the bank a letter of appropriation (LOA) on the 17th June 2010. They told me that they didn't have to pay back bank charges, they were fair, and that they had won the court battle last year to prove it. I told the banker that was not quite the truth, and handed him the LOA. He photocopied it and began to explain the charges, adding that '...ifwe didn't charge some kind of penalty to bank accounts like this, then there would be no deterrent.' I warned him not to use the word penalty.

I then posted the same letter to head office a few days later. And they responded with a 'thanks we are looking into it...' letter on 24 June, and then with a longer letter on 1 July, where they proceed to explain that they won the court case last year and that there is nothing wrong with the charges they are adding. "I trust that matters have now been resolved to your satisfaction" they wrote.

I checked my bank account this morning online and discovered that on the 9th July, their charges were taken from my account before my mortgage went out. I paid my mortgage manually the moment money arrived into my account, I was watching it online and the moment it showed the credit of money I transfered from a HSBC business account, I phoned my mortgage company and paid them over the phone. Clearly HSBC do not believe they should reserve any of my income for essentials.

I have also started the process of claiming back my bank charges. I issued a SAR letter on 9 July, and included the £10 cheque from another bank.

Can anyone offer some advise on what to do about the LOA, and the bank's refusal to reserve any income for essential living expenses?

[Rayne]

Unfortunately the banks have a long running tendency of ignoring these letters. I would personally follow it up with a query of why they never acted on it with the threat of a complaint to the appropriate bodies. But that's just my advice, someone else may come along and say somethgn totally different

[johnnymitch]

Hi dotred , welcome to the forum ........ and good evening Rayne

 

Have a read of this link dotred and see if it helps ..... basically unless you push hard they will ignore you ........especially at branch level , because they don't get any Brownie Points for acknowledging 'hardship' or' 'LOAs '

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/262359-letter-appropriation-subsistence-ignored.html#post2961641

[jacqui_o]

according to the abbey they can take they're bank fees, loa does not void them.

[dotred]

Thanks JohnnyMitch I have sent an email to FOS asking them how to complain to HSBC about this. They have aknowledged my email.

 

I'm looking forward to beginning my claim-back for bank charges, once i receive the SAR back.

[dotred]

I have now just posted a letter to H-S-B-C reiterating what I told them in the last letter and asking them why they didn't feel they had to respect the law in this matter. So thanks, Rayne for your encouragement to do so!

[dotred]

quick update here.

Got a letter back from them changing the rules. They say that I must surely be aware of the format they require a Notice of Appropriation to adhere to. They say they need the exact dates payments are to come in and go out, and that they require one letter per payment before they can action the notice.

The letter then goes on to explain how they won the court case...it's the only song they know.

I have written back to them stating that the court case last year is irrelevant to the Notice of Appropriation. That they have had several opportunities to explain their supposed requirements for making such a notice. And that since they claim that 30% of their core current account business relies on bank charges, that my financial demise is an imperative for the success of their business plan.

I finished the letter stating that I considered my Notice of Appropriation to be complete, legal and currently in effect.

Have I invited problems here?