Halifax Overdraft question

[NELee]

Hi,

 

I had an overdraft with halifax for a few years with a £500 limit. When i signed up to it, if i was close to my limit i would be charged a few pounds a month interest at most. Unfortunatly for me Halifax decided to 'simplify' my overdraft fees by changing it from a few pounds a month interest to a minimum of £28 (£1 per day) THANKS HALIFAX!

 

As it happens i was unhappy with this and asked if i could make partial settlement of my overdraft - maybe around £30 a month.... - and close my account (i wasn't/am not in a position to pay off the amount in full - JSA claimant), needless to say they, for whatever reason, would not allow this; so to prevent halifax taking 1/7th of my monthly income on arranged overdraft fees i set up a new bank account to have my moneys paid into... this left my halifax account at -£499.98. For about a month maybe 2 this account remained inactive then one day halifax decided to take the £1 a day fees out of my account taking me over my overdraft limit to around -£560. The result being an even 'simpler' £5 a day fee resulting in a monthly charge of around £150. my account now stands at around -£980.

 

I told halifax of my financial situation/difficulty and they agreed to stop the 'fees' although maybe for simplicity sake they actually didnt stop them...as it seems they continued for another month. Have now had letter from SCM Solicitors, whom i tried to contact and was promptly told to not ring them they would ring me, they didnt. I tried again a week later, i was told my debt had been passed on and was given a number, rang it.... was again told i had the wrong people eventually i found out i had been referred to BLS dca.

 

Just wondering where i stand with this, im guessing Halifax have their bases covered with the whole overdraft fees etc... but is it really acceptable to put somebody into the red using exorbitant fees resulting in charging even more exorbitant fees none of which were present upon signing of contract (obviously the contract would have said something like "we reserve the right to change anything and everything you have just read and signed..." kinda brings into question the purpose of the contract but yeah whatever..).

 

I have told BLS of my financial difficulties and have had my account placed on hold for 30 days (about 20 more to go), would it be worth my time and my £10 to send a subject access request letter? Can i contest the fees/charges placed on my account? Any help appreciated.

 

Thanks!

Edited June 6, 2012 by NELee

[huggy41]

hi we are in the same boat Halifax are a complete and utter waste of space i have told them in writting that they will get £1 per month till they over draft is paid off 240 months.

1. because they lie on the phone i have recording

[NELee]

Hey,Yup, i should have recorded the coversation i had with them would have probably saved myself £150... it makes you question the sanity of the people who regulate these 'banks'; they are willing and allowed to lie to their costumers in order to take even more tax payers money (JSA in my case) ontop of the billions they have already been given. i honestly think they couldnt care less.

[Helenm]

I am in the same boat also!! Still paying the £28-£31 per month - cant afford to pay back the £1500 overdraft. On a DMP with my other credit cards etc

[NELee]

Sorry to hear that Helen, be careful when you do stop paying the fee they will keep taking it out and then multiply it by 5 the first chance they get... dont get upset tho remember how complicated interest was - we are fortunate really

 

 

Would it be worth my time and my £10 to send a SAR letter? Can i contest the fees/charges placed on my account?

Anybody...?

[geeza2012]

Hey,Yup, i should have recorded the coversation i had with them would have probably saved myself £150... it makes you question the sanity of the people who regulate these 'banks'; they are willing and allowed to lie to their costumers in order to take even more tax payers money (JSA in my case) ontop of the billions they have already been given. i honestly think they couldnt care less.

 

I'm with Halifax and have been since 2002. From haveing a job to now JSA I had to sort out my charges as so I phoned Halifax and got transferred to MONEY MANGENT TEAM.

 

They did help me took Away some of my bank charges also refunded some money and put my Ultimate account on hold.

 

So this way I don't incur any charges I has to slowly pay back my overdraft and charges.

 

I have up to 6 months to do so and then we have also opened a current account for me.

 

I list the number of that's ok?

Please do let me now as I dont want to break any rules so need to ask First.

[bigyeti]

I was in the same situation. I even agreed to pay the £1500 overdraft off at the formerly agreed interest rate, they refused. They refused, so I said close the account and we'll agree a payment plan. Again, they refused to close the account until the OD was cleared so they were effectively forcing me to pay their charges. So I jumped ship to A&L. They started piling the charges on until the balance was £2600 in the red so in the end, I wrote to them explicitly asking them to supply signed proof that I agreed to their new charges, they then wrote back saying that they were refunding all the new charges and would apply no more.

[NELee]

Awaiting reply for my SAR request... and i think i know what my next course of action will be, thank you bigyeti!