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      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

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      OT APPROVED, 365MC637, FAROOQ, EVRi, 12.07.23 (BRENT) - J v4.pdf
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Hardship Application


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I am 80 years old with mortgage arrears,

council tax arrears

and a maxed out credit card.

 

Plus, I am behind with my gas and electricity payments.

 

If I don't qualify for hardship, then I don't know who does.

 

Is it worth the time and effort making a hardship application with Lloyds Bank?

If it is worth it, then can I claim back to 2006 or only 6 years?

Is there a good template letter available?

worth a go, then I want to get cracking.

 

I think they have robbed me of £600 or so all told, solely through charges on unpaid direct debits and standing orders,

so as well as the money really helping me now I don't think they ever should have taken it in the first place.

 

As far as I can make out, their system just 'autopooped' me letters based on nothing more than computer entries.

The letters don't serve any purpose either, as I have never in my life not been informed by a company that didn't get their money.

 

The banks should just stay out of it and mind their own business where unpaid direct debits and standing orders are concerned.

It has to be one of the biggest charge cons going.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Edited by citizenB
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You would certainly stand a better chance of reclaiming 6 years than attempting to claim back further.

 

Did you let the Bank know that you were suffering financial hardship ?

 

Are the charges for bounced direct debits - or charges for the bank having paid those DDs and you then going into unauthorised over draft ?

 

I will try and find someone who might be able to advise further :)

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1: How can BCOBS protect you from your Banks unfair treatment

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Advice & opinions given by citizenb are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO GIVE ADVICE BY PM - IF YOU PROVIDE A LINK TO YOUR THREAD THEN I WILL BE HAPPY TO OFFER ADVICE THERE:D

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Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

Uploading documents to CAG ** Instructions **

Looking for a draft letter? Use the CAG Library

Dealing with Customer Service Departments? - read the CAG Guide first

1: Making a PPI claim ? - Q & A's and spreadsheets for single premium policy - HERE

2: Take back control of your finances - Debt Diaries

3: Feel Bullied by Creditors or Debt Collectors? Read Here

4: Staying Calm About Debt  Read Here

5: Forum rules - These have been updated - Please Read

BCOBS

1: How can BCOBS protect you from your Banks unfair treatment

2: Does your Bank play fair - You can force your Bank to play Fair with you

3: Banking Conduct of Business Regulations - The Hidden Rules

4: BCOBS and Unfair Treatment - Common Examples of Banks Behaving Badly

5: Fair Treatment for Credit Card Holders and Borrowers - COBS

Advice & opinions given by citizenb are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO GIVE ADVICE BY PM - IF YOU PROVIDE A LINK TO YOUR THREAD THEN I WILL BE HAPPY TO OFFER ADVICE THERE:D

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Hi debt

 

Have you been mis-sold PPI on any of your financial products? You can claim this back, 6 years plus.

 

Have you got credit card charges that you can claim back with interest? Again 6 years.

 

 

You need to contact your utility supplier, tell them your a 'vulnerable' person and are struggling to pay your bills, ask them to help you. Who is your supplier?

 

Contact the Welfare Team at your local council, see what can be done about the arrears:- https://www.gov.uk/council-tax-arrears

 

***The guys are here to advise you so try not to worry.***

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You would certainly stand a better chance of reclaiming 6 years than attempting to claim back further.

 

I guess I should just make the claim, if I go ahead, and see if they make an argument about any charges older than 6 years.

 

Did you let the Bank know that you were suffering financial hardship?

 

From memory, I may have made a complaint a few years ago, not based on hardship, which got stayed and then refused. Many of the charges I am looking to recoup did get levied after then though.

 

Are the charges for bounced direct debits - or charges for the bank having paid those DDs and you then going into unauthorised over draft?

 

They were all for bounced direct debits and standing orders. I had a basic cash account, which didn't allow an overdraft under any circumstances, so they couldn't even attempt to argue (invariably lies regardless as we all know) any manual intervention.

 

[quote name=citizenB

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387436-Letter-for-consideration-regarding-Hardship-or-Financial-Difficulty[/url]

 

Would this letter be of any use to you ?

 

Yes, much appreciated.

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Hi debt Have you been mis-sold PPI on any of your financial products? You can claim this back, 6 years plus.

 

No.

 

Have you got credit card charges that you can claim back with interest? Again 6 years.

 

Nothing major, but I will look into it. There is one thing. I did a CCA request a few years ago and one card company didn't reply for over a year and kept adding on interest. I have an idea that they should have legally stopped adding on interest, after a fixed time period, if they didn't satisfy the CCA reqeust. I have retained all the correspondence. Can I still claim back that interest?

 

You need to contact your utility supplier, tell them your a 'vulnerable' person and are struggling to pay your bills, ask them to help you. Who is your supplier?

 

British Gas is my supplier. I am not greatly behind, but I am feeling the pinch a bit given the current prices.

 

Contact the Welfare Team at your local council, see what can be done about the arrears:- https://www.gov.uk/council-tax-arrears

 

***The guys are here to advise you so try not to worry.***

 

Thank you kindly.

 

From recent experience I have found council tax collectors more odious than some DCA's if that's at all possible.

 

As with my gas and electricity accounts, the arrears are not great, so nothing too stressful.

 

I guess all these companies/DCA's/Councils are competing with each other to collect a finite amount of money,

which results in harsher measures being taken.

 

The Council employees have their final salary pensions to think about too, which is probably the same reason why BBC3 is being axed.

 

At the end of the day, I have already been through the mill with the whole bad debt experience, so I am not psychologically vulnerable.

I got through all of that and am of the philosophy that the sun will always rise in the mornings and life will go on.

Worrying will solve nothing and only make things worse.

 

Moreover, as I am in just one month's mortgage arrears, my property is nowhere near getting repossessed or anything like that.

I hugely appreciate any concern, but there is no need for anyone to worry about me more than anyone else.

I could just do with reclaiming a few extra pounds to help out.

 

I reiterate, in a matter of fact manner, if I am not a candidate for hardship then who do the banks consider hardship cases?

 

Maybe they all adopt an infallible ATOS approach of 'if they breath they are ok'.

 

The bank report will read 'was able to type a letter and afford a stamp to post it, so obviously not in hardship'. :roll:

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Hi debtmoutain Here's info regarding regarding CCA Requests:- http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/legal-powers/legal/cca/unenforceable-credit-agreements.

 

Ah, I just checked and I was mistaken. I was thinking of Section 77A subsection 6, which only applies to a creditor not providing regular statements when they should; not to creditors failing to fulfil a CCA request. Never mind. :violin:

 

(6)Where this subsection applies in relation to a failure to give a statement under this section to the debtor—

(a)the creditor shall not be entitled to enforce the agreement during the period of non-compliance;

(b)the debtor shall have no liability to pay any sum of interest to the extent calculated by reference to the period of non-compliance or to any part of it; and

©the debtor shall have no liability to pay any default sum which (apart from this paragraph)—

(i)would have become payable during the period of non-compliance; or

(ii)would have become payable after the end of that period in connection with a breach of the agreement which occurs during that period (whether or not the breach continues after the end of that period).

 

You could also check to see if your house is in the correct band:- http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change

 

Yes, I checked that a couple of years ago.

 

In a nutshell, I am asking what my chances of success are with Lloyds on the hardship front? Do any banks have a worse reputation than others regarding these matters? Anyone care to guess a success percentage for my case? If they try and thwart me is it court or the FOS as a possible further option? What are my chances there? I just want to know where I stand before getting the ball rolling. If the prospects are very gloomy I might not make the effort.

 

For the record, the biggest grudge I have against Lloyds is when they charged me £80 for four unpaid standing orders. With Lloyds and direct debits you can, used to anyway and it might have now changed, cancel them online without penalty on the Sunday, even if they were due out on the Saturday, because they would only show on the Monday. This was quite handy if you weren't sure if you would have the money till later in the weekend and it afforded you some time to make the decision whether to cancel or not. I assumed the same applied to standing orders, but no.

 

So, I had four standing orders due out one Sunday and cancelled them on Sunday night thinking I would fine. I then got a letter telling me Lloyds were going to steal £80 (£20 a pop being great value) from my account and citing different rules for standing orders. The crazy thing is the unpaid standing orders didn't even show up on my Lloyds statement as electronic entries, whereas direct debits do with Lloyds (not the case with Natwest so each bank does it differently), as I had cancelled them before they had a chance to register on my account. By my logic, if there was no attempt to pay them, even as a basic electronic entry con, then how could they ever be in a position to be 'returned'? Absolute rubbish and it was the most disgusted and cheated any bank has ever made me feel. I couldn't consider it anything other than high level mafia activity. It really makes me chuckle when they send out communications warning against cons. In truth, they would probably be looking to hire those sorts of people. :roll:

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Hi debtmoutain

 

You've got the Hardship Template, what you need to do is personalize it with why their charges have caused you to struggle to pay utility bills, find money for food etc. Your personal circumstances, i.e. health, travel costs etc. It needs to be unique to you.

 

Banks have been known to reject Hardship Claims because people have just sent a template and filled it in, if you know what I mean. To be honest I would be disappointed if they declined it.

You can send them an income & expenditure form with the Hardship Letter, or wait until they send you one.

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I hope you don't think I'm rude, but how have you still got a mortgage at 80?

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Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

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Hi debtmoutain You've got the Hardship Template, what you need to do is personalize it with why their charges have caused you to struggle to pay utility bills, find money for food etc. Your personal circumstances, i.e. health, travel costs etc. It needs to be unique to you.

Banks have been known to reject Hardship Claims because people have just sent a template and filled it in, if you know what I mean.

 

Noted, so I will take it you think it's definitely worth a shot then. On the 6 year aspect, is there anything concrete that rules either way on hardship cases? In my head, I thought that the hardship case bank then FOS route wasn't relevant to any 6 year rule; as opposed to the non-hardship case bank then court route. However, no surprise if i'm mistaken like I was with the credit card interest refund angle regarding Section 77A. At the least, it can't do any harm including the charges that are more than 6 years old can it? Can I include any lost interest on my claim as well? Much appreciated for all the help.

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Hi debtmountian

 

You can include all the charges plus interest, see what they say. Here's what the FOS say:-

 

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/bank-charges.html

 

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/financial-hardship-unaffordable-lending.htm

 

Noted, so I will take it you think it's definitely worth a shot then. On the 6 year aspect, is there anything concrete that rules either way on hardship cases? In my head, I thought that the hardship case bank then FOS route wasn't relevant to any 6 year rule; as opposed to the non-hardship case bank then court route. However, no surprise if i'm mistaken like I was with the credit card interest refund angle regarding Section 77A. At the least, it can't do any harm including the charges that are more than 6 years old can it? Can I include any lost interest on my claim as well? Much appreciated for all the help.
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I hope you don't think I'm rude, but how have you still got a mortgage at 80?

 

Not at all and my son, who has also been on the forum, thinks highly of you. I first ran into very serious debt problems in 2003. I then remortgaged my half of the property (technically it was a joint remortgage with my wife), via Halifax bank, to clear some of my more pressing debts. The £55,000 20 years remortgage was actually finalised in October 2003, 3 months shy of my 70th birthday, and they insisted I have a new credit card as well. My wife was nearly 66 at the time. I guess it was an extreme example of the madness exhibited in the last few years before the crash. I still remember going into my Halifax branch to discuss something with an advisor around 2009. The chap I spoke to even seemed shocked that I had been given the 20 years remortgage and new credit card just 6 years earlier. If you are interested, then I am happy to provide you with any further details including copies of documents. Do you think I might have an angle to approach the FOS on that front then? It would certainly be tremendous news if that were the case. :-D

 

 

 

Hi debtmountian You can include all the charges plus interest, see what they say.

 

Thank you very much. How do I work out the interest? Is there a standard formula? Much appreciated.

 

One other thing I forgot to mention. It did make me laugh when I saw that the 'revised' CCA 1974 no longer deemed it an offence for a creditor to not respond to a CCA request within 30 days. I thought that was a perefctly fair rule. :???:

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Thank you. However, that information seems very much geared towards court, which almost certainly doesn't seem to be the route I will be heading down. I am still very unsure of the issues regarding interest and hardship claims. Do I add on interest to my claim? If I do, then at what percentage rate? :???:

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Hi debtmountain

 

The information you seek is in 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3. you can use the rate that you are charged by the bank or the statutory rate of 8%.

 

Thank you. However, that information seems very much geared towards court, which almost certainly doesn't seem to be the route I will be heading down. I am still very unsure of the issues regarding interest and hardship claims. Do I add on interest to my claim? If I do, then at what percentage rate? :???:
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Hi Debtmountain, Just to add to the advice you have been given, please get in touch with the Energy Trust regarding the gas and electricity bills and they may well help you and even write off the arrears. The water companies also have something similar. DD

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

Hi debtmountain The information you seek is in 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3. you can use the rate that you are charged by the bank or the statutory rate of 8%.

 

I have looked into this further and, while that's the established court route, it does seem that you are correct. Adding on interest at the start of a complaint can also be a bit of a bargaining chip when looking at the FOS route. Banks might offer to settle without interest, as they know that the FOS might add on interest to successful claims in certain circumstances. If the FOS doesn't come good, then there is still always the option of court available, but I don't think I would chance it. A court couldn't rule on hardship anyway could it? Do you know if anyone has tested any of the newer arguments in court? I lost track after the Supreme Court ruling, but wouldn't be surprised if there has been the odd success.

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