Please help!

[Indebted]

Hello, another newbie here who feels that HSBC have totaly and utterly ripped me off.

I have read through the guide and FAQs but just have a couple of questions as I seem to have read a couple of conflicting answers.

 

A brief outline of my situation is that I am working my way up the career ladder and thus very badly paid at the moment in the hope of it being for the greater good. Since December 2005 I have paid £1,309 in overdraft charges alone and have seen an increase from a max charge of £70 a month to £125 a month which is pretty much what I pay most months since as soon as I think I've righted myself, I get a hefty charge and the vicious cirlce starts again.

 

This may sound pathetic but I'm only really interested in claiming for this period of time since I think this is when the charges became obscene, plus I'm so skint at the moment I can't even afford the £10 for the DPA request for my charges of the last 6 years.

 

Should I meet with someone from HSBC first or just go straight in with the preliminary letter?

 

Sorry this is so long and rambling - I'm quite scared of the consequences of getting it wrong but feel so strongly about what they're doing and need that money!!

 

ANY advice greatly appreciated,

 

Indebted. x

[Spiceskull]

Hi and welcome,

 

Everyone's situation is different, and you really need to do what you feel is best. Obviously the last six months have been crippling, and you have all information to hand for this.

 

You could start off by sending the initial request for a refund, and see what they have to say, although as an HSBC customer myself you are likely to find that they don't want to talk about it at all. If you do get lucky, they may make a partial refund offer.

 

Any refunds you get should be on the understandig that you retain the absolute right to contest past and future charges, as these are penalties, and are therefore unlawful. Don't dismiss historic charges just because they were slightly less obscene than they are now.

 

But you need to juggle this for yourself, and decide what/when you are going to claim for. I feel sure that you could claim for six months now, and then once that is settled calim for the rest of the six year period. On this last point I would suggest getting a second opinion from other group members.

 

Good luck.

[jonni2bad]

Only you can ever decide what is right for you...

 

Most people on here would, I'm sure, think that you were 'daft' for not being bothered about any other charges, but it's not their money, is it?

 

You can certainly try talking to your bank, but again, most people would say they will wriggle and squirm out of making a refund. I certainly know from my own experience....

 

If that is what you intend to do, go into your branch and ask to see the manager (you never know your luck) and explain that you would rather avoid having to reclaim those funds by going to court, but you will if necessary.

 

Whoever you see will no doubt try to baffle you with terms and conditions, "you signed this" etc and give you any number of reasons why it's all your fault.

 

If you want to go down that road, then we will all still wish you the best of luck. But I have to say, it's a road to almost certain frustration.

 

There is nothing stopping you from trying this first, and then later going down the more 'official' route - even if you are lucky enough to get some money back by asking - just avoid signing any agreement that states "full and final" or contains wording along the lines of 'I accept all future charges' bla bla bla.

 

Keep us posted either way.

[Indebted]

Many thanks guys, I don't really want an initial meeting because, as you say, I'm certain it will just be a waste of time.

 

I think if I'm going to do it I might as well do it properly so I think I'm going to request my last 6 years worth of statements, it seems silly to go to all the trouble of possibly going to court for less than the total amount I'm entitled to.

 

I really appreciate your advice, thanks again.

[Spiceskull]

I'm glad to hear it - it's your money and you are entitled to have it all back. You could type out the DPA request, and take it into your branch with a £10 note (if you can spare £10) - you will be able to claim that back if it goes to court (which I don't believe it will).

 

Good luck.

[Indebted]

Thank you Spiceskull. My account holding branch is down in Devon from when I was uni, does it have to go there or will my local branch do?

[Spiceskull]

Local branch is perfect. However, as you have moved, they may require proof of address/ID. Best to take a driving licence or similar, which they can make a certified copy of, and this will prevent them procrastinating.

 

What you want, more than anything, is for the 40 days to start ticking once the letter has been handed in. Don't give them an excuse to hold up your claim...so be polite as well, if it gets you where you want to go...

[neilloffhagen]

So far as the £10.00 DPA fee, you may find that the bank don't take it or will refund it themselves without you having to claim it back. I never included any DPA payment with my letter and then a week or so later I got a letter from the bank saying they were refunding my DPA fee and would send the DPA information soon (which they did - came in two seperate lots of post).

 

Neil.

[Indebted]

Great, thanks again.

 

The bummer is that I'm moving house again this weekend (hence the worse than usual skintness) so I guess I'll have to hang on a little until my driving licence has been updated!

[overcharged_consumer]

In response to your question in your other thread, you can print off your statements from the HSBC site. However, because of the security setup of the site there's no menu options at the top that you would find in a normal browser. Instead there's a print button within the statement screen. Just click that from within each statement and hey presto, your statement should print.

 

Failing that, with the statement open, press ctrl and print screen and then paste into an image editing program and print from there.

 

Hope this helps.

[Indebted]

Brill, thanks for all the advice, I searched for a print button but I'll look again, otherwise I'll try print scree.

 

Cheers guys.

[neilloffhagen]

I only see a print screen button when looking at the latest statement. When I go to see the previous statments using the "My Statements" link I don't see the print button. If you don't either you can still print by pressing Ctrl + P on your keyboard. It should then bring up the same print box as if you had used the print menu.

 

Neil.

[Indebted]

Thanks Neil, I'll give it a go!

[Indebted]

Hello again,

 

I'm still dithering about sending off my prelim letter and just wondered if anyone knew off the top of their head the policy on repayment of graduate loans if HSBC did decide to close my account? I've got a £4K graduate loan the only thing stopping me at the moment is the thought of them closing my account and demanding repayment immediately. I'm certain if someone can't afford to pay that all back immediately then the bank would have to agree to some sort of installment plan but has anyone had any experience of anything like this? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[overcharged_consumer]

They may decide to close your account but if your graduate loan is a separate agreement (i.e. not an overdraft on the account in question) and has been reasonably well managed then I think they'd have a problem demanding the full payment immediately.

 

Good luck.

 

OC

[Indebted]

Thanks Overcharged. x

[Indebted]

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