delirousgeek vs Halifax

[deliriousgeek]

I’ve finally decided to bit the bullet and claim back all my bank charges.

 

The worst experience I have had was during a period of unemployment over the summer of 2003 when I was in receipt of Jobs Seekers Allowance. The Halifax sent me notifications of charges amounting to £90, which would be levied on my bank account within a 2-week period. This was a desperate situation, but not unlike other times where I was charged £30 for a not having enough money to pay a Direct Debit. During this period of unemployment these £30 charges not only took food from my mouth, but the snowball effect took over and I was £30 down for the next month. At that time I practically begged them to give me my money back because I only got £52 a week on Job Seekers Allowance and the charges were killing me. The agents at the local Halifax branch did not help me. I explained that because I was £30 short that I would be in the same situation next month because they were taking my food money – I still remember their response was “We’re sorry. There is nothing we can do - you need to manage your money better”. My brother has recently had a similar experience so I know their policy for dealing with unemployed clients has not changed.

 

The Halifax also would notify me that if there was not enough money in my account to cover the £30 they were going to take out, an additional £28 charge would be made. There are 2 occurrences when I was a few pound short for a direct debit, the Halifax would charge £30 for non payment and an addition £28 when £30 charge put my account over drawn -- interesting how they wouldn't allow me to go, say, £5 over drawn, but they would charge me so that my account was over £50 over drawn. Back in 2003 the bank charges were £30, now in 2006 their charge is £39 – that’s a 30% increase in charges.

 

Going over my bank statements since I opened the account back in 2002 they have levied bank charges to the total of £428. However, I am missing 9 statements so this figure could rise. Over my lunch I popped into the local Halifax branch and asked if they could help me fill in the missing statements. The agent kindly ordered copies of all my statements and did not charge for them.

 

When reading through some of your posts, my fiancée made the comment that some of your situations are not at all far away from those experienced by contestants on the TV show Deal or No Deal.

 

God bless.

[laurawilliams]

hiya,

Sounds like they have done to you what they have done to many people, including myself - kicked you while you were down. they seem to have no remorse for putting you in a viscious circle started by their greediness.

 

you have the law on your side and the support of everyone here. so have a good read through the forums and the faqs so you know exactly what to do, then get started on your claim.

 

keep us posted and good luck

 

Laura

[nij4t2]

The worst experience I have had was during a period of unemployment over the summer of 2003 when I was in receipt of Jobs Seekers Allowance.

 

In a strange way... you just might be lucky if the account you had was similar to mine. Up to (around) Summer / Autumn 2003 Halifax pre-notified you of charges, and the charge was made at the end of the following month, or something similar.

 

Later on that year, their charging policy changed (if my records are anything to go by) to being charged within a day or two of the 'offence'... in other words, you found out about the charge by letter after it had been taken from your account!

 

This is not them being "keen to help you avoid unecessary charges"!

[dimac1]

Interesting reading from you all. I have a query. You say that the charges are unfair and you are claiming them back from the bank.

 

1. Is this because you feel the amount is unjustified?

2. Is this because you feel you should not be charged?

3. Is this because you feel both of the above?

 

I ask because we seem to be leading people into thinking that they can complain to everyone about everything and that the agreements signed upto when taking out the bank account don't matter.

 

If it is simply the charges are deemed to high then I would suggest a word of caution when threatening legal action over the amount of the charge.

 

If you are saying the charges are Illegal, on what grounds are they illegal as surely when you open a bank account you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of that provider and accepting them in full, otherwise you surely would just not open a bank account with that provider.

 

Opens up a can of worms, cause Microsoft spring to mind with EULA's etc. Would these fall under the same don't agree with it so shall ignore it concept, or it is not legally binding.

 

I don't necessarily agree with the level of charges, but if many can run a bank account without incurring charges ever, when you fail to meet the terms of the account you opened surely you should expect to be penalised in some way, whether it is a £20-00 charge or less reflecting the work involved?

 

If I run a business and I enter into a contract with you and you default on the agreement who is to blame for the default.

 

If you default and I stick my arm in well that is a different matter.

 

I am getting confused with it all. You say these charges are not legal, but yet you agreed to them when opening your account. Did the OFT say they were illegal or just seemed to be excessive?

 

I look forward to your thoughts as I do think things need to change but,

 

as one great rebel once said...pay unto ceasar what is ceasars......

[deemacperth]

Dimac

 

The charges are illegal because they are penalties. Under contract law, if you are a party to a contract and suffer financial loss, you are entitled to compensation for that loss, make a profit from it and it turns into a penalty. ILLEGAL

 

Just because you sign up to a contract does not make it legally binding with no recourse.

 

I say the banks are wrong by penalising people in these circumstances, not for making the charge, but for the amount of the charge.

 

As for the microsoft EULA, you're barking up the whole totally different wrong tree here. You are not purchasing the software, you are purchasing a licence to use that software. As Microsoft is the intellectual owner of the software, they can charge what they like, you don't have to buy it. Unfortunatly you don't have the same choice with your banking institution. You bank, simple.

 

The banks make their profit off my money, the more money and savings they receive, the more they can loan out, the more money they bring in, but to then penalise me for going over budget when I NEVER authorised them to stinks. If I'm overdrawn and i can't get cash out of the cashpoint, then i don't expect a DD of £7 to go through and be charged £69 for the service. I would want the DD to bounce and be claimed 14 days later as all my creditors do anyway. Let my creditor charge me if they've suffered financial hardship due to my late payment.

[mechs]

From what I have read and understood on this matter is that the oft has deemed the process of banks charging this extortinate amount to its customers is both illegal and excessive where as myself and I exspect a great many more here would agree they do deserve to get penalised for bouncing direct debits etc, but not at 39 pounds a time and as someone has said here they cant pay a standing order because you are short by 20 pence or even a couple of pounds but they can take out their charges and make you even deeper in the mire.

 

I have been off sick for the last six months and have been paid ssp and my direct debits have bounced and then have been charged a further £25 by the other person for a failed direct debit all this snowballs the following month and so it goes on ......some people are not as fortunate as others to be able to run a bank account properly so not to incur charges how fortunate for them, others like me through no fault of their own have had a rough ride and the greedy banks dont want to listen to you. So I have made a claim against them, and will in future exspect to pay charges but hopefully the government will step in and back up the oft with a sensible charge

[dimac1]

cheers guys for the responses. Tis a little clearer now.

[deliriousgeek]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for all your replies. They have been interesting and useful.

 

Laurawilliams & Nij4t2 – that was my experience too. The Halifax used to notify me weeks in advance that they were intending on taking this money out from my account, which gave me a few weeks to beg and borrow what I needed to meet the charge. I too found there policy changed and they started to give us ‘7 days from the date of this letter’ before the money would be taken - by the time the letter arrived you typically had 2-3 days before the money was to be taken out. Those were the bad days.

 

I thank God that I now have a job that pays well and I’m working my way out of debt.

 

Dimac1 – I too was very cautious before starting out on this path and I understand where you are coming from. I read about claiming back bank charges from Martin Lewis’ newsletter from www.moneysavingexpert.com and thought it sounded like a good idea, but like you, I remained prudent and watched to see how this unfolded for other people first. When I read into bank charges and realised that the amount the Halifax obtained was unjustifiable I decided that I was going to pursue this. I acknowledge that there were times that I mismanaged what few pounds I had and I apologise if I caused the Halifax any financial hardship. However, I also believe I should not have been charged where the Halifax was responsible for digging me deeper into the poverty I was going through at the time. This Halifax were unrelenting and when I pleaded my case with them they did not relent and offered no apology. This cause me lots of stress, anxiety and sleeplessness for which I forgive the Halifax for. I am annoyed that this behaviour is still going on with all the banks today and I feel it is time that they be held publicly accountable for their deeds.

 

Does anyone know what the actually cost is to a bank for a bounced cheque and a direct debit not going through on an account that does not have an overdraft facility?

 

A few months ago I paid my last landlord his finally payment by cheque. When he lodged the cheque it bounced on my rent account because I was about £1 short. My landlord charged me £3 for his trouble. The Halifax charged me £39 for their pleasure! What a difference honesty can make.

 

Mechs – As you said, it is hard to run a bank account when you have so little income. I don’t know how much you are in receipt of on SSP, but on JSA a few years ago I had to live on £52 a week which was just enough to live on without the bank sticking their arms into your food money.

 

Thank you all for your support and replies. I will keep you updated to my progress and let you know the true figure of my bank charges when I get copies of my missing statements.

 

God Bless.

[mechs]

I think it was about £70 pounds plus I had £10 back from the taxman the other money grabber lol my wife fortunately works but her wages are not high so yes it has been a struggle, I am currently working part time as this is all I can physically do, and cant wait to get back to full time work

[deliriousgeek]

All my bank statements for the past 6 years arrived at the weekend. When I totalled everything up I worked out that the Halifax has taken over £400 with these charges . I’m sending in the preliminary approach for repayment of this amount today.

[deliriousgeek]

The Halifax has sent an inital letter saying that they have received my complaint and a Complaints Manager will get back to me within 4 weeks.

 

So far, so good.

[deliriousgeek]

It’s been 24 days and the Halifax haven’t sent me any further communication to my preliminary approach for repayment letter. In your experience, should I send the letter before action because they have exceeded the 14 days that I stated on the letter or should I wait for the 4 weeks they said that they would reply to me within to pass (8th June) before I send this.

 

How long have some of you have had to wait for your preliminary approach for repayment letter to get a reply?

 

Thanks.

[LondonPam]

It is you that should govern the time frame. You stated quite clearly how much time you would give them to respond and they failed to keep to it. If I were you I would progress to the next letter, that way they also know you are serious. Why should you wait for them!

[deliriousgeek]

Nothing has been heard back from the Halifax and the 28 days they asked for in their reply letter has passed. The letter before action for the full amount was sent on 5 June, which would give them to 19 June (14 days) to reply. I’m feeling a little nervous because I really would like this to be settled out of court.

Have any of you ever got this response from any bank? What happened next? Did they reply within the 14 days?

Although, all my mates will come to court to offer support if it does go that far The courts are just across from where I work in Belfast!!

Thanks.

[honey28]

I'll be watching this with interest. I have just sent off my DPA request to Halifax - I am also Belfast based. Did you have much trouble filing a claim here - was it easy enought to do?

[deliriousgeek]

I'm waiting for these 14 days that I have give them to pass before I file for a claim. It looks easy enough to do - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=499 has the web page a two PDFs that are informative.

[blinkyblinkyblonk]

hi delirous I too sent my letter before action on the 5th june and they have until the 19th june to reply, although i've had a gesture of good will amount far lower to what im claiming, im watching your post with interest as we have the same time frame.

 

It seems, through reading other peoples posts that they file the court action and then the halifax defend and a short while the halifax pay up, with the money plus interest plus court fees.

im hoping this too will happen to me but alas i am prepared to go to court.

 

good luck with yours

[deliriousgeek]

I only heard back form them to say that someone would get back to in me 28 days...and they didn't. I'm sticking to the 14 days this time and would recommend that everyone else reading this sticks to the time frame that THEY set, not what the banks say.

[deliriousgeek]

When I came home from work today the Halifax had sent me an offer of £239. No thank you, I do not accept this. I would like it all back please

[blinkyblinkyblonk]

thats the way to do it thats what i said as well

 

you go go go

 

i am

[deliriousgeek]

So far I haven't received any letter back from the Halifax. However, my mobile phone has had missed calls from 01792474700, 4 calls from 01792350023 and 2 calls from 01242861036 over the past 2 days. I’ve been getting these calls during my work, where I keep my phone on silent – hence I’ve been missing them. But no messages are ever left!

Do any of you recognise these phone numbers? Is this the Halifax trying to talk me into a compromise? My Letter before action was send on 5 June, and the 14 days is up on 19 June - less than 4 days.

I look forward to your replies.

On a lighter note, I’m helping 2 of my brother claim back bank charges from the First Trust and Abbey National. I’ll be documenting those as well.

Thanks.

[deliriousgeek]

The Halifax has ignored the letter before action. I just got of the telephone with them this morning to give them one last chance to resolve this before I start small claims court action and they are not prepared to raise the offer. I have the paperwork ready for the small claims court here in Belfast and I’m going to file the application online after lunchtime.

 

I would really enjoy hearing from other people who have got this far and what your experiences were. It would help build my confidence of what happens next reading replies from people who have been through this before.

 

Thanks for all your support so far.

[Chalky789]

A few months has now past. Have you had any luck with your complaint against the Halifax.

[deliriousgeek]

This topic was closed on 09 March 2019.

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