Cariad v Halifax ***SETTLED IN FULL***

[cariad]

Hello everyone.

 

I sent my letter requesting details of charges levied to my account on the 18th April and suffice to say I'm still waiting a reply.

 

This forum has been a godsend as I have been toying with the idea of taking action against them for some time - such a relief to actually have contact with fellow victims. 8)

 

I am a working single mum with two primary school age children. I actually work as a legal executive so the legal side of things is thankfully familiar to me. My income isn't that bad but a very acrimonious divorce has left me with very little in the way of diposable income - ridiculous mortgage (house has been on the market for over a year - that's another long story ) and old joint debts etc. For years I was a "model" customer but since 2002 I have been stung time and again. Only last month BT took their DD a week early (they've apologised but can't explain why it happened) and I've been charged £148 - that was my food/petrol for a fortnight. What really lit the fuse though was the charge of £88 (two lots of £30 and £28 for NOT going overdrawn. :grin: My statement shows nothing as apparently it's recorded on there alphabetically whereas at head office they note the debits first then add any credits so at head office I was £6 over my £90 overdraft limit for 5 or 6 hours.

Sheesh!

 

When I have tried to negotiate with them to reduce my unauthorised overdraft (caused by bank charges) over a two month period they refuse point blank and insist I manage my affairs more responsibly.

 

I will keep you updated and if there is any advice you think I would find useful please let me know.

[Guest Lueeze]

Good Luck!

 

Lou xx

[cariad]

LOL....I thought I'd be cheeky and call them to say I wanted the charges levied over the last 6 weeks refunded - about £150 - which I need desperately as thanks to them debiting £88 last week I now have no money at all to feed my children or put petrol in the car to get to work.

 

I got through to Douglas bless his little cotton socks who was thoroughly confused by the fact that I wanted them refunded when - as he put it - "but you went overdrawn".

 

He offered to refund one of the DD's (after speaking to his supervisor) but that would just have brought me back to my maximum OD limit. He did say in a beautifully resigned tone "that's just not going to be good enough for you is it?" I said he could happily refund whatever h eliked but I would be pursuing it all. There was a 40 second silence (he was counting) before he replied "What? All 31 of them?" :o

Less than I thought actually since September 2001. I wonder if he's included the £28 charges for exceeding my over-OD limit?

[cariad]

Oh yeah..I did ask to speak to the supervisor but was stuck on hold. He eventually said he would refer my call to the Complaints Dept but all their lines were "busy".

[hawkesi]

Busy dealing with their deluge of DPA letters, preliminary letters, LBA's and Court claims, no doubt!!!!

[hwild]

Classic!

[cariad]

I see that you recommend having a standby account ready in case Halifax get really arsey.

I'm really worried that because of all their shenanigins I've been blacklisted and won't be able to open another account.

 

Any recommensdations about who best to try?

[sgt_bilko]

LLoyds tsb seem pretty good for current accounts. If you have a look on the moneysavingexpert website, he gives a breakdown of all the accounts and the benefits pro's&con's.

 

Im' opening a spare one with Lloyds tsb incase Halifax start being idiots.

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

Peace Man:cool:

[laura1clark]

yeah, I'd have a look at both the moneysavingexpert.com and moneysupermarket.com to see what the best one for you is.

 

how did you manage to last a 40 second silence without laughing at them?

 

Think it would be cheeky to apply for a halifax visa after all this? hehe

[sean frampton]

I have since moved to Barclays and when I opened the account i said it was because of the cost of charges that Halifax applied to me.

 

I have now been off sick for a while and went overdrawn,the bank phoned me up, arranged an overdraft to cover the costs and they have not charged me once.Infact at this precise moment I can not fault them.

[driller]

My only advise would be to not speak to them on the phone. I learnt the hard way - only this morning! They just keep repeating, repeating, repeating themselves. They are like robots and start to confuse you. Us hard done by women need to stick together.

[cariad]

Too right driller.

 

I've just chased my statements with Evaleen and she's assured me they will be with me in three bank working days so - middle of next week it is then?

 

That is a load of nonsense anyway as they happily took funds from my account on Bank Holiday Monday (1st May) but apparently could process any credits.

 

Trying to be careful as I'm mid house move and although I'm porting my current mortgage (tied into ridiculous redemption penalty til the end of this year) they still want written confirmation from the Halifax that ex pays the CSA assessed maintenance regularly.

[cariad]

how did you manage to last a 40 second silence without laughing at them?

 

Think it would be cheeky to apply for a halifax visa after all this? hehe

 

Bless...I could hear him counting.

As it happens I have a Halifax Visa but never use it.

[cariad]

And many, many thanks for the bank tips.

 

I'm in a quandrary about whether to set something up now or wait until I've moved - but that could be another month or two away. My finances will look one hell of a lot better once I've sold this place. Whoever said women come out of divorce better off eh?

[cariad]

To cover our costs, we make a charge of £39 (maximum three charges per day) for any item we can't pay. We will take this money from your account seven days from the date of this letter. If this causes you to have an unauthorised overdraft, we will also charge you interest, at the unauthorised rate, and a monthly unauthorised overdraft fee of £28*. However, if your unauthorised overdraft is £30 or less the unauthorised overdraft charge will not be applied.We appreciate that nobody likes paying charges and we'd like to help you avoid them in future.

They are so kind aren't they?

[babes66]

I would set up another acc straight away if you can Cariad. They took away my o/d and froze my acc which meant I couldnt get my money when it went into the account. Cover yourself incase they turn nasty!

[cariad]

Yikes!!! :o

 

Will try to although I am worried as I know they've registered my disgusting fiscal habits with a credit reference agency.

 

So have one or two others (two old credit cards and one unsecured loan) because I couldn't pay their instalments if the bank had taken their charges.

 

I am worried that no-one else will even look at me and I'll be left bankless - which would be delightful but I have bills to pay. I'll try a lloyds tsb basic account. I don't even need an overdraft - the one I have with the Halifax is only £90.

 

And to think I laughed at my grandmother stuffing her money under the mattress.

[kaysamoly]

thought this might help you should be able to get a nat west step account you can even apply on line this is a basic account but you do get a debit card aswell

[cariad]

thought this might help you should be able to get a nat west step account you can even apply on line this is a basic account but you do get a debit card aswell

 

Thank you hon.

I'll give them a go later.

[cariad]

Thank you hon. Fingers crossed.

 

Thank you for your application.

 

We are delighted to inform you that your new account has been agreed in principle.

Your documents will be posted to you straight away. Please check these when you receive them, sign where indicated and return in the pre-paid envelope provided.

[cariad]

Well my Nat West STEP account is all set up.

 

I sent my DPA request off on the 18th April but despite 2 written chase ups and 1 emailed one and 3 or 3 phone calls not even an acknowledgement this end. **sigh** Is this normal? Other people seem to have had their statements through pdq. :-?

 

I have also raised a seperate request with them for specific information requested by my mortgage company in relation to my (hopefully) house move. I was told this was posted 2 days ago but nothing yet.

 

Have I confused them with two different requests you think? I hand delivered my DPA letter to my local branch with a tenner in cash and they've paid £5 back in.

[blinkyblinkyblonk]

cariad, sorry to hijack your post but i am asking you a question

 

ive just had my natwest account through and they need some identification from me from table a which is bank statements as far as i can see, and i dont really want to send my halifax bank statements cause they are well over my agreed overdraft limit, can you let me know what you had to send hun many thanks

[cariad]

cariad, sorry to hijack your post but i am asking you a question

 

ive just had my natwest account through and they need some identification from me from table a which is bank statements as far as i can see, and i dont really want to send my halifax bank statements cause they are well over my agreed overdraft limit, can you let me know what you had to send hun many thanks

 

No worries hon. Anytime.

They didn't ask me for anything but that may be down to the fact that I've lived here for 6 years and been in the same job for nearly 10 years and were able to confirm details direct with my employers, who are well known in South Wales.

Will they accept a utility bill or driving licence or passport? :-?

[blinkyblinkyblonk]

ahhhhhhh, that maybe the case because ive only been living at this address for just under a year, im going to have to phone them because the only option they have given me is bank statements no less than 3 months old, and no other option, and there is another option for birth certificate but sadly that is for someone under 20 years old i wish lol, do you think its wise being honest with them and tell them about halifax, i look kinda irresponsible with my account but again its the bank charges that took my money and so i had to use cheques to feed me and my 4 children on, or shall i just send it and see, i could use the excuse that i have paper free online documentation, but i just dont know which way to go with it all

i really really need a basic bank account!!!!!!!!1

 

 

 

thanks cariad xx

[cariad]

It is the most basic account and you don't get a cheque book with it so no question of you doing the same thing there. Plus you're not after an overdraft are you? I think they just want to make sure it is you - might be worth calling them tomorrow. You have to do something after all.

 

I'm sure they've heard it all before. But I've not banked with them since I was a student back in the 80's to know what sort of reaction you'll get.

 

Might be worth posting on your own thread to see if anyone else has been in ther same boat.

 

Right...I'm off to bed. Lt's hope that letter arrives tomorrow. I really need to get a move on with this house move. It'll only be 200 yards but should make a huge difference. Once I have that I can start really hassling them for my statements.

 

Nos da xxx