Worried about claiming

[Fishmilk]

Hello to all and what a great site!

I have 3 bank accounts with the Halifax but my main used account is a joint account and overdrawn by £850

I have had a fair few bank charges with this account that i think will total approx £350ish. But we are worried about claiming incase they close our account and request the overdraft back in full or even worse wait until our wages go in therefore leaving our account in credit then take our overdraft facility away. If this was to happen then mortgage etc would be a real and more than likely impossible task.

Are the banks allowed to do this and more to the point would they do this? I also have a credit card with the halifax but have never been charged but could they demand payment for that if i proceed to claim?

I have read many articles about this closure and if it did happen to complain to the ombudsmen but that wont help my bills at the time.

Any advice you can give would be very grateful.

Thanks again

[sea-sidelady]

Hiya Fishmilk,

 

Welcome to the site.

 

It is very unusual for the bank to close the accounts. They tend to do this when multiple claims are made against 1 account.

[steven4064]

But also have a look at the news item on the home page of the site (near the bottom) about Aliance and Leicester being fined for doing just this.

 

Steven

[sallysas]

It is always worth considering opening up a 'parachute account' elsewhere unless you feel a need to stay with the Halifax. That way if they decide to close your account they will not be able to get their grubby little hands on your wages for a start. As far as I am aware WHEN THEY SETTLE they will be allowed by law to retain whatever you win as this may be more than you are owed. However, being in this situation with a credit card myself, I have taken the view that it reduces my debts which is still empowering. Hope this helps and good luck. Sally

[Fishmilk]

Well here goes i have done the SAR request from your templates and filled in details for 2 of my accounts, i haven't bothered with a 'parachute' account as we are also happy with the money they owe gcoming off our overdraft then hopefully we can get rid of it completely!

Thanks for all your help so far, i will be honest im pretty damn scared but i suppose they want ya to be like this dont they!

oh, what is the best address to send this to at the halifax and do i need to make the cheque payable to?

thanks again

[giggles188]

Hi there rec my s/ments from halifax today, requested for 2 accounts only sent one which is £3,086 should i ring them or is there another letter in the library i should send, also about to send my prelim bit concerned about interest at this point, i have calculated charges on spread sheet and deleted interest colum at this time is this correct.

regards giggles

[sea-sidelady]

halifax plc

trinity road

hx1 2rg

 

This is the address you should use.

[sallysas]

Giggles give them till the 40 day deadline is over and then send the non-compliance letter which is in the templates library. It makes them sit up and take notice IMHO. Have you got a thread of your own? If you need a Mod or site worker to look at anything for you it really does help. Sally

[Fishmilk]

Cheque for the statement request just gone out my account! Does it matter if for the majority of the time our account is overdrawn? we always stay in our limit but is only in credit when we get paid each month!

[Fishmilk]

Right, this morning the statements have arrived, no covering letter or anything, just the statements.

I have worked out all the charges on my account so what is my next step i need to take? I really dont want to mess this up sorry for asking so many questions!

[sallysas]

Go to the general forum 'step-by-step' instructions. All the information you need will be there. A lot of people are going for compound interest but IMHO this is a bit too complicated for most people just starting out. Hope this dosn't sound patronising 'cos there certainly are a lot of really knowledgable people out there but this is primarily a self-help group and the primary objective for all of us is to get our bank charges back. Any interest on top is the icing on the cake. Just do lots of reading, decide on your next step and then ask if you have any queries. You are on the way now. Sally:)

[Fishmilk]

Thanks.

I have looked at the 'interest back' option and to be honest dont really understand as in the spreadsheat it has options like ' unpaid direct debit' and other scenarios and i just cannot remember what or why the charges would incur so would sooner just claim the basic charges at least i understan them!!!

Anyone got a basic template letter for the charges less interest?

thanks again for all your help

this site is ace!!!!!!!!!!

[kazdoc]

Hello to all and what a great site!

I have 3 bank accounts with the Halifax but my main used account is a joint account and overdrawn by £850

I have had a fair few bank charges with this account that i think will total approx £350ish. But we are worried about claiming incase they close our account and request the overdraft back in full or even worse wait until our wages go in therefore leaving our account in credit then take our overdraft facility away. If this was to happen then mortgage etc would be a real and more than likely impossible task.

Are the banks allowed to do this and more to the point would they do this? I also have a credit card with the halifax but have never been charged but could they demand payment for that if i proceed to claim?

I have read many articles about this closure and if it did happen to complain to the ombudsmen but that wont help my bills at the time.

Any advice you can give would be very grateful.

 

 

Thanks again

Hate to put a downer on you, but we lived in our overdraft of £500 and after recieving our prelim letter asking for £623 the bank withdrew our overdraft with just 24hours notice. We had to desperately beg relatives and friends to lend us the money asap which they kindly did. Then the bank retained my card even though I was in credit! They said it was an error and sent a new one but the customer service lady had already made a blip by telling me that head office had ordered it, so clearly not a mistake! Just be prepared.

[sea-sidelady]

But its not always the case.

I live in my overdraft. And i have just got my new cheque book and card through.

[noodledoodle]

I also had my overdraft withdrawn on Friday. And they had already taken my cheque book off me previous to that. Just be careful and expect it to happen. Bonus if it doesn't.

[Brad Smith]

they need to be careful though, they can't take "retaliatory action" against you for making a claim

[Fishmilk]

thanks again for your replies, im now well worried about actually claiming them back if they do remove our overdraft then i wont be able to pay any bills at all leaving me in a right mess! jeez i was dead set to claim too! doubt i will now!

[Brad Smith]

can't you open up an account with another bank before you start your claim?

[Brad Smith]

p.s. just shout if you need a hand with the spreadsheets. It isn't anywhere near as daunting as it may first appear, and if the charges go back a little while it might amount to a fair bit.

[Fishmilk]

I do have another bank account anyway it just if they take my overdraft away on the account im claiming on its a lot of money to have to pay back isn't it especially if they wait til im in credit then take it away from me!

[MR2Phil]

Do what I do...I just took ALL the money I could out of the account right up to the overdraft to stop them doing that. I then redirected wages to another basic account. They haven't mentioned taking away any facilities and I'm nearly always overdrawn! I'm in the black for about 5 days after payday then that's it! As long as you're prepared, you'll be ok. SOME people have even started pointing out in their Prelims etc that such retaliatory actions are severely frowned upon and mention A+L as a case in point?

[kecimot]

You can try to get overdraft limit on your second account (but only if it is in other bank!) by stating that you want to switch accounts but you need that overdraft facility. After you will get it, transfer wages and you will be , wouldn't you?

I did exactly that and after Halifax closed my account in January I was really delighted and congratulated to my self that I did it.

If your second account is not in another bank open one elsewhere! Of course with overdraft facility

[Fishmilk]

Ok decided to open another account beore doing our spreadsheet, but wont halifax be angry that we have left them whilst being 800 quid overdrawn!? can anyone suggest any good accounts? i have seen a decent alliance and leicester account via motley fool but dont know whats best if any

thanks again all for ya help

[Brad Smith]

i'd imagine they won't be ecstatic, but don't forget that the money you're claiming back will offset some of the overdraft, then if you're getting an overdraft from your new bank you should be able to pay the balance?

[sallysas]

See if martin Lewis is suggesting any good sites. I found CAG via listening to him on radio 2 and look how good that advice turned out for thousands of us. Well done for taking such a brave decision. You had me a little worried for a few minutes. NOW you are taking control. Above advice sounds good to me. Sally