Halifax Bank Of Scotland just charged me £30 for being 84p overdrawn for 12 hours?

Question

What kind of rate does lending like this attract?

They 'loaned' me 84p to pay a direct debit for which the money was in 12 hours later and charged me £30 for the privalige.

Answer 1

You can demand most of that money back - the banks are only legally allowed to charge "reasonable amounts to cover their own costs" In this case that would be £5 maximum - any previous charges can also be claimed back.

This guide should help ya

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6170209.stm

Also change your bank - I recommend nation wide - when I got over drawn by £750 and only had a £250 limit they extended my limit and only charged me about £2 interest! :D

Answer 2

Just go and visit your branch, HBOS have a policy that if you haven't been charged before you will be refunded, if you have been charged before they will look at your circumstances and decide what to do, remember that the branch staff are humans just like you and it's not their fault that you have been charged. They may suggest different ways that you can avoid charges like online banking or setting up a bill payment account or putting on a buffer overdraft onto your account so that for the sake of 84p you won't be charged in the future.
The banking code, which HBOS subscribes to and promises to abide by has the commitment that we will treat instances of financial difficulty sympathetically and positvely.

Answer 3

I believe the latest administrative charge for unauthorized overdrafts was capped at £12 recently and so past bankcharges can be reclaimed that exceeded that amount.

If you want to get back at the bank, ask them for a list of all the bank charges that have been put on your account over the last 6 years.

There is a site somewhere on the web about how to go about claiming the bankcharges and provides cover letters.

I love people power...go get them girl!

Halifax do not have the best reputation for customer services, send copy of all letters CC. ie bank manager and customer services and head office..... and keep a copy!

Answer 4

I get charged $30 by my bank every single time I bounce a check... Even if I have money in my savings. The only way around that one is "automatic overdraft protection" - it's a special feature my bank has to where, if I bounce a check, they automatically pull whatever out of my savings, to cover the check. It's legal, at least it is here. If you're questioning the legality of it, check your membership policy. I'm sure it will be mentioned in there somewhere. How long you are with a bank usually doesn't have much to do with your overdraft charges... If you make a mistake and go over your balance, they're going to charge a "processing fee". And unless they have permission from you, they cannot take money from another account to cover the overdraft.

Answer 5

This is the whole basis on which people can claim back their bank charges! The penalty fee is only supposed to be as much as it actually costs the bank by law, and the banks are not allowed to profit from these fees. Because £30 is far more than it costs the bank (which is thought to be around £2 as an estimate) it can be claimed back.

For this one charge, I would rink the bank and tell them you are aware that you can claim your charges back through the financial ombudsman or the courts, and you would like them to reverse the charge. If this is the first time its happened, then they are very likely to do this for you.

Its not actually worth claiming this charge back if its only £30, but if you have other charges from the last 6 years, then it would be worth officially claiming back your charges.

Use the steps below, and the template letters on my site and you should have a good chance of getting a full refund of your charges. My site tells you everything you need to know, and sets you up to be in the best possible position with your claim.

The full process and timescales for claiming back your charges is:

1) Write to the bank and ask them for a copy of your charges for the last 6 years, or alternatively a set of statements for the same period. You do this by making a "Subject Access Request" under the Data Protection Act, enclosing a cheque for £10 made out to the bank. This by passes the banks normal charges for statements which is normal a large amount for 6 years worth. The bank have 40 days to send you the data.

2) Write to the bank asking them to refund your charges, giving them 14 days to reply, attaching a "Schedule of Charges" (a list of the charges you are claiming for).

3) Send the bank a "Letter before Action" giving the bank one last chance to refund your charges before you take court action. They have 14 days to reply.

4) File a claim online using the Money Claim Online web site run by the UK Court Service. The claim is served on the bank 5 days after its submitted. The bank has 14 days to acknowledge the claim. If they don't you can request a "Judgement by Default" and you win the case, and get your charges, statutory interest at 8%, and your court fees.

If they do acknowledge the claim, they then have 14 days to submit a defence (making 28 days in total from the date the claim was served). If they don't then you can again request a "Judgement by Default", and get back your charges, interest and court fees as above.

If they file a defence, then you and the bank get an "Allocation Questionnaire" to fill in. Some judges dismiss the case at this stage, as the bank can't win, so again you win. If this doesn't happen, a hearing date is allocated. The bank will most likely either back out before the hearing, or won't turn up in court. Again you win the case and get your charges, interest and fees.

Follow the correct procedures and you stand a good chance of getting your charges back! Its important to send all letters to the bank and courts by recorded delivery, so you can prove they were received, and more importantly when they were received (which you can find from the tracking section of the Royal Mail web site).

Also make sure that you send all letters to the banks head office, and not your local branch. Don't phone the bank either, as this can delay things and you have no proof of whats been said.

Have a look at my site below which has detailed step by step guides to the whole process of claiming your charges back. It also has template letters you can put your details into and send to the bank, and forums for one to one advice. We also have a guide to filing your claim in court online, which is unique to the site.

The site is free to use!

Answer 6

Phone the cutomer dersk now - and ask for it to be refunded.

I did when TSB charged £12 on a VISA non payment of pennies - Never misssed a payment before - happy to pay the interest but not the penalty - they checked the account and as a loyal 20+ year customer refunded without question.

Don't ask - don't get.

Ask - be nice - be reasonable - ask to talk to supervisor if no movement - keep at it.

Then if no joy find a better bank. If they sort it - thank them for being your understanding banker.

good luck

Answer 7

Typical of HBOS. Phone them up first and complain. In the majority of cases they will refund without arguement but if this has been done on other occasions demand they refund the lot as its too much. Some of the other replies have given advice re websites where you can get specimin letters etc. so I won't repeat it.
Its not personal, its all calculated by computer. In the old days they used to hire enough decent staff to check these things but the poor branch staff are run off their feet nowadays and the good ones leave as they get paid better at places such as M&S.

Answer 8

That is illegal as it is completely unreasonable.

A quick phone call should set them straight and get the charge dropped, if they are silly and some banks are you can take them to court, which many people have (one recorded incident so far out of thousands where the bank won).

I use this web site for loads of money saving ideas, it is good Martin is on the telly all the time with financial advice.

there are links on the site to standard letters to claim back your money if they don't do it with a simple phone call.

Answer 9

Honestly, be greatful that they didn't return the payment. If you paid a bill knowing you didn't have the money in your account to cover it when it cleared, it is your fault and not the banks and so you get charged. If this happens frequently, ask your bank if they offer Overdraft protection, which is a small line of credit that is attached to your account that covers you in the event of an overdraft.

Answer 10

they didnt chg u for being overdrawn, because i was over £1 overdrawn and i was chgs 13p interest a month for it till i fixed it. the chg will be a paid referral chg, as someone had to make the decision to pay the d/d as it was only 34p short.. either way you would have been chgd as if they didnt you would have got an unpaid item chg so in this instance you are better off as the d/d wont be late causing chgs at the other end however i would go to your branch or any local branch and claim it back as it is excessive, they will check your account conduct and as goodwill gesture refund you, if not speak to thier Customer relations unit as there are certain procedures you have to follow.