Have you had big overdraft problems for a long period?
You can make an affordability complaint and ask for a refund of overdraft charges if:
- your overdraft limit was set too high at the start or increased to a level you are unable to clear; or
- your overdraft usage showed you were in long-term financial distress. For example, being in the overdraft all the time, or using an unauthorised overdraft a lot
- your overdraft was originally a student account with no charges, but now interest is being added and you are in the account all or almost all of every month.
This article shows how to make an affordability complaint to your bank, with a free template letter to use. If the bank doesn’t make you a good offer, it is free to take your case to the Ombudsman.
Worried about your credit record? See these FAQs on affordability complaints.
Contents
Overdraft affordability complaints
Overdrafts are supposed to be for short-term borrowing
Overdrafts are meant for short-term problems, not as long-term borrowing. A bank should review a customer’s overdraft usage and limit and if there are signs of financial difficulty, offer help.
One sign of financial difficulty is hardcore borrowing for a long period. The Lending Code defined hardcore borrowings as “the position where a customer’s current account overdraft remains persistently overdrawn for more than a month without returning to credit during that period”.
Some Ombudsman decisions
All cases are very individual. But these examples give you an indication of what the Ombudsman thinks is important.
In this NatWest decision, the Ombudsman decided:
NatWest did have an obligation to monitor Miss K’s use of her overdraft facility.
Any fair and reasonable monitoring of Miss K’s overdraft facility would have resulted in NatWest being aware Miss K was in financial difficulty … by October 2014 at the absolute latest. So NatWest ought to have exercised forbearance from this point onwards.
In this Santander case, the bank didn’t notice hardcore borrowing:
By this point, Miss C was hardcore borrowing. In other, words she hadn’t seen or maintained a credit balance for an extended period of time. Santander’s own literature suggests that overdrafts are for unforeseen emergency borrowing not prolonged day-to-day expenditure. So I think that Miss C’s overdraft usage should have prompted Santander to have realised that Miss C wasn’t using her overdraft as intended and shouldn’t have continued offering it on the same terms.
What points will help your complaint
Are you in the overdraft all, or almost all, of the month for a long while?
This is the most common reason for winning a complaint
Overdrafts are meant to be used for short-term difficulties. Using all of the overdraft for a few months is fine. Or for a few days at the end of a month before you are paid.
Banks should review your overdraft annually. This is in most overdraft terms and conditions. And even if it isn’t, the Ombudsman says this is good industry practice.
So at one of these reviews, your bank should have seen you were in difficulty with the overdraft. For example if you are in the overdraft for all (or almost all) of the month for a prolonged period. Or if you were often exceeding your arranged overdraft limit.
I would say over 2 years is prolonged borrowing, not short term. If you have only been in the overdraft for a few months and can’t manage, ask your bank for help, don’t make an affordability complaint you won’t win.
Did the bank set your limit too high?
This may have been from the start when you were first given an overdraft. Or the initial low limit may have been fine, then the bank increased it to a level which it was impossible to repay.
If the bank saw signs of financial difficulty, it should not have increased your credit limit, even if you asked for it. And it should have considered offering your help instead (the regulator’s word is forbearance), for example by stopping charges.
But what is too high?
This depends on your income and expenses. An overdraft of £2,000 for someone whose income is £1,800 a month is a lot – but if you earn £5,000 a month, then a £2,000 overdraft may be reasonable.
Any other reasons?
You won’t win an affordability complaint by saying the charges were too high.
Instead, you say the bank should have known they were unaffordable for you because of all the financial problems it could see on your statements and your credit record.
Any of the following problems are points your bank should have noticed if you were using your overdraft a lot:
- having direct debits or standing orders not being paid;
- a lot of gambling showing on your statements;
- significantly increasing other debts with the same bank (you may also be able to complain about those loans or credit cards);
- being recently rejected for a loan or a credit card by the bank;
- significantly increasing debts with other lenders showing on your credit record;
- a worsening credit record – maxed out credit cards, new missed payments, payment arrangements, defaults etc;
- using payday loans;
- mortgage arrears;
- a reduction in the income going into your account.
Making your complaint
What you need at the start
You don’t need to know the dates your limit was increased before complaining – my template asks for them.
You don’t need to send statements to the bank with your complaint – the bank already has them!
Your current credit record shows what was happening in the last six years, so download your credit report now and keep it. The sooner you get that report, the further back it goes. I suggest you get your free TransUnion statutory credit report.
Send a complaint by email
I don’t recommend starting a complaint on the phone. It’s too complicated and you will be talking to someone that doesn’t specialise in these complaints.
Email is the simplest way to make these complaints. Here is my list of bank email addresses for complaints.
An alternative is to send a long message in the app. But if this means using a chat facility, it’s not usually a good idea, as you are again talking to someone who doesn’t understand what you are saying and tries to tell you what help is available with your overdraft – when all you want is to have your complaint considered.
A template you can adapt
In the template below, I’ve invented some examples and dates so you can see how a complaint email could read. The bits in italics should be changed or deleted to tell your story. Delete dates if you don’t know them. If a sentence doesn’t sound relevant, delete it.
I am making an affordability complaint about the overdraft on my current account number 98765432.
Your identity details (these are needed if you complain by email, not if you use secure message):
My name is xxxxx xxxxxxxx. My date of birth is dd/mm/yy. The email address I use/used for this account was myaddress@whatever.com.
Your home address (if you know the bank has your current address, ignore this):
My current home address is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Please do not send any letters to older addresses you may have on your records.
If your overdraft was originally a student overdraft with no interest include this, otherwise delete it:
My account started as a student overdraft and no fees were charged. I am complaining about the period afterwards, when you started to charge fees.
START BY SAYING they should have noticed your financial difficulty
Overdrafts are meant for short-term borrowing but you could see I was unable to clear the balance in a sustainable way. I was using the account for long-term borrowing as I could not get out of this. The fees and charges you were adding were making my position worse.
I am complaining that [every year since [20xx] OR for many years] you have failed to notice my difficulty during the annual reviews of my overdraft. You should have offered forbearance eg by stopping interest and charges being added.
By 2017 I had been in my overdraft constantly for many months, not getting back into the black even when I was paid. This “hardcore borrowing” is a clear sign of financial difficulty. My income was only £1,850 a month – after I had paid bills, there was no way I could hope to clear an overdraft of £3500 in a reasonable length of time.
OR
By 2021, although my salary took my account briefly into credit, within a few days, I was back in the overdraft.
add any other points if they show you were in difficulty
You should have seen that I was in financial difficulty because you rejected my loan application in 2022.
You should have noticed that the income going into my account decreased from 2018.
From 2020-24 there was a lot of gambling showing on my account.
In 2022 there were a lot of rejected direct debits on my account.
… or anything else!
Say if the initial limit was too high or it was increased too high
You should never have given me an account with such a large overdraft. When I applied, you should have checked my credit record and income and seen I had recently missed payments to a credit card and had taken several payday loans.
OR
You should not have increased my overdraft limit. When you increased the limit, you should have seen that my debts to other lenders on my credit record had increased a lot
OR (for accounts that had been student accounts)
You should have seen after [2018] when you started charging interest that the limit was too high to be repayable on my income.
In your reply to this complaint, please tell me when any limit changes were and how much the limit went up or down.
Ask for a refund of charges and interest:
I would like you to refund all the interest and charges that were added to my account from 20186 when you increased my overdraft limit.
OR
I would like you to refund all the interest and charges that were added to my account from 2021 when you should have realised that my finances had got worse to the point that I was no longer able to clear the overdraft.
If you have problems on your credit record for this overdraft
Please remove any late payment and default markers from my credit records. (Don’t include this if there are no problems on the overdraft credit record)
Important points to note
Free student overdrafts
You can only win a complaint about these after the bank has started charging you interest. If you are still in the interest-free period, or only just outside it, you won’t win an affordability complaint and there is no point in complaining yet.
But once the bank has started charging interest, they should start doing annual reviews and then notice if you are in difficulty.
You can complain if the account is still being used or if it is closed
These complaints can be made if:
- you are still using the account or you have stopped using the bank account but it’s still open and you are being charged for the overdraft;
- the account is now closed but it has been open in the last 6 years;
- the bank defaulted it less than 6 years ago and sold it to a debt collector (here you still complain to the bank, not the debt collector). If the debt collector has gone to court and got a CCJ, add a sentence to the template saying you want the CCJ removed as part of the settlement of your complaint.
But if you have had an IVA or bankruptcy after these problems, or if you are in a DRO, then you shouldn’t complain – ask in the comments below for details.
Old accounts
Banks may say FOS won’t look at an old complaint, but this isn’t right.
FOS will normally look at a complaint if the bank account has been open in the last six years.
Open and recently closed accounts aren’t a problem – the bank will still have your statements.
If your complaint is about an account that was closed more than 6 years ago, it’s going to be very hard to win.
How much may you get back?
FOS can decide to go back more than 6 years, but the most common FOS decision at the moment is that there should be a refund for only the last 6 years.
A refund for the last 6 years will normally clear your overdraft. In many cases a refund for 4 years or even less may clear the overdraft. Look at how much you are charged a month and multiply that by 48 to see if a 4 year refund will clear it.
It is very unlikely you will get a refund going back to 2009, so keep your expectations reasonable.
Packaged bank accounts and business accounts
These affordability complaints are not about the fees on packaged bank accounts. MSE has a page about packaged bank account charge complaints.
The complaints covered here relate to personal accounts. For business accounts, talk to Business Debtline about your options.
The Bank replies
They want to phone me!
People are often scared if they get this message. But it may be good news! You can just ignore it or say you would like a reply in writing.
If you decide to take the call, it helps to be prepared:
- have a pen and paper handy so you can write down anything
- if they say they are partially upholding the complaint, ask them the date they are refunding the fees from, and how much. And say you would like to see this in writing before you decide whether to accept it.
- if they ask you questions that sound complicated or worrying, ask them to put the questions in writing as you find the phone difficult
- when they say they are rejecting the complaint, ask for this in writing, as you will be going to the Ombudsman.
Rejection/poor offer – go to the Ombudsman , it’s free
Banks reject many good complaints, hoping you will give up. So don’t! You know if the overdraft has caused you a lot of problems.
You can’t go straight to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS), you have to wait for the bank to reply, or for them to have not replied within 8 weeks.
Here are some things banks may say to try to put you off going to FOS:
- you could have declined the increase to your overdraft limit – FOS probably won’t think that is a good reason
- you never let the bank know you were in difficulty – FOS probably won’t think that is a good reason
- your salary was enough to return you to credit each month – this is misleading if bills meant you went into the overdraft in a few days;
- FOS will not look into things that happened more than 6 years ago – if your account was still open in the last 6 years FOS may well look at it.
And the bank may offer to refund fees for the last 2 years say, even though your problems have been large for many more years. Think twice about accepting a low offer – you won’t put this offer at risk by going to the Ombudsman.
If you are offered a refund for the last 6 years but not any further back, think seriously about just accepting it. Although it is possible for the ombudsman to award a refund going back further than 6 years. this is unusual.
If you aren’t sure, post in the comments below.
To send the case to FOS, use this online form:
- you can use what you put in your complaint to the bank;
- if the bank rejected your complaint or made a low offer, say why you think this is unfair;
- use normal English, not legal terms.
You don’t need to send your bank statements – the bank will send those to FOS. And you don’t need the policy documents for your bank account, the lender will supply those to FOS if they are needed.
Do these complaints work?
Yes! In 2026, some banks are making more offers directly.
A Guardian article featured a case where someone used the template letter here. Barclays denied it had done anything but made an £8,000 “goodwill” payment to the customer.
And if your bank rejects your case, people are winning cases at the ombudsman. FOS is a friendly service although it isn’t speedy. It isn’t faster to use a solicitor or a claims firm,
The comments below this article are from other people who have made this sort of complaint. That is a good place to ask for help if you aren’t sure what to do.
Is your credit card limit too high?
Refunds from unaffordable loans
Emma j says
Halifax have contacted me so I put a complaint in for £3000 for my over draft going back 6 years even though Iv had it for 15 years thy said they can only go back 6 years
They have agreed to my complaint and offered me £6000 and out of this they will take away my over draft. So that leaves me with £3000 to pay off other debts.
They have stopped my daily fees also till I get the money in mid Feb. Would you say this is a win! Iv been waiting since May 2025
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it helps you out of the current mess.
In theory the ombudsman could decide to go back further, but the vast majority of cases only get a refund for 6 years, so taking this as win may be the most practical thing to do.
Emma j says
Brilliant I will do then thank you so so much I’m
Going into 2026 debt free
Anne says
I used the HSBC email address in your list. Should I at least get an immediate automated reply to say it’s been received, or is it just a case of waiting for an actual person to confirm receipt and that it’s being dealt with? Do you know how long this should take if it’s not an automated response?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you haven’t had a response in the next four weeks, phone them up and ask what is the progress on your complaint
Cara says
Hi Sara,
I sent my complaint about my Natwest overdraft to the FOS. A case owner contacted me before Christmas to uphold the complaint and wrote to Natwest. The case owner has now stopped working on my case (possibly off sick, I’m not sure). A new case owner has been assigned. Is it usual that a case owner changes the decision of a previous case owner in this way? They asked me about payments into my account which I told them were payments for work my husband carried out for friends who used my bank account in error. These payments were then moved to my husbands account. The case owner has included these payments in figures for my income. They said I had disposable income of £1,500 even though at the time my wages were less than that without any bills going out etc. Can they assign my partners income to me even though we don’t share our finances in this way? My husband was self employed also so no account was taken of the payments not being his actual wages – tax, NI, materials etc had to be taken out of the money. I have written back to the FOS to say I do not accept the decision. My overdraft was £3,600.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds a decision that should be challenged
Cara says
Thank you. I have sent a message to the case owner advising i do not agree with their decision and letting her know my husbands income was his not mine. Hopefully the decision will be changed
EmJ says
Thank you so much for your template it helped me write an email to Halifax because I have had my £3000 overdraft now for over 15 years. I complained May 2025 so it has took a long time and to be honest I thought it would be too good to be true but fast forward to now I have had a phone call and they are giving me £6000 so with this I can wipe my overdraft off. Pay off my credit card and pay off a small store card I have! They could only go back 6 years which is fine. I won’t have much left after paying things off but what ever is left will go towards a family holiday this year. I honestly can’t thank
You enough x
David says
Hi i submitted a complaint to Lloyds in May 2025. I have just called them today for an update and they have said there is currently no update and it has not been allocated to case manager. Any advice on what i should do next would be appreciated, they have said they are still in the data gathering stage
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They aren’t data gathering, your complaint is just sitting in a pile somewhere.
Send this to the Ombudsman now, using the FOS online form linked to in the article above. This sort of extreme delay is unreasonable
Hollie says
Hi,
I completed an affordability complaint on my Lloyd overdraft.
I sent this in may 2025, I rang every four weeks there about to chase the progress. Jan 2026 now and still no-one allocated as a case manager or any progress.
Can I challenge this or is this standard, from what I’ve read people do seem to be getting responses much quicker but I know it may vary from bank to bank.
I haven’t taken it to FOB yet, as ideally wanted to wait to see what lloyds said first.
Any suggestions? Should I just take it to FOB or is it worth waiting.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send this to the Ombudsman now. This sort of extreme delay is unreasonable
CR says
Hello, I put in an affordability complaint to NatWest on 4th January. They responded immediately to say they would reply in 5 days for extra information or 20 business days at the latest. I heard nothing. Today I have had a standard letter saying sorry for the delay but they have a lot of cases and they will respond within five weeks. Should I wait the five weeks? Or send to FOB now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you have to wait until Natwest have had the complaint for 8 weeks before going to the ombudsman
Steph says
Hi,
I have had an ongoing complaint since November 2024 with Natwest- they sent a response rejecting my complaint and I sent it to the FOS. They assigned an investigator and I didnt agree with the findings (they claimed I should have known I could complain about my overdraft sooner even though I explained it was StepChange who advised me I could do it and I did straight away) and asked for an ombudsman to review it in August 2025, the investigator agreed to do this in an email. I didnt hear back from them until this month when another person contacted me to say it has been assigned back to an investigator to review (rather than ombudsman). Has anyone else had this from them? I feel a bit stuck in limbo with it and unsure why it wasnt sent to an ombudsman as agreed and sent back to an investigator.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this is rare but it sometimes happens when there was a problem with the initial review
Liam says
I first got a NatWest overdraft at Uni in 2005, since then I used the overdraft facility pretty much constantly and also had a new account in 2007 which was offered to me with a larger overdraft that I also used. I paid thousands every month in fees, charges and interest on 2 overdraft facilities with NatWest. I also had credit cards and loans with NatWest and tick most of boxes with them being questionable how affordable they were. I lost my job a year ago and since then have gone into financial hiding and NatWest are chasing me for repayment of loan, credit card and overdrafts. Can I still apply for compensation please and does this change my application? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I see a list of all your current debts please? Lender, card/loan/overdraft/very rough balance
Are you buying or renting?
Are you back in work or living on benefits?
Liam says
I am a home owner.
Not working but claiming benefits
Debts to NatWest approximately £20k
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you owe any other debts apart from these natwest debts?
I suggest in addition to making affordability complaints to Natwest, you should also take debt advice on your options. “Hiding” doesnt tend to work well wehn you have large debts to one lender and your own a house. Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and tell them you are making affordability complaints
Sasha says
I complained about my student overdraft and they said I should have known sooner so I took it to ombudsman and filed. The investigator said as I had transferred money in moneybox which is my personal pension account that I had funds so I’ve challenged this finding to someone higher up as we all know pensions are not accessible until retirement and found they sided more with the bank so I will see what happens next.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much were you paying into the pension a month? were you self employed or were you also contributing to an emplyer’s pension?
Chris says
I was at university from 2005-2009 with a student overdraft of £2000 with Halifax. When I graduated I think they gave me 2 years (until 2011) before they started charging me interest. I remained in the overdraft for approx 5 years paying overdraft charges and countless unauthorised charges. Over the years I was constantly maxing out the overdraft. I had a lot of gambling transactions over that period chasing the big win to pay off my debts and many payday loans. I finally paid it off with help from parents and left that bank around 2016. Can I still claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I ma sorry but not for an overdraft cleared over 6 years ago
Fiona says
So I raised an affordability claim with Santander for overdrafts on 2 accounts. Just heard they are rejecting – my usage goes back as far as 2016 but they are only willing to look at 2020 onwards. They are acknowledging that I was using the overdrafts for more than short term borrowing but feel because they emailed me letters and that I never contacted them that they acted responsibly. I declared that the only way I have been able to clear the amounts was with loans. They have now added a marker to my account (not sure I asked them to do!!). Do you think I have a case for the Ombudsman to look at this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, send this to the Ombudsman
Fiona says
When you complain to the ombudsman do you need to letter from Santander confirming they aren’t accepting the case? I’ve been waiting a week for a letter so I can submit my complaint
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, you can send in the letter when it arrives
B says
Hi Sara
I was sold a £1000 student overdraft by NatWest in 2003 and have lived in it ever since. In 2009 they increased it to £3000. Over the years they have tried to sell me loans in order to pay it off but I’ve always been on a low income and reluctant to take out more loans I can’t pay back. I also got sold My Rewards in 2019 not realising it was an additional charge to my account – they just made out it was free money just for spending. My interest is about £900 a year. I’ve begged them countless times to reverse charges as have struggled financially for a long time and am currently signed off work / in receipt of universal credit. Do you think I have a case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what are your other debts at the moment?
Bianca Mitchell says
I don’t have any other debts, bar my student loan which is Plan 1.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should make an affordability complaint about the overdraft and also ask them to freeze interest while you are out of work
Alex says
I submitted my complaint to Halifax May 2025 and like most people mine still hasn’t been allocated but just mentioning this as could be positive and see more FRL’s being issued.
I used to work in contracting, essentially non permanent jobs usually for banks and they emailed me that they are needing staff to deal with mislending complaints for big banks! So hopefully with them taking on more staff, they’re should be some more responses coming through.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Interesting!
Lauren says
I raised an affordability complaint with Lloyds about my overdraft back in August 2025 after 8 weeks and no response i sent my complaint to the ombudsman. Finally last week I heard from both Lloyds and the ombudsman that my complaint was being upheld. They are refunding me all interest and charges from the last 6 years amounting to £5700! They are removing my overdraft of £2900 so I’ll be left enough money to pay off some more of my debt. So pleased with this outcome!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great result for you!
Charlotte says
I submitted my complaint to Santander today and they have already responded to say they will be contacting me by phone to discuss.
For background context: I had a 2k student overdraft which was constantly maxed as I was a student and unemployed! I graduated during Covid and despite being in work, I’ve never been able to clear the amount and years down the line it is still sitting at just under 2k (I have been paying in £100 a month but the interest means it only goes down by about £40 a month!). I also have credit card debt and car finance.
They have recently changed my overdraft to unarranged which has obviously had a big impact on my credit score, which is why I am now looking at all options!
I’ve contacted them separately to the complaint and they have asked me to set up a payment arrangement with them, but will this impact my complaint? Should I set up the agreement or will this void my complaint as they have now made it ‘affordable’ (they have sent an affordability form to complete).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
an affordability complaint about an overdraft is saying the bank should not have carried on lending you so mauch. The fact they are now helping you, doesn’t make the previous years right! So you still want a refund for those years.
how large is your credit card debt?
Charlotte says
It’s currently £1600 over 2 cards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you get a 0% balance transfer for these?
Charlotte says
Yes, is it worth doing a transfer?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes! why pay interest when you don’t have to. Also if Santader have recently changed the overdraft to be unarranged, this may mean 0% deals are harder to get in future, so grab one now.
Try not to spend on the cards and to carry on paying the current amount you are paying to the cards to the new 0% card, even though the minimum will be less. You want to clear these cards.
BUT can you get a 0% money transfer for enough to clear the overdraft? This is not a normal 0% balance transfer. See https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/money-transfers/
If you can, then this is better than a payment arrangement with Santander. If you can’t , ask for a payment arrangement. Neither of these will void your cvomplaint – the complaint is about the mistakes Santader has made in the past. So if they don’t make you a good offer, then send the overdraft affordability complaint to the Ombudsman (link is in the article above)
Sonia says
Hello Sara, I just wanted to say thank you so much for setting up this website and for your invaluable advice and help. After contacted the Ombudsman, I have just received an offer of over £3000 from HSBC which completely takes me out of my overdraft. This dates back to charges since 2020 and I am going to accept the offer. I am so thankful that I heard you on Radio 4’s You and Yours last year – I had no idea that I could complain about this constant charging and this result is going to make such a big difference to my finances and mental health. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Gemma says
Hi Sara,
I just wanted to thank you for your service and your support. I contacted Lloyds several months ago and they weren’t responding to my complaint. You advised me to contact the financial ombudsman and within a few days my complaint manager contacted me to say they were reviewing the complaint and a few days later, I have received an email from them to say they have upheld my complaint and I will be receiving a refund of £3,200, which means for the first time in 10 years I will be able to pay my overdraft off.
It’s such a huge weight off my shoulders and has taken away the feeling of shame I have always felt around it.
Thank you,
Gemma
Magda says
Hi Sara,
Want to say a massive thank you for all your guidance on this website! I submitted a complaint to Santander for an overdraft which started in 2014, they did not uphold the complaint because I recently attempted made two payments to pay some of it…. However the ombudsman has upheld my complaint, the overdraft is getting wiped and I’m getting all my interest and fees refunded for the last 6 years which improves my finances majorly and such a weight off my shoulders!
Thank you again!
Ivy says
I got my first response from the FOS adjudicator.
It’s too long to include in full. My question is about the 6 year rule, as some of my complaint goes back further than 6 years.
The adjudicator is asking:
I note that you have requested a refund of interest, fees and charges from 2018 onwards. I will consider this in my review, however I just wanted to let you know that if I did find I upheld some or all of your complaint, we’d generally expect redress to be capped at six years before you raised the complaint to Santander.
[snip]
Santander have said that this agreement started in 2017 and the limit was increased in 2018, which all happened more than six years ago. On this basis, they don’t consent to our service investigating your complaint.
[snip]
So that I can assess if this case is one that we can look at, please could you answer the following questions:
– When did you become aware the overdraft was causing you a problem?
– Who did you blame when you became aware of this?
– Do you recall what (if anything) the business did to check the overdraft was affordable when they gave it to you?
– What prompted you to bring your complaint when you did?
– Was there any exceptional circumstances that prevented you from making the complaint to the lender sooner?
—
Has anyone dealt with this situation before? I’m worried about answering it wrong, and my whole complaint being thrown out – even the interest I was charged within the last 6 years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The FOS investigator has said “I note that you have requested a refund of interest, fees and charges from 2018 onwards. I will consider this in my review, however I just wanted to let you know that if I did find I upheld some or all of your complaint, we’d generally expect redress to be capped at six years before you raised the complaint to Santander”
That is a fair comment as it accurately sums up what I am seeing about FOS overdraft refunds at the moment.
Here are my comments about how people often reply to these sorts of questions, given what you have previously said about your situation. You need to make sure they are accurate for you.
– When did you become aware the overdraft was causing you a problem?
“I knew I was using the overdraft a lot from 2018 when I asked for the limit to be increased. But it felt like a help in managing my finances not a problem as my other debts including credit cards and payday loans felt much more urgent. In August last year I came across the Debt Camel website, having seen it referred to on TikTok/Instagram/by friends, which explained that a a bank should have reviewed my overdraft annually to check it would be possible for me to clear it. I then saw that because it was so large, there was no chance of this happening and I can never get out of it.”
– Who did you blame when you became aware of this?
“I blamed Santander for setting a limit that was too high and for later not seeing that my overdraft usage was not for a temporary problem but had become long term. So in September 2025 I complained to Santander. Up until this point, I had blamed myself for spending to much.
– Do you recall what (if anything) the business did to check the overdraft was affordable when they gave it to you?
“I already had an account with them with a small overdraft, so when I asked for an increase, I assumed they would look at my account and my credit record. I don’t think they told me what they did, they just increased the limit.”
– What prompted you to bring your complaint when you did?
“Reading the Debt Camel website and so finding out that Santander should have been annually reviewing my overdraft and realising they could not have been doing this.”
– Was there any exceptional circumstances that prevented you from making the complaint to the lender sooner?
“No, I complained as soon as I became aware of what a responsible lender should have done.”
Laura says
After following advice from debt camel, I emailed hsbc who replied with pretty much a no, they had done nothing wrong with constantly increasing my overdraft they say. Escalated to the ombudsman and approx 3 months later I received all charges and interest back approx £1100!! This is back to I believe oct 2020 so not quite the 6 years- I asked ombudsman to go back to hsbc and request to 2019 but to no luck so I chose to not continue and take from 2020. Apparently I’m still due to get another 8% back. The overdraft facility has been taken away. What a huge result thank you debt camel. Really hassle free so so worth it.
SMR says
HSBC upheld my overdraft affordability complaint after I used your template and they have refunded me £527.46.
I’m so grateful that I came across your page on Instagram as I would never have known that you can make these types of complaints. The money has allowed me to clear my overdraft now and reduce some financial stress! Thanks again!
TMW says
Hi Sara,
I followed your template and emailed HSBC about my overdraft and have had a response from them in just 4 days rejecting my claim.
My account was originally a student account, converted to a regular account with a £1850 overdraft in 2002. Since then, I have been in my overdraft, often at or over the limit. A regular pattern of 0% money transfers to pay it off, followed by slowly but surely over spending each month until I was back where I started.
It was only after my diagnosis with ADHD in late 2024, and starting medication in May 2025 have I been able to tackle the debt issues – and stop the spending. I paid off the overdraft with a money transfer in Sept 25, and reduced the limit the same day.
My rejection says they reached out to me on “several occasions between 2019 and 2025” but because I didn’t engage with them it “limited our ability to explore potential solutions together”. They say that “there was a pattern of non-essential expenditure, which does not typically indicate financial hardship or distress”
So – my question is, are they right? I know I spent the money – but to see someone overdrawn for 23 years at that level without reaching out more than an email / letter doesn’t feel right. An escalation to “we are removing your overdraft facility” would have saved me so much distress and money – at one point my interest rate was 39.9%.
Do I escalate to the ombudsman?
Thank you x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes I suggest sending this to the Ombudsman. It’s unusual for the Ombudsman to say an overdraft refund should go back more than 6 years, but that would be a great help in clearing the money transfer you took.
M says
Hey,
I’ve had a similar issue, and definitely worth sending this to the ombudsman. I’ve had an overdraft since 2014, in 2019 I had financial difficulty more than ever. The bank stated that they have sent me a letter to say my overdraft is costing me a lot but that was it and overdraft was renewed and carried on as normal. I thought ombudsman would reject it too, but they have actually established that I have been treated unfairly as they were aware of the situation since 2019 and no help was offered apart of a generic letter. I was refunded all the interest since 2019 and the overdraft removed so it’s always worth a shot even if you think you might lose, you’ll be surprised!
Kim says
I have lived in my overdraft for 17 years I made a complaint with your template and got six years refunded. (Which covered my overdraft and gave me 900 pound in my account) I was advised that it’s most likely to only get looked into for the last 6 years (which is a little frustrating) but it definitely helped dig me out of a 2000 pound overdraft which I never thought I would get out of. Thank you.
R says
I emailed Natweat to complain about overdraft charges and recieved an email within couple of days rejecting my complaint. They included dates of when they contacted me about overdraft fees and say that as I didn’t contact them with any difficulties they are within their guidelines/ policies. My income took a drop during maternity leave 2017 and 2020 and i have continued to be in my overdraft (£1000) I have since closed the account and switched. Is this worth sending on go FO ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So before the account was closed, how many days of the month roughly were you in the overdraft?
R says
Id say about 2 weeks into pay day id be in my overdraft again
Iv used a balance transfer to clear the overdraft and decided to use this as an opportunity to do bank switch with the £250 offer to go towards other debt.
R
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is a bit uncertain. In a strong complaint you are in the overdraft all or almost all on the month
Have a look at your other debts. It may be easier to win a complaint about those
Niall says
I opened an account with Halifax in 2010. They gave me a £5000 Overdraught without me asking for it, they offered it to me.
Since 2011 I have been in that Overdraught between £3000 and £5000.
Never ever getting out of it. Probably paying around £90 per month interest on Overdraught alone for 15 years.
Using multiple credit cards and building up debt with them.
Then draughting money on my mortgage to pay off the credit cards.
An awful circle of debt.
How should I approach Halifax about this?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much debt do you have at the moment?
Niall says
I cleared the Overdraught 2 weeks ago with money I draughted down from my mortgage.
Around £8000 in credit cards at the moment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So yes, this is worth making an overdraft complaint to the Halifax.
You could also look at complaining about the credit cards, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/
The current card debt, is it all at 0%? Can you stop using the cards completely? You have to get out of this debt cycle.
Niall says
I have both credit cards on 0% interest. Thanks.
A says
Hello, I’m considering making an overdraft complaint to Barclays, for an old student overdraft that I have been continuously in for about 15 years, my wages go in (they were about £200 less a month than my OD) and I would have a few days before deep back in and totally maxed out by the end of each month. My statements show interest charges plus several £22 charges a month for going over the limit nearly every month, into an extra £150 ‘emergency limit’ that they added to the account at some point. However when I look back at my statements it is clear I haven’t helped myself and have been pretty irresponsible in my spending in the past. It’s something I’ve been trying to fix in myself and am finally getting there. However I felt looking at the statements that (a) I was embarrassed and pretty shameful of my prior spending, and (b) my claim could be pointless as would be easy to argue I could have helped myself better to pay off some of my OD. But I do believe a formal review by the bank asking me to reduce my OD with some help of less fees would have helped me to help myself.. but I’m not sure this is a reasonable ask of the bank. Would appreciate any advice from others on how Barclays might take my old spending habits into account. Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your wages were less than the overdraft, you may bave been able to reduce the overdraft charges a bit, but it’s going to be very very hard to get out of it. I suggest sending in a complaint.
A says
Thank you for your reply and advice
Warren says
“Our service has received judicial review claims which challenge the way we approach complaints where section 140A is relevant law. Whilst the complaints are not identical to yours, the approach we’ve taken to complaints about unfair relationships is being challenged in the courts, and the outcome of those court proceedings may have the potential to impact the way that we consider your complaint. As a result, I’m afraid we won’t be issuing a decision on your complaint whilst the matter is being considered more widely”
Does anyone know how this is getting on or any update?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes there are quite a few cases waiting.
GRT says
Hi Sarah. Can I complain when on a DMP? The DMP is with StepChange. Have been on it for 9 months now and Lloyds have sold my debts to Link, but I’m slowly also paying my overdraft back to them. They are now charging me a daily fee again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and your lloyds overdraft was included in this DMP? Link is now charging you a daily fee on an overdraft?
GRT says
Overdraft included in the DMP but it’s Lloyds now charging daily overdraft fee. Link have my other Lloyds debts (credit card/loan).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you should make a complaint to most of the lenders of the debts in your DMP, including Lloyds.
Add into the template above another line saying that in addition to the affordability complaint, you are also complaining that lloyds have failed to stop charges and interest after your DMP started.
Really it would have been better to change banks to a abnks you didnt owe any money to when the DMP startd. Do you have another bank account you can shift to now?
GRT says
I have an account with a different bank that I now use for every day banking with no overdraft etc. but the Lloyds account is still active but I do not use it for anything. StepChange are just making a payment to it every month to pay off the overdraft. But with daily charges, they see paying off £50 a month but it’s getting another £30 added due to the charges. Should I speak to to StepChange and see if they can get the bank to halt the charges? I’ll also use your template and write to the bank as you suggested. Thank you so much!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
NO just send a complaint to lloyds covering the affordability AND their failure to stop adding charges after your DMP started
GRT says
Perfect, will do! Thank you. 🙏
Sophie says
Hello, I accrued almost £3k of overdraft debt with Bank of Scotland over a period of years. I was consistently in minus £2k of my student account for years, which only increased once the account changed to a regular one and interest was added. Despite this, they continued to let me extend my overdraft. I’m currently on a StepChange DMP and making monthly repayments to BOS and other creditors. I no longer use the BOS account at all but it remains open. Would it be risky for me to complain while on DMP? Thanks, Sophie
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you make complaints about the BoS overdraft and also about most of the other debts in your DMP as well!
This doesn’t risk your DMP at all, it is a common thing to do and no one has had problems making these complaints while they are in a DMP.
Lou says
I came across Debtcamel’s Instagram account, and had a went through the links, stories and found the templates for making affordability complaints. I knew I had been deep in an overdraft for well over 6 years. Despite my bank seeing that I had been it for years, the continued to extend it well beyond what I could afford to pay back. I was dubious about sending a complaint in because I felt like because I had been the one to use the overdraft and asked for the extensions, however I submitted it and hoped for the best! My bank, got in touch with me and told me they were upholding complaint. Although they couldn’t do anything for the period over 6 years ago, they were going to refund me the interest paid in the last 6 years. This was enough to clear the overdraft, in full. This is the first time in probably 10 years I don’t have one on the account. Without coming across this page, I would still be living in it oblivious to the whole process.
Cherie says
I have had numerous responses from my complaint. My loan once was great and I got a refund of about 4k for a 20k loan. They’re not making my current loan interest free though?
Also, the overdraft, I just keep getting a routine message saying they’re looking into it and they’re sorry they’ve not been in touch. They’ll be in touch in four weeks and then I just keep getting the same response with no outcome .
Its been months since I put my complaint in to them.
What should I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My loan once was great and I got a refund of about 4k for a 20k loan. They’re not making my current loan interest free though?
Which lenders are these? What is the full response about the 20k loan?
The overdraft – which bank is this?
Cherie says
Re the loan: I got a call out the blue one day asking me questions about the student loan payments going into my bank account about the time I’d refinanced a loan that would eventually end up part of the £20k one, to which I said yes, I was a full time student at the time. I woke up a few days later to a notification from the bank saying that they had received the overpayment that I’d made. And then following that I recieved a letter about the refund. Which was quite basic and said after looking into it, there was 4 loans that were not right for me. The listed the numbers and the refund amounts for each one. Both the Overdrat and the loan are bank of Scotland.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did the 4 loans they agreed were not right for you include the current large loan?
Ch says
One of the loans they agreed was not right for me includes the loan that the interest refund went into and I’m currently repaying – with interest. Should I call my bank or refer to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you first ask the bank why they are still adding interest to this loan
Liam says
Hi Sara,
Its my overdraft that keeps me up at night, as it is tonight. It started as a student account and ive been roughly £2000 deep in it since 2016. I agree i could have been better with my spending but my income hasn’t been good enough for me to recover and the overdraft fees haven’t helped, they’ve caused me to go over the 2K limit! Ive been in contact with Natwest a couple times about it but they only seemed to want to help with “free independent money advice” i hate those words now. In the years since i have slowly paid off other smaller debts but my overdraft has stuck. I feel exhausted, its taken a toll on my mental health, I may be autistic but i wont find that out for another 4 years. do you think i have a right to make a complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes send NatWest a complaint and send this to the Ombudsman if they reject it.
Trying to get control says
I have complained about 3 loans given to me by Natwest. I also have 3 open Natwest accounts, all in their overdrafts. 2x£500 overdrafts in accounts I do not use, these have been overdrawn since opened in 2016. I also have a £1000 overdraft on my main account which I have lived in since opened in 2011. I added these overdrafts to my complaint and the investigator has said the following.
Although, please be aware, based on the information provided to me so far, it would initially appear some of your lending decisions were made more than six years ago, as such it may fall outside the jurisdiction of our service set by The Financial Conduct Authority (Rule: DISP 2.8.2), as it may have been referred to us to late. -should I respond to this comment?
Thank you x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply that you understand the Ombudsman can sometimes go back further and in any case, you are also complaining about Natwest’s failure to review your overdraft each year in the last 6 years, and all of those failures are within the 6 year period to complain
Sally says
The investigator upheld my complaint with Halifax for my overdraft and set redress back 6 years but Halifax have challenged on judicial review, it so it’s going to the Ombudsman. How long should o expect to wait for an outcome on this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This isn’t known at the moment. Are you in financial difficulty at the moment.
Sally says
I suppose you could say that I am. My overdraft has caused me to be very short at the end of the every month and several bills having to be ignored until pay day.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have other debts as well, like loans or credit cards?
Sally says
Yes. Is there anything to do to speed it up? Wish there was a timescale.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is NOTHING you or FOS can do to speed this up. Have you looked at affordability complaints about the othere debts? or a debt management plan to get new interest stopped on all the debts including this overdraft?
Joanne says
The same for us we . The Ombudsman has ruled twice that we should be offered redress and compensation after ridiculous overdraft charges but like yourself we are waiting for the outcome of the judicial review .
Cath says
Ive just put a letter into hsbc for the refund of overdraft interest over the last 6 years. .
Ive paid about £10 a month interest over the last 6 years. I have managed to reduced it from £1000 to £500 over the last 6 months.
If they refuse, where do I go from there? Straight to Ombudsman? If so what evidence am I supposed to give. The only evidence I have is that ive literally lived on my overdraft for the last 15 years!
Also has anyone had any luck with hsbc? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how many days of the month were you typically in the overdraft in the last few years?
If you look back through the comments here, there are several earlier this month about HSBC
YT says
I followed your template the other day as have been in my overdraft since 2007 (student account to current account now). Natwest investigated and showed FOURTEEN overdraft changes in that time.
I also have a car loan with them which I have been paying off and have two years left, plus a maxed out credit card. Total is about £8k. Current overdraft is £1,500.
I live on my own, in my own home, and have significant chronic health issues, and NHS-diagnosed ADHD and dyscalculia. I live paycheck to paycheck and despite having a good salary, I have about 3 days a month where I’m out of my overdraft.
I really struggle with numbers and money and it causes me such anxiety that I have been medicated for it during the day and have to take sleeping pills at night.
Natwest have come back and said they have operated correctly and have tried several times to get hold of me. To be honest, I don’t ever read bank emails because they’re usually rubbish and because my credit rating has been so bad in the past (I have worked really hard to improve it), I have not been able to get a consolidation loan. I have replied saying I will take it to the Ombudsman and that an email is not the appropriate response to someone who is so clearly in financial distress.
Do you think it’s worth going to the Ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes this is worth sanding to the Ombudsman. You may only be able to get a refund for the last 6 years of overdraft charges, but that would be a reall help, I guess.
are you able to get through the month without using the credit card?
Georgina says
Thank you DebtCamel I’ve found this really helpful. I made a complaint to Lloyds as I have been in my overdraft each and every month for as long as I can remember (15+years). I approached the ombudsman as I hadn’t heard back for weeks on end, and they have offered me £135 in interest and they are pulling my 250 overdraft next month, this seems a little unfair given the length of time I’ve been in and out of it, but I’m struggling to find grounds to appeal? Any advice much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is a tiny overdraft. How many days of the month are you using it?
Lili O says
Hi Sara,
I have an account with NatWest, which I’ve had since 1996. Late 90s/early 2000s I was first offered an overdraft, and over the years this increased from £200 to £1900. In 2011 it was converted to a student account, and then a graduate account in 2014, with no interest occuring. In 2016 this was changed back to a Rewards account, with interest on the overdraft (still at £1900) now chargeable. My monthly income at this time was about half of this amount.
Even when I had a jump in my salary, it didn’t put me into positive. I was simply living off my salary and paying the interest on the overdraft, never able to climb out of it. This changed in 2022 when I received a small inheritance, which I used to pay off my overdraft. I kept a small overdraft of £500, which I’ve only needed to use a few times for a few days at a time, which I could easily get rid of completely as I now have some savings if I had an emergency.
I feel aggrieved that I was allowed to be in such a large overdraft for so long. NatWest may have advised me on the fact it was costing me money (duh, I know) but never offered help/an alternative, such as a loan or repayment plan, but instead increased the interest amount.
Do you think I have a case to make claim? I realise it can usually only go back 6 years, despite being in perpetual debt with them for much longer.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so you may only get a refund for the last 6 years, so 2020-22. But thats better than nothing?
Lily O says
It will be if they pay up, as for some months the interest was nearly £50! I’ll use your template, thanks so much.