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 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.
This article shows how to make an affordability complaint to your bank, with a free template letter to use.
These complaints do not hurt your credit record.
Contents
Overdraft affordability complaints
Overdrafts are supposed to be for short term borrowing
Overdrafts are intended to be used for short-term problems, not as long-term borrowing. A bank should review a customer’s repayment record and overdraft 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 2020 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 2021 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.
A similar decision was reached in this 2021 Lloyds case:
Mr and Mrs C’s statements leading up to the renewal shows they hadn’t really had a credit balance on their account for a prolonged period. Indeed, they’d had regular returned payments and had also exceeded their limit. In these circumstances, it ought to have been apparent Mr and Mrs C were unlikely to be able to repay what they owed within a reasonable period with overdraft interest, fees and associated charges continuously being added.
Decide which reasons apply to your overdraft complaint
Read through these and think about which apply to your case.
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 for you 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 (the regulator’s word is forbearance) for example by stopping adding charges.
How high is too high?
There is no set figure, it 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.
The bank should have seen you were in difficulty
Overdrafts are meant to be used when you have a problem. Using the overdraft a lot 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 tgerms 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 if you were in financial distress. For example if you are in the overdraft for all (or almost all) of the month for a prolonged period. Or if you were exceeding your arranged overdraft limit regularly for a significant amount.
I would say over a year is prolonged.
Other points that help your complaint
You don’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.
Here is a checklist, work out if any of these apply to you:
- often 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;
- 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, defaults etc;
- using payday loans;
- increasing mortgage arrears;
- making payment arrangements with other creditors;
- a reduction in the income going into your account.
Any of these suggests you are reliant on the overdraft to pay everyday bills and you will find it hard or impossible to repay the overdraft and not use it the next month.
If you can think of another reason your bank should have known you were in trouble.
Making your complaint
What you need at the start
You don’t need to know the exact dates your limit was increased before complaining.
If you have paper statements or you can download them from the app that may be useful for you. But you don’t need to send these statements to the bank with your complaint – the bank already has them!
You can’t go back and see exactly what your credit score was in say 2018 when the bank increased your limit. But your current credit record shows what was happening in 2017 and 2018. So download your credit report now and keep it. The sooner you get the report, the further back it goes. I suggest you get your free TransUnion statutory credit report.
Send a complaint in the app or by email
I don’t recommend phoning to start off a complaint. It’s too complicated and you will be talking to someone that doesn’t specialise in these complaints.
When the account is still open, you can send your complaint by secure message in the app or on the bank’s website. Take a copy of what you put in the message – you could email it to yourself so it won’t get lost and the date is recorded.
Most banks now have an email address that you can use if you prefer or if the account is closed so you can’t use the app. But banks don’t make these easy to find, so here is my list of bank email addresses for complaints.
A template you can adapt
The section above looked at the reasons to complain and the other good points that apply to your case – you are now going to turn those into a complaint.
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.
The bit about other points is important – what should your bank have noticed that showed you were in difficulty?
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.
START BY SAYING they should have noticed when your overdraft usage got worse
Overdrafts are meant for short-term borrowing but that was not what I was using the account for. The fees and charges you were adding were making my position worse.
I am complaining that every year since [20xx] 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 2014 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 2017 I had a large unauthorised overdraft for many days each month.
some other points that you can include if relavent- see the list above – these are just a few examples
You should knew I was in financial difficulty because you had rejected my loan application in 2016.
You should have noticed that the income going into my account decreased from 2018.
From 2018-20 there was a lot of gambling showing on my account.
In 2017 you should have seen from my credit record that I had made payment arrangements with other debts.
ALSO Was the limit to high when it was set?
(It may have been ok then and things only got difficult later – in that case miss this out.)
You should never have given me an account with such a large overdraft. When I applied in 2015, you should have checked my credit record and you would have 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 in about 2014. When you increased the limit, you should have seen that my debts to other lenders on my credit record had increased a lot.
I do not know the exact months of these overdraft limit increases. In your reply to this complaint, please tell me when the increases were and how much the limit went up on each occasion.
END BY asking 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 2016 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 2018 when you should have realised that my finances had got worse to the point that I was no longer able to clear the overdraft.
The Financial Ombudsman says that 8% simple interest should be added to any cash refund paid to me.
I would also like any late payment and default markers to be removed from my credit records.
Points to note
Personal accounts, not business accounts
The complaints covered here relate to personal accounts. For business accounts, talk to Business Debtline about your options.
You can complain if the account is still being used or if it is closed
These complaints can be made in a lot of different situations. For example:
- you are still using the account or you have stopped using it and are paying it off;
- the account has been closed;
- the bank defaulted it 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 to your complaint that 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 still 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 often look at a complaint if you have only just found out you can complain.
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 harder to win. The bank may no longer have much information about the old account. If you still have copies of your old bank statements for these old closed accounts this is worth a try.
If you feel you have a good older case take it to the Financial Ombudsman and let them decide!
Packaged bank accounts
These affordability complaints are nothing to do with packaged bank accounts. MSE has a good page about how to complain about packaged bank account charges. I suggest you don’t try to combine this with an affordability complaint – make two separate complaints to the bank and leave a gap of at least a month between them.
Student overdrafts
You are unlikely to win a complaint about a student overdraft saying you were a student and it was unaffordable – they are at 0% interest and nothing is charged until you are in work. So you need to argue it was unaffordable at the later date when they started to charge interest.
The Bank replies
They want to talk to me on the phone!
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. Also say you would like to see this in writing before you decide whether to accept it.
If they want to ask you questions that sound complicated or worrying (this is unusual), ask them to put the questions in writing as you find the phone difficult.
Rejection or a poor offer – go to the Ombudsman
The bank should reply in 8 weeks. You can’t go straight to the Ombudsman, you have to wait for the bank to reply.
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.
And the bank may offer to refund fees for the last 15 months say, even though your problems have been large for many years. Think twice about accepting a low offer – you won’t put this offer at risk by going to the Ombudsman. If you aren’t sure, post in the comments below.
In particular, if the bank says you could have declined the increase to your overdraft limit or you never let the bank know you were in difficulty, FOS may not think that is a good reason. And ignore any statements by the bank that FOS will not look into things that happened more than 6 years ago.
Santander has been rejecting some cases then giving a full refund only a few weeks later if the case is sent to the Ombudsman – before the Ombudsman has even looked at it! Santander obviously knows it has been sending out misleading rejection letters.
The easy way to complain to FOS is by completing 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.
If your credit record shows that you had other debt problems send it to FOS. 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 2024, some banks are making more offers directly.
A Guardian article featured a case where someone used the template letter here. Barclays denied it has done anything but made an £8,000 “good will” payment to the customer.
And if yours doesn’t, people are winning cases at the ombudsman. FOS is a friendly service although it isn’t speedy. It isn’t any faster if you 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.
If you have priority debts such as utility bills, rent, council tax and benefit overpayments, these can’t wait until your overdraft complaint is settled. Start the overdraft complaint now, but you need debt help as well. So phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000, tell them you have made an affordability complaint but you would like to know what your debt options are.
Is your credit card limit too high?
Get a refunds from large loans
Unaffordable car finance – your options
Lou7 says
Any advise would be appreciated. I applied for an overdraft when I was struggling with my debts to help me out but then I was stuck in the spiral of my wages being sucked up by the overdraft and then it being a vicious circle every month. The bank helped me twice by not charging any fees but do you think I should tell them they shouldn’t have given it to me in the first place? Or is it not really worth doing. My overdraft was £1,100 then I reduced it to £1,000 and now I still owe £800 on it but have been paying bits off here and there with money I had from selling items on eBay and my Christmas money from my family
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you know how much you have paid in charges on this account?
How long did they freeze charges for, and were you clearly in a much better position each time they stopped the freeze and started changing again?
Lou7 says
I am not sure how much I have paid in fees. They helped for 3 months and then started the charges again, then I had to apply for charges to be stopped again and this is till March this year. My wages have gone down due to having a different job now so I am £200 worse off a month
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK then I suggest this is worth making a complaint. Say they did the right thing by stopping charges for 3 months, but your situation had not fully recovered at the end of that, which they could tell by looking at your account, so they should not have started charging again. Ask for a refund of all charges after that point.
Lou7 says
Thanks Sara
Chris Bone says
Interesting. Possibility that the offsetting rule will be applied but the refunds may be so large so as to repay the overdraft in full and then the customer being politely told to bank elsewhere. Worst outcome the bank reviews the overdraft upon receipt of the complaint, reduces the existing facility and then rejects the complaint and leaves their customer to stew for a few months, with a lesser overdraft, pending the FOS decision? Just a thought.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
people do worry about this but in practice banks closing accounts or withdrawing the overdraft when they get a complaint doesn’t seem to be a problem.
Of course a lot of people would be better off switching to a bank like Monzo or Starling anyway!
Paul says
My case was Halifax gave me a £3600 overdraft back in Nov 2011. It was over one weekend where it just kept increasing it by £500. I had no wages going in at the time & the only money going into the bank account was pay day loans. I had a gambling problem also and CCJ’s and defaults. After numerous calls with the bank who said it was probably a system bug they suddenly stopped charging interest in 2013 and I heard no more about it till 2020 where they wrote to say they was going to start charging what worked out to be over £100 interest per month. Through sites like this & the media I’d come to learn that I should never have been given this overdraft & loans & started in Nov 20 to write complaints to all these organisations. In Feb 21 I wrote a complaint to Halifax stating I had only recently become aware that I now had reason to complain on grounds of affordability and insufficient checks. I also told them I was getting counselling for mental health issues but despite this they kept me waiting for well over 15 weeks before replying that it was over 6 years so was not going to look into it. I then took the case to the FOS for which an adjudicator answered in January mentioning that rules set by the FCA doesn’t allow them to look at complaints of incidents that happened over 6 years ago. I sent evidence to show why I was complaining now & it’s now all been sent to the Ombudsman to look at for a final decision.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I hope FOS decide they can you look at your complaint which sounds dreadful.
Chris says
Hi Paul
A very similar position in my case with this bank too. Sadly, way beyond the 6 year limit. My overdraft increased to £3750 with gambling debts and payday loans galore. The house was repossessed but the OD charges kept rising because they moved to a fixed amount per day. Eventually, the whole thing went into debt management at over £4300 and I have been paying it off ever since. I am taking responsibility for repaying my debts but it has ruined my life from a financial point of view.
Paul says
Thanks for sharing Chris & it’s sad that they can’t be accountable for their actions and are arguing the 6 year rule when their wrong lending has so much impact on people’s lives for years. I had my home repossessed in 2008 due to gambling & had lots of defaults. I’d tried for years to borrow from Halifax without any joy & was living and working abroad from 2009 so wasn’t even on an electoral roll from then. I had no wages going into Halifax & an awful credit score when they gave me the overdraft in Nov 2011 for £3600. In all the years since it’s never been in credit. I was probably a bit naive because I had so many other debts to pay that the fact I was not getting charged for the overdraft after 2013 I didn’t want to get in touch with Halifax and alert them to that fact so then they did start charging so the 6 years obviously passed but the information on irresponsible lending and affordability checks wasn’t known as it is now. I am in a payment plan that ends today with the balance now at £3000. I managed to turn my life around so I could borrow to clear it for a small fee but I would sooner wait to hear the final decision from the Ombudsman after all I’ve gone through with this complaint and the years of stress that having this overdraft as caused.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS is very often deciding that it can look at older cases.
Paul says
I hope so Sara. Even if I didn’t win, after so long I would just like Halifax to review why they lent to me and provide an answer. It’s been like a year since the initial complaint and the only answer I’ve had so far is it’s over 6 years so it can’t be looked at. Even the adjudicator came back with that. So the final decision is now with the ombudsman. I fully understand rules and procedures but time shouldn’t be an issue when you now come to realise that they failed you as a responsible lender. It’s just a case of getting an answer from them justifying it and then I can put a line through it and move on with my life rather than living my life knowing they hid behind the fact it happened over 6 years so they said they had case to answer. Even more so given the fact every month the account was £3600 overdrawn yet they never get in touch for 7 years or tried to add any charges or offered help and support in me paying it back. I will keep you posted on the final outcome.
Margo says
Hi Sara,
I had issue with overdraft for quite long period of time. Anytime I asked they will approve my overdraft. I did complaint once to the bank, they said there was no issue in their opinion but as good will gesture they will give me a loan to pay it off. I agreed with it. Still paying back. My overdraft went upto £2,500 even I never earned more then £1,500. Don’t know if I can complaint again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long a time did you have problems with your overdraft?
the loan they gave you – what interest rate was it? Has it worked well or has it too been difficult to pay?
Are you now without an overdraft?
Maciej says
Sara. Where it possibly to get credit with CCJ and default for 1000 pound. I almost paid them off. But I need borrow money for a bike. Just asking. Any idea ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
With a CCJ it’s pretty hard, sorry.
Margo says
It went from around 2012 and they gave me loan in the end of 2017. About rate can’t find anything yet, but example at the bigging I paid £50 and interest was around £18, now I pay around £8 interest. The whole loan is for 71 months. It is difficult, sometimes I do struggle to get the money, sometimes we had to cancel other bills to pay this one.
I dont have any overdraft since that time, probably because they don’t give me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think you should complain and say the loan they gave you was unaffordable and they should just have frozen interest on your bank account. Ask for a refund of interest from 2012.
You should not get behind with important bills to pay this loan.
Margo says
Thank you Sara for all hard work from your side. You helped me before with loans and I and my husband we got good refunds because of your advices. Thank you.
I just submitted my complaint with Lloyd’s Bank. Thank you.
Margo says
A bit of update, sent complaint to Lloyd on 6th of March, got letter back on the 8th of April, with all the nonsense about 6 years rule and that they didn’t do anything wrong, as all the checks were done. Well, logged my complaint with Ombudsman on 10th of April and will wait for the response from them.
Max says
HI Sara,
An excellent and timely article. I’m going through this process right now with Halifax over a £2,000 overdraft that was increased in stages from £600 around 11-12 years ago.
Adjudicator says it may have to go to an Ombudsman to decide if they can even look at it as Halifax want it time-barred, although adjudicator is currently swaying in my favour as I’ve clear evidence my 20+ claims for irresponsible lending all came after Wonga administrators made me aware of the concept in 2019.
I’d get paid, then within a week was back in the OD as bills went out. Rinse and repeat for 10 years. Clear pattern of financial distress. No help ever offered.
Of your 10 bullet points, 8-9 apply to me – including significant sports betting that totalled six figures over three years (almost the same amount came in, so no major net loss).
My argument is also that while the limit was increased a long time ago, as a running facility it’s subject (allegedly) to annual review, so even if they can’t go back 12 years, they should at least be able to probe why from 2015 no assistance was provided or forbearance declared.
Will let you know how I get on.
Max
Tony says
Great article, i’ve put a complaint into Lloyds with this (I had a VERY long overdraft I just couldn’t manage, I can only go back to 2015 on my online banking. I’m lucky enough to have worked through all of my debt and clear the overdraft but unfortunately that overdraft was just another factor in a horrible dark period in my life.
Would be great to hear any other experiences.
Tony says
@sara I’ve had my complaint in since only February and Lloyds have resolved !
They refunded me 3046 in charges and 753 in interest.
This ties up with my estimates. I clawed my way back out of an overdraft and other debts during lockdowns and this money couldn’t have come at a better time with our car looking like it wants to go to car heaven.
Thanks so much for this site.
Tony says
I should say that they’ve taken my overdraft facility away but that’s not so much of an issue now thankfully.
Lou7 says
Hi
Can you stay with the bank if you make a complaint though?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
People haven’t reported having their accounts closed.
Chris says
Hi
I have had a 3200 overdraft for over 20 years and paid a fortune in overdraft fees. If I complain will the Halifax not demand it all back at once?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This doesn’t seem to happen. Banks have to behave responsibly in this sort of situation where you have complained.
If they did say they were closing your account, you can open an account with a different bank – Monzo and Starling are good. But they can’t make you repay a debt when you have no money to do this. And people haven’t re[ported having their accounts closed.
F says
Just though I’d share my experience.
I complained to Lloyds in Jan 2021 about being in my overdraft perpetually from summer 2016 to Jan 2021, at the limit of £2750.
During this time I’d approached Lloyds in branch for help, but got shamed by the staff and left in distress. I sought help again in Jan 2020 when my partner got made redundant, to be offered no assistance from Lloyds. I did make a dent in repaying my overdraft when they introduced the 0% interest (for the first £500) during covid. I had previously been on the 49.9% interest rate. When my partner found employment again I prioritised paying it off, and cleared it in Jan 21.
I sent my complaint in to Lloyds in Jan 2021 after finding this site, and their first response was that it was essentially my fault and I should budget better. I sent it to the FOS asap.
I had a response back from FOS in Dec 21 and recieved a £5200 refund of all interest, fees and charges earlier this month!
Thank you so much Sara for your help! I never thought I could escape my overdraft, let alone recieve a refund of interest for Lloyds poor management of my situation!
Tony says
This is great feedback, I’ve just started a complaint with Lloyds from a similar situation.
Fully expecting the same treatment and will forward to FOS like yourself when they do get back to me.
Danny says
On my account i wasnt allowed to have an overdraft but most months my balance would end up in the red. Halifax charged me interest per day for the amount i was over can i claim that back? The template is for authorised overdrafts and not my situation. Can i still claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many days a month do you think you paid these charges on average? There is a big difference between 1 or 2 and 10-15.
Lou7 says
Is it best to send a message through the banking app about a complaint or write to them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would go through the app. It’s free and you can see it was sent.
D says
Hi Sara and all
It has been a long long battle, but santander has finally made an offer to refund all overdraft charges and interest dating back to May 2018. That was the second overdraft increase of many. It will include 8% interest.
They initially rejected the complaint and I sent it to the FOS. It took a year to be picked up by an adjudicator, who spent 8 weeks going back and forth with them and their delays. They finally made the offer as a good will gesture.
I now have to wait for the bank to contact me to sort the refund directly.
Keep the bank complaints going guys.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I love this sort of “goodwill gesture”!
D says
I’ve calculated the total charge amount but have no idea how to calculate the 8% annual interest. There are about 40 charges so I won’t list them all here, but is there a guide somewhere on how to calculate the 8%?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you owe a balance at the moment?
D says
Yes which equates to 1/3 of the charges I am due back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, then you should get paid the 8% on the amount of the cash refund you will get.
The question is for how long…
Have you been making payments to the account?
If you can work back from the present day adding up the payments you made and find how long ago you was the point when you would have paid that 2/3 amount.
Say that was 28 months ago.
Then if you had been paying roughly the same amount every month, you should get 28/2 = 14 months worth of 8% interest.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you own a property?
Which is your bank? The cards with this bank – did they increase the limit on those?
This seems a very large amount of debt for someone on an income of £2200 a month. Do you have a well paid partner?
Have you asked the bank to stop interest on the overdraft?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So I haven’t come across this situation where someone had a business account with the bank that was doing well. I am not sure whether the ombudsman will see that as relevant or not to a complaint you make about affordability when your overdraft limit was increased.
That doesn’t affect a possible complaint about why they have not frozen interest on your overdraft at the moment thoug, as they know from the cards etc that you are in difficulty. Have you asked them to do this?
The house was sold? Would you mind saying what your total debts are at the moment?
chris says
Hi Sara
I have just completed my complaint which I will be sending to FO. just want some clarification on how far I can go back. I want to ask for refund from April 2009 like you mentioned to me before. my question is.. if i’m asking for refund from 2009 can FO after checking everything say e.g. not from April 2009 but September 2012 ? or they will just dismiss the case ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no they will say what they think a fair resolution to youre complaint is. That may well be from a later date, but if you don’t ask for the earlier one, it’s unleikely they will look back earlier and say it should be from them.
So don’t ask, don’t get – ask for the most you think is reasonable,
chris says
I think i have quite strong case from April 2009:
I opened back account in April 2005, until December 2006 I did go over my balance several times without overdraft on my account. In 2007 I went over my 0 limit few times
In October 2007 Barclays added £1520 overdraft to my account and £250 reserve even that Barclays could see that I wasn’t managing my account well, in 2007 prior to overdraft being added I went few times over my 0 limit on my account. Also in 2005 I have been given Barclaycard and I was over limit there between December 2005 till September 2006, had UK cash advance facility removed in November 2006, and been over my Barclaycard limit several times. Since overdraft has been added to my account I have been using it constantly and relying on it. In July 2008 I went over my limit, same in August 2008. In September 2008 I went over my overdraft limit and reserve, this has occurred on several occasions. In April 2009 I received letter from Barclays informing me that my reserve has been removed and giving me balance reduction plan. Also in April Barclays temporarily increased my overdraft to £1900 and then in May to £1700. In June 2009 my overdraft returned to £1520. From June 2009 I went over my overdraft limit again.
chris says
From end of 2010 beginning 2011 I started using payday loans to make up my balance. Between December 2008 & March 2011 which is roughly 27 months I only managed to stay in my overdraft limit 6 times. I had many unpaid transaction fees & guaranteed transaction fees added to my account. In addition to this my Barclaycard over limit from September 2009 & May 2013.
In September 2012 my overdraft was increased from £1520 to £2270. Before limit was increased I was always using my overdraft to maximum and going over the limit several times, since end of 2007 I was relying on overdraft on monthly basis, had my Barclaycard over limit from September 2009 to May 2013. I had some extra charges applied to my account for going over my overdraft. I also have been using pay day loans on regular basis paying one off and taking another ones to make sure I have enough money to survive to end of the month. Also my Barclaycard over limit from September 2009 & May 2013 incurring extra charges.
In February 2013 Barclays again increased my overdraft from £2270 to £3020 even to I was in the middle of changing jobs and by salary dropped until I got a new job. Before limit was increased I was always using my overdraft to maximum, had my Barclaycard used to a very high level of my credit limit and I had only made minimum payments on credit card. I also have been using pay day loans on regular basis paying one off and taking another ones to make sure I have enough money to survive to end of the month. In addition to this my Barclaycard over limit from September 2009 & May 2013.
From this point onwards I was always in my overdraft as my salary would not cover overdraft. Only times this would ever happened is maybe in December when I got additional bonus.
and I’m not sure if I started complaint correctly
”Barclays should never have increased my overdraft limits in September 2012 from £1520 to £2270 and again in February 2013 from £2270 to £3020 as it is unaffordable to me.”
but I’m asking to refund all the interest and charges that were added to my account from April 2009 when Barclays should have realised that my finances had got worse to the point that I was no longer able to clear the overdraft
is that ok ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could perhaps change that first bit to something like:
” From April 2009 Barclays should have realised that I was unable to clear my overdraft and i think charges should be refunded from that point. But Barclays increased my overdraft limits in September 2012 from £1520 to £2270 and again in February 2013 from £2270 to £3020, making my situation even worse.”
You then go into more details later, I guess? So you just want a very short summary at the begining?
Chris says
Thanks Sara
I will use that.
Yes after that I’m going to details.
You can see them above
Thanks for your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes clearly Barclays knows they are likely to lose or they wouldn’t have offered 5k.
You could wait and see what your adjudicator comes back with? I think it’s poor of them to just they will only go back 6 years when they haven’t even looked at your complaint.
Was December 2015 a date with some importance?
chris says
Hi Sara
just an update, I logged my complaint on the 3rd of March, got confirmation on the 9th, today is 16th and I got message from my Investigator saying that Barclays would like to offer good will gesture they offer me just over 5K which is a refund all overdraft interest and charges on the account from December 2015 to date. he also says that ” The offer is in-line with our general guidelines and I would consider it a fair offer. Please note, you’ve told us that your complaint dates back to 2009. However, our rules only allow us to investigate the last six years. To manage expectations, if you were not happy with offer and would like us to continue investigating, we will only look at the charges from March 2016 onwards” ………..
So this is what i wrote back: ” The Financial Conduct Authority’s Handbook – DISP sets out when FO can consider complaints. It says a consumer must make a complaint within six years of the reason for the complaint however, DISP also says FO can consider a complaint late if the consumer complains within three years of when they ought reasonably to have been aware a complaint could be made.
Now since I found out in 2020 that I can complaint about unaffordable and irresponsible lending, I logged my first complaint in March 2021. And since then I logged 7 complaints with FO
My last complaint logged with FO that was successful for me was against 118 loans was going over last 6 years, but it was accepted to investigate by FO as I wasn’t aware before 2020.
potentially there is another 6 years of overdraft which could give me extra 3-4k , don’t know what to do as i think they just try to close the case quickly rather that investigate it.. obviously barclays knows that I can get more as when i complained to them they reject my complaint but now they are willing to refund from 2015.
chris says
Hi Sara
not sure why they pick December 2015, my guess is so they wanted to round it up to 5K ?? to make it more attractive to me ? I guess. I’m waiting to see what reply will be from Investigator.
with regards to ”I think it’s poor of them to just they will only go back 6 years when they haven’t even looked at your complaint.” I think that Investigator just want’s easy case and close it perhaps.
I will keep you updated. Thank you a lot
Chris says
Hi Sara
just an update
Still no response from adjudicator, deadline for me to respond is tomorrow.
I think i will tell them than I’m willing to compromise and accept good will gesture offer to settle the complaint only if Barclays will improve it, and offer to refund all overdraft interest and charges on the account from February 2013 when last increase took place.
I want to see what they will say… do you think is worth trying ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that is worth trying.
If Barclays reject it, say you want it to go to the Ombudsman for a full refund.
Chris says
Hi Sara
so I got reply from Adjudicator today, day after the deadline.. this is what he says about going over 6 years..
Thank you for letting me know your reasons as to why you’ve brought the complaint at this point in time.
We will need to consider what you’ve told us and whether we are able to go back further, based on this.
We will be in touch with you again in due course to let you know what we think about this.
now I’m waiting patiently
chris says
Hi Sara
received an email from adjudicator, it looks like initial adjudicator passed this case to somebody else/new.
they response again says:
”Thank you for your patience while we’ve been looking into your complaint, about charges and interest on your account dating back to 2009.
Barclays have told us they don’t agree to us reviewing your complaint about the charges on your account prior to December 2015, because they say it was referred to us too late.
Our rules usually only allow us look at complaints where they were made within six-years of what’s been complained about. This is unless three-years from when the consumer was aware, (or they ought reasonably to have been aware) they had a reason to complain, provides them with longer to complain.
From the information provided, I can see you made the complaint about the charges on your account more than six years after the charges applied to your overdraft. As these charges would’ve been notified to you around the time, they were being applied from around 2009, I think that you knew enough to decide whether you thought they were unfair and keeping you in debt at this time”
not sure what to do, if I go to Ombudsman can I loose good will gesture or will I be still able to get this 5K in case FO says the same thing about 6 years ?
chris says
…
As this is the case, I don’t think that three years from when you were aware (or you ought reasonably to have become aware) you had reason to complain, provides you with longer and I think you complained about the charges applied to your overdraft before December 2015 too late.
Because of this I think Barclays’ offer is fair taking into consideration these time limits. Can you therefore please let us know if you wish to accept Barclays’ good will offer to refund the overdraft interest and charges on the account from December 2015 to date – and I’ll let them know to get in contact with you to arrange the refund.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I assume you have explained that you had no idea Barclays should have checked your overdraft limit was affordable when it was increased or that they should have reviewed the overdraft annually until …. when you found out through ….
Can you go back and ask why this is not being treated as a valid reason why you have only founf out in the last three years you could complain? Point out that back in 2015 there was no information at all about affordability complaints about bank overdrats so you are not sure wht the adjduicator thinks you should have know. Say you knew the cahrges were high and causing you difficulty, but you assumed it was your own fault, not Barclays.
chris says
Hi Sara, yes I even told lady that I told previous adjudicator how and when I found out about this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have edited out the details.
I suggest you go back to the new adjudicator and ask if they have read your detailed explanation of how and when you found out, as that makes it clear it is very recent. Point out that there was no public information that you are aware of about make affordability complains about overdrafts in 2015, so you don’t understand how you were supposed to have known that you could complain about this before.
chris says
Thanks Sara
last question I have is about this good will gesture, I asked earlier to improve it to april 2013 when last increase was made, but it was declined by Barclays and adjudicator says that previous offer from Barclays is still standing. (good will gesture refund from December 2015)
my question is, if I take this all the way to FO stage, if Ombudsman will not agree to go over 6 years will I loose this good will gesture previously offered by Barclays or Ombudsman will just agree with good will gesture from December 2015? not sure how this works in case like this.
thank you in advance, You are very helpful.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think at the moment you just need to ask FOS to explain what is wrong with your explanation and why it is not acceptable. That is a reasonable request to make.
There are no hard and fast rules here, but in this sort of situation, I would be very surprised if Barclays withdrew their offer. And if they did, FOS will just decide your case which seems strong anyway.
chris says
Hi Sara
just an update, case is now with FO
” An ombudsman will review this complaint
Because you didn’t agree with my view, an ombudsman will review the complaint and make a decision as to whether I can look into the charges on your overdraft prior to December 2015. That means:
An ombudsman will consider whether this is a complaint we can look at and make an independent decision. They’ll put the decision in writing to both you and Barclays Bank UK PLC and explain their reasoning within the decision.
If the ombudsman’s conclusions are different from mine, they will explain why and let you reply before they give you their decision. Otherwise, they won’t usually get in touch before issuing their decision unless they need more information”
waiting patiently.
Chris says
Hi Sara,
another update.. they still won’t accept my explanation.. they say…
”I appreciate what you’re saying, however I have to take into consideration the rules set out by the Financial Conduct Authority regarding the circumstances when a consumer can bring their complaint to us after a certain period of time has passed. Furthermore, Barclays have also told us that there wasn’t any indication prior to 6 December 2021 – when your complaint was recorded, that you were experiencing financial difficulties.
This is why the time limits that I explained previously come into force and the offer of goodwill made by the Bank is only from December 2015. I understand that you feel what you told me is a valid reason, but unfortunately this doesn’t lead me to believe they are exceptional circumstances. And I’m not recommending Barclays do anything further at this stage.
You can still ask and ombudsman here to review everything again and make a decision regarding these time constraints – if this is something you wish to do, please let me know by 13 April 2022. If you now wish to accept the goodwill offer, please also let me know by this date.”
so I’m thinking if they even read my complaint ? where I mentioned: e.g.
In February 2013 Barclays again increased my overdraft from £2270 to £3020 even to I was in the middle of changing jobs and by salary dropped until I got a new job. Before limit was increased I was always using my overdraft to maximum, had my Barclaycard used to a very high level of my credit limit and I had only made minimum payments on credit card. I also have been using pay day loans on regular basis paying one off and taking another ones to make sure I have enough money to survive to end of the month.
also that from 2013 I was always in my overdraft as my salary would not cover overdraft. Only times this would ever happened is maybe in December when I got additional bonus. that my total debt was near 20k at the peak. that they didn’t review my overdraft over the years and didn’t offer any help reducing it.
I forgot to add that in 2020 I applied for help with my overdraft during Covid overdraft.
not sure how to approach this now. If I take it to the next level to Ombudsman can I loose good will gesture offer ?
thanks in advance
Kyle says
I sent an affordability complaint to NatWest. They gave me an overdraft that I continuously maxed out and couple times went over for years. I sent them what information I had on the amount I was charged, interest and charges that equaled to £700 since 2016. They wrote back and said they didn’t do anything wrong, yada yada. The ombudsman won’t look at it coz it’s more than 6 years. But after all the 3 points they said they denied any wrong doing, they said as a gesture of good will they will give back my charges and interest since 2019 of £170. Are they fobbing me off? Coz if they really thought they did nothing wrong they wouldn’t offer me anything. They didn’t say anything about accepting it or anything, just said it will be sent to my bank in 2 days. They also said if I still wanted to go to ombudsman I can. What do you think? I maxed it out every month beyond 2016 and onwards, they still offered me 350 overdraft, then upped it to 400. Should I still take it to ombudsman? It’s not that I’m ungrateful, 170 is still a lot to me, but if they are just trying to fob me off of paying me back the 540 then I would want to go for it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much were you being paid at this time, roughly?
How large is your overdraft at the moment and how much are you being charged a month on fees?
PaulH says
Hi Sara,
I had an overdraft with lloyds that had risen to 1500 in 2013 and was always maxed out, at the time we were relying on payday loans to survive and my wages barely covered the overdraft, we were then moved to TSB when the banks spilt but were still allowed the overdraft, we then took out a loan with TSB even through we had several payday loans every month that was approved. it is now 2022 and the overdraft has never been reviewed, should we make a complaint ? All our payday loans were upheld in this period… thankfully we have not used the overdraft since lockdown but it is still available to use
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So from 2013 to 2020 lockdown, where you in your overdraft all month or nearly all the month?
paul h says
Hi Sara
We were using the overdraft every month mostly to the limit until we managed to clear it when we received refund money from pd loans,
we followed the pattern of being paid and after bills etc and paying back payday loans and morses and provident we were back into the overdraft within a week or so
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK then this sounds like a good complaint. You should point out that TSB could see from your bank statements the money going out to payday lenders and other high cost lenders such as Morses and Provident. They should have realised your overdraft was not being used for the purprose it was intended, to help with a short term promlem but you had become reliant on it to pay everyday expenses. Say TSB should have not continued providing the overdraft in this situation but should have treated you with forbearance rather than charge even more interest, fees and charges on the overdraft. Ask for a refund of all charges back to 2013.
Paul H says
Thanks Sarah
Ian Brady says
Complaint rejected by Barclays as over six years old. I sent copies of all the letters from them by registered post (two years at £93 a month) but complaint Handler refused to even look at them as they ‘Can’t be verified on their system’. Also sent copies of payday loans at same time that have been upheld. Refused to consider these to. I have sent complaint to FOS but not hopeful as time bar likely. I told them I had only just learned I could complain from this Web page.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS often looks at older cases!
Ian Brady says
will keep this page updated, when I hear from the FOS/Adjudicator.
this is part of my letter to FOS.
I have only recently learned that I could complain as I thought that the Supreme Court ruling on bank charges meant any complaint would fail. I have recently read on the ‘Debt Camel’ web site that I could complain regarding unaffordable lending. As I have only just learned I could complain I believe that Barclays time barring the complaint in wrong. I supplied Barclays copies of the numerous letters sent to me by them, advising me they would add £25 onto the debt every 5 working days, as well as letters detailing Payday Loans, they responded without even considering these letters, effectively accusing me of fraud and potentially altering this correspondence. I do not believe this stance is reasonable or fair.
Ian Brady says
Rejected by adjudicator as follows:
You’ve complained more than six years after the overdraft was applied. As you would’ve been notified of the overdraft charges around the time they were being applied, I think that you knew enough to decide whether you thought the overdraft was unaffordable
Waste of my time really.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you explained when you first heard about these complaints? Ask for the complaint to go to an Ombudsman
Ian Brady says
Put this in the letter but not sure adjudicator bothered to read it as he certainly ignored it. I have asked Ombudsman to look at this:
I have only recently learned that I could complain as I thought that the Supreme Court ruling on bank charges meant any complaint would fail. I have recently read on the ‘Debt Camel’ web site that I could complain regarding unaffordable lending. As I have only just learned I could complain I believe that Barclays time barring the complaint in wrong. I
Ian Brady says
Ombudsman say no too. Too late to look into, according to both Barclays and the Ombudsman. Ah well. Did not expect to succeed.
JL says
Hi Sara,
Can i just ask how far back banks have got records for. Mine has said that they can look back no further than 2012. Is this correct as my current overdraft limit was given in 2006, but i had had one since about 2000 !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This may depend on the bank.
A refund from 2012 may be substantial!
JL says
Thanks sara
I have already opened a complaint and now just waiting. They said they were compiling a list of overdraft changes from 2012, that is when they said its as far back as they look. Never once in that time have they done a review on it, even though I am never out of it limit is £4150 !
I’ve never earned that, to make it viable !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that is when they said its as far back as they look.
That isn’t quite the same as saying they have no information before then… What is the bank? Someone else reading this may know about that bank?
See what they reply with, but this sounds like a very strong complaint to send to the ombudsman.
JL says
I have received this thrugh the secure messaging online.
he final notes on this are:
No action to be taken in regards to complaint – account is self managed and the overdraft limit, requested by the customer, does not need to be used
Customer’s spending has put her into arrears and if she has been in financial difficulty in the past it is not something Santander has the tools to identify
Additionally, without speaking to the customer to discuss her financial difficulty, we are unable to stop interest or charges on the account as this can only be done by our Financial Support/Collections team who confirmed they would not freeze them when I have asked
No contact attempted with the customer as per her request to only receive communication in writing so complaint closed and final resolution issued in writing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well I suggest you send it straight to the Financial Ombudsman. I get the imporession overdraft cases are now going through a bit faster, but this is still going to take some time.
So in the meanwhile, how to get the interest stopped – is there a particular reason you don’t want to talk on the phone to them about this?
JL says
Thanks Sara, I was doing email because I though it would be good to have everything in writing to be honest. Im also not that confident on the phone to bank etc !!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have mental health problems and using the phone makes you anxious, you should explain this and say you want to carry on by email.
If not, then phone is going to be easier. Just make some notes first of all your current explnses, what is going up in April, and say you cant manage,
Lou7 says
Hi all,
I had my overdraft complaint rejected by Halifax but they refunded me charges. Is it worth going to the ombudsman or not? Any advice would really be appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much have they refunded you? How much have you paid over the years?
Lou7 says
They gave me £200 back. I have only had the overdraft for coming up to a year but there is no way of paying it back. So when my wages come it, then it gets paid back and the cycle starts again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so how large is your overdraft at the moment? And how large are your wages each month?
Lou7 says
My overdraft was £1,100 and my wages were £1,212. But I put my Christmas money in and sold some stuff on eBay and have managed to reduce it to £800. But I have a new job now and my wages are only £1008 per month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so they have offered to reduce your overdraft by £200?
Do you know how much you have paid in charges in the last year?
What is the rest of your financial situation like – do you have other problem debts? Are you making reduced payments to some? Not paying some?
Do you have priority debts eg arrears on essentials bills
Are you getting any benefits?
paulholloway says
Hi
I would go to the ombudsman even if you dont get the result you want, you will get what they have said they willing to pay back
Lou7 says
They have already put the refund of charges in my account. I am with StepChange at the moment
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the overdraft is in your DMP so charges have already been stopped?
Lou7 says
Hi Sara,
No the overdraft isn’t in my dmp. They are freezing charges until 1st April and put £200 back in my account for fees taken since the overdraft was opened.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ask StepChange to add the overdraft to your DMP and open a new account without an overdraft – Monzo and Starling are good.
Lou7 says
Thanks Sara. It’s not worth taking it to the ombudsman though is it because they have refunded me money already?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know – it depends how much you have paid in charges – can you go back and add this up? because that is the maximum amount you could get back.
Lou7 says
Thanks Sara
Elle says
Hi Sara,
I’ve had a Barclays overdraft complaint (I’d been living in £5000 for 20 years, since before 2004).
I was initially refunded £3000+ from Barclays (paid directly) which they say was a good will gesture, but it only covered 2 years & 2 months and they didn’t uphold my complaint, so I took it to the FOS with bank statements/income info ..As usual I escalated this via Resolver.
I’d no idea the case had been taken up by an adjudicator until I received a forwarded letter from Barclays offering to add 8% to my original refund if I agree to remove my now paid off overdraft facility,…which I replied to the same day, and declined it, I wanted them to go back further than 2016.
A month later I received a message from the adjudicator saying he’d closed the case as I’d not replied by the deadline!
I phoned him, (he sounded naive and about 12) explained I had, and he agreed they’d re-open and carry on investigating,. He said a few folks have had similar issues, which in it self’s a tad worrying, but he then asked, why I’d rejected Barclays recent offer, I said that I’d requested they look back further and from 2007 at least, but he then said the FOS couldn’t look further than 6 years anyway. I said that wasn’t actually correct, (from what I’ve read here).. but I may now need some further wording if/when he simply states this in his investigation?
Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well let’s see what is said.
Elle says
Hi Sara,
I’ve received this today from said adjudicator and I just knew he’d say this from our phone call previously. What do I do / reply with now please?
“Why I think we can only look at part of your complaint Our rules usually only allow us look at complaints where they were made within six-years of what’s been complained about. This is unless three-years from when the consumer was aware (or they ought reasonably to have been aware) they had a reason to complain provides them with longer to complain.
You’ve complained more than six years after the charges applied to your overdraft (between 5 July 1997 and 23 June 2021). As these charges would’ve been notified to you around the time they were being applied, I think that you knew enough to decide whether you thought they were excessive/unfair/or keeping you in debt. As this is the case, I don’t think that three years from when you were aware (or you ought reasonably to have become aware) you had reason to complain provides you with longer and I think you complained about the charges applied to your overdraft before 23 June 2015 too late.”
Feeling slightly deflated now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask for this decision to go to an ombudsman.
Elle says
Hi Sara,
I’ve added a further note,.. but that may not make any difference to your input anyway.
Would it be worth putting my point across again to this adjudicator? i.e. about the timings part/dates etc in case he’s missed it … Can I request a more experienced adjudicator? I really felt he was reading it all from the rule book when I spoke to him on the phone and with not much experience.
The problem is,.. whilst I sent a variety of year’s bank statements and my income proof from self employment etc he never requested anything from me,.. He was in fact about to close the case as he’s ‘so say’ hadn’t not heard from me in time! (issue at his end via Resolver) which also didn’t fill me with confidence.
This could potentially be a very large pay out, for me, it could sort my debts out once and for all but I’m just worried that if the Ombudsman reads it all the same way with no additions then that’s it… I can’t then argue my case any further. Do you see what I mean?
Only I’ve just had similar with my Freemans catalogue complaint,.. after an adjudicator wouldn’t re consider his decision (three times I went back to him as you and I felt Freemans firstly calculated the redress incorrectly and later that he’s decided the outcome dates unfairly) but the Ombudsman agreed with the adjudicator about dates in regards when refund should be paid from …and now that’s it over. Thanks again ~
Elle says
Hi all
I have had an email today with the exact same wording about my Lloyds overdraft. I’m feeling extremely deflated as this complaint I felt could have been a significant amount, lived in a 3k overdraft since 2012, sometimes made up to 5 requests A DAY for an increase that were instantly approved. Now adjudicator saying this:
I also think you knew enough to decide whether you thought you shouldn’t have been provided with an overdraft and could have complained sooner. This is because you received regular statements showing you had an overdraft. As this is the case, I don’t think that three years from when you were aware (or you ought reasonably to have become aware) you had reason to complain provides you with longer and I think you complained about your overdraft too late.
How is this fair? Knowing I had an overdraft Is not the same as knowing I had a right to complain about it?!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Knowing I had an overdraft Is not the same as knowing I had a right to complain about it?
Tell the adjudicator exactly that. You knew the charges were high and causing you problems, but that doesn’t mean that you knew Lloyds should have reviewed your overdraft usage. Ask for it to go to the ombudsman if the adjudicator doesn’t change their mind.
Elle says
cont… He (the adjudicator) has assumed that I wanted the complaint to start from when the overdraft was opened in 1997 but I’d already told him and Barclays that I believed they couldn’t go back further than around 2007 so that would also be acceptable.. Or from whenever it was eventually deemed that Barclays lent irresponsibly if that was later. I have bank statements going back to 2007… but their goodwill gesture previously paid last year only covered 2017 – 2019.
I’d also already stated that it was after finishing up with my ppi complaints that I discovered I could complaint about irresponsible lending for catalogues and then also overdrafts so I’m also annoyed that he seems to think that I would have known sooner .. just because I was in debt (and yes I really knew I was in debt) it didn’t mean I knew it was partly Barclay’s fault and they should have done yearly checks etc, etc and that I could even complain about this particular issue.
Paul says
Hi Elle, don’t feel too deflated. The same happened to myself and a couple of others who have posted on here. It’s almost the exact same wording from the Adjudicator’s each time for all these cases that have been longer than 6 years.
Like yourself in my initial complaint I mentioned how I’d only recently become aware of checks that should have been carried out when I initially borrowed etc but I still got the same reply as you. I went back to my adjudicator with more evidence and mentioned it again but he stuck with the same 6 year rule with the option of it going to an Ombudsman for a final decision which I took up. It’s now been with them for 3 weeks but it’s the first one I’ve had to send to the Ombudsman so I don’t know the timescales.
Amazingly for me after having the overdraft since 2011 with not one wage ever getting paid into the account & me not hearing once from the bank in relation to a review on it etc , the Halifax wrote to me 2 weeks ago to say the £3600 overdraft would be removed on the 28th March.
Anyway don’t be too down on the adjudicator’s response Elle because it seems we’ve all had the same and as Sara said just ask for it to be sent to the Ombudsman.
Elle says
Thanks Paul, it’s very good to at least hear that it’s the usual ‘wording’ we are getting with this.
I have had several (6) cases for catalogue lending up held including one from 2007 which is good,.. but in most instances the adjudicator has at least agreed with me in regards something being wrong on the lenders part and we’ve gone from there…
I’m feeling more flummoxed in regards to this Barclays Overdraft complaint because Barclays have (albeit via a goodwill gesture but accepted no blame) slightly admitted that they did something wrong by already paying me over £3000 for just 2 years of charges/interest,.. I would just like them to go back further than 2017 as the problems were there for nearly 20 years, (I’ve lived in the £5000 overdraft that long).. even if they can only go from 2007… but at this point in time the ‘young’ adjudicator has simply stated that he feels I knew to complain sooner as I knew I was in debt all this time and said I’m out of time, and not commented on any of the case or info I’ve provided or requested anything else, but like yourself, I only found out I could actually complain about irresponsible and unaffordable lending of an overdraft just after finishing my ppi complaints…and from this very website at the end of 2019, so it’s within 3 years of knowing etc (thanks to Sara and all the hard work she puts in).
I hope you have better luck with your case this time. .. let us know how you get on won’t you. ~
Elle says
Hi Sara,
Adjudicator had said he’d have an Ombudsman look at this complaint…I’ve just heard back but unsure exactly what this means…or how to respond? Why do Barclays get to call the shots?
Adjudicator:
“The Ombudsman has asked me to write to you to clarify further our position on your complaint. In your response to my view on 22 march 2022, you’ve stated that you believe we should look at charges prior to 23 June 2015 because you only became aware that you had cause to complain when reading advice on the website Debt Camel.
Barclays have told us they don’t agree to us considering your charges before 23 June 2015 because they say it was referred to us too late – outside the time limits set by the financial services regulator. So, I’ve looked at whether the time limits they’ve highlighted apply.
Our rules usually only allow us look at complaints where they were made within six-years of what’s been complained about. This is unless three-years from when the consumer was aware (or they ought reasonably to have been aware) they had a reason to complain provides them with longer to complain.
You’ve complained more than six years after the charges applied to your overdraft (between 5 July 1997 and 23 June 2021). As these charges would’ve been notified to you around the time they were being applied, I think that you knew enough to decide whether you thought they were excessive/unfair/or keeping you in debt. As this is the case, I don’t think that three years from when you were aware (or you ought reasonably to have become aware) you had reason to complain provides you with longer and I think you complained about the charges applied to your overdraft before 23 June 2015 too late.
Our position is that we are only able to look at the last six years of charges that have been applied to your account from the date that you raised your complaint to Barclays.
If you decide that you don’t accept what I’ve said, then please let me know by 28 April 2022. If I can’t resolve things then an ombudsman here can look at everything again and make a decision. If I don’t hear from you by that date we might not be able to look at your complaint again.
If you still wish for an ombudsman to review your complaint, could you please confirm the following:
1. If you’re only unhappy with just the fact that we can’t look at your charges before 23 June 2015.
2. If you’re unhappy with my view of your complaint which I sent on 22 March 2022, in addition to the above.
—————————————————————-
I think his initial view of my complaint was wrong, as he’d said I complained too late,..but it appears (or they’ve made it clearer)..that they can look back to 2015,..but this is because Barclays has stated that…I’d like them to look back further to at least 2007..and I’ve already stated all of this..and sent everything they could need to aid my case (bank statements/proof of income from 2007). How do get them to look back further if Barclays are saying no further than 2015?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
His initial view – apart from the date issue, did it say anything else?
Elle says
Hi Sara,
I’ve copied and pasted everything the adjudicator said previously in his 22nd March message.
I had then got back to him to correct some of the info he’s stated (Barclays only refunded me for 2 years and 2 months and not 3 years as he’s mentioned) plus I requested that FOS look back to either 1997 or from 2007 if possible as I’ve been living in my £5000 overdraft for almost 20 years and not just short term. I’d mentioned again where I found out that I could complain and this was within 3 years. He’d suggested he’d ask an Ombudsman to take a look which I agreed but I also sent all my bank statements and proof of income from 2007 again as I wasn’t convinced that this adjudicator was even reading my replies properly. (this was the guy that tried to close the case once as he said I hadn’t replied to him in time but turns out that he had an email/internet issue with Resolver).
I just don’t want to agree to the 2015 start date if they can look back further but I can’t quite fathom why they can’t except on Barclays say so.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so that was just on the date stuff.
I think that they should look back further.
I suggest you reply that you would like an Ombudsman to look into whether they can look at the charges before 23 June 2015 as you have only found out recently, as you have explained, that a bank should have reviewed an overdraft facility. Say that DISP 2.8.2 allows FOS to look at complaints made within three years from the date on which the complainant became aware (or ought reasonably to have become aware) that he had cause for complaint and you consider this applies to you.
Add that you don’t understand the question “If you’re unhappy with my view of your complaint which I sent on 22 March 2022, in addition to the above.” because so far as you can see the view was only about timescales.
Elle says
Hi Sara,
Well I mentioned all of the above and asked a couple of further questions in regards to his last message about timings etc and I’d requested either a second opinion or an Ombudsman now, but rather like he’s done before he hasn’t even bothered to explain himself beyond this and has simply said its now in a queue for an Ombudsman..
…I can’t really say or send any more information/proof than I’ve already sent him,.. so,. .fingers are all crossed here now for a swift and positive result.
Thank you again for all your help Sara,.
Much appreciated.
Elle says
Hi Sara,
From Ombudsman today “I can look at a complaint made outside of the time limit if I’m persuaded that this was because of exceptional circumstances. But Elle hasn’t told us about any circumstances that would have prevented her from raising a complaint earlier. I note that Elle says she didn’t know she could complain about the affordability of her overdraft until recently, but for the reasons I’ve explained above I think it’s likely she would have known enough to be aware she had cause to complain. And it is generally known that customers are entitled to complain about issues they are unhappy with…Elle has also noted that other complaints she is aware of have been looked at further back than the six years detailed above. But for this specific complaint, I’ve not been made aware of any exception to the rules, or exceptional circumstances that would mean the rules didn’t apply.
So for the reasons I’ve explained, and having carefully thought about everything provided, I think that Elle’s complaint was made too late and exceptional circumstances weren’t responsible for the delay in referring their complaint to our service. I am unable
to consider this complaint any further.” :(
Paul says
Hi Elle, I replied to your post on March 22nd because I had one for the Halifax with the Ombudsman. Amazingly I got a response from the Ombudsman a few days ago that was almost identical to the reply you got.
I won’t put her full name but was yours from a Caroline D also. I supplied so much to my case to the point I even took a day’s holiday at work to show and prove all the reasons why I only became aware I had grounds to complain within the last 3 years. I did my complaint to Halifax in Feb 21 so it’s been a long 15 months with so much time spent for it not to even be looked at.
For me they may be that snowed under with complaints that they are no longer willing to look at complaints over 6 years and are sending a standard template so they can work on complaint cases more current or alternatively they don’t want to go against what the adjudicator wrote unless they have grounds to say that what they wrote was wrong . It would be interesting to know if anyone has managed to get a case that is more than 6 years old looked at in the last month or so or in the future months because there is 3 I know of now who hasn’t and I put so much time and effort into my case I did think it would have at least been looked at rather than My decision:
I’m unable to look into Mr H’s complaint about irresponsible lending, as it was
made out of time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am surprised by these decisions. So far as I know there has been no change of policy and some people are still winning these older complaints.
Elle says
Cont…This is Ombudsman’s reasoning which I think is unfair! I didn’t know I could complain about/obtain refunds for this until Sept 2019.
“Elle’s statements would have set out the charges she’s unhappy with. So I think that Elle would have been aware of the charges that Barclays was applying to her account at the time and so aware of the impact of her overdraft facility on her finances…And as she’d have been aware of her financial circumstances during that period of time too, she’d have known whether she was able to afford to pay the charges. As this is the case, I think that Elle also ought to have known whether she felt the charges were too much or causing her difficulty, and therefore whether she also felt the overdraft facility was affordable…So I think Elle would have known she had cause to complain as soon as she began using her overdraft and the charges were applied, which means the three-year rule doesn’t provide Elle with longer to complain overall…And with this in mind, I think that her complaint about unaffordable lending regarding her overdraft, and about any charges applied prior to June 2015, was made too late.” Grrrr….
Elle says
cont…I know I can’t do anything else about this now as I did absolutely everything I thought I could before this and more, I felt I’d bombarded them with evidence of wrong doing by Barclays …so I’m not a happy bunny, it was also down to the fact that Barclays said they didn’t want it looked at further back to 2007, which I also feel is unfair,.. but anyway.
On the slightly plus side they have said, the Ombudsman that is, (or rather women in this case) can look back to June 2015… as Barclays have agreed to that. But can I ask, Sara… isn’t the Ombudsman going to view this later timescale June 2015- June 2021 in the same way,… i.e. that they think I should have known something I didn’t back then too and think that I still complained sooner than I have, or am I missing something? Feeling a bit confused.
Much obliged as always for your input.
Chris says
Hi
I put a complaint in yesterday to Halifax about the overdraft I have of £3200 for over 20 years and the charges and fees I have paid. They replied straight away to say they couldn’t refund anything as it was there terms and conditions to charge these but they would give me a goodwill payment of £100 and close the complaint. I obviously rejected it and said I would go to the FOS.
Chris
Saz says
Hi Chris, Sarah
as anything come of this? I put a complaint in last week. checked my bank today had £100 transferred rang the bank to ask where they payment had come from and said it was them and they are sending me a letter out? did they send you the money anyway? just curios if I reject this or accept it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It does sound a bit like a good will gesture. If that is what the letter says when it arrives, suggest you do what Chris did and send the complaint straight to the Financial Ombudman.
Chris says
Hi Sara
I bank with RBS and was given a £200 overdraft numerous years (maybe 12) ago. This was always in use pretty much since I took it out, and was ever being increased, topping out I believe at £3600. I ultimately had to take out a loan to consolidate my bills and pay this off. The overdraft has now been repaid, and the loan is coming to an end in the year or so.
Does this seem like there may be potential for an affordability claim? The overdraft existed for around 10 years or so, and I note that these are intended for shorter term borrowing.
Thanks
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so before the consolidation loan, there was a period – not just a few months – where you were in your overdraft all month, not getting back into the black on payday?
Chris says
Hi Sara, thanks for your reply
There was a long period, maybe around 8 years or so, wherein my overdraft was completely maxed out, and I would pay a minimum toward it a month to avoid additional charges. The overdraft was gradually allowed to increase over this period, hence the large jump from £200 to £3600. Payday never allowed for me to move back into the black.
Thanks
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sounds like a strong complaint to me.
Chris says
Thanks, i’ll get on to chasing this up
Chris says
Hi again… the bank have so far been quite unhelpful. They cannot locate details of an overdraft on my accounts, leading me to think the account it was on was closed once the overdraft was cleared. They haven’t confirmed a closed account with them, and are playing ignorant to the overdraft having existing. If it did relate to a now closed account, do you know if this would have an impact accessing the details of it? Next step is to go in to branch for a discussion.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long ago would the account have been closed?
Chris says
Around 3 years ago lines up with when i took out my loan to clear the OD
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They must have all the details them . If it was 12 years ago, perhaps not…
Their Privacy Policy says “We don’t keep your info for longer than we need to, which is usually up to ten years after you close all your accounts.”
I suggest you send RBS a Subject Access request – complete the form here.
But it may also be a good idea to go into a branch.
Chris says
After an extensive search of all systems available to us we have been unable to locate any
documents relating to the information that you have provided.
Original credit agreements are retained in line with the Banks Records Management policy, it is
likely the documentation will have been destroyed.
Looks like it may be too old now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah but you don’t want the account opening information. Ask them to supply the bank statements for as far back as possible.
Mr McKenzie says
I have been in two persistent overdrafts with TSB since around 2016. Is it reasonable to ask for them write off the balance as well as refund all interest and charges? Is there any possibility that they could update and remove the overdraft record from my credit file?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much interest and charges have you paid? What is the balance?
They should remove any negative marks from your credit record but would not normally delete the record itself.
H says
Hi Sara, I am contemplating making an overdraft complaint, do you think I have a worthy case?
I have always been very deep in my £5000 overdraft for almost 4/5 years, my monthly take home is usually around £2k. I have had many many pay day loans for years (most i have reclaimed the interest, thanks to you) and also some gambling. My overdraft started out as £3k but I up it when offered so that I could have extra cash. I was given a loan from my place of work to clear my overdraft almost 2 years ago but have maxed it out again, do you think this could affect my complaint?
I am currently also very dependent on my overdraft and am worried that if I make a complaint that they will close my account down leaving me with no funds to get by, could they do this? I do have another bank account with somebody else do you recommend I change my work bank details to this account before making my complaint?
I’m not good with money and even worse at these things so your help will be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks H
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have other problem debts apart from this overdraft?
H says
Hi Sara,
The only other debt that I have is my Car Finance and have a small balance on a catalogue.
I forgot the mention before that my monthly cost of this overdraft is £110 so I’m struggling to chip away at it. Also since having the overdraft I have paid easily over £5k in interest and charges.
They did once give me a good will gesture and removed one of the charges as they take the interest toward the end of the month which then puts me into unauthorized. Do you think this could affect anything?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you say you had some gambling – was this regular? did it show on your bank statements? And did they allow you to increase the overdraft after there had been gambling?
I think changing banks to the other one would be a good idea because it would be simpler for you. Then when you complain about the overdraft, you can also ask them to stop charging you interest so you can repay the overdraft.
H says
I wouldn’t say regular, I would stop after losing a bit and then a few months later start again and so on. My biggest killer was payday loans, I used to have about 10-15 on the go at once over about 2-3 years (until I found you basically) Yes all my gambling will be on that account and I gambled after I was given an increase.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok then that is the point to emphasise in your complaint, that they could see from your bank statements – and your credit record if they had looked – that you had a big problem with payday loans and it wasn’t responsible to increase your overdraft so that it was more than twice as high as your monthly income as it meant you could never pay it off.
H says
Ok thank you for your advice, I’m with NatWest, do you know from past experiences which complaint method is the best, I was thinking about taking a letter into my local branch and retaining a dated copy. Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As the account is still open, I would send a secure message.
Bobby Reds says
I was constantly at or over my overdraft limit of £2,000 from between 2010-2019.
Made a complaint to NatWest who initially rejected it. When I escalated it to the FOS, Natwest came back and offered approx £1,000 even though my fees and charges for the period amounted to approx £3,000. FOS hinted to me that if I don’t mind waiting it out, I would be due a lot more in refunds if the case continued so I rejected NatWest’s offer.
Eventually FOS ruled for a refund of approx £3,500 (including 8% statutory interest) and Natwest agreed and paid very quickly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thanks for that helpful update.
Laura says
Hi Bobby
I also had a complaint with NatWest rejected by them then upheld. They have 4 weeks to pay out; could you tell me how they contacted you to pay out (email/phone/letter?) and how long it took please?
Laura says
Has anyone got any experience with how NatWest might contact me? I just don’t have access to the online banking anymore or anything so not sure how they will do it…I wanted to see their calculations before I agreed to it that’s all
Bobby Reds says
Hi Laura – saw this late.
All the communication with Natwest and the FOS was done via email.
Once Natwest agreed to the FOS judgement, I think they paid me within 7 days tbh. It was quite quick
Hila says
Good evening, I want to make a complaint to halifax about overdraft I was in for around 18 months. Is there an email I could put in my complaint, or only by writing a letter?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is the account still open? Were in the overdraft all month even when you were paid? Did they increase your limit during this time?
Hila says
Yes its still open and I use it for everyday banking. I was in overdraft between 2016-2018, after getting paid. I believed increased my limit, because I had 3 other payday loans to pay off and also was being charged unplanned OD fees in 2016 and 2017- 2018 mostly planned OD fees.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The easiest way is to use their secure message system to submit the complaint. No email.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes – do you use it?
Hila says
Yes I do but I can’t seem to find it.
Hila says
I have mobile banking for Halifax, I just don’t know how to get to the secure message part . Can I send through letter instead
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can.
Catherine says
Hello Sara,
Reading this info I feel I have grounds for a complaint to NatWest – I had a huge overdraft with them which they allowed me to keep extending and was more than my monthly salary, they also let me take a loan out during this time and I had multiple paydays loans too.
I have had an IVA though which is now settled and closed early due to a gift payment from a family member but it will remain on my record until Jan 2024. The NatWest overdraft was part of the IVA although the debt was old to PRA Group by then.
Does this preclude me from complaining?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your IVA , was this settled with an offer to pay the rest of your IVA payments (or something like that)? Or settled by repaying your debts in the IVA in full?
Catherine says
It was settled by making a lump sum payment which was more or less the total of my payments remaining. Actually the value of my debts in the IVA was £8.5k and I paid over £11k in total. The debts in the IVA were almost completely paid off with just a few hundred pounds left outstanding. I certainly didn’t write of 80% of my debt as they advertise in fact I paid more than I owed in the first place so it now doesn’t seem like it was the best option for me but I was desperate for a solution and I didn’t have good advice but that’s another matter!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case it may be worth making a complaint. Any refund will first be paid to your IVA firm, but it may be that after they settle the rest of your debts and deduct their fees, there will be some cash that will be returned to you.
Catherine says
As expected NatWest rejected the complaint due to the time elapsed despite me telling them I was only aware I could make a complaint about an overdraft having read your article dated Feb 2022. I have now forwarded this to the Ombudsman for review – fingers crossed they will agree it should be looked at. Thanks Sara for your help.
Catherine says
I’ve received this response from the adjudicator today:
From the information provided, I can see the overdraft increase you are complaining about was added to your account on August 2013. You made the complaint about these charges on March 2022 – more than six years after the limit was applied to your overdraft. As this would’ve been notified to you around the time it was applied, I think that you knew enough to decide whether you thought it was excessive/unfair/or keeping you in debt. As this is the case, I don’t think that three years from when you were aware (or you ought reasonably to have become aware) you had reason to complain provides you with longer and I think you complained about the overdraft applied to your overdraft too late.
I will ask for it to be reviewed by an Ombudsman but I’m not holding out hope based on other’s responses above. I have made it clear I was only aware you could complain having read this article, I’ve also asked why my case would be different to others upheld that are outside the 6 year window including some payday loan complaints I had upheld by the Ombudsman which were outside of the window. Anything else I could add?
I
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you include some of the following – put it into your own words and changing as necessary:
————————————
I have read the 2 key Ombudsman decisions about payday loans https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/17783/payday-loans_time-limts_final-decision-lender-C.pdf and https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/17784/payday-loans_time-limits_final-decision-lender-D.pdf. It seems to me that the approach used there is directly applicable to my overdraft.
One says “Mr H would also have been aware, or ought reasonably to have been aware, that he was paying an increasing amount of interest the more loans he took out. So I think that Mr H also ought reasonably to have been aware that he may have suffered a loss, or that he was suffering a loss as he was taking out these loans. But I wasn’t persuaded that Mr H realised that Lender C might’ve been responsible for his repayment problems – nor did I think that Mr H ought reasonably to have made that connection either. In my view, Mr H would, quite reasonably, have seen Lender C’s offer of further loan as a solution to his problem, rather than a cause of it.”
The other said:
“Mrs W appears to be an intelligent and articulate individual who is capable of using the internet to access information. But I do not think it necessarily follows that a reasonable person in those circumstances, who became aware of affordability problems with her loan and who understood that she had suffered loss as a result, would also become aware that her difficulties could be due to failings on the part of the lender. In my view, a reasonable person in Mrs W’s circumstances would be more likely to take personal responsibility for the difficulties she faced.
I am satisfied that a reasonable person in Mrs W’s position could not reasonably be expected to have understood from her contract with LENDER D that the lender had an obligation to check that her loan was affordable before agreeing to provide it to her.”
Like Mr H and Mrs W, I realised that my overdraft going up mean I was paying more in charges. And that the overdraft was getting very high in relation to by salary.
However I thought this was my fault for not managing my money well. I didn’t know the bank should have checked that the initial overdraft limit and the increases would be affordable for me, so I didn’t see the bank’s decision as the cause of my problem. I wrongly saw the overdraft limit increases as a help, even though they led to higher charges which themselves led to me using more of the overdraft. Until I found out what affordability complaints were, I did not realise I had a cause to complain.
Thomas says
Hi,
I have had an overdraft of £700 with Santander for over 4 years and have always been in it at some point in the month.
Is this worthy of a complaint. It added to my financial problems…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How often during the month? There is a big difference between being in it for most of the month and just a few days at the end.
Thomas says
Hi Sara,
This was for the majority of the month.
I am finally sorted with my finances but at worst and for a number of months or even years it could of been a couple of days after been paid due to payday loans and money lent…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, this isn’t the strongest of complaints if they didnt increase your limit and you weren’t in it every day for a long period but with the payday loans showing on your statements it is worth a try.
Make a complaint and include a sentence in the template saying that at your annual overdraft reviews, Santander should have noticed your problems with payday loans and not carried on with overdraft charges that were making your position worse.
Mack says
Can an overdraft affordability claim go as far back 2010?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes. If the bank says it can’t, send the complaint to the ombudsman straight away.
Rose says
Dear Sara. I have been in my overdraft (up to £2000/2500) since around 2016. I did receive a refund on interest (a small amount however, under £100) and a freeze on interest for a few months, a couple of years ago. Would this undermine a complaint? I earn £1800 a month and cannot get out of my current £2000 overdraft. Lloyds has sent me an email offering support which I guess shows they’ve seen my overdraft is unmanageable. Should I try telephoning the bank to ask for support first or can I make a complaint as they shouldn’t have authorised the increases as it was unaffordable?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Would this undermine a complaint?
no, it shows they knew you were in trouble. So what was the point in starting to charge interest again at the end and make things worse?
I suggest you send in a complaint asking for a refund of previous interest and also ask for interest to be stopped immediately on the overdraft the moment.
Rosie says
Thank you for your reply. I have contacted them and they’ve agreed to freeze interest for 3 months with a payment plan, however I am going to write a complaint also as it was clearly unaffordable and has put me right back where I was before.
Chris says
Hi
I complained to Halifax about a £3200 overdraft I have never got out of for over 20 years. They replied the same day and just rejected it. They sent me a letter saying complaint had been open and closed and not accepted ? I have posted letter to Fos to complain.Has anybody had any experience of Halifax refunding any charges ? How long will Fos take to deal with my complaint ? I got in a mess with payday loans etc and am not very proud of this, but it’s soo easy to fall in their trap ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think these overdraft complaints now seem to be going through a bit faster.
KC says
Thanks again Sara, another good outcome for me this time with my Santander overdraft.
I have been in my overdraft since 2016, possibly longer but i had a lot of payday loans for a few years, as well as gambling transactions. In 2020 I increased my overdraft in stages from £2000 up to £3500 over the space of a couple of weeks.
I complained to Santander about my overdraft before this, but they didn’t uphold and i never went to FO (i did regret it this but at the time i didn’t know about your article or have enough info to really push it further). In May 2021 following advice on your article, i submitted a new complaint about the increases to my overdraft in 2020, which went to the FO.
Today, the FO came back to me and said Santander have offered as a gesture of goodwill to refund all my charges and fees since July 2016 plus 8%, they have mentioned they will remove my overdraft facility if i accept this, but this is what i wanted anyway. I am on my way to be being debt free this year and so never want my overdraft again! This is more than i was expecting, with me only mentioning increases to my overdraft from August 2020, but they are going back to 2016!
Just need to wait for Santander to get in touch with me directly to pay the amount now. Thanks again!
Christina D says
After reading your article I made a complain to Lloyds which I had overdraft for 10 years and only was reducing when I was getting paid or when I was applying for payday loans and then back to the limit . I was paying £40 every month for 10 years . I was taken almost 8 payday loans every month for 5 years . Got a reply form lloyds to say they will not upheld the complain as I never called to ask for help. I will take it to Ombudsman and hopefully will be more lucky.
Paul G says
I sent off a complaint to Lloyds and within 3 weeks I had a reply and 3000 refund ( happy days ) but they used it to clear my overdraft off 2000 and cancelled my overdraft so only revived 1000 but am now in a good place with money in the bank and no overdraft so no more charges , thank you
Wb says
A few years ago now, I went to my bank asking for a personal loan to help me clear payday loans.
The person who I was speaking to said, they don’t touch people who have a history of payday loans, however advised me to upgrade my account to a pay monthly one, to avoid charges of going over my overdraft. Despite him knowing it was more money I’d have to pay on a monthly basis, when I was never out of my overdraft for long periods. Do you feel I’d have a case if I was to complain against them. I’m still paying account fees now, despite never being out of my overdraft, and not using them as my main bank anymore as I can’t afford to clear my overdraft
Off in full.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you were advised to switch to some bank account with a monthly fee why? what were the benefits of doing this for you?
how large is the overdraft now?
How much do you get paid a month?
Wb says
Ye was advise, to stop getting charged for payday loans leaving my bank when funds werent available.
£700 is the overdraft amount, I was taking home £1500 at the time. But I told the adviser I was struggling with pay day loans etc, so not sure how an account with monthly fees was going to help either way?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were you using payday loans a lot? Have you made affordability claims to them?
“But I told the adviser I was struggling with pay day loans etc, so not sure how an account with monthly fees was going to help either way?”
I think this is a fair point. I haven’t seen a complaint like this but it seems worth making. Ask for a refund of the account fees./
Jason says
Hi Sara, just wondering if you could help me figure out if I have a worthy complaint? I have 2 current accounts both in overdraft constantly almost to max for years now, one of which is close to £3000 after several increases, huge amounts of gambling on my accounts when they were accepted for increases.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is your normal monthly income?
Are you in the overdrafts constantly, not getting “back into the black” even when you are paid?
Are these with different banks?
Do you still have a gambling problem?
Jason says
Roughly £2000 and yes constant and possibly back into black once if I had a bonus from work but wouldn’t have been for long, yes with the same bank I also have a credit card with a large limit that is heavily used and I’ve had several loans with them also which I have used to clear the overdrafts but then ended up back into it due to the gambling etc
I’ve recent subscribed to gamstop and blocked all accounts
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK then those sound like good complaints about the overdrafts AND about the loans (they could see from your bank statements you had a gambling problem) AND also against the credit card if they set a high limit initially or increased your limit when the bank knew you had a gambling problem.
I suggest you start from the template letter in the article above but add in paragraphs to say you are also making affordability complaints about the loans and credit card.
Jason says
Thank you for your reply
not sure if it makes a difference but it’s actually a building society not a bank? Also do I need the exact dates of increases etc and if so where would I locate the information?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A Building Society is subject to the same affordability rules as a bank, so no difference.
Include in your complaint that you would like them to tell you the dates of the credit limit increases for the card and the overdraft limit.
Richard says
I have banked with Lloyds since 1998. Can I claim both overdraft and loans in one complaint? I already had huge credit card debts and a big overdraft when Lloyds. Lloyds refused my loan application and when I re-applied straight after and tweaked a couple of numbers they loaned me £20,000 it took me to the brink of suicide. My bills far exceeded my incomings but I had to take on more debt to manage my payments. In the end my sister lent me the money to pay off all of my debts and I am now paying her back. I payed £000’s in interest and charges and they kept allowing me to increase my debt.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can. Start off with the overdraft template above and add paragraphs saying you also want to make an affordability complaint about the Lloyds loans too.
david says
Hello DC, i have a question on behalf of my partner and Mother in Law….
They have a joint current account with Lloyds TSB with a £1k overdraft. My mother in law took out the account jointly with her to help her out due to financial difficulties before we were together. They have had this account for many years, and until before the C19 pandemic my partners’ wage would also go in there, but no income has been paid into the account for over a year now barring approx £118 per month child benefit of my partners. my partner is currently on a career and education sabbatical due to ill health and mental health issues.
The account has perennially been in an overdraft for approx 3 years at least now. Each month the account is charged £35 for being in an overdraft and on most occasions, the overdraft charges and monthly interest pretty much eats up the majority of child benefit going into the account. the account is kept within its limit ultimately, but only just.
my question is, with my mother in law also being on the account and being of good credit standing, while my partner has very poor credit and CCjs etc, how would a complaint about bank charges to lloyds go down please?
any advice truly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though the account was fine for many years? It is hardly Lloyds fault that your partner stopped her wages going into the account.
Why doesn’t your MiL clear the account, your partner move the CB to a different account and she can take debt advice on her other problem debt?
david says
my partner didn’t stop her wages going into the account, she stopped working due to ill health. even before then, she only worked part time and earned about £600 a month after deductions.
i’m not 100% sure of the account standing prior to my involvement with my partner, but ultimately the money going in now is close to not enough to cover whats going out each month in charges etc, even before considering using those benefits for what they are actually for, supporting her child, i think that is their main gripe.
as for clearing the account, i dont think that is on the table as things stand. her MIL is named on the account but this was done purely to give my partner a little legroom in terms of the overdraft, but obviously over the years the charges havent helped her getting back out of it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you say what her total debts are?
considering using those benefits for what they are actually for, supporting her child
there is an urban myth that banks can’t take benefits money in charges. They can. It does however suggest that she is currently in difficulty and if she talks to the bank they may well stop the changes.
That isn’t the same as winning an affordability complaint though – that implies the bank has made a mistake in the past. It doesn’t sound as though the overdraft limit on this account was increased when she was already clearly in difficulty?
I haven’t seen a joint account in an affordability complaint where the account holders had not been living together as partners at some point. So I have no track record to go on. I would suggest that the financial situation of your MiL is important though – imagine if she was a millionaire and the bank knew this…
You can try an affordability complaint, but it may be stronger if you talk your MiL first and can then argue she can’t pay off the balance either.
I do think your partner needs debt advice on her options. She can get the Child Benefit moved into a different account and ask the bank to stop charges for example. But if she has a lot of other debt then it may be good to look at insolvency options. I suggest she talks to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
David says
I appreciate the advice, I’ll gather them together and try to see whats best for next steps.
Many thanks!!
Emily56 says
Could you please explain these possible outcomes? The financial ombudsman have sent these to Lloyds but I do not really understand
Re-work current overdraft balance so that all interest, fees and charges applied to it from 18 May 2020 onwards are removed.
AND
If an outstanding balance remains on the overdraft once these adjustments have
been made Bank of Scotland should contact to arrange a suitable repayment plan for this. If it considers it appropriate to record negative information on credit file, it should backdate this to 18 May 2020.
OR
If the effect of removing all interest, fees and charges results in there no longer being
an outstanding balance, then any extra should be treated as overpayments and returned, along with 8% simple interest on the overpayments from the date they were made (if they were) until the date of settlement. If no outstanding balance remains after all adjustments have been made, then Bank if Scotland should remove any adverse information from credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you know how much you have paid in overdraft fees and charges after May 2020? If you can go back through your bank statements and check, it is easier to talk about real figures.
Emily56 says
£263 in daily overdraft fees
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and your current balance is?
Jason says
Hi Sara, is it worth contacting the bank first to see what can be done before making a formal complaint? or just go straight ahead with a complaint and see where it goes?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No just make a complaint. This is too complicated to sensibly discuss on the phone with a customer service person who has no idea what an affordability complaint it. And I don’t see any point in raising the issue in writing and not saying you are complaining.
C says
Could you advise me on this please?
My overdraft account is closed and sold to a debt collectors, but before it was closed I phoned the bank and asked for help (they didn’t help!). 8 weeks later I received a response from them, I later found out that they had taken my discussion as a complaint and responded to it. I didn’t know this as I didn’t ask them to, and certainly put nothing in writing. I only realised what they’d done just over 6 months later, I phoned the fos and they said they wouldn’t be able to deal with it as it was over the time limit. (The bank said they’d done nothing wrong)
Can I complain to the bank again, this time putting across what I want to put across? Or am I not allowed to do this as they believe they have investigated an irresponsible lending claim? It’s been about 2 years now and I’ve not known if I could do anything and not wanted to jeopardise anything. If the debt collectors take me to court I don’t know if I can argue there about unaffordable lending
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did the response from the bank about your “complaint” tell you that you had the right to go to the Ombudsman within 6 months?
C says
Yes. And I know this sounds stupid but I just didn’t know what that meant, lol thought it was just bumph in with the letter. I didn’t know what the procedures were and I didn’t put in a complaint
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so what exactly was your “not a complaint” about? was it that the overdraft was unaffoprdable for you and had been for years? or that they hadn’t treated you well and should have sold the account?
You can’t make the same complaint twice. So it really matters what the first one was about.
C says
I don’t know exactly. My comment that they responded to was literally just ‘you should have never given me the overdraft in the first place’. That was it. Their response was about how they’d checked and I’d ticked boxes to say I could afford it so I couldn’t complain.
They gave me an overdraft of over £3000 when I wasn’t working, and the amount going into my account each month was child benefit etc and about £500. It went up to 3000 because I kept asking for it to be increased so I could pay the charges they put on
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you did not say “you should not have increased my credit limit”. And they never replied about the increases to the overdraft limit?
In that case I think you can now complain not about the original overdraft but about the increases. Ask for a refund of all charges from the date of the first increase to your limit.
C says
Hi Sara,
I know this is a while ago now, but I’ve just found out all of my paperwork here, and wondered if you could possibly advise again.
My words to the bank, that they took as a complaint and investigated, was literally just you should have never given me the overdraft in the first place.
Their complaint letter states that my complaint was that I was unhappy that they gave me an overdraft with no means to repay it, and the £3000 is now more than (and always has been) three times more than my monthly wage. They said that I feel the bank did not act responsibly by providing me an overdraft.
They refer to the fact that I applied for the overdraft online in april 2018 (£500), and increased it online slowly up to August of the same year (£3050.
Their main reason for denying my complaint was that I applied online and ticked a box therefore it was all ok.
Is there a reason left that I can complain to them with that they will look into? or have they covered all eventualities with their investigation?
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your help!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Don’t go back to the bank – just send the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
C says
I can’t. I didn’t knowingly put in a complaint, I didn’t ask to, they just did it after a phone call. I got their final response, and it did include information about the ombudsman but as i’d not put in an official complaint I didn’t realise that they’d investigated like an official complaint, so I didn’t send it to the ombudsman in time, and so can’t take it back now. This was done in November 2019.
Romel says
Hi
I made a complaint about my HSBC current account overdraft, it’s just been picked up by an adjudicator. I closed my account in sep 2015 and they said its over the timescale of 6years for them to look back at the complaint. As I didn’t know that it was irresponsible lending till November 2021 after reading this article. Would they still look into my complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Explain that you had no idea your bank was supposed to review your overdraft and whether it was affordable for you on an annual basis, until you read this page this year. So you made the complaint very promptly, well within the three years of becoming aware you had a cause to complain. Ask for the adjudicator to look at it again, and for the complaint to go to an Ombudsman if they dont change their mind.
But you may have difficulty even if FOS agree to look at this. As the article above says:
If your complaint is about an account that was closed more than 6 years ago, it’s harder to win. The bank may no longer have much information about the old account. If you still have copies of your old bank statements for these old closed accounts this is worth a try.
But HSBC may still have this data as yours is only just over the 6 years point.
Vanessa says
Hi Sara, after reading through the various refund articles I think I have a case against Lloyds/TSB banks
I banked with Lloyds TSB from 1990-2012 and had an overdraft with Lloyds TSB from around 2007 which I permanently lived in due to my low income and was still raised to £3,000 over a period of time (I have minimal records of the overdraft so cannot confirm dates). I also took out a £4,500 loan with Lloyds TSB in 2008 and then the following year in 2009 opened a credit card with Lloyds TSB with a £1,500 limit which was maxed out consistently with only minimum payments being made. Unsurprisingly I ended up defaulting on all of the above in 2011/2012 entered a debt management plan etc.
How should I tackle this complaint? Should I bundle together or make separate complaints about the loan/CC/overdraft? It’s further complicated by the fact that after Lloyds TSB split, my loan and credit card went to Lloyds, while my overdraft went to TSB. I think I might have a stronger case if I bundle together but not sure that is possible being that they are separate companies now? Plus this complaint is so old so theres high chance neither banks have any data but this debt has had a significant impact on my life and I should have never had access to all of this credit as a 20 year old on minimum wage so I would love to be able to follow this up.
Would appreciate your guidance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you complain to TSB about the Overdraft and Lloyds about the loans and credit cards. In each complaint, mention the other one.
expect both to be rejected because the events were more than 6 years ago, but just send the complaints to the ombudsman.
Kelly says
Hello, I wondered whether I have a case.
I had a standard/basic bank account with NatWest. No overdraft or anything.
The bank let me go over £2700 overdrawn as I was gambling online. I thought at the time I had available funds as all transactions were approved. Surely they shouldn’t of allowed this.
My account is closed and I’m paying Stepchange monthly.
I complained but they wouldn’t uphold my complaint. I’ve raised it with FOS but still waiting and it’s been 8 months.
I strongly believe the bank were at fault.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think this is worth complaining about – a few people are trying – I don’t remember seeing a FOS decision on it.
Sean says
Hi Sara, I’m wondering if you can help.
I’m interested in complaining to NatWest about unaffordable lending. It includes a £4000 overdraft (which I always struggled at the bottom of), but also two loans (£13000) and two credit cards (£5500).
I had been in a DMP since 2018 with this alongside other debts. and was too scared to complain during that incase it made issues worse. But they are all partially settled now. I don’t have any of the account info about when I was lent to etc as the accounts were closed down back in 2018, but do you think there may be a claim here? I relied on their credit facilities as much as I did pay day lenders at one point and think it’s mad they allowed me to have so much debt with them (standing at over £22k) when I was clearly struggling! Just worried my complaint would look naff as I don’t know any of the dates anymore.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can complain, you don’t need to know the dates first.
Lisa says
Hi Sarah,
From 2007 – 2010 I started off with a 500 overdraft, by 2010 it was 8000. I was always at the higher end of the overdraft, never reducing this, I had a gambling problem. Asked bank for a loan to clear off overdraft in 2010, was refused. Shortly after I was in a debt management plan. My wages were around 1500. I had about 18k of other debt, credit cards/loans. This was my only bank account so all gambling and loan / credits cards payments were through this bank account
( Royal bank of Scotland) Would an affordability claim be looked at or more than likely get told the 6 year rule?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This was a long time ago. When was the bank account closed? The Ombudsman will look at old cases even when a bank rejects saying they are over 6 years old… but it can be hard to produce evidence for older cases when the account has been closed a long while.
Lisa says
Hi Sarah,
My account was closed in 2014.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a bit marginal. The bank may still have the information or it may not. If you want to complain do this right away, don’t delay.
Andy says
Morning Lisa I’m exactly the same as you with rbs kept letting me put overdraft up to £4000 On 2 accounts as I to had a problem with online gambling I’m constantly living in my overdraft paying £60 interest on each every month that’s why I can’t wait for Quick quid redress to pay off some overdraft so I wonder if it worthwhile putting letter in to bank aswell
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It definitely is! Expect the bank to reject it and send it to the Ombudsman where there are some very good decisions being made. the article above these comments has a template and also looks at a few Ombudsman decisions.
And https://debtcamel.co.uk/gambling-refunds-loans-cards-overdrafts/ looks at gambling and these complaints.
Char says
Hi Sara,
Do you have a template letter for asking for bank charges back? I have got a figure from Lloyds and over the course of my account with them they took approx £2,400 in bank charges from me so I would really like to try and recoup some of this?
Thanks
Char
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you say something about your ovderdraft during this time?
This may sound odd, but “reclaims of bank charges because they are too high” is a totally different process from “reclaim of bank charges as your overdraft was set at too high a level”
Char says
I had a basic account that had no overdraft facility – the bank charges were accrued from some bounced payments (direct debits) but also on some occasions where somehow my account ended up £1 overdrawn even though this wasn’t supposed to be possible on my account – and would then be landed with £20-30 in charges – but in some cases the charges took money from my account which was there for bills so the charge would then lead to a further charge when the direct debit then bounced because the money for the direct debit had been taken because of a charge. I did kick up a fuss one month and managed to get £60 back but was told it was a goodwill gesture and a one off – but I think there is a possibility of claim here on basis that I essentially ended up with charges because of charges in a lot of the cases?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this account a normal current account with no overdraft? Or was it specifically meant as a “basic bank account” – do you have the name of the account.
Char says
Hi sorry I’m not sure what happened – I thought I had left a reply but it’s not here. It was a “basic current account” meaning I had use of a debit card, but I had a lower cash point limit than a standard account and wasn’t allowed a cheque book or contactless card
Sara (Debt Camel) says
in that case I think you should complain and say you should not have been charged fees on a basic bank account and ask for them all to be refunded.
Sue says
Hello, I have read this thread with great interest and am seriously considering either using resolver, or writing to my bank to complain.
I had an account for many years (I guess 1990’s onwards) and it had a huge overdraft (I think it was between £10,000 and £12,000 and my salary would have been around £2,500 nett monthly) until around 2010 when I could not cope any more, got a new account with a different bank and no overdraft. I still have some of this outstanding and am trying hard to reduce it. I also had loans and credit cards which were maxed out to around 40,000 so it would have been obvious from a credit check that I was not in a great place financially.
I know they will try and say it is over 6 years, but I did try and reclaim the interest and charges at the point where it hit the headlines which I think would have been around 2010? I was refused a refund, but if I remember correctly they did give me a small gesture of goodwill, probably a couple of hundred £.
Because I was refused at that point it will be clear that I had tried to claim when I discovered the unfair charges ruling, so as affordability is a lot more recent and I only discovered this very informative thread today, do you think it would be possible to make a claim now going back that far please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
which bank is this? do they still have the account or has it been sold to a debt collector, if so how long ago? How much is the current balance?
Sue says
It was from Lloyds Bank. It was assigned to someone else a few years ago and Wescot manage it. Balance will be a bit over£ 4,000 now I need to go through my old paperwork to see the actual dates though
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have three problems.
1) the bank will say it is over 6 years ago – but the Ombudsman will usually look at older complaints.
2) the may well say that you have already made a complaint about the account in 2010 and you should have taken it to the Ombudsman then if you were not happy with it. The Ombudsman may agree with this, I don’t know, I haven’t seen one of these sorts of cases
3) I don’t know how much data the bank will still have ,l it may depend how long ago the account was sold.
So I am not saying don’t complain. But I am suggesting it may not be easy.
Sue says
Thank you very much, I will try a complaint and will report back with what the answer is. I can take your comments on the possible problems and try to word the letter accordingly.
J says
Hi Sara,
I’m wondering if it would be worthwhile to put in a complaint to Clydesdale Bank (now Virgin). I had an overdraft with them, not sure when it started but I got bank statements when I was looking to put in a complaint to QQ. I have these from 2010 and my overdraft was £2,500 at that point. It can be seen from the statements that I got various pay day loans, loans, credit cards etc.
My salary would never pay the overdraft off in full and I was continually in overdraft and sometimes over, incurring further charges. They didn’t increase the overdraft during this time, but I did ask them to several times but was declined. I finally got a loan from the same bank to pay off the overdraft in 2018.
Grateful for your advice, thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like a good complaint. use the template ij the article above.
Don’t be surprised if they reject the complaint as being about something that happened more than 6 years ago – just send this to the Ombudsman who may well decide they can look at it.
J says
Thanks Sara, will get this sent off.
James says
If I had a £10k overdraft with Lloyd’s which started sensibly and grew to that size and was maintained over 8 years or so do you think this is good grounds to complain.? Lots of payday loans, gambling transactions etc. Also allowed me a personal loan of £25k at the same time, all applied for online?
All now paid off but I paid about £10k in interest over that time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago was this? They increased your overdraft when there were a lot of gambling showin* on your statements? Where did the 25k loan come in this 8 year period? And how did you manage to clear it?
James says
I had the loan taken out 2012,paid off 2018, all this time plenty of payday loans and gambling. Loan and od paid off same time. With the loan I repaid the od in 2012 but they allowed me to reinstate the od gradually overtime, so within a year of getting loan od was back to £10k
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok then you can argue that they should not have allowed the overdraft to be increased again as you were also having to repay the large loan.
Expect them to reject the complaint as it is over 6 years old – what banks don’t tell you is that the Ombudsman can look at complaints where you have olnly found out in the last three years that you have a cause to complain. So tell FOS that you you knew you were in trouble from 2012 but thought it was your ownh fault and didn’t know that lloyds should have reviewed your overdraft annually. And explain when and how you found out about these affordability complaints, pointing out this is within the last 3 years.
Calum says
Sara I had gambling issue and had a £2,000 overdraft with RBS which I couldn’t clear. Fortunately I was able to reduce my overdraft after facing my problem. My issue is, RBS are still my current account provider, if I raise a complaint, are they likely to shut my account?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s possible but people haven’t reported this happening. Lots of other better current accounts out there anyway!
mark says
just had a phone response from rbs/natwest….cant look at anyone past 6 years, lol, and it was not their responsibility to monitor my account/review my overdraft facility until 2020, when he says legislation forced them to do so…double lol.
Think he was taken aback at how much i knew , and the cheek of the young lad, to say they had no responsibility to review my overdraft, that they gave me, onus was on me, up until 2020…I do hope he puts that in his response , for me to forward on to FOS…..i had a £2600 overdraft going back to 2009, lots of gambling transactions, and short term, and long term high interest loans…..
Andy says
Evening Sara you gave me advice about overdraft on quick quid page I have 2 bank accounts I’ve had £4000 overdraft limit which I got when having an online gambling problem And loads off pay day loans Showing on account I’ve been living in my overdraft for last 6-7 years at the top end on both one of my accounts I didn’t even have money getting paid into this but I still applied for them and got overdraft increased to this amount on both So although I asked for them do you think I have a good complaint Thank you
Andy says
Sorry to make clearer on 1st post it’s £4000 on both accounts for overdraft so £8000 in total
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that sounds like good complaints. Send them in and send them to the Ombudsman if they are rejected – banks are rejecting a lot of strong complaints hoping people will believe the complaints “are too old” or otherwise be fobbed off and give up.
Andy says
Many thanks I will send off in secure message tonight many thanks
Andy says
Hi Sara I got phone call from rbs today saying that bank didnt do anything wrong with lending me and looked at my accounts usage so I wasn’t due anything and I asked what about the account with no money going into it why would they let me take £4000 overdraft on this one and again he said it was properly checked when I applied so he asked if he wanted me to close the complaint down I said no I think I might send to financial ombudsman give him his due he was helpful with how to do it
Ben says
Hello I’ve just spent some time reading other peoples stories and think mine is pretty similar to many others. My bank allowed me to go from a £500 overdraft which I lived in for years as I was gambling a lot back then. To a £8500 overdraft in the space of a few days I would click increase and it would go up and I kept doing it until it arrived at £8500. I hadn’t been out of my £500 overdraft for years apart from the odd month when maybe I had won a bet.
I was earning around £3000 a month and it was only on pay day that I would be in credit so why on earth they thought I’d manage an overdraft nearly three times my incomings a month, 17 times bigger overdraft and they were letting me increase it daily.
I have been paying on average £230 a month for about two years for this overdraft now in interest and god knows how many charges as well.
I have used your template above and have composed my letter but finding it difficult to get it over to RBS using their site. Will try again tomorrow.
Good luck to everyone else on here. Some really great stories on here. Great website.