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 would be 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.
Banks are rejecting many good complaints, so I also explain how to send a rejected complaint to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS).
Contents
Overdraft affordability complaints
Overdrafts are supposed to be for short term borrowing
Banks are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority which puts treating customers fairly at the heart of its approach.
For overdrafts, The Standards of Lending Practice, which used to be known as The Lending Code, is important. This is a set of voluntary standards that all major UK banks subscribe to.
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 this 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 recent 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 did review the customer’s overdraft but failed to act:
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:
Lloyds acted unfairly when it continued charging overdraft interest and associated fees after it renewed Mr and Mrs C’s overdraft in March 2013. By this point, it ought to have been clear that Mr and Mrs C were in no position to sustainably repay what they owed within a reasonable period of time.
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.
And another one, this time against the Co-op:
Ms A’s statements show that she was regularly relying on payday lenders or other high cost … [and] for much of the previous year Ms A was ‘hardcore borrowing’. In other, words she often didn’t see or maintain a credit balance for an extended period of time… I think Co-op should have… treated Ms A with forbearance rather than charge even more interest, fees and charges on the overdraft.
First, 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.
It doesn’t matter if you asked for your limit to be increased or the bank just offered you an increase. In either case, the bank should have reviewed your situation before increasing the limit.
If the bank saw signs of financial difficulty, it should not have increased your credit limit. And it should have considered offering your help (the regulator’s word is forbearance) for example by stopping adding charges.
How high a limit is too high?
There is no set figure, it depends on your income and expenses. An overdraft of £3,000 for someone whose income is £1,800 a month is a lot – but if you earn £5,000 a month, then a £3,000 overdraft may be reasonable.
The bank should have seen you were in difficulty
Banks should review your overdraft:
- most banks have a clause in the overdraft conditions saying they will review it annually. You may not have known this – it isn’t clear that many banks did the reviews they should have;
- the Ombudsman decided in the case of a NatWest customer (see above) that the bank should have reviewed the customer’s overdraft even though its conditions didn’t say it would.
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.
But the bank should notice at a review 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. Either of these suggests you are reliant on the overdraft to pay everyday bills and you will find it hard or impossible to stop using the overdraft.
There isn’t a set definition of what a “prolonged period” is – I would say over a year is prolonged. Or of what unauthorised overdraft usage is “significant” – that depends on the level of your income.
Other points that help your complaint
You won’t win an affordability complaint by saying the charges were too high. Instead, you say the bank should have known they were unaffordable for you because of all the financial problems it could see on your statements and your credit record.
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.
If you can think of another reason your bank should have known you were in trouble, from its own records or your credit record, then add that to your list. You will list all these points in your complaint.
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.
How to send your complaint
I don’t recommend phoning. And banks make it hard to complain by email.
When the account is still open, send your complaint by secured 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.
If the account is closed, you can write a letter or use Resolver to complain. Resolver is an odd sort of claims company that never charges anything- it is just a forwarding system. To start an overdraft complaint through Resolver, there isn’t a special category for these affordability complaints so choose Other.
What to say in your complaint – a template
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 it should read. The bits in italics should be changed or deleted to to tell your story. And add any other points.
I am making an affordability complaint about the overdraft on my current account number 98765432.
Your identity details (not needed if you complain by secure message):
My name is xxxxx xxxxxxxx. My date of birth is dd/mm/yy. The email address I use(d) for this account was myaddress@whatever.com.
If you are complaining your limit was too high:
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 I had significant gambling transactions showing on my account and 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.
AND/OR say they should have noticed when your overdraft usage got worse
By 2012 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 2016 I had a large unauthorised overdraft for many days each month.
Overdrafts are meant for short-term borrowing but that was not what I was using the account for. The overdrafts fees and charges you were adding were making my position worse.
Add any other points
You should also have realised that I was in financial difficulty because you had rejected my loan application in 2016 and you should have noticed that the income going into my account had decreased. In 2017 you should have seen from my credit record that I had made payment arrangements with other debts.
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.
Bank says No – go to the Ombudsman
You can’t go straight to the Ombudsman, you have to wait for the bank to reply. The bank should reply in 8 weeks.
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.
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.
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 supply those to FOS.
Do these complaints work?
Yes! Banks may turn you down but people winning cases at the ombudsman. FOS is a friendly service but it isn’t speedy. It isn’t faster if you use a solicitor or a claims firm, and you are not more likely to win your complaint.
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. Still 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 other debt options are.
Is your credit card limit too high?
Get a refunds from large loans
Unaffordable car finance – your options
Stephen says
Hi Sara, just a quick message to say thankyou. I have been living in my overdraft for over 6 years now and really struggling to make any dent in paying it back. Using your template, i was paid £3500 last week which has cleared my overdraft completely (i no longer have the option for one now too, thankfully) and left me with some change to get even closer to being debt free. Your service is amazing and you change peoples lives with your advice, thankyou again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Excellent. Do you mind saying which bank it is?
Mr T says
Hi Sara,
Brilliant what a brilliant platform you provide for everyone, thanks for your ongoing support!
Using Natwest’s online banking i have found that i’ve paid £6,796 in interest and charges on my £5,000 overdraft during the last 5 years. The total figure will be much higher than that. I was issued the overdraft as a student and it was increased several years back, whilst i am now paid well (to a separate account) at the time i was not on a good salary or there was no income entering the account. I have struggled with a gambling addiction throughout, which i am now in recovery. I’ve complained to natwest who have dismissed it citing “The charges and interest were correctly taken in line with our T&C’s. A refund would only be made to yourr account when the bank has made an error.”
Is it worth bothering with
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they increased your credit limit while there were a significant number of recent gambling transactions on the account, this is definitely worth taking to FOS.
Mr T says
Thanks Sarah. I forgot to mention i had an awful credit rating, multiple payday loans (at the same time) and was in the overdraft 99% of the time. I’ll take it up with the FOS and let you know how i get on. Thanks again for your help
Ernest says
I have the same problem… adjudicator did not uphold my complaint and told him to send yo Ombudsman and Ombudsman upheld my complaint and told them to refund all my interest back from 2015 till date.
Jayne says
I am currently living in a £1500 over draft with Santander. As soon as my wages go I’m on the overdraft again. I also have a credit card with Santander which is at £3500 limit and I have barely managed the minimum payments. I’ve not been great with money over last few years caught ins cycle of payday loans etc. The overdraft kept allowing me to increase it from initially £250 to £1500 over a two year period. I’m constantly going over this authorised overdraft and keep getting larger charges added onto my account by Santander this is now 2022 and I’m still in this position since 2016. I sent them the complaint template and they torture straight away saying they have done nothing wrong and will not withhold my complaint. I’m currently in a payment plan to pay back my credit card for a few months and I also have missed a loan payment to Santander twice now. They would be well aware from my account that the last few years I’ve been struggling massively financially. Yet they are still putting charges on my account and not helping at all with this overdraft any advice should I refer complaint now to regulatory bodies? Or is it not worth it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The overdraft kept allowing me to increase it from initially £250 to £1500 over a two year period.
during this time you had payday loans?
Are your wages less than £1500?
You mention the overdraft and a credit card – you also had a lon from them?
And did they increase the limit on your credit card?
This sounds like a good complaint, I am asking all these questions to focus on what to say.
Jayne says
Yes I she payday loans during this time. My wages vary every month but would be between 1600 and 1800. The loan was for £12000 which I pay monthly at £288 and is now almost paid off. My credit card limit originally set at £3400 and was given to me by Santander around the time of increases on overdraft and when I was deciding numerous notifications of unpaid debits form account. The credit card limit has been reduced by Santander at some point. But since then I’ve been struggling massively. I’m now off work on long term sick with view to I’ll health retirement and on half pay so struggling now with the fees they keep charging me but they won’t stop. I’m surprised they were able to respond to my complaint so quickly also with a definitely no as most other people I’ve complained too have taken 8 x weeks or so. On a brighter note I have just received a refund offer from 118 after an affordability complaint was sent to them following advice on your page . Should I reply to Santander or just now refer to Fos?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good you have received a refund offer from 118.
yes i think this should go to FOS. You can point out that as your pay varied between 1600 and 1800 each month, you had a Santander loan where the repayments are £288 a month and a Santader credit card, then the overdraft limit of 1500 has been unaffordable for years – as soon as your wages go in, you are soon back in the overdraft. the overdraft fees make it impossible to escape from this.
Jayne says
Thank you so much for taking time to reply to me and all of your advice.
Ernest says
Good afternoon Sara… thanks so much for your help on this site .. pls what is the interest on this offer.
Refund all the interest charged in relation to your overdraft since November 2015. The amount will be £2,197.44
On the date the above settlement is made, the bank will remove the £500 overdraft facility from your account and if the account is overdrawn on that date, the bank will use the relevant amount of the above funds to repay any outstanding debt.
If the bank is required to use any of the above funds to settle the overdraft, then whatever amount is left will only receive the 8% simple interest from the date the interest was incurred until the date of settlement. However, if you are in credit on that date of settlement, you will receive 8% simple interest on the full amount of £2,197.44 quoted above.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what is the current balance on the account?
Which bank is this?
Ernest says
current balance is £500 overdraft and Halifax bank
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so the refund of £2197 of interst will first be used to clear the £500 current balance. Then the remainder – £1697 – will attrcat 8% interest, from the the date the interest was added. – I can’t guess what those dates will be,
Margo says
Hi Sara, I got my respond from Adjudicator. He thinks they can’t look into my complaint. That it is more then 6 years now, and that I should realise that when charges were applied to my account that this was not correct n hard to deal with it. So that 3 years doesn’t apply to it neither. And I just complained much to late. I want my case to go to an Ombudsman to see ann understand the case. Really don’t know how or what to write to him.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply saying that you would like the decision to go to an Ombudsman and say (putting 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 situation.
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 I was paying a lot in overdraft charges and that this was a big problem for me. But I thought this was my fault for not managing money well I didn’t realise lloyds [was it?} should have reviewed whether my overdraft limit was affordable. Until I found out what affordability complaints aout an overdraft were this year [or whenever you did], I did not realise I had a cause to complain.
Margo says
Thank you Sara! You are our help always! I’m about to send him the email with the informations. I will keep you updated if he will change his mind or will send it to Ombudsman to deal with it.
Can you explain me what is the 6years rule n additional 3years one.
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman can look at any problems which have happened in the last 6 years. that is their main rule.
but they can also look at any problems where someone has found out they had a “cause to complain” within the last 3 years.
Natalie Palmer says
Hi Sara, I have recently put in an overdraft complaint to my bank about a £5k limit I had when I was earning £11k a year but it was back between 2003 and 2016. I used your templates etc and sent it to the bank and then the ombudsman. Both have come back to say it was too long ago and I should have realised and complained in 2013 when I took a loan to pay off the o/d. I have replied to say it was only in March 2022 when reading your posts that I realised I could complain and just how irresponsible it was in the first place and was the catalyst to my years of debt problems. I accept I took the OD etc but as a normal consumer I never realised that I could complain.Is there anything else I can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a very long time ago. You can ask for the case to go to an ombudsman for a decision – but one of the problems is that the bank may have kept very little information about the account as the overdraft was cleared in 2011.
Ernest says
Thanks so much Sara …
Steve says
Hi, I made a complaint to Lloyds TSB about the constant increases to my overdraft between Jan 2019-Oct 2019, despite clearly being in financial difficulties, and they have agreed with my complaint and acknowledged that these increases shouldn’t have happened. My overdraft debt started at £400 but due to the increases ended up being £2800. This debt was later sold to PRA GROUP and I am still paying this off today at an affordable rate based on my budget.
Lloyds have informed me that they are sorry they didn’t support me sooner and that they are going to pay me £40. In additional to this, they will reduce my outstanding balance from the debt which was sold to PRA GROUP by £739.73 which is made up of the daily arranged overdraft interest charged since my overdraft limit was first increased. They have informed me that they failed to see the signs of financial hardship and apologised for not addressing this sooner.
I would obviously like to accept this but before I do I just wanted to make sure that this seems a fair and generous resolution. I’m a bit confused about the offer of £40. Thanks. Steve.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I assume you think the charges may well add up to £793?
They seem to have added the £40 as a gesture of goodwill.
Has PRA been adding any charges?
You can also ask them to remove the default on the Lloyds and PRA records.
Gaz says
Hi Sara
I have a claim in with Provident and Just seen this about overdrafts, credit cards, loans etc.
Do you know if there is any claim for a mis sold mortgage. In 2006 we applied for a 100% mortgage with Northern rock. when the advisor went through our income (which included overtime) and expenditure the amount offered wasn’t enough to buy a house so applied for a loan with Northern rock on the side. over the next few years we struggled. missed some mortgage payments along with payments for other bills we also had an overdraft of £3500. in 2010 I was offered voluntary redundancy. I saw this as my only choice as if I stayed the company were cutting down to 4 days work and all overtime stopped. which I couldn’t afford. I struggled to find work and lost the house. all this left me £80,000 in debt. I set up am IVA supposed to pay £18000 over 6 years, took 8 years to pay. a very hard 14 years that I feel is all due to that mortgage. do you feel I have a claim against them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no sorry, mortgages come under a different regulatory area.
it is a shame you did not go bankrupt rather than into that IVA.
Cj says
We used out overdraft for over 20 years went to 4750 I complained years ago to them as if were less than a pound over limit we would be charged £37 for bouncing item then £37 for going over limit . Spent a lot of money on interest and charges …was told couldn’t claim anythin* back
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That was a complaint about the level of charges.
The complaints discussed in the article above are about whether the overdraft is affordable or not.
Do you still have the overdraft?
Cj says
No was lucky enough to pay in full from compensation paid from payday loans last year
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so the account has only recently been closed so the bank (who is it?) should still have all the records. – that is good.
I suggest you use the template letter in the article above to send in an affordabiltiy complaint now. That template does not say that the charges were too high – it says that the overdraft limit was unaffordable for you.
The bank will almost certainly reject it either because you have already complained before or because it says you are complaining about something that happened more than 6 years ago. In either case, send your complint straight to the Ombudsman.
LF says
Hi Sara,
I just want to thank you for this site. This site is what made me aware of payday loan redress. I started looking around at other information on here and came across this post on reclaiming bank charges/overdrafts. Then seen the paragraph on packaged accounts wasn’t sure what it was but clicked on the link to take me to MSE and realised that this was what I had with RBS. I used the template letter on MSE & sent of the complaint to RBS 4 weeks ago.
Last week they rejected my complaint but I emailed them with additional information on Friday and after a quick call with them this morning (they called me) I have just been refunded £1,680 straight into my bank account! Beyond delighted!
Lee says
Hi, Has anyone had a refund from nationwide and how long did it take to be credited to your back to your account. I’ve had this complaint with Nationwide for a year. Finally they accepted the adjudicator findings from April. They are telling me they have 4 weeks from 24th May. 3 weeks already gone. Even had the complaints team call me twice to tell me money hasn’t gone in yet. Maybe they need to chase it up. 4 weeks is 21st June.
The delay tactics make me think of changing bank after all this.
Dawny says
Hi after reading about getting a refund on overdraft fees, I decided to try and see if my bank would help me. I had lived on an overdraft from 2014 until 2021. I actually paid off my overdraft during lockdown probably due to not putting petrol in my car, not going out and various other reasons. Also during lockdown the fees went down on my overdraft so instead of paying a £1 for each day I was overdrawn – it was changed to a percent rate which help as instead of paying a £1 daily which amounted to £30 a month I was paying about £13 a month instead and during the lockdown the first £500 was not charged. However about 6 years on an overdraft was a lot in fees which is why I wrote to my bank to ask for my fees back as previously I had contacted them 3 times for help. I literally sent the letter on Monday 13th June and they have not replied as yet but they have put £50 in my account as ‘adjustment of fees’. Is this right – it hardly covers the amount I have paid over the years especially when I had told them 3 times that I was struggling. Should I accept the £50 or contact them again? thanks for your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you get back to them and ask when you will be getting a response to your complaint.
£50 is clearly unsatisfactory! they may be hoping you just give up. Which bank is this?
Dawny says
its with Santander. It’s just the silence really. No letter back from them and I have checked my on line messages – nothing. why pop £50 in my account but not follow this up with an explanation.
it was also so quick for them to put the money in my account after I sent the letter – I am glad you say it is unacceptable. I will get back to them to see what they say.
thanks for your help
Dawny
Dawny says
Hi Sara
I have not yet gone back to Santander as I have been poorly with Covid!!
I received a letter from Santander on Friday which says why they put the £50 into my account. They say there was an error on Santander that they received my letter about the overdraft and they never replied in September 2020. This is why they gave me £50. However regarding the overdraft – the letter states they can only see from 2020 and the overdraft was £1350 in July 2020 but it was reduced to £500 in September 2020.
the reason the overdraft reduced is because I was paying it off and had to keep ringing them to reduce the overdraft whilst I was paying it off – this was so that I was not tempted to touch the overdraft whilst paying it off. it was not because they had reduced it.
they also say they believe their fees are fair and reflect the management of of my account and are withing the terms and conditions agreed.
Can I now go to the ombudsman and how do I address this?
thanks
Dawny
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So did you complain last year and never got a reply?
Dawny says
Hi Sara
I complained in 2020 – almost two years ago and never received a reply. They have acknowledged that they did not reply and sent me the £50 as an apology. The letter states that they can only see from 2020 but I can see their replies on the banking messaging system from 2015 and 2016. It would have been cheaper for me if they had offered me a loan instead. I was paying £30/£31 a month in charges from 2014 and it was 2020 when the charges changed and the first £500 overdraft was interest free which really helped. They say they reduced my overdraft at this time – but I rang to reduce my overdraft during lockdown so that what I was paying off was not available for me to spend again. Do you think I am able to go to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should send this to the Ombudsman now. If the bank says it’s too late to go, point out they never responded to your complaint.
Dawny says
Hi Sara I complained in 2020 – two years ago and never received a reply
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, send it to the Ombudsman now
Ernest says
Good morning Sara .. just want to say thank so much … l got over £2500 overdraft charges + 8% interest from Halifax on Friday thank you again ..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excellent!
Chris says
Hi
Well done on your refund. Can I ask how long it took for your complaint to be dealt with ? I also have a complaint in with the Fos about a Halifax overdraft it’s been with them since February ?
Thanks
Ernest says
I think is December but Adjudicator did not upheld my complaint but Ombudsman did upheld my complaint between 2 weeks submit to them. And l got paid one week after by Halifax
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the time in an Ombudsman queue for overdrafts seems very short at the moment.
JL says
Hi
Im a bit confused as to how my upheld complaint is going to be worked out.
My overdraft has been £4150 for he last 15 plus years, but the FOS have mentioned the six year rule – so only applicable from March 2017. They have ruled that the bank should rework the current overdraft balance so that all interest, fees and charges
applied to it from March 2017 onwards are removed. Then if there is a balance should work out a repayment plan and if not any excess refunded plus the 8% statutory interest.
My question is, is this a case of adding up all charges and taking it away from my balance – I don’t understand the reworking bit !
TIA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think (but you would have to ask your adjudicator to confirm) that “reworking” let’s the bank see when you would have been in credit and so how much 8% interest should be paid.
JL says
Thanks for this Sara, the charges were roughly £55 per month, for approx 6 years.
Would I ever have been in credit from it ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
probably not then, but it should clear almost all of your balance.
Josh says
Hi Sara
A quick question.. I use HSBC to bank with and I’ve never had an official overdraft but 10 years or thereabouts I used to gamble heavily and back then my bank account would allow up £500 overdraft but would charge £25 every time I made a transaction whilst in the overdraft.. my guess would be that I paid way over £1000, maybe even closer £2000 over the years. Then one day it just came to a stop and I could no longer go overdrawn. Would this be worth a go or has it been too long to try my luck and claim?
Thanks
Josh
Sara (Debt Camel) says
roughly when did this stop?
Josh says
This is a very rough estimate but I’d guess around 6-7 years ago maybe 8. I’m guessing this is too long ago to pursue a claim?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s not too long in theory, although claims over 6 years are harder.
But if this only happened for a couple of years, the Ombudsman may decide that HSBC did the right thing in stopping you from going overdrawn and they were not unreasonably slow about this. If it happened for 4 years, well that is a longer period and you may be more likely to win.
SB says
Hello Sara, Just looking for a little bit of advice for my Mum. She has been in her overdraft for as long as she can remember. It’s an arranged overdraft of £2500. Her and my Dads wages don’t even clear this each month so she is in it all the time with fees of around £70 a month these use to be higher until it got changed. I’m unable to go further back than 2015 on her online bank statements to see when the increases were made but it has been at unsustainable level for years. She has been in financial difficulty for a while and there is evidence on her bank statement of making arrangements with other providers to set up repayments. Would she be able to put a claim in for a refund of overdraft fees or does it have to be particular circumstances to be able to do this. Thank you for any advice you can offer.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think this sounds like a good claim. If you could help her complete the template letter in the article above? If you don’t know when the overdraft limit was last increased, add a sentence to the complaint asking this. Also say you would like to know for how many years she has been continuously in the overdraft.
Timbo says
Nationwide have just come back to me not upholding the complaint I made regarding increasing my overdraft from £600 to £3000 over a number of months in 2015. They are saying that at the time they followed the correct checks however these are likely to be different now. They called in the overdraft in 2016 and I had to pay it back in a payment arrangement over a number of years. Do you think it is worth sending to ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it is.
cyrilv says
Well, Halifax have just come back to me with an offer, and it’s a lousy one. Just short of £300, which is well shy of the £1200 or I was looking for. Worst of all, it says that they’ll take the overdraft facility away when it’s paid. Not good; my £500 overdraft I have now is not something I need to go into but it’s crucial that that facility is there (I don’t need any more, but I’d be in bigger trouble without one). Also, the date they quoted was wrong. I’m going to talk to them tomorrow about a counter-offer that doesn’t get rid of the overdraft facility. What I’m getting right now is not so much goodwill but cold as charity. How long do I give them once I’ve contacted them before I go to the Ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
why do you have to have the overdraft?
cyrilv says
In case of emergencies, for example if the rent’s due and I need to transfer money across before close of banking business. This buffer is very useful. I would not, however, want any more than my current limit, though things could get a little dicey without that safety net.
cyrilv says
Well, I talked to Halifax this morning, and they say the payment of £287 (and the removal of the overdraft) will go ahead as normal on the 22nd of July. Thing is though, they are referring to a period between June and August 2018 immediately before the dates i quoted in my complain, when the OD was increased from £400 to £500, and for some reason they think the subsequent increases were affordable. Which sounds nonsensical. They have also said that I can keep the £287 even if I go to the Ombudsman afterwards; so shall I go to the Ombudsman once this £287 hits my account? I will still have five months to do so after then.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you go the Ombudsman straight away. If they are arguing that later increases were affordable, then that doesn’t sound sensible.
If say you can get £500 back, why can’t you keep that in a savings account and use that as a pot instead of an overdraft?
Rodney says
Hi Sarah
Thanks very much I used your template to contact Barclays. They say their charges are correct but as a gesture of goodwill they are going to refund charges from 2016 totalling £3,985.10 as a gesture of goodwill with no interest. My overdraft issues have been longer than this but I am just going to accept. It pays my £2k overdraft off and saves me about £70-80 per month in charges.
Than you so much
Becks Mash says
Hi Rodney. How long did it take Barclays to get back to you? Im 12 weeks, stil waiting
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have they said it will be longer or just not replied to you?
Becks Mash says
Every 4 weeks keep getting a letter saying we need more time. According the Barclays track it app it hasnt even been started yet!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could send it to the Finacial Ombudsman now. 12 weeks is not reasonable. If you want to wait a bit longer, set 16 weeks as the deadline?
Rodney says
I sent the complaint by online message on 14th june
Becks Mash says
Wow that is fast!
Becks Mash says
Oh I have Sara! Just hoping Barclays would sort this out before the FSO investigation really started
Ernest says
Good evening sara.. pls quick advice on this offer from NatWest overdraft complain amount of overdraft is 3200.
I received this offer today. Hope is good offer pls? Any advice pls? I don’t want any plan to will affect my credit record. And not pay anymore interest go forward .
In response to my assessment of your complaint, NatWest have made the following offer:
Given the circumstance, we would like to offer Mr E gesture of goodwill. We would like to offer to refund all charges and interest applied to Mr E account from May 2021 to date. We have deducted any previous refunds provided over this period which I believe its fair. See offer below –
Charges = £0.00.
Interest = £87.93.
Total offer = £87.93
Mr E will retain an overdrawn balance therefore no net interest will be provided. Furthermore, as Mr E will still hold an outstanding balance, we recommend he contacts out financial difficulty team on 0800 068 9816 to discuss a suitable plan going forward. This department are the experts in this area and will be able to go through and income and expenditure review and then discuss the options available to Mr E. Charges and Interest will continue to be applied to the account until a plan is put in place with this department.
We are not requesting a final decision however we believe the above is a fair and reasonable outcome to this complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you say something about how long you had an overdraft on this account? did they increase your overdraft limit? Was there anything special about May 21?
how large is the current balance and how much can you pay to it each month to clear it?
Ernest says
I have the overdraft from 2005 or 2006… am sure if they increases it ..am sure they reduce it .. when l make irresponsible lending complaint last yr ..they give me 6month to go to Ombudsman but l did not go … but l make another complain to them 2month ago … and they told me is over 6month ..and then l took it to financial Ombudsman and Adjudicator said the same thing is over 6month and then l told Adjudicator to send to Ombudsman… and Ombudsman said they will only look it to it from May 2021… which am very happy with that because l never pay any interest on the overdraft from 2007 till 2021 because the bank made a mistake by not charging me interest… the remaining balance now is £3200.. l can pay £30 every month .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then I suggest you phone up the financial difficulty team as they have suggested and say that you would like a payment arrangement and for this not to harm your credit record. Explain the situation. You will probably need to prove that you in financial difficulty.
Ernest says
Good morning..l financial difficulty team to make payment arrangements for the outstanding balance.. but the option that they have that will not harm my credit is too high £187 a month but can’t avoid the monthly and another one is to default my account . This is what Adjudicator told them to do.
In this case, I think NatWest should now settle Mr Earnest’s complaint as follows:• Re-work Mr Earnest’s current overdraft balance so that all interest, fees and charges applied to it from May 2021 onwards are removed.AND• If an outstanding balance remains on the overdraft once these adjustments have been made NatWest should contact Mr Earnest to arrange a suitable repayment plan for this. If it considers it appropriate to record negative information on Mr Earnest’s credit file, it should backdate this to May 2021.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 to Mr Earnest, 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 NatWest should remove any adverse information from Mr Earnest’s credit file
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then they are complying with what the Ombudsman said. Realistically £30 a month will not clear that overdraft for a VERY long time. If that is all you can afford, then a payment arrangement will be recorded.
I am afraid you have to accept that this is a most unusual case, what with the bank forgetting to charge interest for many years, you making a complaint but not sending it to the Ombudsman, then making a second complaint about a subsequent very short period.
Sarah says
Thanks to your site I’ve managed to get refunds from my previous payday loans, and yesterday Halifax paid me over £5000 for overdraft charges over the last 6 years!! Thank you so much! Just waiting on piggybank now (whenever that may be?) finally in a good place mentally after breaking the gambling and payday loan cycle and help through this site!
Daniel says
Hi,
Firstly, thank you for all the information you’re providing on this website.
Loan with Lloyd, 11/2015 – £7,500
Loan with Lloyds 06/2017 – £12,7750
Lloyds Overdraft
Jan 2016 – £1300
Sept 2016 – £2500
October 2017 – £4000
April 2019 – £4420
Credit Card 04/2015
£6000 – £7000 Limit (was increased over time)
Was always using it but using most of my limit throughout 2017 onwards
I was earning between £27-33k takehome.
I ended up with around £45k of unsecured debt which is more than I ever earned in a year before deductions.
I want to tackle Lloyds first as it’s the biggest debt with about £19.5k remaining which was sold to PRA. I’m going to complain to Lloyds first, can I bundle all those together or do I have to do separate complains re charges / irresponsible lending. Then whatever the outcome from that is I will go back to PRA and as for if they can provide the CCA Agreement, they took on 3 accounts from Lloyds, MBNA and Barclaycard totaling around £31.5k outstanding.
I’m just overwhelmed with where to start, which order and if they should be separate complaints or not.
Would appreciate any help on this, thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you think you may also have affordability complaints against MBNA and Barclaycard – did they increase your credit limit while you were onlt making minimum payments and your credit record was showing you were acquiring a lot more debt?
Can I ask why you started taking the loans and overdrafts – was there a sudden problem with your finances, a gambling issue, or what?
Are you buying or renting?
Daniel says
I will be making affordability complaints against MBNA and Barclaycard yes. Barclaycard gave me a credit card with a £9200 limit while being in around £23k of debt already and having multiple credit cards, loans and always in my overdraft.
I was struggling to manage money and my earnings were decreasing. Poor management really, no gambling or addiction problems. I was transferring debts between cards and using more credit to pay for credit thinking I would be able to get on top of it but that never happened I just used more credit eventually to a point I couldn’t manage anymore when I changed jobs.
I rent, I have no assets of value (I was thinking about bankruptcy) but I want to see if I can do something again first before doing that.
Thanks Sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, well I think in that case you need to everything at once, as you don’t know what is going to work.
So all the affordability claims to the original lenders and ask for all the CCAs from the current creditors (CCAs don’t apply to overdraft debts).
Otherwise you could spend 12-18 months feeling quite stressed and may not cut your debts by enough to avoid having to go bankrupt anyway… These are all large complaints. realistically if one offers you a good will gesture of a couple of thosuand, you are going to have to reject it and go to the Ombudsman as it isn’t going to be enough to make much difference to your situation,.
re Lloyds, I suggest you put all the complaints together into one as the timescales for the different sorts of credit overlap.
Elle says
Hi Sara,
I’ve received the final decision from the Ombudsman for my Barclays overdraft complaint, they’ve said that Barclays need to refund all interest and charges from June 2015,..so that’s good. However,..typically at present I have no letter from Barclays on how they’ve calculated anything but they have just put £2175 into my bank account.
I’ve worked out that Barclays should refund me for 60 months of interest/charges in total from those last 6 years (June 2015 – June 2021). The last year (2020-2021), I didn’t have any interest added as I’d cleared my overdraft with your help, thanks…so it’s 5 years (60 months) redress.
When I first complained to Barclays they gave me a ‘goodwill gesture’ of £3073 (stated to cover 26 months only) but what I don’t quite understand is the 8% part…they never added 8% to that earlier amount but when faced with the FOS they then offered an additional £652.82 as a settlement saying it was 8% on that earlier figure/calculations…I refused this, and sent the complaint to the Ombudsman.
The Barclays new refund should now include a further 33 months by my reckoning + 8% on the whole final amount…i.e.on the first 26 months & 33 months.
Does that sound correct in principle? How do you work out 8% on redress on Overdrafts?
I also think their original ‘goodwill gesture’ was higher than the interest I’d paid for 26 months, but I feel I’ll need a way to check they’ve calculated and added 8% correctly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes that sounds right.
It should be relatively simple to work out the interest and charges to be refunded.
The 8% part is not so simple. Do you know which were the 26 months the original goodwill gesture was covering?
Elle says
Hi Sara,
Yes the original 26 months were from 26th June 2015 -26th Aug 2015 (= 2 months)…plus from the 27th June 2017 – 25th June 2019 (= 24 months).
My interest charges are shown on my bank statements and were roughly the same most months at between £75 – £95 per month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so to work out the 8% interest, the bank has to effectively rework your account and find out at what point it would have been in credit if the interest and charges had not been applied.
I suggest you just wait and see what is offered and if it sounds reasonable.
Elle says
Thanks Sara,
It does sound like quite a complicated task they have… I will await Barclays letter and see if I can fathom what they have done…
I may be back. :) Thanks again.
Becks Mash says
Hi can i ask how long it took from start to finish. I complained to Barclays 12 weeks ago now and just keep getting letters saying they need more time. Sent to FOS 4 weeks ago
Elle says
Hi, I sent my complaint to Barclays back in June 2021, I had loads of hassle even getting Barclays to recognise the type of complaint to start with… then eventually 2 – 3 weeks later (after arguing with them on the phone) I had a reply saying they didn’t uphold my complaint, they could only look back 6 years but gave me a goodwill gesture straight into my account as they could see there had been problems… I wanted them to look back further, they refused so I sent to FOS,.. sadly I’ve then had a very young, inexperienced adjudicator,.. who has kept making mistakes, and then he agreed with Barclays!.. I requested it go to an Ombudsman who then upheld my complaint but again for only 6 years back,.. but it’s a win either way.
To be honest it’s the adjudicator and his mistakes that I’ve had to chase him up on and get corrected that has pre-longed things for me, but there is now finally some light at the end of the tunnel…
All told it’s taken just over a year… that may sound like a long time, but I’ve had other cases for catalogues that took 2 years and others I’m still waiting on the FOS to pick up…I don’t think there’s any set timescale but from what I’ve read here the bank complaints are being dealt with a bit faster than catalogue credit complaints, if it helps. :)
Tim says
Has anyone put any overdraft complaint to the ombudsman lately? Just wondered how long took as just put one in today regarding a Nationwide overdraft.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They seem to be picked up more quickly. And the queue for the Ombudsman if the adjudicator can get this sorted is positively speedy!
Dan says
Thanks Sara,
I’ve put one in for Barclaycard already via Resolver using a template. I’ll write up one for Lloyds now for irresponsible lending. Thank you
Becks Mash says
Wow! So I lodged an overdraft interest fees complaint with Barclays on 12th April. Every month since I get a letter saying they need for time. Last month said I should hear by July 4th. This dates comes and goes. Colleagues on live chat keep telling me that it is definitely being investigated and progressing countless times. So today I phone the complaints line to ask why I have been waiting 12 weeks. The lady says “Im so sorry this hasnt been allocated to a complaints handler, i will email the team and see if it can get allocated but I cant guarantee it will be looked at” OMG!
Please note you can contact the FOS. Are they for real?? Are Barclays just ignoring complaints now so they dont have to get involved until the FOS say so?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
*!%*!*
I suggest you send it straight to the Ombudsman!
Becks Mash says
I sent it 4 weeks ago when the 8 weeks was up! I just had the positive attitude that maybe Barclays could come to a conclusion before it went to months of waiting with the FOS. More fool me! I also emailed the CEO with my …… thoughts 😂
K Drury says
I put an overdraft affordability and irresponsible lending complaint in through the message facility with my bank.
I got this response “We do review eligibility monthly based on your credit score, and we do allow an increase in overdraft as long as you are eligible for one, but the decision to apply is still yours. We can certainly logged this as formal complaint but just set your expectation we will not uphold this as there are no bank error how would you like us to proceed?”
How can they tell me within 8 hours of my complaint being submitted that they will not uphold?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
which is the bank?
I suggest you reply that your complaint goes to the Ombudsman if it is not upheld.