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Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

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  • Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

    Following the update to the Waiver Guidelines for those in financial difficulty we are recommending people who have claims in the system, or indeed new claims, that are suffering from financial difficulty contacts their bank, and/or, the Financial Ombudsman Service if your claim is with them, and ask that it be re-evaluated under the more defined hardship guidelines.

    The new waiver guidelines state:-

    2.
    In making an assessment of financial difficulty the firm will take into account:
    a.
    evidence of changes in lifestyle, including loss of employment; disability; serious illness; imprisonment; relationship breakdown; death of a partner; starting a lower paid job; parental/carer leave; and starting full-time education;
    b.
    evidence of the following events:
    i.
    items repeatedly being returned unpaid due to lack of available funds;
    ii.
    failing to make loan repayments or other commitments;
    iii.
    discontinuation of regular credits;
    iv.
    notification of some form of insolvency or court proceedings;
    v.
    regular requests for increased borrowing or repeated rescheduling of debts;
    vi.
    making frequent cash withdrawals on a credit card at a non-promotional rate of interest; and
    vii.
    repeatedly exceeding a credit card or overdraft limit without agreement (and, in this regard, where a complainant has incurred over £500 in unauthorised overdraft charges in the previous 12 months, that is to be treated as indicative of financial difficulty).

    We suggest first contact should be a call to your banks legal department, followed by an email detailing your grounds for claiming hardship.

    The new hardship guidelines and having your case considered under them does not necessarily mean you will be offered a refund, although we are seeing this is becoming the case more and more.

    The actual guidelines state:


    Originally posted by FSA WAIVER
    15.
    When dealing with complainants in financial difficulty, the firm should consider the following steps in respect of the period during which they are assessed as being in financial difficulty:
    (a)
    the firm might waive future unauthorised overdraft charges; and
    (b)
    the firm might not enforce debts against complainants in financial difficulty to the extent that these debts are made up of unauthorised overdraft charges.
    16.
    Before closing a personal current account of a customer in financial difficulty, the firm might offer the customer a basic bank account, if this is a facility that the bank offers.


    So this does give consumers some form of redress should these guidelines be breached by the banks after you have made a complaint regarding your charges. If you feel this has happened to you then please tell us in a thread and we can go through making a complaint with you.


    If after contacting your bank you are made an offer of settlement then please be aware of the following;

    Originally posted by FSA WAIVER
    (16)
    if the firm attempts to resolve a relevant charges complaint after 27 July 2007:
    The Financial Services Authority
    (a) the firm must not seek agreement from the complainant that the resolution is in full and final settlement of the matter;
    (b) in relation to such complaints, if the outcome of the test case produces a result that is more favourable to the complainant, the firm must take all reasonable steps to pay any difference in the amount of compensation actually received by the complainant and that that the complainant would have been entitled if his claim has not been settled by the firm then; and
    (c) the firm must explain the implications of its approach and commitment;


    and


    (15)
    to the extent that sums are ultimately to be paid to complainants in respect of relevant charges complaints that have been stayed, the firm must include in these sums an element of compensation in respect of interest charged to or lost by the customer as a result of being out of money during the stay period;


    Basically this means that any settlement you are offered and accept now can not be deemed in full and final settlement of your claim. If you have a claim in the courts system it would mean withdrawing that from the court. However it does leave the door open for you, on the conclusion of the test case, should it be in our favour, to go back and reclaim the remainder of the charges and interest due to you.


    Any settlement figure should be worked out proportionally and to calculate the remainder and keep calculating interest on the remainder, you would enter any refund into your schedule of charges as a CREDIT on the date it is received. This will ensure you have received your interest correctly.



    If you would like to try going back to the bank or the FOS then please post a thread and we will help you all we can




    And remember - IT DOESN'T HURT TO ASK !



    The steps we are currently advising:

    1) Call your banks legal department and tell them you wish your case to be reconsidered under the hardship guidelines

    2) Write to them by way of following it up (theres a few thread on here with examples of letters other have used - an explanation of your circumstances and a reiteration of your claim is all that is necessary) enclose your income/expenditure form (Legal Beagles Income/Expenditure Form)


    3) Give them another call in a few days check any progress

    4) Keep it all posted up on a thread and let us know any responses.
    Last edited by Amethyst; 20th August 2008, 16:12:PM.
    #staysafestayhome

    Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

    Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

  • #2
    Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

    Hi All,
    that would be me then ! any help gratefully received

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

      Hey kim, good to see you again :kiss: hope things are going okay....bump up your thread if you need a hand with anything.

      No guarantees but got to be worth a shot hasnt it

      Ame
      xxx
      #staysafestayhome

      Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

      Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

        So you think I should contact Barclays legal dept?Are they offering the amount before interest and court fees I have paid as they were over £500? Any ideas?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

          Hi All!

          I was typing my post on BF v Abbey earlier and I forgot to include an email addy for Abbeys legal rep... which other Abbey claimants may find useful if they wish to email any correspondence regarding their hardship claims... The guy I spoke to on the blower was Ronan Coyle who works for Ashurst (Abbeys Legal rep) this is his email addy.. ronan.coyle@ashurst.com

          This is also the tel.no - 02077564398..

          I hope it is ok to post the number and email link on here.. I will also add this post onto my thread - BF v Abbey in VIP


          Regards

          BF x
          Last edited by bloomingflower; 25th July 2008, 20:22:PM. Reason: edit



          Member of the Beagles £2 coin and small change savers clubs, both based in the Debt Forum

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

            I confess to not been on this site since the court cases were stayed which has been some time now, sort of lost morale I guess. I am also heavily in debt have had to do some thinking on how to get myself out of it as painlessly as possible. We have claim stayed with Abbey can you tell me what I should do, its actually my brothers claim and not mine

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

              Originally posted by skeggs885 View Post
              I confess to not been on this site since the court cases were stayed which has been some time now, sort of lost morale I guess. I am also heavily in debt have had to do some thinking on how to get myself out of it as painlessly as possible. We have claim stayed with Abbey can you tell me what I should do, its actually my brothers claim and not mine

              If you start a new thread in the hardship section maybe using the guidelines above and fill in the details . Have a read of some of the other cases and then we can help with your letter.

              Definitely worth having a try

              scooby
              "What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well." - Antione de Saint Exupery

              "Always reach for the moon, if you miss you'll end up among the stars"


              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

                Hello,
                I'm currently trying to claim financial hardship for my mum, she's been struggling with repayments since she seperated from my dad, and even more since she dicovered she had breats cancer and been in and out of hospital for 6 years or so. I was wondering if there are any sample letters for the claim, we've just done the financial statement.
                The claim is with Barclays, who have said that the media has misrepresented their obligations under the Banking code!!!!
                We've already started the process for the initail claim, but thought we'd try to get it dealt with sooner by claiming financial hardship.
                Nelly

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

                  Nelly,

                  I have started a new thread for you to post about your claim.

                  Click Here to go to your new thread

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

                    Hoping I can get my sorted.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

                      Hiya Breeze,

                      I notice that you have been around on the site for a while.

                      If you believe that you meet the FSA's definition of financial hardship then there is no harm in trying to get your outstanding bank charges claim resolved or at least trying to get some assistance with your situation from the relevant Bank.

                      Start a thread and let us know how we may assist you.

                      Rgds Budgie
                      Last edited by Budgie; 1st September 2008, 19:17:PM.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

                        Ame - I'm not quite sure where to post this but move it or duplicate it somewhere if you want.

                        I've had confirmation from the FOS on timescales banks must adhere to with regard to hardship claims.

                        1) A bank has 8 weeks from the point a claimant indicates to the bank that they believe they are a hardship case. This applies both to cases where a claim for bank charges is made from a claimant who is claiming hardship (at the same time) and also where a claimant with a bank charge claim already made is subsequently claiming hardship status.

                        You don't have to put in a separate complaint to your bank about the hardship element of the claim to exhuast the 8 week complaints time limit in order for the FOS to take up your case. Therefore if the bank have taken more than 8 weeks to decide on your status the FOS will take uo the case.

                        2) In the instances where a bank does not agree that a claimant is a hardship case then you can go straight to the FOS who will adjudicate and if they agree you have hardship status they will make a reccomendation to the bank on whether they should refund the charges. The hardship criteria the FOS would use is the FSA waiver guidance:

                        In making an assessment of financial difficulty the firm will take into account:

                        a. evidence of changes in lifestyle, including loss of employment; disability; serious illness; imprisonment; relationship breakdown; death of a partner; starting a lower paid job; parental/carer leave; and starting full-time education;



                        b. evidence of the following events:
                            1. items repeatedly being returned unpaid due to lack of available funds;
                            2. failing to make loan repayments or other commitments;
                            3. discontinuation of regular credits;
                            4. notification of some form of insolvency or court proceedings;
                            5. regular requests for increased borrowing or repeated rescheduling of debts;
                            6. making frequent cash withdrawals on a credit card at a non-promotional rate of interest; and
                            7. repeatedly exceeding a credit card or overdraft limit without agreement (and, in this regard, where a complainant has incurred over £500 in unauthorised overdraft charges in the previous 12 months, that is to be treated as indicative of financial difficulty).

                        The FOS wouldn't be drawn on how long they would take to investigate hardship - ie would a case simply join the 6 month or so queue - but they did say it is a relatively straight forward process.

                        If a claimant is told otherwise by the FOS on any aspects of this confirmation then speak to:

                        Jonathon Locke,
                        Assistant Manager
                        Financial Ombudsman Service

                        E-mail: Locke, Jonathan

                        Direct dial No 020 7964 0334

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Do you have a hardship claim that is on hold ????

                          Fabulous Thanks for that EXC. Will post on its own too.
                          #staysafestayhome

                          Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                          Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

                          Comment

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