Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

[EXC]

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. 1. 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

[righty]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

for new hardship claims would it be a good idea to include in your letter to the bank the list of criteria (highlighting those which apply most to you) which the FSO require for there to be a triggering of hardship and which the banks have to consider before rejecting a claim??

Many debtors will meet 1 or more of the criteria. More than enough to trigger a claim of hardship. Could this setting of the criteria be sufficient for the banks to be again inundated with claims

If I'm correct it shows that the regulator has little understanding of the real extent of the problem for consumers. They would appear to think that the majority of claimants are solvent & have jumped onto some sort of bankwagon to recover charges inadvertently acquired during some temporary oversight with their finances & any compensation or refund is a windfall for consumers and that allowing hardship claims will have the effect of only a relatively few claims coming forward ................. any comment?

[Amethyst]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

Well in the PCA report it showed 1.6 million consumers (check the figure) had received charges over £500 in the last 12 months....so basically using the FSAs rather simplistic criteria thats 1.6 million in hardship

[Amethyst]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

Oh and yes, have a look at our prelim letter for banks - we include hardship in from the start for new claimants get them to FOS if nothings forthcoming ASAP.

[righty]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

1.6 million they had better be ready for the rush

[breeze1996]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

Abbey have told me it's 2 - 4 weeks from when you send in an expenses form that they supply.

The form is only a copy and a very bad one of the one they say they were supplied by FSA. They also want you to include copies of any debts you have to prove hardship.

The person I spoke too who is an Organ Grinder not a Monkey says because of the amount of claims it will be 4 weeks before a reply is recieved and that will be in writting not a phone call.

Just ask your bank by phone to start a claim. 08459 724 724 for Abbey.

[TUTTSI]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

Abbey have told me it's 2 - 4 weeks from when you send in an expenses form that they supply.

The form is only a copy and a very bad one of the one they say they were supplied by FSA. They also want you to include copies of any debts you have to prove hardship.

The person I spoke too who is an Organ Grinder not a Monkey says because of the amount of claims it will be 4 weeks before a reply is recieved and that will be in writting not a phone call.

Just ask your bank by phone to start a claim. 08459 724 724 for Abbey.

My Hardship claim wasdealt with just about 4 weeks timescale back in August. This also depends on whether everything is sent in together with the claim including all evidences provong financial hardship, financial income and expediture report and letter fully stating why you consider yourself as a financial hardship case and the reasons that you are in financial difficulty.

[millie cat]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

Oh and yes, have a look at our prelim letter for banks - we include hardship in from the start for new claimants get them to FOS if nothings forthcoming ASAP.

Hi Amethist what is this prelim letter about please.
Sorry to sound thick.

[skintkim]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

hello again, when spoke to Barclays I was told ther was no time limit as I first approached then back in June and they have only just agreed I am in hardship.

[Xena]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

hello again, when spoke to Barclays I was told ther was no time limit as I first approached then back in June and they have only just agreed I am in hardship.

Of course Barclays are going to say that in the hope that you will trotter off like a naughty child and stop bothering them.
They are talking rubbish!
You really have to pester them, no two ways about that. Only you can do that and no-one else.

[skintkim]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

Believe me I have pestered and i seriouslybeieve what hey have tried to give me is an insult. On friday I was told they were working over the weekend and I should receive a call then and still no phonecall I telephoned after work today and was told they should of called back in 48 hours andthey would markit as urgent. Any ideas what I should do now that they have said I am a hardship case?

[skintkim]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

Good evening all I think I have made some progress with Barclays, I have to fax all my debt letters,mortgage etc for the attention of Ian Smith and he will look at my case tomorrow and give me a call. Lets hope its good news

[EXC]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

This is an extract from a letter from the Financial Ombudsman posted by a Lloyds claimant on MSE.

Very disappointing.

"It is evident from the documents that you have provided that you are experiencing financial hardship and in my view the bank has not disputed this. However, as I have suggested in my previous letter, your debts are elsewhere, so we would not expect the bank to refund the charges that you have complained about to assist. If the reverse was true and Lloyds TSB had made a demand that you repay a debt, then in this situation it may be appropriate for the bank to utilise one or more of the remedies available.

As expained, the bank is under a duty to treat cases of financial difficulty positively and sympathetically. But that does not mean that there is any kind of financial difficulties "threshold" which, once reached, triggers a refund of charges.

I acknowledge that you feel that the bank charges applied to your current account are unfair and that this caused your financial difficulties. Nonetheless, it remains the case that the issues surrounding bank charges will be concluded by the High Court. Therefore, at this stage there is no onus on the bank to refund the charges that you have complained about and that Lloyds TSB is entitled to apply charges and interest as defined within the terms and conditions of your account......"

".....If you have not responded by this date (11th Feb), I will then ask the bank to retain a record of your request for a refund of charges until the outcome of the High Court test case is known. The bank should then contact you direct"

[Sapphire]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

So basically he's saying the he agrees that its the banks charges that have helped to put the poster in financial difficulties, but that unless the debt was owed to Lloyds then a refund would not be forthcoming to help the poster get out of their hardship, and that they will have to wait till the end of the case, in which time the poster could be in an even worse state or even lose their home or whatever.

Absolutely terrible.

Or am I reading it wrong ?

[skintkim]

Re: Hardship claim timescales for banks to adhere to

God lets hope not as Ian has telephoned me to say he has received my paperwork that I faxed and will conttact me sometime today