Help!!! redlornz v Halifax & Lloyds

[redlornz]

Help!
Lloyds TSB have kept me in debt for years. I recently spent 3 months unemployed during which time they contiuned to take out charges.. despite there being no money in my account to take! I got my first wage from my new job on the 1st of this month.. and they have already taken £165 in unplanned overdraft fees, leaving me with next to nothing. I can't pay my other creditors (I have a £5000 loan and £1000 credit card).. and I am constantly in, or over, my £2000 overdraft.

It makes me so miserable. I can't pay my debts and live comfortably, let alone save for the future!

I spoke to the bank about putting a stop on the charges until I can find my feet again, but they said as they have 'removed a charge' from my account before (I cried down the phone until somebody took off a £60 charge.. this was about 10 months ago) they are not prepared to 'help' me again.
Why can't they see that I wouldn't be in such trouble if they just left me alone?

What can I do? Would I qualify for hardship?

[Amy]

Re: Help!!

The first thing you should do is open another account and have your wages paid into that.

What other creditors do you have and how much do you owe? There must be charges on these too - have you started to reclaim any of them?

What about mortgage/rent and council tax, these are your priorities, are these up to date?

[Sapphire]

Re: Help!!

Hiya Redlornz,

Firstly I think you should send off a SAR (Subject Access Request) from the Library, so you can get copies of your statements, unless you have kept them or can access your account online.

Then you can prepare a spreadsheet and see how much you have had taken.

As far as a hardship claim goes, I'm sorry I'm not really 'up on that personally' but I'm sure someone will pop along and advise you further.

Next do you have any charges on the loan or credit card that can be claimed back, or even PPI. If you have then we can put them into dispute which would give you some breathing space for a while, until you get your spreadsheets sorted out on your bank account.

[redlornz]

Re: Help!!

I have a £5000 loan with halifax which I haven't paid for months.. I owe them about £500 in arrears, my credit card is 'frozen' (I haven't actually used it for years) I haven't even been paying the minimum of £40 monthly.

I've looked at my Lloyds account today, and since my statements online started in June 07, they have taken £420 in returned direct debit charges and a further £549 in unplanned overdraft fees. That's £969.00 in just 16 months. It's so depressing!

I've had to move back in to my Dad's (despite being in my late 20's) so I don't have to worry about rent (although I do pay him £100 a month).. but all these arrears are building up and I can't see a way out. A £5000 loan, a £1000 credit card a £2000 overdraft plus all the charges and arrears building up, i owe money to friends and family.. I don't see how I will ever reduce these debts when I only earn £800 a month with overtime.

I hear Lloyds are notoriously unforgiving, too. What do you think my chances are of getting anything back?
Thank you to those who have listened!

[WendyB]

Re: Help!!

Right then, first things first. As Amy says you need to open another bank account and get your wages paid in there, this will stop them being swallowed up by your overdraft with Lloyds. Transfer your direct debits to the new account then they won't get bounced by Lloyds.

You need to fill in an Income and Expenditure sheet, there's one on hhere somewhere, will get a link for you later, or someone will. Then you can see exactly what your position is and start working out a plan for repayment.

As you haven't paid your credit card for ages there are bound to be charges on there that you can reclaim, so best to send a Subject Access Request to the c/card company and get all your info, statements etc so you can see what the charges are and start getting them back. This will be a quick fix (or quicker than the bank charges anyway) as the OFT case does not affect credit cards.

With regards to hardship, this can be a long route and I'm not sure if you could make a case for it, would depend on your indiviual circumstances. We'd have a better idea once we know actual figures etc.

[scottishlass]

Re: Help!!

here is the link for the income expenditure sheet

Legal Beagles


and also a link for the SAR to get all the information you require
Legal Beagles

[scottishlass]

Re: Help!!

If you need any help just ask, and some one will be along to answer any questions you may have, and don't worry we don't bite lol

[scoobydoo]

Re: Help!!! redlornz v Halifax & Lloyds

I definitely think it is worth a try on the hardship basis - does not mean you will succeed but for the sake of trying some letters we can have a go.

If you check out the new terms of the waiver you possibly could qualify as you had a severe drop in income and also the amount of charges and other circumstances could be put in the letter.

Have a read of a copuple of the success threads and you will see what I mean.

Nothing ventured nothing gained.