# Problem with bank/credit card !



## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Hi

Just wondered if anyone else had experienced this....

Opened new credit card with my bank in January/February to do a 0% balance transfer from another credit card and I set up direct debit to go out on 27th every month as that's my pay day.

Anyway, realised (luckily !) just before the 1st payment was due that no DD had been set up so I paid just over minimum on the phone and they assured me the DD would be set up for 27th.

Then on 23rd of the next month, payment went out (luckily I had funds!) so I phoned up again to ask why it had gone out on this date....they said their mistake & they'd amend it to correct date ie 27th !

Next payment....again 23rd....phoned up AGAIN....yep, we'll change it.....and guess what, next payment went out on 23rd May......so I phoned yet again and made a complaint and requested date I'd originally requested....the 27th....I want it to go out on my payday...NOT a couple of days before !

Received letter dated 28th May confirming DD due date changed...statements would be out on 2nd of every month, DD would be on 27th every month and next payment due on 27th June...

Fine I thought, all sorted.......oh how wrong I was !

I then receive a statement saying next payment due 27th June but that I'd defaulted and not paid previous months, that I needed to pay the outstanding immediately....but I'd not defaulted as I'd paid by DD on 23rd May, just before the DD date was amended.

Contacted them, they agreed it was their error and they'd correct it.  THEN I get a letter from Collections department saying I'm in arrears, I'd defaulted by not paying previous month.....phoned them again, explained the situation (and that I already had a complaint in with them about this !)........was told they'd already taken the payment from my current account !!!!!!!! WITHOUT TELLING ME....AND WHEN THEY SHOULDN'T AS I WAS NEVER IN ARREARS ! 

They couldn't refund me immediately, it would take up to 10 working days....I said not good enough so was advised to go into branch and they'd sort it for me....got the woman from the bank to contact them & I was assured that the refund would be in my account within 3 working days.

Checked today....no refund and when I phone AGAIN they say no, shouldn't have been told that, it's not even been processed, will take up to 10 days but if we refund then you'll be in arrears as defaulted !!!  ARRRRGGGHHHHHHHH  

I am SOOOOOOO angry it's unbelievable.....I'm surprised there's not steam coming out of my ears.

I've been with the bank for at least 15 years...and according to one of the guys at the branch I go into, on checking my account I'm classed as a "valued customer" as my credit ratings so good.....
....I can't believe despite being told this (and shown on screen that I'm in top 3% of customers for good credit!!) have regular money going into my account, rarely use overdraft, never missed a payment......and I get treated like this.....all because of the banks error with my DD payment due date !


As I say, I've already put in a formal complaint over the phone which is in process of being investigated and I'm going to put it all in writing to the Financial and Banking Ombudsman.......but I'm just curious as to whether anyone else has experienced this....and if there's any other official body that I can/should make a complaint to...or at least copy into the letters ?

Sorry to rant but I am livid !! 

Any advise grateful received as I plan to write the letters tomorrow.

Thanks
Natasha


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## Lorna (Apr 8, 2004)

I had trouble with my credit card.  I set up a direct debit, to take the full amount out of my account every month.  Of course they only took the minimum payment.  It didn't matter how much I phoned, absolutely nothing got fixed.  After 3 months, I hit my limit, and my credit card was blocked. By then, my credit card company had charged me over 80 pounds of interest charges, and over limit charges.

I wrote a stiff letter, and one month later, it was all sorted out, plus an exgratia payment for all the inconvenience. And two months after that someone phoned and apologised!

The problem is we haven't lived in the UK long enough for me to get another credit card, so I can't switch, as no one will give me a good deal!  I might be able to get a credit card, for which I pay an annual fee....

You can't complain to the Ombudsman till you have tried everything possible to get your bank to sort it out.  And you can't sue your credit company till 6 months after you have contacted the ombudsman.  The courts won't touch it.  One of the things the Ombudsman wants to see is *written* documentation, hence a letter.  And I suspect the courts will want to see written evidence too.  I know it is a complete pain, but I would get your story down in writing, and send it off.  Don't forget to keep photostated copies of letters.  I don't think a second printed off copy, and signed by you works.  

Yes I do agree, I wish you could just ring up your credit card company and have it all sorted out with a five second explanation, but umpteem long phonecalls didn't work for me.  A letter did.

Lorna

PS  And when I lost my credit card, I was only kept waiting, on the phone,  for a mere 20 minutes, before I got to speak to someone!


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Thanks for the feedback Lorna.


I've actually contacted the Financial Ombudsman today and they're more than happy to help, despite me already having an active complaint being investigated by the bank themselves.......so don't need to wait for me to have tried everything else.
They took the basic information and my contact details and will be contacting the bank directly to make a complaint and in the meantime are sending me a form to complete with the full information.

The thing that annoys me is that when I was a student and at uni my credit rating wasn't that great (obviously) and I had debts....over the years I've managed to sort myself out and get good credit (must admit I was surprised when the guy at bank showed me how good it was !!!)........and I refuse to let a banking error give me a black mark against me.

I also know that banks contact credit reference agencies on a monthly basis so I need to ensure that they haven't "black listed" me for the time the bank said my account was in collections......which apparently can happen !

Anyway, will still put all in writing but feel a little better having just contacted the Ombudsman as I refuse to let my bank get away with this !

As for keeping copies of everything, don't worry, I know how to write official letters etc.....just wanted to know if there were any other governing bodies that would be useful to "cc" in any letters.  I completely agree that putting everything in writing is the way to do it.........

Thanks
Natasha


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## pobby (Jun 2, 2005)

Hi Natasha
It isnt LLoyds bank is it    they are bloody idiots....I have had about 35 strokes and 59 heart attacks trying to sort things out with them...totally useless!
sorry it's not advice but I just hate banks..any way they can screw your money out of you they will!
hope you get it sorted
love Pobby xx


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Pobby hunnie....how you doing ?  Was only thinking about you the other day as realised I'd not chatted to you for ages !

How did you guess....yes, it's LloydsTSB !!  

To top it all off, I got a letter re my current account yesterday saying that they'd kindly paid some "items" despite it putting me into an unauthorised overdraft so they'd increased my limit for me but I was liable for any charges.........when I checked the account, I was 11p into my original "authorised" overdraft (I don't like using it if I can help it to be honest !).....so not even gone over the OD limit   When I called them to ask what on earth was going on, they checked my account and said there were no charges/fees, that I was within my normal/standard limit (although yes, my OD had been increased !) and they had no record of the letter ?!!!!

WTF are they doing 

It's enough to drive a sane woman crazy (and considering I wasn't sane to start off with  !!)


Lotsa love
Natasha xx


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## Nicola-Kate (Apr 22, 2008)

Hello ladies,

Can i just say not everyone at Lloydstsb are moranic idiots i work for them and admitedly hate it but i tend to treat all my customers like my family so dont do things that woulndnt benefit them9prob thats why i dont hit my targets and my boss wants to get rid of me) but hey ho. Card services are crap write to the customer concerns dep say you want a writen responce within 14 days or will takelegal action that will work.


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Nicola-Kate said:


> Hello ladies,
> 
> Can i just say not everyone at Lloydstsb are moranic idiots i work for them and admitedly hate it but i tend to treat all my customers like my family so dont do things that woulndnt benefit them9prob thats why i dont hit my targets and my boss wants to get rid of me) but hey ho. Card services are crap write to the customer concerns dep say you want a writen responce within 14 days or will takelegal action that will work.


Hi

At no point have I said that all Lloyds staff where "moronic idiots"....in fact, at no point have I done any name calling (although I've certainly felt like it that's for sure !) I've actually dealt with some extremely helpful and friendly people but unfortunately I've also had the unfortunate position of dealing with some incredibly unhelpful people....hence why I'm now making this complaint. It's great that you're so helpful....shame not all are ! 

As per my previous post, I already have an open complaint with Customer Concerns Department, as well as contacting the Financial/Banking Ombudsman and I will take this further if I don't get a satisfactory outcome.

Cheers
Natasha

PS....my DP "works" for Lloyds....well, he works in IT and his dept has been "outsourced" but it's still the same job, at same desk within Lloyds building......they really annoyed him when they outsourced his department & subsequently told him he was nolonger entitled to staff mortgage so we had to remortgage !


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## foxylady73 (May 11, 2008)

Hi Natasha

I work in finance offshore so it is very different to high street banking but it sounds like you are doing all the right things.

What I would also suggest is that you tell your bank you want to close all of your accounts when this is resolved and line up another bank to move to.  Even though you have been a customer for 15 years, you will not get any loyalty from a company like this and they don't deserve any from you after this fiasco.  If you truly are a valued customer then it will prompt them to sit up and take your complaints a bit more seriously.  You might also find that you end up being better off by shopping around anyway.

With regard to your credit report, you can request a copy when this has been sorted out and can also take any anomalies up directly with the credit agency.

Foxy x


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Cheers Foxy !

I was actually considering closing all my accounts but my concern is that I have an active (recent) loan with them and if I close all accounts they may decide to get "funny" with me and request full payment of loan....and there's just no way I could afford this.  I can afford to (just about) pay off my credit card in full (if I sell some shares which I'd prefer to keep !) but no way can I afford the loan in full.  I think I'll wait to see what the outcome of my complaint is as they still have a week or so to get back to me (assuming the 28 days they state in the letter) and then I'll make a decision based on that.....obviously that's not including the complaint I've now made with ombudsman.

Thanks for your feedback......it's really helpful 

N x


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## pobby (Jun 2, 2005)

Hi natasha hun
How are you sweetie? no I havent spoken to you for a while...I hope you and DP are bearing up...any news on your next plan? (not the banks obviously!) 
Nicola-Kate, apologies, i did slate LLoyds TSB...obviously You are a v nice lady and to be honest when dealing with people in the bank face to face they are jolly nice..however its often a different story with dealings over the phone and I'm sorry but the call centres in india send me absolutely demented! (no offence intended but It really is a bad state of affairs)
natasha I had a similar letter the other week to say an item had gone out of my account (i dont have any items leaving that account it was purely the monthly interest on my overdraft) the interest tipped me 1.43p (soz dont have a pound sign on this keyboard!!   ) over my overdraft and I am now getting a 52 quid charge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    no-one seems to be able to explain this or agreethat it is totally unfair...I HATE THEM!        

frustrated,
Hove xxx


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

♥ Minxy ♥ said:


> Cheers Foxy !
> 
> I was actually considering closing all my accounts but my concern is that I have an active (recent) loan with them and if I close all accounts they may decide to get "funny" with me and request full payment of loan....and there's just no way I could afford this. I can afford to (just about) pay off my credit card in full (if I sell some shares which I'd prefer to keep !) but no way can I afford the loan in full. I think I'll wait to see what the outcome of my complaint is as they still have a week or so to get back to me (assuming the 28 days they state in the letter) and then I'll make a decision based on that.....obviously that's not including the complaint I've now made with ombudsman.
> 
> ...


COuld you not reloan with your new bank? I am sure, if you explained the situation, and given your excellent credit history, that would be no problem. Anyway, if your current bank did insist on full repayment and you could not rearrange another loan to cover it elsewhere, I am fairly certain you might be able to get the bank ombusdman involved in that dispute and get it sorted to your satisfaction - especially seeing as you are moving your account because of your lack of faith in them caused by their cock up and, therefore, should not be penalised further. Either that or just slowly move your accounts over a period of time as they naturally come up for review so that the connection to this dispute is not obvious and all you have left is the loan and hope they don't get funny about it. An opportunity may yet come up where you want to change the loan anyway and you can sort it then.

Can I just add that I too am not in the least bit surprised by it being Lloyds either. My friend (nephew) who always goes on holiday with us has a Lloyds account and every year he has hassle drawing his money out abroad - every time he tells them where he's going, when and how long and every time, the same happens. We ended up having to draw on our credit card to bail him out this time, at extra expense and, now he has the burden of owing us money too! Last time he wrote a big complaint letter about it as he was well and truely stitched up (he was on his own that time so nobody to borrow from) and he was assured that it would not happen again if he informed them of dates etc. So he did this time, in writing and was assured all would be ok and... ha ha, not likely! 
We met another couple on hols this year who had the same problem and, yep, you guessed it Lloyds again.  I know we should be grateful that they keep such a close eye on our money but, honestly, it's not exactly an out of the way place, it's quite a common tourist spot and quite a common time of year to go on holiday. If our bank and other banks can work it out, you'd think they can.

I don't think it's a staff issue - although undoubtedly some of them are a bit useless or otherwise things would be sorted wouldn't they? You get that everywhere though and I am sure the majority are pleasent, polite and helpful but simply tied up by moronic computer programmes that basically do what they're programmed to do in a cold and logical way without having the remotest amount of common sense or double checking to see if, perhaps, this was all a big cock up after all. It only takes one person to press one wrong button and it seems to take weeks and months to resolve (I had a similar issue not with a bank but British Gas years ago that I had to get the Gas Ombusdman to resolve and it was all down to a click of a return button...grrr  )

Pobby, that's appaling.  Perhpas you should complain to the bank ombudsman too? I totally agree with you about call centers abroad. Quite aside from anything else I often wonder if the people you are talking to have any real understanding of how our financial systems work in this country anyway? Luckily for me both my credit card and my bank account are UK based now and I, even if I do have problems, they're really quickly and efficiently resolved I'm with Nat West by the way - they do seem to take their customr care seriously and it does show.

C~x


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Cheers Caz for your input 

I probably could get my loan transferred but it all seems like such a hassle purely because of some stupid banking error !  I'm going to wait to see how the resolve this and then take it from there.

The problem is that I have lots of direct debits set up for bills etc from my current account so I'd have to rearrange all those....plus wages paid directly to account, as well as any share and stock options etc that are set up to be paid directly into my account.....such a pain (and bit lazy on my part to have to rearrange everything !  )

I'm hoping they'll sort this out now I've got the ombudsman involved.........



As for having problems with getting money out abroad.....you've just reminded me that when DP & me were in NZ earlier this year, DP couldn't get any money out of his account all of a sudden.....and that was because the bank had seen a couple of transaction abroad....its not like he'd been spending loads either as we were staying with my parents and he'd only used his card literally a couple of times !!  ....and as DP works for Lloyds he has to have a Lloyds account (even though, as I mentioned earlier, he actually works for another company within Lloyds because his dept were outsourced !!).....and his dad was quite high up in Lloyds too before he took early retirement !  I've had my card blocked once as well - went to pay for something & they had to contact the bank....because I'd made a few payments earlier that day (it was Christmas !) they thought there was something dodgy going on.....great that they do this for security but very irritating (and embarrassing) at the time when there's a whole queue of people behind you !


Pobby....I can't believe they've done that...actually, I'll rephrase that....I CAN believe they've done it but would have me fuming !!  Ridiculous isn't it ?!


Anyway, I'll let you know the outcome of my little fiasco when I hear back from them.....


N x


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## foxylady73 (May 11, 2008)

Hi Natasha,

Good advice from Caz, I actually wrote a similar post yestreday but it must have got lost, my laptop is playing up   

Just to add that if you do decide to move, most banks offer a direct debit transfer service, you just give them the details of what you have set up and they arrange getting everything changed to your new account.  I used this a few months ago when I changed banks (to Natwest) and it went really well.

Good luck!

Foxy x


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Thanks for the tip about DD Foxy..... I didn't realise that....very useful to know !

N x


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## Charlies-Mum (May 25, 2005)

Minxy - According to Lloyds when I opened a current account with them (about 10 years ago) I was a 43 year old divorcee with 2 brankruptcy orders  against me. Now I spent a bit at Uni but not that much!! 

3 (yes 3!) attempts later they finally managed to set the accound up properly but then a mere 2 months later managed to charge me for going overdrawn because they had set up a standing order against my account for someone elses morgage. Needless to say I'm not with Lloyds anymore 

We have a joint account with them but frankly there systems seem to need a good shake up - customer service is not a strong point when things aren't running smoothly! Problems take forever to fix and generally seem to end up costing the customer money. 

A-Not-overly-impressed-ex-Lloydstsb-customer 

Deb


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