Hi Yourbank, Sorry, I dont know what MSE means? What I also notice is that HSBC has now added a late payment mark to my credit file on the 3rd of November for my credit card! had the bastards NOT taken charges from my account then there wouldnt have been a problem! These guys really are taking the p1ss arent they! Its just gut wrenching having to deal with an organisation that can pretty much do what ever it wants to you! Regards Mailman

Ahh, you see the problem here is that you are looking from this from the "fair world" point of view. In a fair world, if all claims have been put on hold then all charges should also be put on hold (since you have no remedy available to you to claim those charges back). However, as we dont live in a fair world and we have a pretty much incompetent FOS in place...then its a farce that you cant claim back your charges BUT banks havent been stopped from charging you those charges. Mailman

What I didnt add above is that previously HSBC had offered the princely sum of £135 in settlement (claim is for £1100 now). Regards Mailman

What I didnt add above is that previously HSBC had offered the princely sum of £135 in settlement (claim is for £1100 now). Regards Mailman

So, finally I got to speak to a human after nearly 3 months of nothing happening with my application, apart from feeling like Ive been banging my head against a brick wall! Went through everything, person went off and came back and said "sorry, cant do anything to help as you arent in financial hardship". Felt like a real kick in the guts! And it was futire pointing out that the FOS has instructed banks to make payments for those in hardship, her come back was that "yes, you are in financial difficulty, but you arent in financial hardship". So people, how to I lodge a claim with the Ombudsman to complain? Regards Mailman

So, finally I got to speak to a human after nearly 3 months of nothing happening with my application! Went through everything, person went off and came back and said "sorry, cant do anything to help as you arent in financial hardship". Felt like a real kick in the guts! And it was futire pointing out that the FOS has instructed banks to make payments for those in hardship, her come back was that "yes, you are in financial difficulty, but you arent in financial hardship". So people, how to I lodge a claim with the Ombudsman to complain? Regards Mailman

Does anyone have the address to complain to the FSA about banks not meeting their waiver obligations? Ive sent in all the paper work, gone through it with HSBC and after 2 months got a reply to my final warning letter saying I gotta send in all the paper work before they will look at my hardship case! These guys are taking the p1ss big time! Regards Mailman

Righto, about 2 weeks ago I sent a letter to HSBC giving them 7 days to respond to hardship case...pointing out that I have sent in my schedule AND gone through it with someone on the phone. So I get a reply back from HSBC, explaining that charges are currently on hold and that if I want to proceed that I need to send in a list and speak to someone about possible financial assistance! Absolutely gutted! I have been through this all with HSBC already!!!! So learned friends...whats my next step? In my last letter I gave them 7 days before going to the ombudsman. Should I just do that, explaining that HSBC has failed to meet the obligations of the hold or send HSBC everything again? This is really frustrating! Regards Mailman

Guys, Just after some advice. 6 weeks ago I sent in a hardship application to HSBC, had a phone call with them to go through it all and since the 1st of August I havent heard anything further from HSBC (after being told that my application would be looked in to in the next two weeks). I called HSBC this afternoon to see what was going on and the monkey that answered said I had to send an email to servicequality@hsbc.com if I wanted an update?!?!?! So, anyone got any advice on what to do next? I dont want to start using emails for sending sensitive information about my bank accounts etc...and Id prefer to talk to a human as emails are easy to ignore! Whats my next step? How long do I have to wait before I go to the ombuddsman? Regards Mailman

Well I figured it wouldnt hurt to fire off a hardship application to HSBC, which I did nearly 2 months ago but since the 1st of August I havent heard a thing from HSBC! So I called today to find out whats going on and the monkey who answered spoke to the service quality team and advised that if I want any information that Id have to email them on servicequality@hsbc.com! Anyone else had dealings with HSBC for hardship? If so, how did your application go? Bastards really are dragging their feet as slowly as possible! It just seems wrong that they can screw us around as much as they want! BTW, are there any time limits around these applications? Anyone know what the next step is after a hardship claim? Mailman

Got a letter asking me to call them (because I had removed all my phone numbers from their system) as they wanted to talk about my hardship letter. Went through everything I had put in the spreadsheet AGAIN and told them everything they already had in front of them. But interestingly enough, it sounded like they were making plans to pay the old council tax and water rates instead of refunding the money in to my account? Anyone had experience of this when charges had been returned in hardship cases? Also, several week turn around due to the high number of requests...most likely because they have 1 part timer in an indian call centre on the ball. Actually, thats probably a bit mean...clearly an indian part timer in India does the same work as an entire team of people in this country, and for a tenth the cost! Mailman

Look at it this way. Will change come? Yes. Will change come quickly? No. Given that the Tories wont be voted in for at least another year...you just cant go scrapping worthless organisations like the FSA overnight, no matter how much you want to. The reality is that we are at least several years away from the FSA being closed down and the Bank of England taking back all the powers it lost under Gordon Brown (and doing the job they should have been doing for the last 10 years, which should have protected the country from todays depression). Mailman

Tom, Am I too late to join in the fun? Currently have £1000+ outstanding with HSBC (which I have lodged claims for). I dont meet the first criteria but meet the second for legal aid (salary just over the limit). Regards Mailman

Commentary: Deutsche bank was still ahead of the game when they announced half year profits of .39bn euro...but perhaps the writing was on the wall as their half year profits were down 93% compared to last year. Santander...have to be honest here, what have these guys done that no one else has done? Their half year profits were 4.73bn euros, which was up 6% on last years profits. Considering the current climate, Santander is doing bloody well!

Righto, as the banks announce their profits Ill add them to this post. Deutsche Bank Profit -5.7bn euros (down 166%) Santander Profit +8.876bn euro (down 18%)

The ending of the stay isnt a good indicator for when we can expect to have a judgement (ie. banks arent actually above the law when it comes to dealing with their customers!). Expect the stay to roll indefinately until the case is concluded, some time in 2020! Mailman

Well, the chap repersenting RBS Group disagreed, of course Mailman

Yeah, I really cant see the Government leveraging any pressure on the banks to fork out the fees they have "unlawfully" taken from their customers. And while banks attitudes to customers has to change, I think it will be a cold day in hell before the banks start giving money back willingly. Mailman

dont get too excited, 500bil is the upper limit. DOesnt mean thats how much the banks will get. But what this does prove is that Europe flung a sh1t load of sh1t at America for poor management and now the birds have come home to roost and now look at all the problems European banks are having! Mailman

Drop a letter to the people chasing you for the money telling them that it is under dispute. That should be enough to get them to stop chasing you. Mailman

Once you are done, if you would be so good as to post a condensed readers digest version of the ruling, that would be great REgards Mailman

DOnt worry, the BBC is the last place to go to for news. Better to read up on the judegement (posted above) to find out why the Judge came down the way he did. Mailman

To be honest Mac-D, you are probably off just getting this debt paid off and just moving on. The sooner you can get rid of it, the sooner you are going to sleep better at night (one less debt to worry about). Mailman

RBS profits (or lack thereof) now added. Intersting to note that the CEO has refused to step down after posting the first loss for RBS group in 40 years and the second biggest loss since the recession of a few years ago. In real life, if this was your or me there wouldnt be any hesitation to "let you go". Just goes to show, one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us. Mailman

Barclays profits now added...and only a day to go before the big one is announced tomorrow (well, big if you can believe the rumours around losses being suffered by RBS!). Mailman