How could I claim compensation from lloyds?

[Ceylonsapphire]

Hi there,

 

First post! I'm looking for advice about how to make a compensation claim against lloyds bank for what they did to me re: snowballing charges and a packaged account.

 

In short, I was a student for four years. In this time I was paying for a silver account, not a student account. I had a large overdraft from ft working before uni (£1200) and was told I was ineligible for a student account as this silver account was taken out when I was working. To get a student account I would need to close this and pay off all the overdraft. I told them I was a student so couldn't afford to just pay off all the overdraft so they put my account into debt collections and I had to pay it off at around 50 a month. I remember vividly being told I had to speak to debt collectors on phone and being told I had no choice to do this otherwise my limit would be removed and student loan would be swallowed. I was hit with snowballing bank charges - one Xmas they totalled 220 then 100 in January. I struggled to pay these charges as a student. As well as this I was paying overdraft interest. I was in trouble financially - I paid the overdraft off by borrowing from another bank,, I had two credit cards and most of my spare money from part time job earnings was on paying off debt. On graduating I went into DMP in 2009.

 

I look back and like most young people, I knew no better and worried and just accepted what they said - the best they offered me is downgrading my account to non fee paying- I should t have been on it anyway as I have no recollection of signing up for travel or motor insurance benefits- I dont drive. now , obviously I've been around the block with credit and I've clawed my way back to good credit at last. I look back and I feel very angry that they took thousands from me as a student. I tried to reclaim bank charges from them before the test case and they put it on hold and then smugly wrote to me saying the case said they didn't have to pay out.

 

But aren't there two issues here? One that I shouldn't have had that account, and secondly that their charges came at a time when I simply could not afford them and they were causing me distress and worry.

 

Does anyone know on what grounds I could complain to them and how to go about it? Was this technically unlawful or unfair. I don't want them to get away with this as it made things very difficult for me in the past. Thank you in advance!

Edited July 21, 2015 by Ceylonsapphire

[i hate bailiffs]

First thing do you have all the statements?

 

May be time to send Lloyd's a subject access request and get all the data they have on you

[Ceylonsapphire]

Hi there, I can search charges online as far back as the start of the account so I can list what they charged and when? I can see it online.

[Guest]

re yr first point, an a/c change is re current circs at the time and can be changed accordingly.

missold packaged a/cs are reclaimable. see the threads re that.

depending on the circs, may get some charges back.

first step, read around, get the info. then formal complaint to loyds.

[Ceylonsapphire]

Yeah what they tried to say was because I had an existing overdraft I was ineligible for a student account. They said it would involve closing my current account and applying for a student account. I told them I couldn't close it because I can't afford to pay the overdraft off now. They took this as green light to pass my account to a collections branch in Brighton.

[Guest]

ah ok. maybe the student a/c cld've covered the o/d? rather than it going straight to collections.

they were quick to just put existing o/d's into fee paying a/c's!

[Ceylonsapphire]

Yeah I've always found with these guys, the second you have no money, they just don't want to know. The branch wouldn't even deal with me. They made me go away and phone Brighton collections.

[Guest]

their info says if in difficulty, can go in branch. so maybe mis handled there.

but i guess their mo is get them in branch to refinance, if refinance not poss, then send them to collections?

loyds are the worst re complaints, fca even fining them recently for their (wrong) handling of ppi complaints.

[Ceylonsapphire]

Worst in what respect? Don't respond? Become resistant? Should I go down the bank charges route as before or flag this up as an individual complaint. I'm worried I'll get the same "this was the ruling on bank charges..." Reply again. When it's not about that, it's about me paying a couple of grand to them when I was at uni.

[Guest]

meant worst re number of complaints.

but, judging from that fine, maybe re 'resistance' also?