Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

[natweststaffmember]

This thread as you can see from the title is about how to claim back hardship and what the bank expect.
This relates to when you have a list of the charges and are about to start writing a letter about financial hardship. I asked the questions that I thought were important to know and should help you to reclaim.

RBS/NatWest

1) What paperwork would NatWest/RBS would expect to receive to be able to make a determination of whether someone is in financial hardship or not?

A breakdown of the household Income & Expenditure with supporting documentary evidence for any entries that can not be verified through the customers existing bank account.

2) Can they do an income and expenditure form over the telephone?

It is possible to do an I&E form over the telephone although it is not normal practice. Again, we would require supporting documentary evidence as above.

3) How long on average providing the right information is given would it take for a decision?

If all relevant information is received with the Income & Expenditure form, a decision will be made within 5 business days of the Income & Expenditure being received in our Collections Centre.

4) Does NatWest/RBS always contact the person by telephone to go through I&E forms?

We do not usually contact the customer by telephone to discuss the form, the decision is made based on the information provided by the customer, and a letter is issued the next working day.

The address to write to is:

Customer Response Services Unit

1st Floor

Drummond House

1 Redheughs Avenue

Edinburgh

EH12 9JN

Ok, I did ask RBS/NatWest for their I&E forms and I have received it for RBS and am awaiting one for NatWest.
Not sure if Amethyst wants to re arrange post to put this under the RBS/NatWest bit.

will post up a NatWest one later on since the original income and expenditure form is JUST for RBS Bank.
That took 3 minutes to get it.

NatWest version is below.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

HSBC

This is their basic process:

"An income and expenditure form is sent to the customer and the covering letter advises the customer to call our specialist team when completed to discuss their situation. Our specialist team will advise the customer at this stage if any further documentation is required."

I did ask about any contact telephone numbers and about which income and expenditure forms would be relevant:

"The telephone number is 0845 6006423 and is available Monday to Friday - 08:00 to 18:00. This is made clear in our letter and the customer is advised to quote "LCC01" when telephoning so that they can be directed to the correct team.

We will accept a common financial statement from a trust etc however just like HSBC's "Putting your finances in order" leaflet when we discuss the contents with the customer we may need further information.

Our "Putting your finances in order" leaflet offers advice as well as containing an Income & Expenditure form and is clear and simple to complete. if you would like a copy they are available at any branch of HSBC."

Here is the link to the Income and Expenditure form that HSBC uses:
New Window: HSBC Bank plc: Budget Calculator: Instructions

The address to send the details are to follow in the next few days.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

HSBC address:

The Service Quality Team
HSBC Bank plc
Arlington Business Centre
Millshaw Park Lane
LEEDS
LS11 0PP

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

Nationwide

When reviewing cases of financial hardship, we do require an income
and expenditure form, the format of which can either be our own version or that of one of the debt advice agencies.
Here is a link and the leaflet is second from the bottom on the list
Statement of means/Income and expenditure calculator(I would recommend you print it out)
Nationwide - Request a leaflet
Occasionally we may obtain this information by phone, but for clarity and ease of use we prefer a
paper version. Beyond that, we may or may not require proofs,
depending on the individual circumstance. Equally, we may telephone the
customer to discuss their circumstances, but again this will be dependent on their own situation and the information provided to us.

Address to send the above is:

Refund of Charges Team
Nationwide Building Society
Kings Park Road
Moulton Park
Northampton
NN3 6FB

[natweststaffmember]

Abbey

For those reading this, FD is Financial Difficulties.

"The Address for customers to write to regarding their FD Claims is:

Complaints
Abbey
PO Box 5129
Milton Keynes
MK9 2YN"


"Customers should include their, account numbers, details of what they would like to claim and also state that they are experiencing FD. Customers can provide evidence to support their FD Claim, i.e. the notice of their Arrears, and can send the documents to the above address along with their Income and Expenditure form (I&E).

Customers will need to fill in the I&E form and although this is not on our Abbey Website I will include a copy for you. However customers cannot email this form via the Moneyadvisetrust website, they will need to print this and forward a paper based copy along with any supporting evidence to the Complaints Address Above.

An I &E form can also be filled in over the phone, however it would be ideal for the customer to have all their incomings/outgoing Bills and also any Loans/Credit card/ arrears they currently have before they call as they will be asked this. The number to call is the Complaints Department on 0845 600 6014 which is open between 9am - 5pm Monday - Friday.

Upon receiving the I & E form and once all the relevant information has been collated, the details are passed to Case Investigators and there will be a decision made within 4 Weeks however we will endeavour to work these as soon as possible. Case investigators do not necessarily contact customers unless they need further information from them. The customer can receive regular updates regarding their claim whilst the case is being looked into via contacting the Complaints Department on 0845 600 6014 to clarify whether their I &E form has been received."


I am going to ask Amethyst to add to this post the Income and Expenditure form that was sent to me as well.

I spent 2 months requesting this information so I am very very delighted that Abbey were kind enough to provide it.

Unfortunately this is only in Excel format so if someone would be kind enough to convert it to Open Office as well, I would appreciate that.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

LloydsTSB

This is the information they provided to me.

"Any letters can be sent to:
Andover Customer Service Recovery Centre, Lloyds TSB, Charlton Road, Andover, SP10 1RE.


The Monetadvicetrustadvice Income & Expenditure forms are acceptable.

We will always send a letter to acknowledge receipt of a customer complaint within 5 working days and our final response must be issued within 8 weeks. However, we will of course aim to issue our response well within this time period."

I am clarifying some issues but as LloydsTSB has been under the spotlight, I felt it appropriate to post this on the forum so that you know what to initially expect.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

Barclays

Firstly where to send income and expenditure forms.
BARCLAYS BANK PLC
Retail Banking Customer Relations.
LEICESTER
LE87 2BB

Telephone number to that can be called for customers in financial hardship is:
0845 7 555555(the number is manned 7am-11pm, 365 days a year)

An alternative number is given to customer who complain about Bank Charges though.

Timescale for a response:

Providing all information that is available to assess the claim is received then it takes up to 10 days.

Income and Expenditure Form is attached

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

This is just a quick post to say that as at 9th September the address for LloydsTSB has been changed since an additional query went into them. They do not have a specific income and expenditure form internally.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

Halifax

Firstly the address to send letters and Income and expenditure forms:
Customer Relations,
PO Box 548,
Leeds,
LS1 1WU

They weren't being entirely helpful with regards to I&E forms and timescales.

"Each customer's circumstances are individually assessed and therefore the level of information required will vary . We will only request extra information, for example an I&E form, when it is absolutely necessary to do so. We usually issue a copy of the standard BBA form for completion.
This is the link I have found so I assume it is the one they use(at the bottom of the page is a link to a PDF form which can be printed off):
BBA Association - A guide to borrowing from your bank

Customers potentially experiencing financial difficulties are reviewed as a priority.

The amount of time it takes to assess a complaint depends on a number of factors, including the time it takes customers to send I&E forms to us. Data about average times taken to review complaints is confidential to the bank therefore I am unable to provide this information to you

As always, our 24 hour banking helpline is available to customers (the number is on the back of their debit card)."

Having pressed the Halifax for more information they stated this:

"We may not always need an I&E form and may be able to consider a case without, dependent on individual circumstances.

However, if customers choose to provide this detail to support their case then it's the information that is important and not the format. Provided that their is sufficient detail we will always endeavour to make a decision regardless of the format provided."

I would say you should send in the letter, income and expenditure form, either BBA one(above) or Legal Beagles income and expenditure form and arrears notices so that it means that a decision is made as quickly as they are able to.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

Ulster Bank

First of all is the address:

Ulster Bank Ltd

Customer Relations Unit

Business Operations

Group Head Office

11-16 Donegall Square East

Belfast

BT1 5UB

Telephone number for update of the claim is: 028 9027 6025

I have been told that Ulster Bank does not have their own I&E form so it would be wise to use either the RBS or NatWest Bank branded I&E form above.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

First Trust Bank(Northern Ireland)

First of all the address:
Customer Care Unit,
First Trust Centre,
92 Ann Street,
Belfast,
BT1 3AY
or their local branch.

I asked them about their own income and expenditure form. Their response was:
We carry out an assessment for all financial difficulty cases and where necessary will include a review of income/expenditure. We are more concerned with ensuring that we have adequate information to make a determination and less concerned with the origin of the form. Financial difficulty cases are dealt with individually and with our customers interest being the most important factor. All assessments are conducted in accordance with the guidance provided in the FSA waiver and the Banking Code.

The next question is about who to call for a progress report of your claim with them:
Customers should contact Customer Care Unit,
028 90 325599

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

Bank Of Ireland

Where can you write to?
Bank of Ireland Customer customers can write directly to their branch

Is there a specific Income and expenditure for BoI customers?
Bank of Ireland have their own forms for Income & Expenditure, which are available in our branches.

How long on average where all available information is provided does it take for a decision?
A financial hardship case is treated the same way as a 'normal' complaint, which means it must be resolved within 8 weeks, otherwise it can be referred to the Ombudsman. However, most cases can be resolved within 2-3 days (assuming all information has been provided)

Is there anyway to check the progress of the claim?
To check on the status of their claim, a customer may call their own branch and ask to speak to the person who initially dealt with their claim or alternatively they may speak to the branch's Compliance Officer.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

Similar to Abbey here re pulling teeth to get the information. It's not rocket science.

Yorkshire Bank

First of all, the address to send letters:
Yorkshire Bank
Head Office Complex
4th Floor, 51 West George Street
Glasgow
G1 2HL
You can make a telephone complaint here: 0845 602 5410
Telephone line is open 9am-5pm (I have to assume Monday to Friday) and they will make an appointment to speak to the customer over the telephone which will normally be early evening.

Information required: I suggest income and expenditure form, list of charges and notices of arrears which they agreed was important and they added this proviso:If there is a particular event which has led to the customer's financial difficulty then this would also be useful context to they complaint.

They do have an income and expenditure form(have asked for a copy) and the Moneyadvicetrust income and expenditure form is acceptable.

They prefer speaking to the customer prior to any decision on financial hardship. Each case is dealt with on a first come first served basis, ie on the order they come in.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

Alliance and Leicester

The Address for customers to write to regarding their FD Claims is:

Group Customer Relations
Carlton Park
Narborough
Leicester
LE19 0AL


Customers should include theiraccount numbers, details of what they would like to claim and also state that they are experiencing FD. Customers can provide evidence to support their FD Claim, i.e. the notice of their arrears, and can send the documents to the above address along with their Income and Expenditure form (I&E).

Customers will need to fill in the I&E form and I have included a copy for you. As with the Abbey I&E form customers cannot email this form via the Moneyadvisetrust website, they will need to print this and forward a paper based copy along with any supporting evidence to the Complaints addressabove. I have got a blank Income and Expenditure form however they have included someone's letter so currently I am in the process of removing that person details before posting up the Income and Expenditure form. This has now been done and is at the bottom of the page.

An I &E form can also be filled in over the phone, however it would be ideal for the customer to have all their incomings/outgoing bills and also any Loan/Credit card arrears they currently have before they call as they will be asked this. The number to call is the Alliance and Leicester Complaints Department on 0844 5619726 which is open between 9am - 5pm Monday - Friday.

Upon receiving the I & E form and once all the relevant information has been collated, the details are passed to Case Investigators and there will be a decision made. On average, once the I&E has been returned,we work within approximately 3 weeks, however if the customer contacts us and requires immediate assistance we will treat as priority. The customer can receive regular updates regarding their claim whilst the case is being looked into via contacting the Alliance and Leicester Complaints Department on 0844 561 9726to clarify whether their I &E form has been received.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Hardship - Individual Banks Requirements & Who to contact

Yorkshire Bank

Income and Expenditure form received today