UK bank overdrafts: ‘I received £8,000 after I complained’
A woman who was struggling with debt has received an £8,000 payout from a high street bank after making a complaint about her overdraft. Now thousands of other borrowers could be in line for refunds.
Laura (she did not wish to give her surname) was £30,000 in debt, with £9,000 of that in overdrafts, and struggling to make ends meet when she searched online for a solution.
The 30-year-old had been living on her overdraft for a decade, and other debts – including credit cards and high-cost loans – had spiralled during a financially abusive relationship in her 20s.
After that ended a few years ago, she was left with the mountain of debt and, despite a successful career as a fashion merchandiser, she was barely able to meet her minimum payments each month, leaving her at “rock bottom”.
She says: “I had struggled with it over the years, keeping it quietly to myself.
“Last year, when everybody was impacted with the cost of living crisis, interest rates and bills going up, it got to the point where I couldn’t borrow from Peter to pay Paul any more.
“All of my salary was going on debt payments but it wasn’t even reducing it – it was just interest, interest, interest.”
Her search for solutions led her to Debt Camel, a personal finance website run by Sara Williams, where she learned it may be possible to get interest and fees refunded if a bank has given you an overdraft you cannot afford.
Laura, who lives in London, made a complaint to Barclays in January this year and within weeks had been refunded £8,000, covering fees and interest accrued over a six-year period. The bank says this was done “as a gesture of goodwill”.
It is possible to complain about older charges but that involves going to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which can be
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