Can anyone help me because my bank are taking pretty much all my benefits money, leaving me in complete hardship, as i have no other income.

In fact they took, in january of this year over 400 pounds in there expensive charges!! this was just one month!! What exactly do they expect me to live on???? Can someone tell me what i can do? thanks

Since opening a Basic Bank Account with Ulster Bank in September 2005 I have been charged £120 for failed standing orders.I received 2 letters early in 2006 each one carrying a fee of £30 and more recently a single letter which seems to have carried a total charge of £60.

A person in my situation who is receiving a Disabilty Benefit after spending 6 months in hospital for severe physical and mental illness can only open a Basic Bank Account into which ONLY Benefits can be lodged directly from the SSO.Meaning that if I withdraw too much and wish to lodge an ammount BACK into my account I am unable to do so.I found this out when just this happened and I attempted to make a lodgement through my post office.I could withdraw sure but I couldn’t lodge any money into my account.

More recently I realised that I had not left enough money in my account to cover my £20 per month SO’s [which were only set up to attempt to reclaim some form of dignity and confidence in a world were I am rapidly being made to feel more and more incapable of doing the most basic daily tasks]and as it was a Saturday and the banks had closed I had to pursue my panicked course of action over the internet. [which proved very user-unfriendly]I realised that the bank were going to charge me another £60 which would be automatically deducted from my Income Support payment leaving me with £26.74 out of the £86.74 which the government supposedly says is the minimum ammount required for a healthy person to live on.

I sent an e-mail to the bank explaining my situation [which they already understood as I was informed BY THEIR STAFF during my interview for opening an account that the Basic Bank Account was only for people receiving benefits]and I also threatened to leave the Ulster Bank if they charged my account.

To my surprise the charges were not applied on that occassion.However it made me think of the previous occasion when I didn’t do anything and the bank took £60 of my money and left me flat broke in the countryside.The only reason I didn’t act on this occasion was beacause I felt terrible that I had messed up and quite frankly intimidated by the impersonal robotic attitude of the banks letters.

What spurred me into action when I did act was a pure and simple fear of having absolutely no money for two weeks.This kind of short term future is terrifying and a real spirit breaker for someone trying to get their life back together.

About 3 days ago I was yet again left with £20 in my bank account when my benefit was £86.74.The letter I received from the bank about this was in no way helpful and carried the air of dismissal and snobbery which left me yet again lost and hopeless.The letter stated that I had insufficient funds for a SO and I was being charged for it.It also stated that it was my responsibility to make sure the money was in my account for these SO’s and if it happened again the SO’s would be cancelled at further expense to the benefits in my Basic Bank Account. There was no attempt to reasure me,to arrange a meeting, there was no invitation to resolve the matter with help from the bank to ensure that these silly mistakes wouldn’t happen again.

I honestly feel ashamed and embarassed going into the Ulster Bank.

I always thought myself privileged to live in a modern country which was technologically up to date and had learned not to crush human spirit or had grown up.I am fast learning otherwise.

I intend to ask for a full refund using the help on the websites listed here. If the bank really places so much importance on money then it certainly won’t be able to justify leaving me with none.