Victory for wife made ill by bullying bank's phone calls

Alison Turner, 31, started the landmark action against the Halifax for bombarding her with demands for payment.

She claimed she was "bullied" and "harassed" in a series of calls and letters which left her in tears.

The mother-of-two said she suffered anxiety and stress, and claimed she continued to be pestered by the bank's customer services department even after staff agreed to leave her alone.

Mrs Turner had already forced the bank to waive £775 in charges imposed after she went overdrawn.

But it took the bank several weeks to clear the debt, during which time the personal assistant allegedly received 33 separate calls and letters from the bank's collection department.

She said she was called at "all times of day and night" and was so stressed she suffered emotional problems.

Speaking when she launched her action in March, she said: "I was bullied by the bank and made to feel a failure for getting into debt.

"If customers are having problems, banks should listen to them and understand and try to get them back into the black - not make their position worse harassing them by telephone.

"I got telephone calls at 6.20pm on a Friday and early on Saturday morning. The constant calling reduced me to tears."

Mrs Turner brought her legal action against the Halifax under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. She sought an injunction against the bank as well as "substantial damages".

The Halifax agreed to settle out of court earlier this week, but declined to disclose for how much. It is thought Mrs Turner was paid around £2,000 in damages.

A spokesman for Halifax said: "We have no comment to make about the case other than to say it's been settled."

Mrs Turner and her solicitor Neil Mercer were also unavailable for comment yesterday.

Mr Mercer has previously said: "What you have here is the case of a woman who had hundreds of pounds worth of charges put on her account for going a few pounds overdrawn.

"The bank subsequently agreed to remove the charges but in the interim period the customer services department and the collections team seemed to have no contact. She was constantly harangued for money she no longer owed.

"The calls were coming in at night, in the morning, and at weekends. Her two young children would often take the calls and be asked to provide security details.

"It caused sleepless nights and great concern. There is absolutely no question that the bank's conduct amounted to harassment."

Financial ombudsmen and consumer groups said the settlement could inspire more customers to take on their banks over charges.

A spokesman for the consumer watchdog Which? said: "This is another example of how people can keep challenging banks.

"It takes time and patience but it can be done."