Bank Charges Refunds

[hopkins]

How about the times you pay with a cheque or pay on Standing order and you know theres no money in your account so its blatantly your fault that you get overdrawn ? Can you reclaim these charges ?

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6170209.stm

 

[Arthur]

well i think its all a load of bollocks. this thing has built up from the OFT "opinion" that fees are too much, and has been turned into the idea that all fees are unlawful? they been charging the same (or fact more relativly) for decades. one of the links mentions contract law but the clause there is only applicable if you break a contract, but by overdrawn you aren't breaking any contract, just changing to higher set of tariffs.

does it not occur to you that it does cost them x amount to process somthing, and also does noone concider the fine/dont do it again aspect of the fees?

I know lots of people think its unfair that banks make money from peoples financial misfortune. But i like the fact that i dont get charged monthly just to have the privilege of leading them my salary. i hope you enjoy banking in a couple of years time when going overdrawn doesnt mean a £30 fee anymore, but closing of your account.

You are quite entitled to your opinion but two mates of mine have both gone through the process and both had their charges refunded. One of them got to a week before his court date before it was settled so he got his court fees and interest refunded as well.

I've started the process and got a letter back last week informing me that I was incorrect in stating that their charges were unfair but to keep me a happy camper they would give me a grand to drop the matter.

Now £1000 just before christmas would be very handy but I'm claiming back over £4k and now it's going to court I'm leagally allowed to ask for interest that I would have gained which takes the figure up to nearly £6k.

For the sake of writing a couple of letters (templates of which are widely available for free on the web) it's got to be worth a pop.

 

[dannyboy]

so do you have to tell them an amount ie trawl through years of statements which i dont have or can you just send this standard letter saying its unlawful and you want all of them back?
anyone got a link to this standard letter?

 

[Arthur]

so do you have to tell them an amount ie trawl through years of statements which i dont have or can you just send this standard letter saying its unlawful and you want all of them back?
anyone got a link to this standard letter?

Bacause of the data protection act the banks have to provide you with copies of your statements. Just write to your bank requesting your statements from the last 6 years. It can cost a tenner so include a cheque although most places won't charge you for this.

Simply go through your statements (does take a little while) work out how much they owe you and write to them asking for it back. Giving them 14 days to respond.

You'll get a letter back saying they are looking into the matter. I then got a further letter offering me a grand to let the matter go. I've since written back to them telling them to poke it up their arse and I will be starting legal proceedings in 14 days time unless they pay me back the full ammount plus the interest.

Have a look at: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/ very useful resource for letter templates plus a very handy excel sheet which works out how much you have paid out and how much the interest would have been. Not to mention many other people in the same boat.

After last nights programme I'm guessing the site is going to get very busy.

 

[dannyboy]

cheers mate

 

[maffew]

yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

got my bank charges for the last 6 years refunded (well offered) this morning on 2 x Natwest accounts.

claimed £2400 (charged them interest) and got £1963 back, dont think they were too keen on paying the interest back

Its well easy. it took me slightly longr than others (about 10 weeks) though cost the price of 2 x stamps

 

[chez]

Keep trying, my mate got his cheque last week. Originally he asked for £2700. They offered him £400 to start with but after rejecting a few times he eventually got £3300. He charged them interest and they also had to pay his court fees.

 

[BensGrandad]

My son got all his paid back and then pushed his luck when he incurred another charge over a mistake and was politely told by the bank that if they wouldnt refund it and if he didnt like it to close his account with them.

 

[maffew]

not going to push for more, happy with that, bit cheeky trying for the interest but worth a go

 

[Mr deez]

not going to push for more, happy with that, bit cheeky trying for the interest but worth a go

You best buy me a beer then.

 

[maffew]

when it clears I'll get you a pint in W'spoons if you like Rest is going down the casino

until then skint I'm afraid.

 

[Rabeen]

Well worth keeping on it. My wife went £50 over her overdraft, and in stead of stopping payments going out die to not enough money she racked up £300 in fees for an over-sight that in reality woulfn't have cost the bank more than 10% of that amount to deal with / pay etc. She complained via phone, they offered a pathetic amount, she refused, stuck with it, got the lot back. We have now both made arrangements to avoid this happening again.

Don't feel sorry for the banks, or for people saying that we'll end up all having to pay for banking in the future, the banks make billions year on year from this. I am happy to hold my hand up and say opps, not enough cash at that point, charge me what it cost you but not £35 to pay a £3.50 card payment just because they don't have the technology to stop smaller payments. A simple phone call would avoid all or most of unneccessary payments being made with not enough money in an account, but the banks refuse to do this because for years this has been a lovely little earner for them with very little (until now) come back for them.

Do it, so what if they shut your account, let them, free market.... big deal.

Good luck.

 

[desprateseagull]

if i understand it right, banks etc can charge for actual loss incurred if you go overdrawn / limit etc, but not charge £20 say, for the privilege of sending you a letter, as surely it doesnt cost them that (taking into account the postage, paper, envelope, and a few seconds of staff time..)

i am applying to capital one for a rebate, as they can be vicious= no leeway at all, even on top of the ongoing interest. once its sorted, i'm never using a credit card again

- you got to pay for whtever you buy as some stage, so find it easier to deal in cash, or with a debit card.- once its gone, its gone!

 

[graz126]

there is a website that tells you exactly what steps to take and what order to take them in and when. i think the site is called the motley fool or something like that.

 

[B.M.F]

All this moaning about bank charges. If you are good and do not go overdrawn you will not get charged.

 

[desprateseagull]

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com ?

some other interesting ideas there too- boosting interest on savings accounts, utility switching, and even council tax rebanding (a bit long winded that one, but worth a look..!)

just by tweaking your finances, could makea big saving over the year.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Heard from my bank this morning, got all my charges (plus extra in anticipation) refunded at the first time of asking

 

[ROSM]

One point here - I'm sure nobody has an issue with everybody paying for banking?

I mean the processing of cheques (£1), standing orders (30p), direct debits (30p), cash machine withdrawals (70p) etc. plus the costs of placing machines at key public places like railway stations.

That will be the next step - sadly those who couldn't stick within an AGREED limit are now getting their charges back and these companies who have shareholders will be likely to want to preserve their profits somehow.

 

[Cian]

I do - cause I've never been charged for those by my bank. It think its a disgrace that they charge for them in the first place.

Funnily enough the Irish banks are both large and profitable despite not being allowed charge for ATM transactions and generally charging low to no amounts for everything else.