Bank Charges Reclaiming Guide discussion

hernebaylooby wrote: »

hi, im in need of some help. I wish to claim back my bank charges but im not sure how to get started. A few months ago i went over the over draft and was charged 3 x £35 (charge for paying the direct debit) and 3 x £25 ( for going over the over draft) so a total of £180 i was not notified of this until my statement arrived 3 weeks later and they took the money out a week later after that i got stuck in the trap of recieving these bank charges every month to the point im now struggling to npay the bills infact 1 hasnt been paid for 3 months i have no idea how im going to pay. I phoned santander today when my bank statement came in and i phoned them saying i wanted to claim back my charges and all they offered was to settle my charges that were due to come out. But to be honnest im not happy with that they have had over £700 in 5 months in charges. Does anyone have any links to the form on here as i cant find it or any advise? thanks x

There's a link in the OP explaining how to attempt to reclaim bank charges, including advice/suggestions on how to compose your letters/claims.

Have a read of it and let us know if you need any specific help from there

Dada wrote: »

I made claim on 4 Dec 2010. On 15 Jan 2011, I called the Halifax Head Office if they have recieve my letter, they told me no. And they advised me to go my nearest haifax branch with an ID. I am yet to go there. Any advise on what I should be asking for when I go there.

Did you not send your claim by recorded delivery?
How about Proof of postage?

If you used either of these, make a claim for lost, stolen or otherwise non-delivered post to Royal Mail.

Also send another copy to Halifax, this time by recorded delivery.

Don't bother wasting time going into a branch to claim for a refund of bank charges.

Ludicrous_Diversion wrote: »

Well, I'm up to my overdraft limit and unemployed so I thought I may aswell give this a go and have requested a list of all transctions on the account. I did this by phone and the nice lady was most helpful but was keen to suggest that I was asking for statements and that there would be a charge of 10 pounds.
However, I do have a large outstanding credit card balance from the same bank that has not been serviced for some time. How would this affect things?
I see from a reply above that it could well go against me.

In terms of your current account, banks are only really looking at hardship at the moment. Re your credit card, if you reclaim, it is very likely to go towards the balance of the card if you are successful, as banks have the right to offset.

Archaeopteryx wrote: »

... Please can anybody help, what does all this mean? ...

The poster you quote has a thead of their own that has posts you may find useful here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2986008

Your claim is about to be struck out (cancelled) unless you file a new PoC. The MSE guide to reclaiming bank charges via court explains how you may wish to do this ... but read the article carefully including the risks. Be aware no one has yet reported any success in court following the suggested alternative PoC.

Mizzy wrote: »

Hi,

I just requested all my bank statements since 2004 when I first opened my current account. I've received loads of charges but majority of the last year charges have been excused by the bank as due I simply can't afford it (being a student). Can I reclaim charges back since 2004? Does the financial ombudsman charges or who are they and their contact details? I also £600 overdraft which I still havent able to pay after a year :O Can you get help with that too?
Many thanks in advance.
X

I would suggest you read and digest the article in the OP.
(as I think I've suggested to you before )

It explains mainly how to reclaim charges based on financial hardship (what it refers to as the human argument).
There's a stickt thread about financial hardship online resources that you should also read to fully understand what financial hardship is really all about.

Claims based on financial hardship, even if accepted by the bank, do not place any liability on the bank to refund any of the charges incurred. The FOS cannot order that either, but can only assess whether or not the bank has acted positively & sympathetically towards those customers who have genuine financial hardship claims. Where the FOS considers the bank not to have acted in this way, they would ask the bank to reassess the claim more appropriately.

Reports from other MSE'ers who have recently been succesful in reclaiming bank charges based on genuine financial hardship indicate banks are only usually willing to consider at most refunding charges from the last 6 months (but don't let that stop you from claiming for the last 6 years)

There is no charge to the consumer to use the FOS. If you google them, you will find their website with details about them and how to contact them.

If you don't qualify under financial hardship, then there is a link in the article to a further MSE article on reclaiming banks charges in court. The FOS will not consider the arguments contained in that article, so when the bank refuse (and they will is using those arguments) your only option would be to attend court. You should note the risks contained in this later article in attempting to pursue such claim and note that no one to date has reported any success in court attempting to do so.

If you've borrowed money, you'll have to repay it. Speak to your bank who should be able to give advice about this and perhaps offer you a more appropraite product to help (as it doesn't sound like an overdraft is the most appropriate for your circumstances)

You might also want to think about posting on the DFW board, where, if you post your SoA details, you'll probably get lots of good advice on becoming debt free.