Why must we enclose £10 with the bank cherges reclaim letter?

Would anybody mind explaining why were paying them for the information?

Thank you in advance!

Comments

  • Paul_Herring
    Paul_Herring Posts: 7,481
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    Because providing that information isn't a no-cost exercise for the companies concerned.

    The Data Protection Act, recognising this, set down a maximum limit on how much they can charge however, and this is £10.
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  • Catty212
    Catty212 Posts: 1,082
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    HSBC didn't charge me the £10 when I asked for mine, this was about a year ago now though. They may have no changed their procedure. They returned the cheque to me.
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  • dazzaofdagenham
    dazzaofdagenham Posts: 1,510
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    same with MINT...they returned my cheque

    darren
  • nickmack
    nickmack Posts: 4,435
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    Would anybody mind explaining why were paying them for the information?

    If you don't have your old statements/charge information, this is a method of obtaining details of these charges without explicitly requesting duplicate statements (which typically are charged at several £ per page).

    You are making a request under the Data Protection Act, asking for charge information held about you by the bank. The statutory required maximum fee for this is £10 as set out by the Information Commissioner.

    Most banks choose just to send you a copy of your statements because it's easier for them to satisfy the DPA request this way. As you can also see from a couple of replies above, some banks also choose to waive the DPA fee as well.
  • smnb08
    smnb08 Posts: 488 Forumite
    i never had to pay anything to hsbc for mine either.
    i recently asked my mortgage lender to provide me with last 3 years mortgage statements and they charged me £20!
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  • Paul_Herring
    Paul_Herring Posts: 7,481
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    smnb08 wrote: »
    i never had to pay anything to hsbc for mine either.
    i recently asked my mortgage lender to provide me with last 3 years mortgage statements and they charged me £20!

    If you didn't couch your request in terms of the DPA, then they are quite allowed to do that.

    If you went to your bank and simply asked for the last 6 years worth of statements, they could charge you £x per sheet/statement.

    If you went to your bank and asked for all relevant account information they hold on you over the past 6 years under the DPA, then the most they can charge is £10 for the lot. And you'll probably just get statement copies.

    It's how you ask, not what you're asking for that matters here.
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  • esmerellda
    esmerellda Posts: 2,237 Forumite
    You can also ask for it back when you are negotiating your refund.
    LegalBeagles
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