Bank Charges - illegal?

inmypocketnottheirs

LoLo wrote:

Is there any chance you could post up an example letter of what you wrote to your banks about them giving you the charges back. Also over what period of time can you date them back to? Thanks

Six years is the time limit. Take a look at https://www.bankchargeshell.co.uk and all the letters and info you need is there.

Hope this helps

LoLo

did you use the county court letter and send it tothe bank or did you make a claim through the online procedure? I thought that the first step was to write to the bank yourself and if they refuse to pay use the online claim procedure.

inmypocketnottheirs

I just wrote to the bank pointing out the charges were illegal and I wanted them refunded. I then sent a reminder and 7 day notice before action. They then paid up. No courts, no forms, just took control and wrote to them in the same terms as they use when demanding money from me.

gothicf0rm

its becoming obvious from people in this thread, and the halifax one, that different banks have different policies with this. some banks pay up as soon as it becomes obvious the customer is serious, for example the co op, others like the halifax kick and scream to the last possible moment.
dchurch, perhaps you could make a list of which banks settle when in the process according to the info you get. this would help people in changing banks as theyd change to the most customer friendly one around.

gothicf0rm

pere, the interest they charge you on the charges you can claim back too. you need to show the interest is directly linked to the charges in question though. could you post here a basic break down of the debt - the total value of it, how much of this is charges, how much is interest, and the interest rate and i'll work it out for you in about five mins

dchurch24

Abbey - used to settle after filing a defence, now they offer half (I'll have to wait on that one to see if they settle in full; it is my guess that they will, sadly).
Natwest (I think) - took it to court once and won on a technicality - now they pay up (they were lucky to win and they know it.)
First Direct - Pay up after threatening court action.
Smile - Acknowledge the claim, then pay up.
Barclaycard - Pay up after a letter threatening court action.
Barclays - Pay up after filing a defence and actually getting a court date set.

That's all I can remember at the moment.

However, bear in mind that this is only my opinion based on what I have been told by people who have taken action against the respective banks mentioned above.

Stubbarama

Just sent off my first letter to the Nationwide. Fingers crossed. :beer:

Pere_Ubu

gothicf0rm wrote:

pere, the interest they charge you on the charges you can claim back too. you need to show the interest is directly linked to the charges in question though. could you post here a basic break down of the debt - the total value of it, how much of this is charges, how much is interest, and the interest rate and i'll work it out for you in about five mins

Will have to get back to you as they haven't given any paperwork just a statement with no explanation. Will PM you when we get the figures. Thanks. Does any one know of the case a think last year a couple v's a bank over a debt that had increased due to really high interest rates. The court wiped out the debt completely. Not looking for our debt to be wiped out just a reasonable interest rate to enable us re-pay the debt. Thought I might find something in this case.

Pere_Ubu

Stubbarama wrote:

Just sent off my first letter to the Nationwide. Fingers crossed. :beer:

My husband and I got £180 back just last week from the Nationwide stating they were only going to do it the once etc. Interesting sentance stated that they "understood how I felt" will quote this back to them when/if they charge me again. Only took one letter as well with a time limit of 7 days to respond.

homersimpson_3

wrote to bank using standard letter saying either refund bank charges or i'll sue you. bank said they contacted their legal dept and charges are a genuine pre-estimate of loss and legally enforcable- charges include depreciation of machinery (maintenance and replacement), staff costs to maintain system & business rates in which system housed. Are bank correct? should i sue them? cannot afford to waste money. thanks