Don't pay late payment charges - I don't!

inmypocketnottheirs

You would have to check the terms and conditions of the agreement to see if there is a right to set off.

Little_Bear_4

Ok so how about this, I call MBNA Europe, the day before my payment is due (actually thought payment was due a couple of days later) - they then tell me that payment is due the following day - I say fine - will pay an amount now over the phone now to avoid a late payment charge - 25 pounds.

Answer from the person im speaking to is that no i cant pay over the phone - BUT I can call back the following day and then pay over the phone once a late payment has been charged?!!!!

Has anyone else had something similar?

dchurch24

I don't know if this would apply to anyone on this post, but when you do call up your bank to moan about charges or to get a refund, please don't moan or scream at the adviser as we're only doing our job.

I always remain calm. When I phoned Smile and asked for charges back they said no.

I calmly mentioned that I would start legal proceedings against them quoting the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts regulations and the relevent case law, and they became very upset and angy at me.

I was only doing my job, which is providing for my family and reclaiming money I have earned and had unfairly taken from me.

I remained calm and made a Subject Access Request for the information and was shouted at.

FYI: I started proceedings as I don't make idle threats, and Smile paid up, including interest.

inmypocketnottheirs

Little_Bear wrote:

Ok so how about this, I call MBNA Europe, the day before my payment is due (actually thought payment was due a couple of days later) - they then tell me that payment is due the following day - I say fine - will pay an amount now over the phone now to avoid a late payment charge - 25 pounds.

Answer from the person im speaking to is that no i cant pay over the phone - BUT I can call back the following day and then pay over the phone once a late payment has been charged?!!!!

Has anyone else had something similar?

Capital one are the same. You can only pay by debit card once your account is late, tehn they take 4 days to credit it to the account. Barclaycard allow debit card payments with credit applied next day.

dchurch24

That is the most blatent theft I have ever heard of. Amazing - and I thought extortion was illegal!!

colettejm

zzzLazyDaisy wrote:

I went overdrawn by one day (my fault, forgot to shift funds from savings account to cover excessive christmas spending!). Sod's law, that one day was the day the DD for my CC bounced.....

I got hit for £30 by the bank and a massive £83 by the CC. I wrote to them using one of the letters that are floating around the internet, and yesterday got calls from both the bank and the CC company confirming that all charges had been refunded to my account.

Fantastic!

[edit: Should add that before I discovered this site, I would have probably cried for a bit and then accepted my fate. Not any more! Thanks Martin!!!]

I have just recently been charged a ridiculous amount of charges for going over my overdraft . Could you recommend the website with draft letters that I could send to my bank please?

dchurch24

I can't I'm afraid - not allowed to post links to sites that I'm associated with but if you were to search the forum for "pro-forma letter" and "bank charges" I'm sure you would turn up a post or two with the links in.

super_mario_4

i work for a cc company and as part of my job i can and do refund charges. Now as far as im aware the fees are enforceable (however i may stand corrected on this point).

However the reason banks/credit card companies would never let it go to court is the cost. If you kick up a big enough fuss about a charge it will get refunded in the end. No bank in their right mind is going to bother going to court to defend a £20 charge.

Also, the op may well have had his charge refunded due to his account history. However, if he started to miss further payments/go over limit etc, he may find it a bit more a battle to reclaim that £20.

If people have run their accounts well in the past, then im normally happy to waive charges off, and if what they say sounds viable (eg an error made by bank) then its not a problem. But if people are pushy, rude, have had loads of charges previously, say something like "oh i just forgot/spent all my money/the dog eat my bank card" etc then i may fell slightly less inclined to refund

dchurch24

That's your personal preference, however, the charges are punitive and therefore are NOT enforcable in a court of law.

CC companies and banks are not above the law.

I sued Abbey for nearly 2k and my partner is about to do the same for over 3k.

If it was cost they were worried about I suggest that they would have fought for that amount. It is, however the fact that they know if it goes to a court, they will lose.

vikkyedwards

Hi,

I too have had tons of charges from the Halifax. How have you gone about persuing your claim with the un-cooperative bank?