Sample letter to send to your bank "Illigal Charges"

skippy64

inmypocketnottheirs wrote:

Don't worry about getting your account closed. I sent the same letter as above (spell and grammar checked!) had £1331.50 refunded from the co-op and my account is still open. However I have been in credit and have not had any items returned etc for the last 12 months or so.

Congrats on you getting your money back. I noticed in your sig at the bootom you had just got a refund back from GE Money. I've just cleared a loan with those guys and I'm determined to get monies back from them for the settlement fees. Could you post or pm me the bare bones of the letter you sent them if at all possible, inmypocketnottheirs? Many thanks if you can.

dchurch24

pin wrote:

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I'm aware what it means. Was just checking you (and others who would use the template letter) were aware what it meant and what its implications are.

Also, some small points:

Its the Unfair Contracts Terms Act 1977, not 1977 Unfair Terms (contracts) Act.

Don't need brackets around Data Protection Act (1998).

"There are many more cases of this type ? far more than I have room to list here" - is a redundant (sp?) phrase, you have already quoted three authorities, they will get the point.

Very last word in your letter "act", should be "Act".

Pedant!!! No - only joking - cheers for that - I was being pressured to get a 'standard' letter up in the BAG forum, and rushed it a bit.

pin

dchurch24 wrote:

Pedant!!! No - only joking - cheers for that - I was being pressured to get a 'standard' letter up in the BAG forum, and rushed it a bit.

ATD - attention to detail. If you're writing a legal letter, there is no excuse to be sloppy (which I'm sure you were not being - you were just in a rush). Its about apperance, you need to show the bank that they are not dealing with some average joe off the street, but someone who is clued up and knows what their rights are.

dchurch24

I completely agree. (although I bet you typed that last post carefully - how embarrassing would that be?)

;-)

loubie_lou

Hi,

Is there a more simple letter I can send my bank to refund some charges. I'm a bit scared of threatening court action when all I want back is £140.
I've read the Bank Action Group FAQs and I'm sure it states that going over your limit is YOUR own fault. But it was the fault of the stooooopid retailers taking two weeks or more to debit card payments which put me overdrawn a few quid!

Thanks!

musey

ukbill69 wrote:

[your address]



[their address]


WITHOUT PREDJUDICE

Dear Sir,

ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxx

I have held the above mentioned current account with your bank for the past 6 years. During this time I have incurred charges for exceeding my overdraft limit due to cheques being cleared at unfortunate times, unauthorized overdraft fees, direct debits and standing orders being dishonored (and in some cases honored) due to insufficient funds.

It is my opinion, and that of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), that these charges are punitive in nature, not a genuine pre-estimate of cost and not intended to re-imburse your losses for a breach of contract occurring. Further to the 1999 Consumer Credit Regulations quoted by the OFT, there are numerous cases in law that prove that punitive charges in contracts are unenforceable at English law.

Murray v Leisureplay (2004)
Dunlop Tyre Company v New Garage and Motor Co. (1915)
Bridge v. Campbell Discount Co. Ltd. (1962)

There are many more cases of this type ? far more than I have room to list here.

Further to these cases, I also believe these charges to be a direct breach of the 1977 Unfair Terms (contracts) Act which require that contract terms be reasonable. I do not believe these charges are reasonable as outlined in the aforementioned act.

With this in mind, I respectfully request that you return to me ALL charges made on this account in the last 6 years within 30 days of receipt of this letter by way of personal cheque. If you choose not to do so, I will start proceedings for recovery in the County Courts, as I believe that legally I am entitled to this money back. By doing so, you will be eligible for my court costs and for an extra 8% APR as allowed by the County Courts Act (1984). This money would be used in some way to clear my overdraft on this account.

Further to this, if you decide NOT to accept my offer of settlement of this issue, I would like to make a formal request under the Data Protection Act (1998) for a complete and exhaustive list of all charges made on this account over the last 6 years. As you are no doubt aware, you are afforded 40 days to comply with this request or you must request an extension from the Information Commissioner. If you are of any doubt that this information is covered by the act, may I respectfully draw your attention to the case of Durant v FSA 2003 where the judge ruled that bank statement information is indeed personal information and thus covered. In any event, this information is requested with a view to prospective legal action on my part and therefore would be covered under the same act.

Yours faithfully,

[name]

Sourced from: http://www.bankactiongroup.com/

Sorry for the long quote, do the learned people here think this letter would work in regards to a late payment charge on a storecard? (Making the alterations that the account is a storecard etc)

ukbill69

musey see: http://www.bankchargeshell.co.uk/credit_card_store_card_charges_claim_in_person.pdf

Curry_Queen

ukbill69 wrote:

I have held the above mentioned current account with your bank for the past 6 years. During this time I have incurred charges for exceeding my overdraft limit due to cheques being cleared at unfortunate times, unauthorized overdraft fees, direct debits and standing orders being dishonored (and in some cases honored) due to insufficient funds.

It is my opinion, and that of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), that these charges are punitive in nature, not a genuine pre-estimate of cost and not intended to re-imburse your losses for a breach of contract occurring. Further to the 1999 Consumer Credit Regulations quoted by the OFT, there are numerous cases in law that prove that punitive charges in contracts are unenforceable at English law.

Apologies for continuing the pedantry, but the above words are also misspelled ... there's a "u" in honour and reimburse doesn't need a hyphen

No offence intended, but as mentioned above, attention to detail is important in such matters

Curry_Queen

I hope you don't mind but I've taken the liberty of producing a revised document to replace the above. Please feel free to point out anything I may have missed


[Your address]


[Their address]


WITHOUT PREDJUDICE

Dear Sir,

ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxx

I have held the above mentioned current account with your bank for the past six years. During this time I have incurred charges for exceeding my overdraft limit due to cheques being cleared at unfortunate times, unauthorized overdraft fees, direct debits and standing orders being dishonoured (and in some cases honoured) due to insufficient funds.

It is of my opinion, and that of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), that these charges are punitive in nature, not a genuine pre-estimate of cost and not intended to reimburse your losses for a breach of contract occurring. Further to the Consumer Credit (Total Charge for Credit, Agreements and Advertisements) Regulations 1999 quoted by OFT, there are numerous cases in law that prove that punitive charges in contracts are unenforceable at English law.

Murray v Leisureplay (2004)
Dunlop Tyre Company v New Garage and Motor Co. (1915)
Bridge v Campbell Discount Co. Ltd. (1962)

Further to these cases, I also believe these charges to be a direct breach of the Unfair Contracts Terms Act 1977 which require that contract terms be reasonable. I do not believe these charges are reasonable as outlined in the aforementioned Act.

With this in mind, I respectfully request you return to me ALL charges made on this account within thirty days of receipt of this letter, by way of personal cheque. If you choose not to do so, I shall start proceedings for recovery in the County Courts as I believe that I am legally entitled to a refund of these charges. By doing so, you will be eligible for my court costs, plus 8% APR interest, as allowed by the County Courts Act 1984.

Further to this, if you decide NOT to accept my offer of settlement of this issue, I would like to make a formal request under the Data Protection Act 1998 for a complete and exhaustive list of all charges made on this account over the last six years. As you are no doubt aware, you are afforded forty days to comply with this request or you must request an extension from the Information Commissioner. If you are in any doubt that this information is covered by the Act, may I respectfully draw your attention to the case of Durant v FSA 2003 whereby the Judge ruled that bank statement information is indeed personal information, and thus covered. In any event, this information is requested with a view to prospective legal action on my part and therefore would be covered under the same Act.

Yours faithfully,



[Name]

Sourced from: http://www.bankactiongroup.com/

dchurch24

Not at all - do you have any objections to me using it to update the one in the BAG forum?