Can I Actually Reclaim?!

lenny_toucan

To cut a long story as short as I ever can, I have exceeded my interest free overdraft by about 200. I didn't know about this until they called me the other day to ask if I wanted a personal loan in order to repay them that, plus another 200 for charges. I was a little shocked to say the least - while I must confess to stepping over my limit once or twice in the three+ years I've banked with them, they have had the common sense to notify me by the first 50. I say common sense, because despite being quite aware that banks are money grabbing b..uisinesses, it seems counter-intuitive to allow me to spend a lot of money that I clearly can't afford, and then charge me the same ammount on top! I mean, when do they expect to ever see this money again!? So, I relayed this shock on to the nice lady on the phone. I asked her how they could justify such a charge, because I was sure it wasn't allowed. Her defence (or the bank's, rather), was that because I'd gone over the limit one or two times before, plus the fact that my monthly earnings are less than my whole OD limit, they needed to charge me big-time. Again, more stupid logic there, but hey, if I'm so rubbish with money that I can't even check my balance, does anyone really think I know much about the legalities of a bank's actions?

I tried reading Martin's info on reclaiming, but I couldn't find much that applied to me. It seemed to deal more with the money-savvy who have been cruely taken advantage of, rather than the pathetic and poor who probably deserve this wake-up call. Is the bank lady correct in saying that basically, because I have been whittelling THEIR money away for quite some time (interest free, too) they can basically slap me with a bill for whatever they fancy?

lenny_toucan

Sorry to bump, but can anyone help me?

jennyo

You can put a reclaim in for the charges, but not the interest you have paid on the overdraft.
Unless you are in financial diffuculty or if it is a business account, you will have to wait until after the hold, for them to look at your claim, however it is still worth getting your claim in so you are in the queue when they do start dealing with the claims.

lenny_toucan

Thank you. Do we have any idea of when the hold is going to lift?

jennyo

lenny_toucan wrote: »

Thank you. Do we have any idea of when the hold is going to lift?

Not at the moment