Claim back any unfair bank charges! Article Discussion Area

brummiebird

Just wondered if anybody can help me with this little query please. I requested a total of £4279.00 from Natwest bank in charges a week ago and got a letter back this morning stating that although they don't think they have charged me unlawfully as a gesture of goodwill they are willing to refund me a total of £1161.00. As tempting as this sounds (and it would really get me out of a sticky situation right now) I am more tempted to keep on track and try to get the whole lot back. Has naybody else been in this situation and what did you do??
Any advice would be great.
Many Thanks in advance.
brummie

weedom

I have a joint Lloyds TSB account with my ex-wife, with the whopping total of £1700 outstanding. This has gone to the collections department, and they now control all of my accounts.

After a bad couple of months, the Lloyds TSB are charging me £310 in charges for standing orders and direct debits that failed. For instance, for the month of June they're charging me £195... I only earn £180 a week! that's 25% of my monthly salary!

I contacted the collections department to ask for the charges to be reduced, and (after a lengthy discussion) they still absolutely refused to reduce the charges, instead offering me an overdraft and a payment plan.

The justification for charges, I understood, is to allow the banks to recoup losses due to bad debt.

The supervisor I spoke to (in a callcentre far, far away) actually confirmed to me, in a conversation I was assured was recorded, that the charges are meant to be a penalty. He balked at the word "punishment", but agreed that penalty and punishment are pretty much interchangeable.

I don't know if this is worthy of note or not, but it certainly riled me!

micha1970

Hi dchurch, I have read the whole thread which took several days and printed it all off! I have got charges back from RBS (through the sheriff court) twice , BOS and Capital One (thorough money claim) and shown a few friends how to do the same. I always thought I would quite like to spend the money in support of the charges cause! I am also worried about your health with the lack of sleep!
My employers have just offered me redundancy and have a few months off before starting the next job. Would you be interested in putting a book together? I have a little experience in that direction and I have time and money available now. I know this is a little unusual but didn't know how else to contact you. Let me know if the idea appeals. It is not about making money, just helping people to do this and get all the info in one place and giving you some time off!

P

bookworm1363

mshaw77 wrote:

Help Anyone, I am panicking!!! I have been with barclays for 5 years and have claimed back £900 in charges and interest from them. They have filed a defence and a court date in October 2006 has been set. What do I do, it says in the full article (The court will now set a date (if the bank hasn't already given your money back by this point - and most will have done). Some (actually only one has ever got this far) might actually attempt to win in court - they may claim that the charges are for an extra service and therefore not a penalty, and thus legally enforceable. If this happens, come to the forum - we have this angle covered, it's slightly more complicated but worth it in the long run.)

But I can't find it anywhere. Can somebody help?

Regards Michelle

Click on my sig, and join us there, and read the Barclays forum.

There is nothing to worry about, Barclays are known to delay as far as they can and systematically go that far, and we're now seeing the first payments coming in from actions started a few months back.

bookworm1363

keithkeith wrote:

I'm going to fill in the moneyclaim online form. I'm claiming for 2 accounts, both in the same name and with the same bank. Should I combine these into one claim, or make 2 separate claims?

If the total charges add to less then 5k, 1 claim will do.

bookworm1363

brummiebird wrote:

Just wondered if anybody can help me with this little query please. I requested a total of £4279.00 from Natwest bank in charges a week ago and got a letter back this morning stating that although they don't think they have charged me unlawfully as a gesture of goodwill they are willing to refund me a total of £1161.00. As tempting as this sounds (and it would really get me out of a sticky situation right now) I am more tempted to keep on track and try to get the whole lot back. Has naybody else been in this situation and what did you do??
Any advice would be great.
Many Thanks in advance.
brummie

Well, it's up to you. Personally, between 1k and 4k, I know what I'd choose, even if it means waiting a bit longer... This was money to which you'd kissed goodbye a long ago anyway, so why not hold out?

Yes, lots of people were offered the same p!ssy deal, and everyone of them who refused has had 100% refunds so far. I hope that answers your query ;-)

bookworm1363

weedom wrote:

I have a joint Lloyds TSB account with my ex-wife, with the whopping total of £1700 outstanding. This has gone to the collections department, and they now control all of my accounts.

After a bad couple of months, the Lloyds TSB are charging me £310 in charges for standing orders and direct debits that failed. For instance, for the month of June they're charging me £195... I only earn £180 a week! that's 25% of my monthly salary!

I contacted the collections department to ask for the charges to be reduced, and (after a lengthy discussion) they still absolutely refused to reduce the charges, instead offering me an overdraft and a payment plan.

The justification for charges, I understood, is to allow the banks to recoup losses due to bad debt.

The supervisor I spoke to (in a callcentre far, far away) actually confirmed to me, in a conversation I was assured was recorded, that the charges are meant to be a penalty. He balked at the word "punishment", but agreed that penalty and punishment are pretty much interchangeable.

I don't know if this is worthy of note or not, but it certainly riled me!

Well, I certainly hope you're going to go after them for the lot! :mad:

anchor3

I recently sent the template letter (Data Protection Act 1998 Subject Access Request) & have just received a letter back from my bank (Clydesdale Bank).

The first few paragraphs I understand, it states that they have received my cheque & that they have got 40 days to provide me with the info etc.

The last paragraph I am unsure of - it basically states:-

With regard to your request for information relating to manual intervention on your account, there is no specific mention of manual intervention within the Data Protection Act and as such we are under no statutory obligation to record or provide this information.

Does this mean I can go no further with this? I have gone over drawn quite a few times in the past, but not really so much because of direct debits or cheques.

bookworm1363

anchor3 wrote:

I
The last paragraph I am unsure of - it basically states:-

With regard to your request for information relating to manual intervention on your account, there is no specific mention of manual intervention within the Data Protection Act and as such we are under no statutory obligation to record or provide this information.

Don't worry about it. Just start totting up your charges. ;-)

(PS: They're full of !!!!!!. If a bank employee had gone into your account to personally say yes or no to a payment going through, as it would be showing on the notes relating to your account, it would very much count as being part of your personal data. But as I said, don't worry about it.)

zoedunkinson

Hi

I'vce followed the process on the site through and this morning received the the court questionnaire. Fingers crossed they back down now. Can you advise what I should do if they don't?

Zxx