Claim back any unfair bank charges! Article Discussion Area

philipwagstaff

if anyone could help with this i would be very greatfull.
i have recieved an offer letter from my bank for the refund of all my charges which is excellent but my problem is that since writing the original letter for the refund of my charges i have again been charged and feel i am entitled to them, how do i get these more recent charges back?? also i would like to know if the bank are going to continue charging me in the future after i have signed this letter?? if so can i claim those charges back again in say one years time? if anybody has any info, advice or experience on this matter your help would be greatly appreciated. thankyou

rachelandgromit

Hi

I'm probably being really stupid but the 40 days are very nearly up for Lloyds and I've not received my statements yet. I did look on this website for an address and sent my letter to Customer Care, Lloyds TSB, 125 Colmore Road, Birmingham, B3 3SF.

Is this the right address or are Lloyds renound for leaving things to the last minute. I'm totally hacked off as I've just checked internet banking and I've been charged nearly £40 for failed D/Debits as due to me and my ex splitting and changes in wages dates the D/D's came out before my wages went in!!!!!

Has anyone had any recent luck with Lloyds????

Motivate me please!!!!!

Rachel

MABLE

Every other letter I have received from credit card companies advise me about an increase in their interest rate. Seems like they are playing the same game as the customer by claiming the unfair charges back that they have had to pay out. Enjoy the refunds while you can because either way the banks will claw it back.

netumenya

oldwiring wrote:

ERCs arise because the lende will have committed money to the mortgage, in fact many similar mortgages at a eateless than would be obtained under normal terms. The lender may well have acquired funds in the market to do the mortgages as well. Therefore the lender may well lose money if a mortgage is repaid early.

A coupe of years ago there was a BBEB program about ERCs and I have it in the back of my mind that they are now controlled gy the oFT or FSA.
http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=56598 is what happened with one bank, what the OFT accepted, and the calculation method.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_repayment_charge gives the Wikpedia definition, but the calculator may not applyl the site may be non-uk.

If the method of calculation broadly follws that in the NW example them I'd say that the lender is recouping the loss you are making it suffer by breaking the contract and so the charges are not unfair.

That said you could ask for a full breakdown of how the charge is calculated to ensure that no error has been made. Perhaps contact with the OFT/FSA to see if there is any guidance to the public about regulation of such charges

Thanks old wiring for your reply. Very helpful. I will take your advice and ask for a breakdown of the charges. At least then I will have some peace of mind. I have to say, though, that the NW example is fine to show how the mortgage lender is losing out if customers repay early in a falling interest rate market, but it means a double penalty for those of us who have low rate fixed terms and are forced to repay simply because we can't complete a house purchase at the same time as the house sale.

In my case, I will be giving up a fixed rate of 4.29% in order to go onto something in the region of 5.04%, which will mean losing out in all directions. I guess the answer is to try to delay completion of the sale and speed up the purchase.

moran73

moran73 wrote:

i've just received a letter from Halifax stating that the £375 they promised to refund has to go back onto my credit card as this is where the charge originated. When they offered me the £187.50 refund they enclosed a form that stated i return it and the money will be added to my account or they would send a cheque.

I know that money is rightfully mine and i am going to call them today as i now have a name and number but need advice on what to say. I basically aim to say to them that i want the amount paid into my own bank account by monday as this was the deadline i gave or i will start legal proceedings - will they then pay up?

i would appreciate any speedy advice on this as i aim to call them this morning.

I am now about to call Halifax so if anyone can give me some last minute advice on what to say i would be really grateful.

moran73

moran73 wrote:

I am now about to call Halifax so if anyone can give me some last minute advice on what to say i would be really grateful.

I have just called and their office hours are monday-friday 9-5

i will call on monday and the general gist of what i will say is:

the charges made are illegal and that money is rightfully mine so regardless of where the charges originated that money is mine so must be paid directly to me. I will then advise that they have until the end of 15/08 to transfer the money to my bank account, the details of which they have in the letters i have sent, or i will begin my legal action.

I dont intend to get into a discussion with them and instead will take control of the call to tell them what i am to do rather than listen to what excuses/company speak they have.

Does this course of action seem okay to people? has anyone had similar experiences they could share with me?

sallywoo

xanderd wrote:

the general area is that the charges they applied are illegal. Same as theft. So the money should have been yours all along. How the money is given to you or in what form does not affect this simple fact.

The money is yours. As long as they have given it back to you they have complied..but on the other hand if you say you wont be able to use it if they put it in your account (i dont understand what you mean by this but anyway...) then you are entitled to ask for it ina way that is accessible to you e.g. cheque.

this mutch i understand just keen to find the exact section of called law in this site. i need to check it is relivant to my area of the country.

YorkshireBoy

moran73 wrote:

i will call on monday and the general gist of what i will say is:

the charges made are illegal

...except they're not 'illegal', they're (allegedly) 'unlawful' - there's a difference.

...and that money is rightfully mine so regardless of where the charges originated that money is mine so must be paid directly to me.

HBoS will agrue that because the charges were initially debited to your credit card, then the corresponding refund should be credited to the same account.

I will then advise that they have until the end of 15/08 to transfer the money to my bank account, the details of which they have in the letters i have sent, or i will begin my legal action.

Halifax have agreed to refund your charges, yet you are going to (attempt to) sue them in court? For what? What is the legal basis of your challenge?

I dont intend to get into a discussion with them and instead will take control of the call to tell them what i am to do rather than listen to what excuses/company speak they have.

I think you'd be better off having a 'discussion' rather than threatening this, that, and the other. After all, you've already 'won' - why make life more difficult?

pacart

Anyone wondering how to go about reclaiming, this site has excellent instructions on the main site, just type in "unfair bank charges" on the home page. There are other resources, try googling "unfair bank charges". Some of the links there are for fee based services but this excellent site, and also Govan Law Centre, provide templates for letters, and all the info you need, free of charge. As regards previous statements, you don't need them. Ask the bank for details of all charges applied over the past six years. This will cost a one-off £10. You are legally entitled to this info under the data protection act. The banks will know why you are requesting it and some have started stonewalling and lying to customers that they can't provide the information, again in flagrant disregard to the law.Some people have had to write to the banking ombudsman who can force the banks to supply it. I'm getting a bee in my bonnet about this but even these examples of wilful obstruction make me angry. The banks are deliberately and systematically acting unlawfully, yet our politicans and government do nothing. They steal £1000m every year from their less well off customers, knowing it is unlawful, which is why they do not challenge these claims in court, and a Labour government allows it to go on. Every single person victim to this theft should reclaim and also write to their MP asking what they intend to do about this outrage.

oldwiring

moran73 wrote:

i've just received a letter from Halifax stating that the £375 they promised to refund has to go back onto my credit card as this is where the charge originated. When they offered me the £187.50 refund they enclosed a form that stated i return it and the money will be added to my account or they would send a cheque.

I know that money is rightfully mine and i am going to call them today as i now have a name and number but need advice on what to say. I basically aim to say to them that i want the amount paid into my own bank account by monday as this was the deadline i gave or i will start legal proceedings - will they then pay up?

i would appreciate any speedy advice on this as i aim to call them this morning.

It is difficult to write this wihtout pointing a finger, but I do not intend to do that; please be assured. However in certain hypothetical cases I would not blame a bank for making the refund direct to the account on which a claim is being made. Let us assume that X has an account that has been troublesome and continually in debt up to and over its limit and there has been a considerable amount of payment delinquency. X makes a claim for refund of unlawful charges. Why on earth should X be able to receive funds to his chosen account and the bank not have the right to apply the money in reduction of a debt it may see as doubtful?