Claim back any unfair bank charges! Article Discussion Area

kit

melpomene wrote:

Update : i've had a letter (superfast) in response to the LBA i sent F Direct on Monday this week (21st). Having offered me 2/3 before, they now state that they have nothing to add, & refer me to the Financial Ombudsman if i remain dissatisfied.

EEk should i proceed immediately, or wait for the 14 days to expire. I'm worried about the next stage as it's a whole new ball game.

Mel

Proceed with applying to court asap.

siren13577

Hi Everyone,

Firstly congratulations on everyone who has been successful, it's mad that they could just decide they want to do soemthng and get away with it so long, it's a shame there's not stronger policing to stop banks from charging illegal amounts of money.


I have two accounts, one with Halifax and one with LLoyds TSB, the Halifax one I'm getting my statements sent out to get my money back but the Lloyds one is closed down but still overdrawn by nearly £900, this is my own fault (I think this is my lightbulb moment) as I was going through a tough time financially and ended up writing cheques with a cheque cashing shop and quickly found it spiralled out of control. I am dealing with my debt, I'm not posting about that. I got charged huge amounts sometimes hundreds each month for this and that's why I'm so overdrawn, does anyone know if when I get this sorted out with my other debts, could I claim back these charges? I've had the account since 1998 but the charges really didn't start until 2002.

Does it matter that the account is closed? I mean it's not like they could threaten me with closing the account, lol!!!

Any constructive comments/help would be great and I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place,

siren :eek: :eek:

shaun1977

hi, yes you can claim these back and it does not matter that your account is closed, you can claim back to august 2000, basically 6 years from when you start the claim.

siren13577

Hi Shaun,

Thanks very much, I've just joined that Forum so will get onto Lloyds about this, thanks so much.

:beer:
Siren xxxx

shaun1977

BettyB wrote:

I have been reading about this in the papers lately and would love to try to get back the money that I have paid over the past couple of years. But when I rang my bank and enquired, they told me that they were entitled to charge me for overdrawing as it is in their terms and conditions. They also advised me that if I don't want to pay charges, I should not overdraw. I must admit that I do feel responsible even though sometimes I only went into the red by a tiny ammount.

hi bettyb,
the banks will never admit to doing anything wrong.
the fact that it is wrote in their terms and conditions does not alter the fact that the charges are still a penalty, and indeed goes a long way in enabling us to reclaim the charges. The basic rule is that they are not allowed to make a profit from a breach of contract which is what you and all the rest of us have done by failing to meet with their terms and conditions.
for this they have charged a fee which is way beyond what it has cost them. Therefore 1. it becomes a penalty, 2. it becomes unlawful, 3. it gets reclaimed :j

have a look at www.!!!!!!.uk

shaun1977

yep its definately worth trying, dont let the banks threats and intimidation tactics put you off getting back what is yours.

Sarahsaver

BettyB wrote:

I have been reading about this in the papers lately and would love to try to get back the money that I have paid over the past couple of years. But when I rang my bank and enquired, they told me that they were entitled to charge me for overdrawing as it is in their terms and conditions. They also advised me that if I don't want to pay charges, I should not overdraw. I must admit that I do feel responsible even though sometimes I only went into the red by a tiny ammount.

THis is what they are all saying. They are NOT allowed to impose charges which are punitive, that is charges which are clearly more than the actual cost to the bank of the transaction/overdraft etc.
DOn't let them get to you!

bexsy64

Hi everyone,

Very interested in this topic - I recently got £7500 from Standard Life for misselling me my endowment policy :j and am now keen to tackle the banks about these ridiculous charges!

Just wondering does this apply to business accounts, or is it just for personal accounts? I am a sole-trader and business is a bit up and down. Lloyds charge me £35 everytime they knock back a direct debit - they must have charged me at least £1000 in the last 6 years and probably a lot more. Can I claim that back too?

shaun1977

hiya, yes you can cliam for business accounts as well, but the wording is slightly different. as you cannot qoute the unfair terms in consumer contracts.

Gem+Dave+Kaci

All I can say is WOW!!! It's great to see so many people are getting their money back!!

I just made it up to page 10 and then had to give up so huge apologies if I'm repeating a question that has already been asked, but will I get a quicker response if I send my letter to the local branch rather than the head office address? Also should I include all of my previous addresses at the top of the letter?? (I lived with my parants, then lived in my own flat, and have recently loved into a house all within the past 6 years).

One other question - does this whole process also apply to Mobile phone companies?? My partner has a T-mobile phone and has missed a couple of payment dates and been charged £25 a time!!

Finally, huge thanks to Martin and Dave for writing the article!!! I managed to get myself into serious debt when I was about 18 thanks to Barclays unauthorised overdraft fees, so as I only turned 24 last July I've got my fingers crossed that all of those charges or at least some of them can be claimed back still!!!