Claim back any unfair bank charges! Article Discussion Area

LearningtoSave2006

After previously speaking to my bank... or rather the call centre the calls get forwarded to when the branch can't answer the phone.... who informed me that they can trace my bank account number (that I closed 3 years ago) with the address, name and date of birth. I was yesterday informed that they can't. I rang the branch, got through this time, and chased a response to my letter, they said they can't trace the account and put me through to a regional call centre, they told me they couldn't and apparently they checked with dormant and closed accounts and they confirmed that they can't trace it either. Is this correct or are they just being difficult?

tesuhoha

I am very pleased as I wrote to Citi about a late fee of £25 charged to my credit card account. After one letter and less than a week they wrote and said they had re-credited it to my account! Thanks.

gibboking

Hi,
I have had bank charges on various accounts over the last 6+ years, and I am now in debt management due to my husbund being made redundant then out of work for 6 months, then having to take a drop in earnings (10,000 a year loss).
As i am in debt management on some of these accounts would I still be able to claim back these charges, (which could easily run into thousands), these charges didn't help our situation more like added to our problems.
Even if the charges were refunded off the real debt and reduced that would be a huge help in our aim to be debt free asap.
I am currently requeseting statements from all accounts then I will be able to work out how much i have lost in charges.
Also can banks charge you to stop a cheque? I have been charged £10 each time I request that my bank stops a cheque!
Thanks for any help
Vicky

mark_steps

mark_steps wrote:

Just called the bank ans spoke to Kelly who told me it would be another 5 days!! just to get the statements...i think they are just dangling me here!

Evil banks

Ok so yesterday a nice package arrived on my doormat and it was only today i that i managed to open it, only to find they had only sent 4 years worth of statements! I rang the bank and was told it must be an error with the systema nd they would investigate and send the rest out. I made another call no more than an hour later and was told that because they changed systems 2 years ago that was the reason for not getting the last 2 years of statements...Anyway, the lady i spoke to was going to have them sent out as she could do that and i wouldnt be charged either.

On looking at the charges incurred so far im at £365 and i know there are more to follow as last year alone in one month i had charges at £150!!

Feeling braver as i know how much they have taken from me and yet report it in papers as taking thousands of £££ per second!!!

My money bank, im taking it back!

danielleandcameron

i ask my bank barclays to send me my statments going back six years and they charged me £5 when i got the statments there not like normal statements and i cant understand them i can see 3 charges but i have been overdrawn more than that, i really just cant understand these stupid statments. also i have just read a thread saying i can claim back for paying late with my credit card too but dont want to pay another £5 is there anyway of getting round this. or should i just go to my solicitor and let her do the hard work for me i know this is lazy but can i let her try and understand my complicated statments or do i have to personaly do it. any advice would be appreciated good or bad

Benji

danielleandcameron wrote:

i ask my bank barclays to send me my statments going back six years and they charged me £5 when i got the statments there not like normal statements and i cant understand them i can see 3 charges but i have been overdrawn more than that, i really just cant understand these stupid statments. also i have just read a thread saying i can claim back for paying late with my credit card too but dont want to pay another £5 is there anyway of getting round this. or should i just go to my solicitor and let her do the hard work for me i know this is lazy but can i let her try and understand my complicated statments or do i have to personaly do it. any advice would be appreciated good or bad

Hi, I had similar statements from Barclays - unfortunately they don't have to provide the information in any particular format.

I understand that they can be confusing, BUT, if you compare your latest 'real' statement with the print-outs they have sent you then you'll soon work out what is what.

It might take you a while to go through them - it took me 2 hours and I'm used to this kind of thing - but if you're expecting a lot back from the bank it'll probably work out a worthwhile hourly rate!

I suspect a solicitor wouldn't be able to help you (maybe an accountant) and even if they could, the cost per hour may make it uneconomical (it wouldn't qualify for any benefits etc)

lorraine851

tempest42 wrote:

What can I say - I followed their advice and won - Halifax backed down - anyone considering this should follow their advice, and well done Dave Smith.

Hi there,
I am very new to this and have been trying to find the sample letter to send to my bank re bank charges. I have not been able to find it, even with going to the site recommened. Would you be able to give me a direct link to where the sample letter is or give me some advice, please.

Glad yours worked out.

Lorraine851

dchurch24

Have you registered there?

If you haven't you won't be able to see the contents of the library section.

mjanet

gibboking wrote:

Hi,
I have had bank charges on various accounts over the last 6+ years, and I am now in debt management due to my husbund being made redundant then out of work for 6 months, then having to take a drop in earnings (10,000 a year loss).
As i am in debt management on some of these accounts would I still be able to claim back these charges, (which could easily run into thousands), these charges didn't help our situation more like added to our problems.
Even if the charges were refunded off the real debt and reduced that would be a huge help in our aim to be debt free asap.
I am currently requeseting statements from all accounts then I will be able to work out how much i have lost in charges.
Also can banks charge you to stop a cheque? I have been charged £10 each time I request that my bank stops a cheque!
Thanks for any help
Vicky

Yes you can still claim them back but you must inform your DMP of what you intend to do.

saver6

Although I've never had a problem with bank charges, my OH has - he's been charged so much over the years he tried switching to a new bank but ended up with more charges because of the imcompetence of both banks not trasferring the dd's properly, so he eventually gave up and reverted back to his original account with Halifax and cancelled the new Abbey account.

After reading about this extensively (and finally understanding the legalities!)I've now told him about the chance of re-claiming these charges, which is probably in the thousands, so definetly worth doing. However the threat of closing the account is a little worrisome for us both, as he has his current account with Halifax, but we have a joint account and our mortgage with them as well (we've never had a problem with their mortgage service, and we still have 2 years fixed rate to go). So if OH proceeds with claiming for charges against his current account, can Halifax threaten to close down the joint account and/or do something sinister with the mortgage?

Advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks