Claim back any unfair bank charges! Article Discussion Area

BettyB_3

goonernumber1 wrote:

Hello everyone,

I have read FAQ's and sent off the first SAR letter, but am confused as to why it says you CANNOT claim for interst (using the excel spreadsheet) until after you put in a small calim? Can someone shed any light on this issue.

Thank you for your time and efforts.

Interest charged on bank charges, can be reclaimed in theory but in practise, unless the entire ammount of the overdrawn sum is made up of unlawful charges, extracting it from the interest that the bank is entitled to charge on overdrawn sums is extremely complicated and seldom comes to very much money.

However, it is much easier and far more worthwhile if the claim is on a credit card account, when interest can be claimed on the charges at the prevailing rate from the start of the claim. Consumer Corner have a spreadsheet that will calculate this for you.

goonernumber1

But it is easy to calculate interest using the excel spreadsheet provided on the CAG site. My £38 charge 5 years ago is like £50 now. That's a lot of extra £12's.....

Any more advice?

165721

There is confusion here between the interest charged on an overdraft made up of charges (that you would have paid the bank) and the statutory interest on the charge itself (which you could have earned had the money been in your possession).

Overdraft interest is claimable from the first instance, please refer to bettyb's comments above on that.

Statutory interest, which seems to be what goonernumber1 is talking about (the 8%) is not claimable in the first instance but only at the point of the money claim submission being made.

Both can be calculated but as bettyb pointed out overdraft interest is tricky on a bank account because the overdraft would have to be made up wholly of the charges, and the whole of the charge would have to be in the overdraft, if you get my drift! But as she said, credit crad charges are easy to do the interest on. As is the statutory interest as goonernumber1 pointed out.

goonernumber1

I've just had a thought. The three bank accounts that I'm claiming from have defaulted, and were transfered to debt collection agencies. Not wanting to get into any more debt, I set up a direct debit to each of these debt collection companies for £50 each per month. I have been paying these for about two years now, so was wondering if there was anything I could do about these.

The problem is, one of them is a loan (of about 2k), but the balance defaulted was roughly 3k (after charges / interest etc), so I still need to pay the 2k initial loan back but could I get the 'charges' taklen off of the outstanding balance as well?

I've been hunting for similar problems of a letter template but cannot find any.

Please help....

BettyB_3

goonernumber1 wrote:

But it is easy to calculate interest using the excel spreadsheet provided on the CAG site. My £38 charge 5 years ago is like £50 now. That's a lot of extra £12's.....

Any more advice?

If it's any consolation, they are extremely unlikely to repay your charges before you commence court proceedings at which point, yes you can add the 8% interest.

shaun1977

goonernumber1 wrote:

But it is easy to calculate interest
Any more advice?

yes but it doesnt work like that. you can only reclaim the interest they charged which is basically for the life of the charge

northerner123

I was on sick leave for 5 1/2 months asked bank for temp extension of overdraft..refused yet allowad all standing orders & direct debits to go out & charged us total of £154 A MONTH !! charges...wouldn`t give me a tenner to buy food but same day took their charges!! Have registered a complaint had a letter to acknowledge that & awaitin a phonecall!! It`s HSBC by the way!! Any advice greatfully received!!

165721

northerner123 wrote:

I was on sick leave for 5 1/2 months asked bank for temp extension of overdraft..refused yet allowad all standing orders & direct debits to go out & charged us total of £154 A MONTH !! charges...wouldn`t give me a tenner to buy food but same day took their charges!! Have registered a complaint had a letter to acknowledge that & awaitin a phonecall!! It`s HSBC by the way!! Any advice greatfully received!!

I predict that they will come back to you and say that their charges are just and lawful. They may offer you a good will gesture. I would say see what they say then claim all your charges back, or alternatively start today. FYI just got a letter today from said bank saying that their charges are just, but in light of my concerns they would refund me the money. Granted it was a tenner, but they said initially there was no weay they would give it back to me as the charge was to cover their costs. I simply said OK, but please supply me with a full breakdown of the costs incurred by my breach to settle the argument. I think that was what they meant by "in light of your concerns". It took 3 days.

Cullumpster

Hi folks, I was wondering if anyone here could possibly give me a sensible answer ?I started a new thread but was quite frankly shot down and made to feel a bit of an idiot by someone, i'm in a genuinly bad situation at the moment and just need a friendly chat :0My post is below :Well yesterday i sent off my firt letter to Natwest, the data protection one, so fingers crossed they will come up trumps Anyway my question is this..... well 2 actually.1) i have a huge overdraft with Natwest if i get the money will they just pay it into my account or send me a cheque, or even refuse ?2) are they supposed to advise youy when they are going to charge you for anything my bank never does, since April this year i have been charged now over £1000 and never been aware of it till i check my account.I call them and ask for it to be taken off and got told that it wasn't her fault that the money wasn't in my account, and perhaps i should check my finances properly :mad:

annie-c

Cullumpster wrote:

Hi folks, I was wondering if anyone here could possibly give me a sensible answer ?I started a new thread but was quite frankly shot down and made to feel a bit of an idiot by someone, i'm in a genuinly bad situation at the moment and just need a friendly chat :0My post is below :Well yesterday i sent off my firt letter to Natwest, the data protection one, so fingers crossed they will come up trumps Anyway my question is this..... well 2 actually.1) i have a huge overdraft with Natwest if i get the money will they just pay it into my account or send me a cheque, or even refuse ?2) are they supposed to advise youy when they are going to charge you for anything my bank never does, since April this year i have been charged now over £1000 and never been aware of it till i check my account.I call them and ask for it to be taken off and got told that it wasn't her fault that the money wasn't in my account, and perhaps i should check my finances properly :mad:

Hello Cullumpster - sorry you had a bad experience - I have had a couple and it has caused me to want to crawl under a rock in embarasment - so well done for coming back.

I don't know the answer to no 1, but I suspect you will get a cheque as that's what a number of people have reported. As to number 2, your bank should send you a list of terms and conditions for your account periodically - and this sets out the charges you will incur in whatever circumstances. I think it is just standard that the people who answer the phones in telephone banking will suggest you 'manage your finances properly'. I've had that experience too and although it feels humiliating, don't take it personally. (I wonder if the same sort of people log on here and flame us when we're just trying to get help?!)

Edited to add: Your baby is beautiful!!!! Congratulations!!!