Claim back any unfair bank charges! Article Discussion Area

sallywoo

Tomorow is day 14 after sending my letter asking for charges back jusneed to check its 14 calender days there alowed and not 14 working days.
a i got back was a letter staeting they had receved my reqest and would deal with it within timescale (as if ) anyways i going of to wright my next letter.

MarkKellie

Hi, I am new to this and everyone seems pretty helpful in here having read most of the pages however I could do with some advice if anyone has been in a similar position to me. I have had my bank account with NatWest since time began and my financial problems started about 3 years ago, maybe a bit longer.

Over the past few weeks I have been re-organising my life, taking my head out the sand and facing up to my issues(with the help of MSE, i might add!). I know there will be charges on my account and I will guess they will amount to around £800. Not massive but would come in handy for paying some debts or reducing my overdraft. I have 2 current accounts with natwest, one has never had an overdraft, the other (main one) has one of £2200 which fluctuates with my wages etc and doesnt go over anymore. I hope to make a huge headway in paying this off as I have ripped through my lifestyle and finances recently and started to save and not spend. I would like to claim the charges back and am buoyed by the success of many people on here and CAG etc. However I am concerned if I start this process I will have my account closed and demands for money, which at the moment would be detrimental to my recent improvement as my credit rating wont allow me to get a current account elsewhere. As the trouble is only 3 years old, and you can claim from 6 years back, is it worth me claiming in 12 months say when I am making headway with my other debts and have no overdraft ? Whats the precentage of people going through this process and losing their bank account?

Thanks for listening or reading as it were and just to say what a great site with great people. I hope when I am out of my mess I can contribute like the others do here, its great to see.

Mark

Edinburghlass_2

Whats the precentage of people going through this process and losing their bank account?

Thats a good question and it might well be helpful if we start a thread asking people to post if their account was closed and with which bank so the info is all in one thread.

MarkKellie

Sounds good, would you like me to start it or should you?!

Teacher2301

Have been an avid reader of this forum - and wish to share a little success - trialled the reclaiming charges with my credit card company and they paid up on the second letter (and paid the interest as well). Not so good with Lloyds TSB though. I fear many people are starting to reclaim their charges. It was for only £30 but that's still my £30! My wifes charges total about £750 - so wanted to test the water first. Anyway, I have read a few threads that have started to proceed with the legal stuff, so I'll try my luck - a bit shunned by the fact someone had to pay £120 court costs - is this dependent of the amount being recovered or a standard fee (I thought it was just £30!).

Keep up the good work MSE and I'll update when I can.

Good luck to all those who are going through the legal proceedings to get your money back.:A

Edinburghlass_2

The court charges are on a sliding scale from £30 depending on the amount claimed.

Edinburghlass_2

trailfindertim wrote:

I've been charged for incurring an unauthorised overdraft by HSBC which put me further into the red. Any advice gratefully received.

HSBC
350 charged
85 returned on initial verbal complaint

Written 1 letter (draft from Which? website)

Best to read Martin's article here and look at the CAG forums and PenaltyCharges for templates for the letters you require and a step by step guide as to what to do. Have you accepted or refused the £85?

Edinburghlass_2

MarkKellie wrote:

Sounds good, would you like me to start it or should you?!

New thread started ...

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=294880

mattr1125

HI

I am amazed by this and was wondering if you can make a claim for charges made on an account which is now closed, i was a student with natwest and as you can imagine racked up a fair few charges. So i was hoping i could possibly get these back or do i lose the right to do this when i closed the account.

Thanks for your advice in advance.
Matt

JDAdams

I've just shelled out £190 of costs in total across 4 claims. You get these back when you win though. Breakdown of mine:

Barclaycard - £356 + £50 costs
Barclays - £537 + £80 costs
Citicard - £209 + £30 costs
Virgin card - £142 + £30 costs

Of those, the Barclaycard and Citcard are closed, and the Barclays is in the process of being closed (voluntarily - I just moved to A&L). I expect Virgin to close that account too, but can pay it off if needed.