Claim back any unfair bank charges! Article Discussion Area

RACHIE77

Hi, sorry I have scanned through the thread but could not read every post as this thread has got quite long, just wondered if anyone had succesfully claimed back charges against HSBC?? A few months ago I was getting charged over £100 a month and between me and my partner we have 3 accounts, the £300 a month was pushing us further and further in to debt and has really damaged our finances, it was spiralling out of control, we have taken measures and are getting things straighter but these charges nearly finished us off... I am planning to apply but wondered if anyone else had succesfully claimed back from HSBC??

I even went to the bank to tell them I had taken on a second job to pay the fines as we were going under and they said there was nothing they could do and we should ask family for help.

Would the 5k limit apply to each account or accumalive of accounts in the same name? I only ask as they apply charges seperatley but wondered if the consideration would change once a claim was put forward?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me! x

HLK

Yes. On the consumeractiongroup website there is a survey section showing HSBC wins and also a dedicated HSBC section. I think one of the biggest successes so far is someone against First Direct who are owned by HSBC.

I'm in the process of helping someone to reclaim from HSBC, he posted first letter today. But spent a lot of time reading all the info first.

Anyway, you can treat each account as a separate claim, probab should do anyway as they are all sparate contracts. You'll get 6 years worth of statements online so thats' a good start.

Hope this helps, Good luck!

RACHIE77

HLK wrote:

Yes. On the consumeractiongroup website there is a survey section showing HSBC wins and also a dedicated HSBC section. I think one of the biggest successes so far is someone against First Direct who are owned by HSBC.

I'm in the process of helping someone to reclaim from HSBC, he posted first letter today. But spent a lot of time reading all the info first.

Anyway, you can treat each account as a separate claim, probab should do anyway as they are all sparate contracts. You'll get 6 years worth of statements online so thats' a good start.

Hope this helps, Good luck!

Thank-you thank-you thank-you!! This is really helpful!!!

Are you saying that it would be advisable to work out my own charges via the internet rather than writing to the bank and asking for their calculations or should I do both??

If you fancy helping someone else out then just let me know!!

Thanks again HLK!

dchurch24

It was actually against Halifax.

Also, as the banks claim that what they are doing is legal, then this could be seen as a deliberate concealment of the truth - therefore you would not be bound by the limitations act.

How could a lay person be reasonably expected to know that what the bank was doing was outside of the law? He/she couldn't.

Therefore, as it has only come to your attention now, you should conceiveably be able to claim back ALL charges over the full lifespan of the account, not just the last 6 years.

mark_steps

mark_steps wrote:

Arghhhh today is the day in which i send a letter before action. Just away to print it up and will give the postie a chance to put the nail in their coffin hehe

Oh and in the Letter Before Action which i am preparing, do i ask for the interest?? How do i work it out??

Just received a letter from the bank saying the usual, "we beleive our charges are reasonable, but as a gesture of goodwill, we will pay £70"

How awful is that. I am to reply within 6 weeks to say if im accepting and if i dont they will take that as acceptance. I will write a letter to say i dont accept so any wording would be helpful. I am also hoing to call so i can say i made a telephone call to the same effect.

tylerdurden_167

I have been reading the 'Bank Charges - Illegal?' thread for a good while before I finally sent off a letter to the bank asking for my charges to be be refunded. I finally recieved a letter today from them and need some advice. This is the main part of the letter (which is exactly what I was expecting) :

Having looked into the past history of your account, considered the conduct of the account and the cause of recent charges I believe all charges applied to your account comply with our clearly defined and published T&C. As a result I see no reason to make a refund to your account.

Now, the part that concerns me is the mention of the "past history & conduct of the account". I fully accept that I was withdrawing money that I didn't have and knew I would recieve charges for it, although other charges were IMHO the banks fault. I fully intend to take this further but would appreciate any reassurance that I can win my case even though I know I've been carefree with my own finances.

Any comments (good or bad) will be most appreciated.

mandi

Hi All,
Can I please pick those intelligent brains of yours..

I sent my first letter, requesting a refund, and Have received a reply basicly telling me, that the bank will enter into no further corrrespondence with me, and basicly to ... get lost....:eek: (or and write to the ombudsman )

Im due to send my final letter before action... Shall I just go ahead and send the letter anyway.. My gut feeling is yes, but just want someone to clarify..



Thanks everone


Mandi

dchurch24

Of course - go for it.

They were never going to hold their hands up and say "oh, it's a fair cop mate, here's your cash." (although suprisingly, some do - but without the 'holding of the hands up' bit!).

tylerdurden_167

Of course - go for it.

DChurch, could you advise me on my situation please? (see 3 posts above).

Is my case hampered by the fact that I was carefree with my finances and knew I would incur charges or will I still be able to claim back all charges?

Thanks in advance.

dchurch24

If you left your front door unlocked and someone stole your tv - would you not want it back because it was 'your fault'?

Of course not - the thief shouldn't have taken it in any case.

Hope that answers your query.

(if you have more questions read the FAQ section at the site in my signature).