Already had charges back

amillie7

i clamied my charges back from bank of scotland 2 years ago, and have had more charges added to my account from october 2008 , i re-sent another letter and have not heard any thing so i phoned them, and they told me i could not have them as i had already claimed, is this true, or can i still claim again

sdooley

is it just one lot of charges? if so you could ask them nicely and see.

If you've charge on charge on charge, again, you can always try the legal process but it'll not be paid out till they've gone to court and you have to wonder if, having been thorough this once already, you don't need to look at why you've got there in the first place. These charges arise normally not because people ask the bank for extra credit and are refused but because of a head in the sand approach to finances. This is not to say that's the case for you but think about whether being more assertive earlier on might have avoided the problem for you.

Darth_Marty

How have people had their money back then? I thought that everything was on hold until after the legal issues were sorted out?

I have sent my letters off and had a reply stating that its pending this court case.

carlos1973

I claimed from my bank in December 2006 and thankfully had all of my charges repaid. On the 16th February this year I asked the bank to refund all of my charges from December 2006 to August 2008, the last charge I had.
My bank has never mentioned my previous claim, that's not to say they won't, although in my opinion nothing has changed so my right to ask for a refund is still valid.
In response to another reply you have got regarding the issue of asking for charges for a second time and not taking action to prevent the charges from arising again. Budgeting and realisation of the problem is the answer. However, that is easier to say than to do. Remember this a place for advice, not judgement!

natweststaffmember

amillie7 wrote: »

i clamied my charges back from bank of scotland 2 years ago, and have had more charges added to my account from october 2008 , i re-sent another letter and have not heard any thing so i phoned them, and they told me i could not have them as i had already claimed, is this true, or can i still claim again

Providing you are not claiming charges that have already been refunded to you then BoS are talking utter nonsense.

sdooley

carlos1973 wrote: »

In response to another reply you have got regarding the issue of asking for charges for a second time and not taking action to prevent the charges from arising again. Budgeting and realisation of the problem is the answer. However, that is easier to say than to do. Remember this a place for advice, not judgement!

Actually, you are quite right, didn't want to seem judgemental. If it's completely impossible for someone to budget (whether because of erratic income or whatever reason) would an account like this be worthwhile (quite expensive so wouldn't normally recommend it but apparantly has no charges possible): http://www.thinkbanking.co.uk/is-it-right-for-me.asp

natweststaffmember

sdooley wrote: »

Actually, you are quite right, didn't want to seem judgemental. If it's completely impossible for someone to budget (whether because of erratic income or whatever reason) would an account like this be worthwhile (quite expensive so wouldn't normally recommend it but apparantly has no charges possible): http://www.thinkbanking.co.uk/is-it-right-for-me.asp

Apart from when you are loading credit. Think Banking is not what I would suggest. Credit unions perhaps would be better.

sdooley

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Apart from when you are loading credit. Think Banking is not what I would suggest. Credit unions perhaps would be better.

Think Banking's not a pre-pay card with loading fees - it's two linked bank accounts from Newcastle Building Society. The Salary Account has direct debits set up and once salary is received enough is held back for the month's pending direct debits and any other essential payments (rent, loans, etc) and the surplus paid into the general account. So the customer can only spend what isn't needed for bills - quite restrictive. There is a big catch in the monthly fee and £25 set-up fee on the account. You are paying for the manual service input - probably only worthwhile if you have genuine difficulty budgeting personally.

Credit unions offering current accounts charge lower fees than regular banks for what banks would call misbehaviour but they still charge per item returned and per item processed where there are insufficient funds see for example the Scotwest at £3 and £15 per transaction: http://www.scotwest.co.uk/images/library/documents/20032008-112022.pdf

Credit unions are definitely not as bad as banks but they are not necessarily the best for budgetting. It appears from the existence of the £3 fee that they will allow people to run up what is effectively a limited unauthorised overdraft rather than using technical measures to prevent it. The £15 per item fee for rejections is also quite tough - but generally a fairer fee schedule than I've seen from any bank (except for basic bank accounts).

steph2901

I was also wondering about claiming the charges again. I had some charges refunded in 2007 but have got a load more. Seeing this had made me decide to try again, I want to get out of the cycle of being charged, but it's never ending. Hopefully if I get a refund I can sort myself out.

Good luck!

sdooley

steph2901 wrote: »

the cycle of being charged, but it's never ending.

This is what makes them iniquitious. If the banks simply put a block on the account (maybe with a charge) when the ts&cs were broken, people would be stuffed that month, but would need to start again somewhere else. The banks give just enough leeway so that people can be stung again and again and again.

clarky8325

I have a court case pending from 2002-2007 for charges. I am in the process of starting proceedings for a further (separate claim) £35 for being 49p overdrawn for 1 day. As far as i'm concerned the principles are still the same and therefore i'm going to state my case... I don't see any reason not to put forward another claim.