Entitled to claim interest?

canopy

Hi,

Background:

• I have just calculated my excess overdraft fees from Lloyds TSB (have several others to do next), dated back to Jun 2004, and the figure comes to just under £4000(!) without interest (I will be asking for the interest too).
• The account is currently at around the -£1100 mark.
• We are in hardship at the moment (due to dropping to a 3 day week from 5), which can be backed up with many letters, most recently 2 mortgage payments in arrears, council tax (last year) currently with debt recovery, bailiff letters, etc. and are lucky to be getting family help to keep from drowning.
• I have done some calculations and, due to no transactions (other than interest and charges) coming out of the account since July 2007, I have worked out that the account would never have been lower than £0 after this date if the charges I am claiming for had never been charged when they were.

Question:

• Does this mean I can legitimately ask for the interest charges after that date to be refunded (£270+£30 interest on the interest), as these would never have been incurred in this case (since there was no more spending on the account)?

Hope that makes sense. Thanks in advance for anyone who can advise.

Kind regards,

Gary Todd

natweststaffmember

canopy wrote: »

Hi,

Background:

• I have just calculated my excess overdraft fees from Lloyds TSB (have several others to do next), dated back to Jun 2004, and the figure comes to just under £4000(!) without interest (I will be asking for the interest too).
• The account is currently at around the -£1100 mark.
• We are in hardship at the moment (due to dropping to a 3 day week from 5), which can be backed up with many letters, most recently 2 mortgage payments in arrears, council tax (last year) currently with debt recovery, bailiff letters, etc. and are lucky to be getting family help to keep from drowning.
• I have done some calculations and, due to no transactions (other than interest and charges) coming out of the account since July 2007, I have worked out that the account would never have been lower than £0 after this date if the charges I am claiming for had never been charged when they were.

Question:

• Does this mean I can legitimately ask for the interest charges after that date to be refunded (£270+£30 interest on the interest), as these would never have been incurred in this case (since there was no more spending on the account)?

Hope that makes sense. Thanks in advance for anyone who can advise.

Kind regards,

Gary Todd

Not sure why you only went back to june 2004(unless that was the date you opened the account).
Furthermore, if you have no overdraft on your account you can claim all the interest back but if not then only the portion that interest on the charges themselves.

canopy

Yes that was when I opened the account.

If on 1st July 2007, they had paid all the unlawful charges back into my account since the account was opened, it would be in credit. Surely then, the overdraft facility is irrelevant as from that point on, it is the bank's interest/charges that has caused further interest and charges to be incurred. Hence I should get that back from July 2007 onwards, including bank interest, and interest on that? This equates to £300.

Gary Todd

natweststaffmember

canopy wrote: »

Yes that was when I opened the account.

If on 1st July 2007, they had paid all the unlawful charges back into my account since the account was opened, it would be in credit. Surely then, the overdraft facility is irrelevant as from that point on, it is the bank's interest/charges that has caused further interest and charges to be incurred. Hence I should get that back from July 2007 onwards, including bank interest, and interest on that? This equates to £300.

Gary Todd

it doesn't work like that. If for example, you have an overdraft facility and used it and did not incur charges for 2 months do you think it is fair and reasonable to claim back the interest charges? I don't and you shouldn't. Claim what you are entitled to and don't over complicate things.

canopy

The problem is that I would not have incurred ANY charges after July 2007 if Lloyds TSB hadn't unfairly charged me previous to this date.

Your example of using an overdraft facility and then expecting to reclaim the charges is not the same. Of course I wouldn't expect to claim back something I didn't incur - and to be honest, I'm a little perplexed at your slightly flippant reply, bearing in mind my question was an honest one and I have no intention of claiming for something I am not entitled to - hence the question!?!

In my humble opinion, I was asking the question because it seems 'fair' for the banks to pay back charges/interest that previous charges have caused (which is what the 'interest calculator' works out, right?).

I would be interested in someone else's opinion on this - if I can't claim for it, then no problem, but I thought I would ask first.

natweststaffmember

canopy wrote: »

The problem is that I would not have incurred ANY charges after July 2007 if Lloyds TSB hadn't unfairly charged me previous to this date.

Your example of using an overdraft facility and then expecting to reclaim the charges is not the same. Of course I wouldn't expect to claim back something I didn't incur - and to be honest, I'm a little perplexed at your slightly flippant reply, bearing in mind my question was an honest one and I have no intention of claiming for something I am not entitled to - hence the question!?!

In my humble opinion, I was asking the question because it seems 'fair' for the banks to pay back charges/interest that previous charges have caused (which is what the 'interest calculator' works out, right?).

I would be interested in someone else's opinion on this - if I can't claim for it, then no problem, but I thought I would ask first.

I will try and explain it a little clearer.
If you have £0.00 overdraft and you exceed it and are charged and are then charged interest then it is all claimable.
However say you had £500 overdraft and you exceed that because of a charge that month, then you are entitled to claim back the charge and a portion of the interest that is made up of charges. That means that some of the interest charged is not claimable for that month but some of it will be. Does that make sense?
I read the post as saying can I claim both legitimate and illegitimate(or interest on the charges) due to the fact that had you not had charges you would never have used your overdraft and therefore all overdraft interest can be claimed, which isn't he case.