Composite charges

bukko

Hi,
Finally fed up with Lloyds TSB and I'm starting the process now (£550 in last 2 months).
My bank charges me a daily fee for every day I am overdrawn, as well as a charge for sending a letter. Can I claim all of that back?
Also, I'm going through my statements at the moment, but charges are shown as a single amount, i.e. added together.
How can I tell how much of that is a ligitimate amount, or should I just claim for all of it?
If I trace all my charges back to 2001, I'm fairly sure that by reconstructing my statement with realistic charges, I won't have gone overdrawn at all in recent years. In this case, could I claim back all of the charges, as I would not have been overdrawn?

Thanks

natweststaffmember

You can claim all charges(apart for legitimate overdraft interest) going back to July 2001.

bukko

Wow thanks!

bukko

I have 2 accounts.
I checked my statements online.
The first account I could only check back as far as 9/7/02 before the site ran out of statements.
The second account I could only check back as far as 13/4/04 before the site broke.
So far, charges add up to £8104, and I have a few years left to check!
I guess I'll be claiming then!

bukko

natweststaffmember wrote: »

You can claim all charges(apart for legitimate overdraft interest) going back to July 2001.

When you say "legitimate overdraft interest", does that mean that if I rebuild my statements as they should have been without the over charging, interest which I have been charged where I wouldn't have been overdrawn can be reclaimed?
Might not be worth it, but just wondered...

Oddjob

Sorry, I'm butting in here too as I need to make a claim once I get the charges sheets back. Can you just make a claim for the charges and say plus interest so they work the interest out? Or is it better to try and work the interest out yourself?

natweststaffmember

bukko wrote: »

When you say "legitimate overdraft interest", does that mean that if I rebuild my statements as they should have been without the over charging, interest which I have been charged where I wouldn't have been overdrawn can be reclaimed?
Might not be worth it, but just wondered...

You cannot reconstruct your account had you not have been charged because you might have done so because you had more money so that extra beer down the pub would still have been drank. You can claim a portion of the charges from the overdraft that relate to the charges themselves. Don't complicate things by claiming ALL the interest on the basis that you might not have got charged or might have done something different. Believe me, there are many things I have done with regards to my banking that with the benefit of hindsight I might not have done or would have done things differently. However, I didn't.

natweststaffmember

Oddjob wrote: »

Sorry, I'm butting in here too as I need to make a claim once I get the charges sheets back. Can you just make a claim for the charges and say plus interest so they work the interest out? Or is it better to try and work the interest out yourself?

Never let the bank work things out for you. It;s better to work out the interest yourself.

Oddjob

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Never let the bank work things out for you. It;s better to work out the interest yourself.

Thanks, I suppose they would try to get away with as little as possible if they do it, just thought it might be complicated to do it.

bukko

Oddjob wrote: »

Thanks, I suppose they would try to get away with as little as possible if they do it, just thought it might be complicated to do it.

From what I have read, it seems you just take 8% of the total amount.
It sounds high, but it's what courts use rather than getting too complex with compound interest, etc.

Orford

bukko wrote: »

From what I have read, it seems you just take 8% of the total amount.
It sounds high, but it's what courts use rather than getting too complex with compound interest, etc.

No, s69 8% interest is not just 8% of the total amount of charges.

It is 8 % on each separate charge calculated from the date when each charge was incurred. The interest on a £20 charge on 1st July 2001 would be £12.85 and one on 1st July 2008 would be £1.65. So for those two charges totalling £40 the interest would be £14.50, whereas a straight 8% on £40 would be only £3.20. So, depending on how far back charges were incurred, there can be a significant difference.

Use the calculator here:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/bank-charges#calc