Reclaim companies

ogdenfamily4

Hi,

I'm not new to the forum as I've watched it for over a year, but this is my 1st post

I've finally got round to looking at reclaiming bank/credit card charges & have read it all & downloaded all the templates, BUT

Is it not worth letting a company that does it every day do it for you, paticularly as the interest they will reclaim for you could more than cover their charges (20% + VAT seems to be best value) - I probably wouldn't have claimed any interest, just the charges

I know I could/should do it myself, but I'm not sure how to calculate the interest, and they will be more effieicent at this and the whole process itself!

Has anyone got any dealings with any of these companies (I know there is loads), good or bad

I know you're all going to be up in arms at my mere thought of asking someone else to do it for me, but I'm not that organised (hence why I need to reclaim in the 1st place), and I may end up with more than I hoped for (due to the interest element, as my charges go back the whole 6 years!)

Hippocampus

Interest is always a problematic area. And to be honest, most claims companies will tend to steer clear simply because it involves way too much work. They opt for the simple life and go for the charges only.

Personally speaking, I would never recommend that anyone uses a claims company. I cannot in all honesty say that their fees are particularly transparent, and some of them are outright criminals.

Another aspect is, even if you get a claims company involved, there is nothing that they will be able to do. All claims are on hold pending the outcome of the OFT v Banks test case. And once that is finalised, you will not need a claims company.

What you NEED to do, is get a complaint off to the bank as soon as possible. Yes, it will be on hold until the test case appeals process is finished. But you certainly don't need to be handing over upwards of 20% of any payout that you will be getting back, simply for the cost of a stamp.

AuntyJean

I claimed back my OH's bank charges but did not go for the interest. Halifax paid out without too much argument, before everything went on hold.

If you check out Martin's guidelines I think there is an interest calculator there.

Firstly, you need to identify every bank charge you have ever had - you know, £20 for a letter, £35 fee for going over the agreed overdraft. You can't of course reclaim the interest they charge for being overdrawn.

Go for it, you have nothing to lose. Plenty of ppl here will help guide you.

GL

milly88

Hi

Claims management companies, I hope that there are some good ones out there but so far I have not come accross one myself or have found anyone that has been totally satisfied.

A friend of mine recentlty wrote to Barclaycard, he did not even do a spreadsheet of charges, he just wrote a simple letter and within 9 days he was paid out. He was delighted since then a few others have followed this way of claiming and have also had payouts. I would only recomend this with credit cards.

If you want to see what your claim could total there should be a spreadsheet here on MSE and once you have your bank,credit card or Mortgage statements you can just slot in the figures and the interest will calculate for you.

I have seen some claims management companies charging now up to 30% + upfront charges and further charges to take it to the next stage. Costing hundreds of pounds. You could well be paying all your money away without seeing one penny and still oweing them money.

If you do take the Claims Management route then please have your own independant solicitor read the T & C's as they can tie you up in knots with legalities. Horror stories are starting to emerge and it is worrying that people with just sign T&C's without having them checked over.

If they tell you they have an in house solicitor department, first of all check out that they actually do and to their qualifications and do not forget these solicitors are working for the CMC.

Milly

ps template of a letter for you... good luck

Barclaycard Customer Services
[FONT=&quot]Barclaycard House[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]PO Box 5592[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Northampton[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]NN4 1ZY[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Account Number: XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Dear Sirs,[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I am writing to insist that you refund the penalty charges incurred on the above account since inception. These are listed as “Late Payment Charge” and “Over Credit Limit Charge” amongst others.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
I am aware that these charges are unlawful at Common Law & Statute. This is further reinforced by the Office of Fair Trading report of 05/04/06 which concluded that these charges are unfair to the consumer. In addition, following a recent Freedom of Information request to the Office of Fair Trading I was informed that:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]“[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Following consultation with eight leading credit card issuers we have concluded that default charges in most credit card contracts across the sector are highly unfair in terms of the UnfairTerms in consumer Contracts Regulations (UTCCRs) and therefore unlikely to be enforceable against consumers”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]If you believe that they are not penalties, then will you please demonstrate this by giving me a full breakdown of the costs you have incurred as a result of my breaches, in order to prove to me that your penalties really do reflect your actual losses. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I therefore insist that you refund to me, by way of cheque, the total amount of all charges incurred plus any interest accrued at the contractual rate thereon. I will not accept partial repayment nor will I accept that the Office of Fair Trading report of 05/04/06 deemed £12 to be an acceptable charge, as it clearly did not. I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive a refund in full which would return me to the position had these charges and interest thereon not been incurred.

If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall refer the matter directly to the Financial Ombudsman and Office of Fair Trading for further investigation.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Should I not receive satisfaction in this way, I shall then seek recovery by way of a County Court claim against you.

Yours faithfully,[/FONT]