Old Bank Charges

Lorfy · 4 September 2009 at 6:14PM

I'm now with HSBC but when i was younger 16 - 20 I use to bank with Lloyds and i clearly remember always being charged £30 by the bank for going over my overdraft limit, it was a consistent thing back then!

I closed the account in 1998 then switched to HSBC but my question is can i put in claim letter even know i don't bank with them and have not done for over 10 years?

I'm sure they would have access to my file somewhere.

Any thoughts?

thanks

Lorfy

TG82 · 4 September 2009 at 9:26PM

I doubt you'll get very far at the moment, but you can try. The earliest possible date people can argue for is January 2000, but even that's difficult because officially the earliest date is July 2001.

It might be worth submitting a reclaim and then it's in the queue. If it is ever ruled that charges going back further can be reclaimed, you'd at least have the process already in motion. But don't get your hopes up.

Your first step would be to get your statements (assuming you no longer have them?), which might be difficult again. Do you have your old account details? That would help a lot.

1. Write off to their data protection department using the template letter on this site and demand a list of charges under law (it's all written in the template) going back to whenever you think the charges started. They have 40 days to reply.

My only concern is that they'll know that you intend to reclaim, and therefore they might be awkward. For example, I sent off for my statements from 2000-2001 and only received a few months of early 2001 with no accompanying letter explaining where the rest were. It was almost personal in the way they enclosed them.

I'm NOT saying this to put you off; just to let you know what you're up against. You might need to be persistent.

2. If you manage to get your statements back, seek advice on this board to decide whether it's worth your while submitting a reclaim, and to find out what your best argument would be.

But if you don't get your statements, you'll never know....

Lorfy · 7 January 2013 at 11:44PM

Many Thanks

dunstonh · 8 January 2013 at 12:14PM

It should be noted that since that response was moade, the banks went to court and won the case on bank charges. So, whilst it was right for 2009, it is obsolete for 2012.