Reclaiming Bank Charges - Is it a get out of Jail Free Card?

TheAble

Hi All

I know this is going to rub some of you up the wrong way but I have to say I don't think there's anything wrong with banks charging as they do. I know there's a lot of people who reclaim their bank charges but let's be honest - the fact that you can do this relatively easily is a lifeline for you!

I've never ever had a bank charge in my life because I've been meticulous in making sure I avoid them - so more fool you if you haven't. You signed on the dotted line accepting the ts and cs of your account, so I'm sorry but if you've racked up the charges you've got nobody to blame but yourselves.

Discuss!

Broken_hearted

Maybe you should come up with a valid arguement as to why they are fair. You are entitled to your opinion and I respect you for that. I also respect people who are standing up against the banks and getting their money back.
If the banks lower their charges to the £12 the OFT deemed fair then I would happily pay. Although due to the help and advice of people on here I shouldn't be getting charges in future

kingmonkey

Your missing the point. It is unlawful for them to charge that much.

Its a matter of fairness.

lightatendoftunnel?

Broken_hearted wrote:

Maybe you should come up with a valid arguement as to why they are fair. You are entitled to your opinion and I respect you for that. I also respect people who are standing up against the banks and getting their money back.
If the banks lower their charges to the £12 the OFT deemed fair then I would happily pay. Although due to the help and advice of people on here I shouldn't be getting charges in future

I agree with you, even £12 is an improvement than what they are doing at the moment.

I wish i was one of those people who can be so organized with money etc. but we all cant be good at everything. But with the support and guidance from this site i am attempting to make a really good go for the future.

Broken_hearted

No sadly a lot of people think this way and not all of them are well off either. lots of people arn't claiming charges back because they think they signed up so they have to pay. Others just don't get charges .

MCBIRNIE25

Totally disagree with the OP.
Lucky you for never having had charges, your circs may not be as severe as some people.
However, an independant body has ruled these charges as unlawful, thus opening the door for these claims. It's basically fraud, and if any individual had committed this then they would be imprisoned, but banks, backed up by the Bank of England and consumer ignorance at the time thought it was ok. OFT have just levelled the playing field.
It's fine for you to disagree, but let's have a valid reason as to why you do.
MCBIRNIE25

Alleycat

I personally signed the terms and conditions as I believed them to be lawful. I and many others have since found out that they are not and the banks have been continually breaking the law for a very long time. I do not agree with people knowingly breaking the law therefore I feel I am perfectly justified in claiming back any unlawful bank charges that have been applied to my accounts over the years.

Somebody robs you, you report it to the police. As this is a civil matter we are filing civil cases with them to reclaim what is lawfully ours.

End of.

YorkshireBoy

Alleycat wrote:

Somebody robs you, you report it to the police.

Would you say you 'robbed' (or attempted to rob) the bank when you took (or attempted to take) money that wasn't yours? Did the bank call the police?

End of.

Sadly it isn't. There are many threads on MSE where customers are having their accounts closed by the lenders. Some people are very scared to actually file a claim now because...

1. They cannot afford to repay their debts (overdrafts are repayable on demand).
2. Their credit ratings are such that they can't even open so-called 'parachute' accounts.

The repercussions will be severe - even if you are allowed to retain your account. For example, only today someone reported (on the credit card forum) losing their 0% rate and having their credit card interest rate hiked up to nearly 30% for 'threatening' to legally challenge late payment fees of £50.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the banks will still make the same money - and the same poor and disorganised amongst us will pay.

Having said all the above, if I'd amassed charges into 4 figures I'd definitely claim. However, if my charges going back 6 years were £100-200 (and I'd learned my lesson, become more organised, and taken control of my finances) then I most certainly wouldn't be filing a claim.

wannabedebtfreebeth

It isn't even as though the charges are always valid - I had a big argument yesterday with Halifax on behalf of my daughter. THey were going to charge her £30 for going over her overdraft then £28 if that put her over the overdraft again. Thing was when we looked at her statement she never had gone over at all - as they did finally admit somewhat grudgingly. THey then said they would wipe out the charge as a gesture of goodwill until I insisted they put a note on to say this was not goodwill but because the bank had made an error!!

sammy115

Just a thought for the OP. What would they do if they meticulously worked out their finances and never went over their limits. Then their employer made them redundant on the same day that they told them they couldn't pay them the salary they had earned for that month, along with the fact that OH had been out of work for 8 months. This was the day before I was due to get paid and all my dd's bounced. As I had many DD's and it was too late to cancel I had £1,200 in bank charges (over a three month period). THEN the mortgage payment that was paid for by an Insurance policy that we so wisely took out, was paid in error to our now heavily overdrawn bank account. RESULT - can't pay mortgage and now being charged by our mortgage company.

I also had a CC that I could not pay - the charge they charged me took me over my limit and then they charged me for being over my limit!!!

I know the actions of my employer are not the banks problem but they could have been a tad more helpful!

sammy115

TheAble wrote:

I've never ever had a bank charge in my life because I've been meticulous in making sure I avoid them - so more fool you if you haven't!

I just hope an unfortunate incident never happens to you. I am sorry - you are right - you have rubbed me up the wrong way! I was going to say you are lucky to have avoided charges, but you aren't lucky - you have done well at managing your finances. It's just a shame you have to be smug about it and not even think about how some people have ended up in this position.

Read Martin's blog if you want to read about how some 'foolish' woman gained her charges.

Sorry if I sound bitter - but I am!