Bank Charges Reclaiming Guide discussion

natweststaffmember

sarahbramley wrote: »

hi my mother is in the same situation after sending the original template letter. she has now received a letter from her bank natwest, saying they are throwing her case out after the ruling in supreme court and she has 8weeks in which to reply. what do you suggest she does? also she could possibly be considered to be suffering hardship so is this a worthwhile route to go down?

The new reclaims guide will be on the forum shortly.
On the second point, she is either in financial hardship or she isn't. Financial hardship has to be proven by your mother so it is not a loophole/alternative route to reclaiming and so if there is no genuine financial hardship ie rent/mortgage arrears etc,etc, then do not go down that route.

shawshank2411

Our financial hardship is due to me having to reduce my working hours as child care costs were crippling us and I now have to work part-time and due to the overdraft we have more going out than coming in at present. My husband also had a motor bike accident and we have had to purchase a second car so that he can travel to work. We have taken this out on HP and this has unfortunately added to our hardship but we had no alternative.

natweststaffmember

shawshank2411 wrote: »

Our financial hardship is due to me having to reduce my working hours as child care costs were crippling us and I now have to work part-time and due to the overdraft we have more going out than coming in at present. My husband also had a motor bike accident and we have had to purchase a second car so that he can travel to work. We have taken this out on HP and this has unfortunately added to our hardship but we had no alternative.

Do you have priority debt arrears(mortgage.rent, council tax, utilities--and I would add the HP agreement)?

shawshank2411

We have no arrears on the mortgage as yet but if our current situation continues then it may be a different story. However, we are in arrears with our gas and telephone and now the hp for the car that i mentioned earlier.

pablowmedown

hi guys, i have been going through the slow (14 month) process of tryin to get my unfair charges refunded from lloyds tsb. i got as far as returning to them my hardship forms which they have aknowledged recieving. but after the court ruling in december i have recieved a letter saying there will be no payment and that they are now finished with the claim. however i want to fight on! where do i go? is it to the ombudsman services? and can they actually help after all this ime?? if not where do i go as i desperatly want that money back from the bank. i would greatly appreciate all and any help! many thanks, paulito

pablowmedown

hi guys, im really after some help and advice! i got as far with my claim as getting my hardship papers to the bank (lloyds tsb before the december ruling after which the bank has refused to answer my case. where can i go from here? is it to the ombudsman services? and can they really help after all this time? (16months!) all hep and advice greatfully recieved!

natweststaffmember

pablowmedown wrote: »

hi guys, im really after some help and advice! i got as far with my claim as getting my hardship papers to the bank (lloyds tsb before the december ruling after which the bank has refused to answer my case. where can i go from here? is it to the ombudsman services? and can they really help after all this time? (16months!) all hep and advice greatfully recieved!

If you have a look at my signature there is a link to the Lending Code. Have a look at it with regards to section 9 and see how it fits your set of circumstances.

mayolad

As far back as 1992 I challenged the level of bank charges on the basis that, in their letter informing customers of the charge, the banks (at least, Nat West & Lloyds) specifically stated that the charge was "to help towards the banks admin costs". When I asked for itemization of these costs I was threatened with account closure. It is my understanding that when a charge is levied for a stated purpose ("to help towards the banks admin cost") it has to be used specifically for this purpose and to use the money for any other purpose is, in fact, a criminal not a civil offence. The fact that the banks' letter states "towards" their costs suggests they are claiming that their costs are even higher than the £35.00 levied and yet, to my knowledge, no bank has ever been able to justify this which is surprizing as banks must be the most closely audited institutions on the planet. I moved to Ireland in 2006 and registered a claim for refund just prior to the hold put on claims due to the legal action so could not proceed and I am now investigating ways to move my claim forward as, with interest, it amounts to just under £10,000.00 from two business and one personal account.

Has anyone any knowledge if this apparent "loophole" has been investigated?

Premier_2

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Martin will have further advice next week with regards to reclaiming.

It's been delayed again according to todays email

We're still working on the new guide, there's a lot to get through and it's taking a little longer than expected, we hope it'll be ready in the next few weeks. Do remember, while we believe some will still be able to reclaim, for most it will be tough, so plan NOT to get the cash.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips/20-01-2010/
(Capitals as per original article)

natweststaffmember

Premier wrote: »

It's been delayed again according to todays email

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips/20-01-2010/
(Capitals as per original article)

Read, copied to the forum here and have given links to Govan Law Centre who have already got templates readily available.
Linkie to info is here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=29044955&postcount=24
To be honest Premier, I have already stated that it is frustrating that it is delayed since a lot of forum users are getting the 8 weeks or the complaint is closed letter and have got no advice from MSE how to deal with them. In fact, that is something that needs to be dealt with even if no guide is given as to new arguments. I hope MSE will be kind enough to give that advice.