Report Bank Charges successes and failures

janey17

Good Morning Everyone

After being successful with Lloyds TSB and Capital one on their charges ranging from £12 to £20 I complained to Egg on behalf of my husbands card.

The charges total just £1000 which is the balance outstanding. This all started in 2005 when my husband missed a payment and they placed two charges on the account which took the balance over the limit. This has led to accumulating effect as despite paying monthly a over limit charge has constantly been applied. We took this to the FOS in February after Egg would not budge on their £16 charges and did not expect to gain a decision so soon.

Received a letter yesterday from FOS quoting the OFT report in April 2006 who did not take any action against Egg. Egg have told the Fos that it costs a little more than £16, on average , to deal with each instance of a non payment or a customer exceeding a credit limit. The FOS go on to say that Egg produced:

correspondence between their solictors and the OFT from 2005 to 06
A report on default charges prepared by their accountants in Oct 05 and
a review of their default charges dated Sept 08

Fos state that the charges broadly reflect the cost to Egg of dealing with a default. Egg does not accept that a customer who exceeds a credit limit is in breach of contract and there is , therefore no requirement that its default charge should reflect its costs in such a case. Fos is satisfied that the default charges do reflect the costs to Egg.

The Fos goes on to quote dates from 1999, 2002 and 2004 about calculations from accountants and solictors. They stipulate that the law does not require a precise calculation in this sort of situation. they are not unfair or disproportionate and he can see no basis on which I can properly uphold your clients complaint.

The charges are from 2005 to 2010. I would be very grateful for any advice or suggestions on what to do next.

Many thanks in advance

silentguy

BANK Was Lloyds TSB.
Amount asked for: £2,285
Offered: £4059.94 ??
Deal or no Deal? : DEAL!

I had a Current account, graduate loan, and Credit Card with Loyds TSB and I wrote to them complaining about charges on all three. I took the usual stance of extreme financial hardship, but I came at it from a slightly different perspective.

I argued that whilst I was a student, I was mis-sold a graduate loan as a way to clear my credit cards and overdraft. However I showed that on reflection the loan actually increased my outgoings, and as a result I couldn't afford to live and therefore I started accumulating charges.

As a result they have agreed to refund all of the bank charges since the loan, the LPI that was also mis-sold with the loan and also surprisingly they have also offered to refund all of the interest on the loan. This also means that they have now used these funds to clear my loan account and closed it, and also wiped out my overdraft and returned my overdraft limit to £0.

I actually can't believe it - this will make a significant difference to my life, and I couldn't have done it without this site and everyone who contributes to it. So thank you all! I am absolutely amazed that I have been made this offer particularly after the courts rulings.

I just want to wish everyone else support - a few days ago I was on the other side - annoyed that some people had had success when I hadn't. I just want to say persevere. In the end it only took me three letters to the bank. I think that rather than using template letters (although these are a valuable start point), by providing a valid well presented and thought-out argument added the weight needed for success, and as a result they actually offered me a lot more than I actually asked for.

I am happy to share any help with anyone who is still fighting and although I won't share my letters etc. on a public forum, if anyone would like to see the letters I wrote or ask me any questions I am more than happy to help!

thurible

Sadly , I am reporting a failure in my efforts to reclaim from Barclays .......from what I've read on these forums , Barclays does appear to be probably the worst Bank when it comes to refunding charges.....I first claimed in Jan 2008.....Barclays were ducking & diving until the outrageous decision by the Supreme Court in Nov 2009 & then they informed me that my complaint was being rejected.....I then contacted FOS & went down the " hardship route ".....I did inform the FOS at the outset that I am not in financial hardship now , but I most certainly was when I initially tried to reclaim from Barclays.....they said that did not matter & so I went ahead & laid out my case , quite comprehensively , ......I have now been advised by the FOS that they do not feel that the Ombudsman could uphold my complaint & they do not think I can proceed.....I am now considering contacting one of the many , " no win no fee " , companies to see if I can salvage anything.....has anyone had any luck with any of these organisations ?.......

chwarae

I wonder if anyone else has had the same problem. My husband was contacted by a firm promising to retrive his credit card fee through excess charges and ppi.He has provided them with bank statements etc 6 months ago. The wanted his credit card details and charged him the amount he already owed for solicitors fees which took him to his limit.He was the told to close the account. They initially told him this would take up to 6 months which is up in the begining of July,but has his payment has doubled we are struggling to pay them. He has phoned on several occasion but they reply it is still going through.

Premier_2

chwarae wrote: »

I wonder if anyone else has had the same problem. My husband was contacted by a firm promising to retrive his credit card fee through excess charges and ppi.He has provided them with bank statements etc 6 months ago. The wanted his credit card details and charged him the amount he already owed for solicitors fees which took him to his limit.He was the told to close the account. They initially told him this would take up to 6 months which is up in the begining of July,but has his payment has doubled we are struggling to pay them. He has phoned on several occasion but they reply it is still going through.

No, but I've been contacted in the past by someone who said I'd won the Spanish Lottery and they just needed by bank account details and mothers maiden name in order for their cousin Benson to transfer the winnings to me!

rogerbaresel

I first wrote to Nationwide about bank charges in Sept 2006. My claim was held during the lengthy court case. Since that failed, I have been in correspondence this year for 2 lots of bank charges including fees for returned DD's, totalling +£2200 since the year 2000. Nationwide Member Relations Dept have persistently refused any help and have stated that the cause of the charges was my own poor management of the account. They have stated that in times of hardship items such as magazine & club subscriptions, cafes, taxis, cinemas, restaurants and airfares as non-essential expenditure, however these are general criticisms and no items from my account are specifically itemised. They have rejected Martin's argument about fairness which I made to them. Their initial response to my complaint was to increase my overdraft to enable me to pay the charges - this is rather like the casino lending the gambler more funds. I have been a Nationwide member since about 1976 and am normally a fan of mutuality, but here the BS is behaving just as meanly as a clearing bank. Is there an argument that is likely to work if I go next to the Financial Ombudsman ?
This is my first contribution, I hope I have followed the protocol.

Premier_2

rogerbaresel wrote: »

...Their initial response to my complaint was to increase my overdraft to enable me to pay the charges - this is rather like the casino lending the gambler more funds. ...

Not really.

An authorised overdraft is usually cheaper than an unauthorised overdraft making it cheaper to repay the money you already owe.
(They will have already charged you the fees and put you into an unathorised overdraft)

belindabannister

To all who may suffer at the hands of the Halifax!

We have attempted firstly to approach the Halifax to see if we could reclaim some or all of the bank charges they levied against us (£6,500). After paying £10 to get a copy of our charges from them,they duly sent them (at the maximum time allowed). Our next step was to inform them we were in hardship. Guess what, no reply. The ombudsman was our next step, and after filling out the necessary form, we sat back to await a change to the situation. Guess what they did not reply to the ombudsman..... We again contacted the ombudsman, as at that time we had been waiting about 16 weeks in total. They sent a further request to the Halifax, who again replied at the maximum waiting time. Our last message from the ombudsman was to the effect that the Halifax had replied there would be no return. The very helpful ombudsman then gave up! So, that was (as we thought) the end of that. No such luck. The ever helpful Halifax (WHOM BECAUSE OF HARDSHIP) we still owed £55 to (which by prior arrangement we were paying at £5 per month by direct debit) decided to pass our account over to a solicitor to reclaim the lot in one go, despite their prior agreement again proven by their acceptance of this money from our account.
Has anyone (inluding Martin) got any advice, as we remain struggling******

leclerc

belindabannister wrote: »

To all who may suffer at the hands of the Halifax!

We have attempted firstly to approach the Halifax to see if we could reclaim some or all of the bank charges they levied against us (£6,500). After paying £10 to get a copy of our charges from them,they duly sent them (at the maximum time allowed). Our next step was to inform them we were in hardship. Guess what, no reply. The ombudsman was our next step, and after filling out the necessary form, we sat back to await a change to the situation. Guess what they did not reply to the ombudsman..... We again contacted the ombudsman, as at that time we had been waiting about 16 weeks in total. They sent a further request to the Halifax, who again replied at the maximum waiting time. Our last message from the ombudsman was to the effect that the Halifax had replied there would be no return. The very helpful ombudsman then gave up! So, that was (as we thought) the end of that. No such luck. The ever helpful Halifax (WHOM BECAUSE OF HARDSHIP) we still owed £55 to (which by prior arrangement we were paying at £5 per month by direct debit) decided to pass our account over to a solicitor to reclaim the lot in one go, despite their prior agreement again proven by their acceptance of this money from our account.
Has anyone (inluding Martin) got any advice, as we remain struggling******

Do you still use the account as your main account?
Do you have priority debts(mortgage.rent, council tax, utilities)?
The fact remains that financial hardship cases will only be considered if the charges today or as far back as 6 months directly impact you today.

Furthermore, any court would only agree for any repayment that was reasonable. If you have had an agreement in place then what they have done would have or should have at least be pre warned to you.

belindabannister

Hi nattie,the questions you asked,firstly no I had changed our account before trying to reclaim,yes we do have priority bills mortgage etc and my husband only works 16 hours a week so we are finding it a bit difficult.As for the agreement,they agreed to accept £5.00 per month which we have honoured,but since this claim ,they seem to have thrown that out the window and want the lot.I honestly think its pure spite,if we cant afford more £5.00 then how the hell do they think we can pay all of it.They really get my blood boiling.
bw belinda