Report Bank Charges successes and failures

Foggie_Loon

Yeah, I take your point, "settled out of court". But if the charges are now "legal", why didn't they argue in court as I didn't really have a leg to stand on. It was my " don't trust any bank now" attitude, that I wanted to stand up in court and argue. If you know what I mean.

Premier_2

The charges always have been legal - there has been no change to any law

The bank are simply wishing to get the best result. There's no point spending huge amounts of money getting judgement, especially if it results in the bank not getting a penny back.

It's called a negotiated settlement, and something the courts wholeheartedly encourage.

You've agreed to pay them something, and 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

BenjyGsi

This is more of a question than a story but I came across this site and was hoping for some help. 5 years ago I was stuck in a cycle of bank charges with both natwest,nationwide and halifax who were both charging me up to £35.00 a month ( in some cases with natwest up to 3 times in one month)

Now what I would like to know I would I be able to reclaim these charges as I see on hear that a lot of people claim these when in financial hardship but it also states on e MAE website that you may claim if you were caught in a cycle of charges that you could not break out of.

I'd also like to add that at the time of these charges I was out of work/earning very little now 5 years later on I have clawed my way out of the mess I got myself into and am worried about making a claim because I am not in financial hardship it will just get laughed out.

Thanks for any help

Premier_2

BenjyGsi wrote: »

This is more of a question than a story but I came across this site and was hoping for some help. 5 years ago I was stuck in a cycle of bank charges with both natwest,nationwide and halifax who were both charging me up to £35.00 a month ( in some cases with natwest up to 3 times in one month)

Now what I would like to know I would I be able to reclaim these charges as I see on hear that a lot of people claim these when in financial hardship but it also states on e MAE website that you may claim if you were caught in a cycle of charges that you could not break out of.

I'd also like to add that at the time of these charges I was out of work/earning very little now 5 years later on I have clawed my way out of the mess I got myself into and am worried about making a claim because I am not in financial hardship it will just get laughed out.

Thanks for any help

Have you read the MSE guide to reclaiming bank charges?

If you are not in financial hardship, the chances of getting a refund are about zero.

BenjyGsi

Yes I have and it says that you may be able to claim if you were stuck in a cycle of charges but I have looked across the site and can only find people claiming when they are in financial hardship

Premier_2

BenjyGsi wrote: »

Yes I have and it says that you may be able to claim if you were stuck in a cycle of charges but I have looked across the site and can only find people claiming when they are in financial hardship

As it says in the MSE guide to reclaiming bank charges:

3. You are / were stuck in a cycle of charges you cannot break out of
This is known as snowballing and effectively means you’ve had charges on charges, so you’ve been stuck in a trap of not being able to clear charges before new daily or monthly fees are added on top.
This is very common for those with larger reclaims, and is often the reason why some people are being paid back many £1,000s. Of course it tends to go hand in hand with being in hardship.

(My highlighting)

BenjyGsi

Sorry Im a bit slow so at the time because I WAS in financial hardship I can make a claim?

Premier_2

As I said

Premier wrote: »

...If you are not in financial hardship, the chances of getting a refund are about zero.

The reason being is that the bank are under no obligation to provide any refund, and if you are not currently in financial hardship it would not be clear how providing you a refund would help that situation.

If you are not in financial hardship, the bank's only responsibility is to deal with your complaint quickly and sympathetically.

If you were in financial hardship 5 years ago and encountering bank charges, you should have claimed at that time. What's more, if you did try 5 years ago, the gravy train was going at full speed and you would probably have got a full refund.

shimbob

sparkleghost wrote: »

Hiya,

I was just wondering whether ANYBODY had any success with HSBC?! I've worked out that my charges total £2870 but reading back through this thread they sound like tough nuts to crack! Halifax and LLoyds TSB seem to be the best at refunding?

If you've had any luck with HSBC let me know, would be interesting to have a basis for comparison!

Cheers, Rachael

I complained to the FOS after HSBC sent a letter saying that they will not be refunding anything. My charges are £2000+. They then sent another letter regarding my complaint to the FOS and they are not budging at all and refuse to pay a penny. HSBC seem to be the worst at refunding a penny!

singhy20

hi Guys,

I just wanted some advice to see if i'm not wasting my time.

I initally tried to claim for O/D charges against Halifax - around £1800 under the hardship fund as I was unemployed at the time in 2009. They refused me point blank stating they have treated me fairly.
I basically gave up, espically as the banks won the high court case against o/d charges.

But I did manage to get my self a job and slowly got my self out of debt. But I lost fracture my leg last winter and lost my job and again my finances sort off spiralled out of control and since then halifax have charged me a futher £700 of o/d charges, I admit I did stick my head under the sand a little hoping it all go away. But for being £350 overdrawn, halifax charged me £343 in charges from July to September which I believe is a crazy amount.

Anyway what i wanted to know is it worth me trying to claim again?

Kind Regards,

Gee