Bank Charges Reclaiming Guide discussion

dunstonh

lgreen42 wrote: »

Hi,
As a newbie to this whole thing can anyone point me to the address I need for TSB bank?
Have checked the original thread (Reclaim Bank Charges Help Thread) and only Lloyds is included. Would rather not phone the bank to ask..
Thanks in advance

TSB carry no liability for historic issues. Only current issues.

Reclaiming bank charges is over now. Its only CURRENT financial hardship cases or incorrect application charges (i.e. wrong amount or incorrectly charged) that are considered.

Is yours a current issue or are relying on out-of-date info that no longer applies?

Maz54321

Hi, I have only just realised that a claim could be made about unfair bank charges.

If I had an account 2006-2008 whereby the charges caused me financial hardship at the time- can I make a claim for this now?

Nasqueron

Maz54321 wrote: »

Hi, I have only just realised that a claim could be made about unfair bank charges.

If I had an account 2006-2008 whereby the charges caused me financial hardship at the time- can I make a claim for this now?

Not sure where you heard that but since the 2009 court case the banks do not accept "unfair charges" cases. They only consider current financial hardship, nor historic ones unfortunately.

dunstonh

Hi, I have only just realised that a claim could be made about unfair bank charges.

No you cant. You are very out-of-date. It was possible until 2009 when the court case ruled in favour of the banks. Since then it has not been possible.

If I had an account 2006-2008 whereby the charges caused me financial hardship at the time- can I make a claim for this now?

No. Banks will consider CURRENT financial hardship cases on a goodwill basis for CURRENT customers. Not historic.

leclerc

Maz54321 wrote: »

Hi, I have only just realised that a claim could be made about unfair bank charges.

If I had an account 2006-2008 whereby the charges caused me financial hardship at the time- can I make a claim for this now?

In regards to unfair charges, you might be thinking of packaged account fees which are on the tables, ie accounts with extras. There has been at least one case that I am aware of that took a case to county court on bank charges post the 2009 judgement and won, however, as it stands today there is realistically no chance of success at the moment.

In regards to financial hardship, case are still going on, by a case by case basis. However, even the Financial Ombudsman state on their website that the bank does NOT have to refund even 1p of charges to comply with helping people in financial hardship.

I have to be honest, and say that am not sure where the rub of the green now lies with historical financial hardship because you have to prove cause and effect at that time and there is no hard and fast method to doing so unless you spoke with the bank or made a complaint about charges during that timeframe where there might be proof that the bank did not do enough to try to help. It's a very different landscape today than it was in 2006-08 period.

Neastm39

Hi All

First time poster so please be patient if its something covered elsewhere.

I've just had a call from Santander following my request for a list of transactions to allow me to try and claim back unfair bank charges.

The lady from Santander who called me pointed out about the 2009 test case which I was already aware of but she said that Santander does not pay out on ANY claims regarding bank charges at all regardless of financial circumstances both now and in the past when the charges were applied.

She said Santander sends out a letter to the customer explaining basically no and according to her this letter is then sent to the Ombudsman if a case does get escalated to them and it ensures they do not have to pay out to ANYONE.

I'd normally assume it was the banks giving misleading information out (again) but I just wanted to check if anyone has or knows of anyone who has been success claiming back from Santander, since the test case either with or without the need for Ombudsman involvement?

I've been in financial difficulty pretty much for the last 10 years or so with a circle of charges starting off and certainly contributing if not causing the decade of financial misery. So this recent phone call has obviously got me a bit downhearted at the chances of getting anything back. For information I closed the account with them about 4.5 years ago so I know my chances of claiming back past the usual 6 years are limited but worth a try.

Thanks in advance for any advice

Nasqueron

Neastm39 wrote: »

Hi All

First time poster so please be patient if its something covered elsewhere.

I've just had a call from Santander following my request for a list of transactions to allow me to try and claim back unfair bank charges.

The lady from Santander who called me pointed out about the 2009 test case which I was already aware of but she said that Santander does not pay out on ANY claims regarding bank charges at all regardless of financial circumstances both now and in the past when the charges were applied.

She said Santander sends out a letter to the customer explaining basically no and according to her this letter is then sent to the Ombudsman if a case does get escalated to them and it ensures they do not have to pay out to ANYONE.

I'd normally assume it was the banks giving misleading information out (again) but I just wanted to check if anyone has or knows of anyone who has been success claiming back from Santander, since the test case either with or without the need for Ombudsman involvement?

I've been in financial difficulty pretty much for the last 10 years or so with a circle of charges starting off and certainly contributing if not causing the decade of financial misery. So this recent phone call has obviously got me a bit downhearted at the chances of getting anything back. For information I closed the account with them about 4.5 years ago so I know my chances of claiming back past the usual 6 years are limited but worth a try.

Thanks in advance for any advice

The bank are perfectly within their rights to reject any complaint about unfair charges since the 2009 case.

They only have to consider current financial hardship for their customers not for old cases or closed accounts. Moreover, even in hardship they do not have to refund a penny, they can simply agree to freeze future charges or help you with a debt management plan.

I'm afraid for a 4.5 year closed account you have essentially zero chance of getting anything from them and definitely zero with an "unfair charges" case

dunstonh

I'd normally assume it was the banks giving misleading information out (again) but I just wanted to check if anyone has or knows of anyone who has been success claiming back from Santander, since the test case either with or without the need for Ombudsman involvement?

The bank is correct. A quick read of the posts on this thread today would have told you that.

The banks won the unfair charges court case in 2009. Since then, they no longer consider unfair charges complaints. Also, the FOS no longer takes on cases about unfair charges either.

I've been in financial difficulty pretty much for the last 10 years or so with a circle of charges starting off and certainly contributing if not causing the decade of financial misery. So this recent phone call has obviously got me a bit downhearted at the chances of getting anything back. For information I closed the account with them about 4.5 years ago so I know my chances of claiming back past the usual 6 years are limited but worth a try.

There are a few issues here which I bullet point.
1 - just repeating that unfair charges complaints get nowhere since 2009. Financial hardship cases should never use the term "unfair" when requesting charges back. Otherwise you get the default response about them winning the case.
2 - Current financial hardship is what matters. Not historic. If you have been in continuous hardship for 10 years then that would be current. So, the bank would consider a hardship goodwill gesture. However......
3 - Current financial hardship cases require a current banking relationship. You closed your account with them over 4 years ago. So, there hasnt been any recent charges.
4 - When a bank looks at current financial hardship cases, it is a goodwill gesture. No-one can force them to refund anything. The FOS can only ask them to consider your case fairly. Refunding of charges is only one option open to them. Suspending charges for the next x months or putting you an a debt management plan are other options open to them. Refunds are often only limited to the last 12 months. Although some extreme cases may go back further. As you are not a current customer, they cannot do any of this.

So, in your case, you are unlikely to get anywhere.

dishthedirt

I had some great news today in so much as I had my complaint to Lloyds bank for the miss selling of a packaged bank account settled. They have reimbursed me with £2853. Result!

So.... my next question is this, because I was miss sold an account that cost me £12 each month after say 10 months I would have £120 less in my account and therefore if my account went overdrawn I would be charged fees that I would not have been charged if I had not been miss sold. This would compound over the 12 years that I held the account.

Do I have a claim in principle?

dunstonh

I had some great news today in so much as I had my complaint to Lloyds bank for the miss selling of a packaged bank account settled. They have reimbursed me with £2853. Result!

Well done. A very tidy amount. Although this thread is not about packaged bank accounts.

So.... my next question is this, because I was miss sold an account that cost me £12 each month after say 10 months I would have £120 less in my account and therefore if my account went overdrawn I would be charged fees that I would not have been charged if I had not been miss sold. This would compound over the 12 years that I held the account.

Do I have a claim in principle?

If you went over by less than £12 per month then you would have a case it would be the £12 that tipped you over. However, if you went over by more than £12 then you would have gone over whether it was charged or not. These things are not generally looked at cumulatively when its monthly premium. Each month is looked at individually. Remember that you are getting compensation in the form of the 8% interest added.