Bank Charges Reclaiming Guide discussion

Premier_2

sweetpete wrote: »

i have had a claim going through with ABC Incorporation ltd and i am getting no response for over 6 mths just an autimated email reply,
i need to get my claim up and running again what can i do,

You'd probably be better off starting your own thread on that subject. This sticky thread is specifically to discuss the content of the new updated Bank Charges Reclaiming guide.

This is what the article says about claims management companies:

Q. A company has said it can get my charges back for a fee, is this true?

A. Some firms may claim this, yet they have no more influence or power than you do. A number of claims handlers have notes saying they’re waiting for the legal info from this site before continuing (not with our permission, just using it) – so do consider whether you could just cut out the middle man and do it yourself.

For most literate and numerate people with access to the web, bank charge reclaiming at the Ombudsman is a straightforward process. While it takes a bit of time and effort, all the resources above should give you most of what you need to do it yourself.

If you need help though, the options are a lawyer or claims handler as they’re commonly advertised. Yet they are expensive and at best will take a huge chunk of the money that you’re owed. In general there’s simply no need to use another company and this site's stance is that it's easy and more lucrative to use the info above to do it yourself.

Yet there are times it may be suitable. Those with more complex cases, such as hardship cases stuck in court or anyone facing trickier areas of law may find professional help useful. The same's true of people with genuine financial phobia, lack of web literacy, or mental health issues.

If that’s the case, it's important to check out who you would use. If you are going to use a lawyer or claims handler ensure you…

Never pay anything upfront

At the moment there are some companies offering to carry out your claim for an upfront fee but if the company is not open and up front about its fees, which as a rule of thumb shouldn’t be much more than 25% of what you win, then don’t go there. Also feel free to ask for references from other satisfied customers, which it should be happy to do if kosher.

All claims companies must be regulated for claims management activities and will have a reference to check (eg CRM1234) on the Ministry of Justice database. Avoid anyone not on this list.

scooter56

Hi, I apologise if this isn't quite the correct place to post but I would appreciate some advice from someone please.
I have tried to reclaim bank charges going back years with nationwide and last year started the MCOL thing. Like everyone else it was put on hold awaiting the OFT decision so nothing has happened since then. I was considering the hardship route as I have been made redundant again (twice in 18 months) and we are in extreme financial difficulty. In June however in got much worse:
I had an e loan which was being repaid monthly, I received two letters stating direct debits had bounced and in the same post I got a bank statement which showed the account thousands overdrawn. What they had done was to put the eloan debit balance over to our current account! They CLAIM to have written to us twice and emailed via the secure online banking system to tell us they were withdrawing the e loan facility to all customers. I cannot prove I didn't receive two letters from them however they cannot prove I did - also, I was able to prove I received no notification to the online email. After an awful lot of hassle and threats regarding the theft act etc they have given back some of the money they took but have now stated that our account has become dormant and we can use it only to pay off the debt. The manager who was trying to help us did his absolute best but basically we have been thrown out along with a warning that if we don't pay the monthly amount they will take us to court very quickly.
I feel this whole situation has come about as we made the bank charges claim in the first place and nationwide were particularly harsh in asking people to close their accounts at the beginning.
Can anyone advise me whether
a) it will be worth going down the hardship route and
b) is this resonable behaviour from the bank?
So stressed with financial problems at the moment and can't see the wood from the trees so I would be very grateful for any advice.
I also apologise for the length of this post

hil1945

Hi, could someone help a newbie please?

I am currently trying to claim around £1200 from Barclays for bank charges incurred over the last 6 years. After using the templates on the MSE site (including detailing my personal hardship circumstances), I recently received a gesture of goodwill of £100 which covered only the most recent charges and no historic ones and they now consider the matter closed. I wrote back to Barclays saying that I would accept £800 for a speedy resolution and I would then consider the matter closed. They replied saying that they would not offer any more and if this is not acceptable I can contact the ombudsman.

Would it be advisable to contact the ombudsman before issuing a court claim? Has there been much reported success from cases referred to the ombudsman?
Does anyone have any experience successfully negotiating additional payments from the banks after receiving the gesture of goodwill? Would another letter to the bank directly help?

Thanks in advance for any advice offered as I feel like I have reached a dead end and am not sure what to do next!

Premier_2

hil1945 wrote: »

Hi, could someone help a newbie please?

I am currently trying to claim around £1200 from Barclays for bank charges incurred over the last 6 years. After using the templates on the MSE site (including detailing my personal hardship circumstances), I recently received a gesture of goodwill of £100 which covered only the most recent charges and no historic ones and they now consider the matter closed. I wrote back to Barclays saying that I would accept £800 for a speedy resolution and I would then consider the matter closed. They replied saying that they would not offer any more and if this is not acceptable I can contact the ombudsman.

Would it be advisable to contact the ombudsman before issuing a court claim? Has there been much reported success from cases referred to the ombudsman?
Does anyone have any experience successfully negotiating additional payments from the banks after receiving the gesture of goodwill? Would another letter to the bank directly help?

Thanks in advance for any advice offered as I feel like I have reached a dead end and am not sure what to do next!

The only reported success stories since the Supreme Court ruling in November 2009 relate to claims made on financial hardship grounds.
No one has reported any success using the legal arguments suggested by MSE.

Financial hardship claims are a matter of compliance with a code of conduct on lending, not a legal matter. If you don't agree with the bank's decision regarding on your claim and their suggested actions for your financial hardship situation, your only recourse is to the independent FOS. (Courts won't deal with claims based solely on financial hardship grounds)

Note that all claims for financial hardship are reviewed individually and, even where financial hardship is proven, there is no automatic right to any refunds; all that is expected is that your claim is treated in a sympathetic and positive manner.

The FOS will not entertain bank charge refund claims based on legalese. Therefore if you wish to pursue that avenue, you'll need to do that via court.

Stevely

I'd really appreciate some advice.

I was thinking of reclaiming overdraft charges, so checked small print of bank account.

It says 'Before we deduct debit interest, arrangement fees and/or return fees, we will give you at least 14 days notice of the amount to be deducted.'

They never did this. It also says

'If debited Arrangement Fees (or interest) cause your account to go overdrawn or further overdrawn we will not make a further charge'

and they always did this!!!

Anybody else tried to point out how they flout their own rules, and get away with it, or is there a technicality that means these clauses don't really count?

Thanks

redgirl75

I have an authorised overdraft limit with my bank which I don't exceed, I still get charged interest each month, can I claim this back?

Premier_2

redgirl75 wrote: »

I have an authorised overdraft limit with my bank which I don't exceed, I still get charged interest each month, can I claim this back?

No, it usually costs money to borrow money.

Premier_2

Stevely wrote: »

I'd really appreciate some advice.

I was thinking of reclaiming overdraft charges, so checked small print of bank account.

It says 'Before we deduct debit interest, arrangement fees and/or return fees, we will give you at least 14 days notice of the amount to be deducted.'

They never did this. It also says

'If debited Arrangement Fees (or interest) cause your account to go overdrawn or further overdrawn we will not make a further charge'

and they always did this!!!

Anybody else tried to point out how they flout their own rules, and get away with it, or is there a technicality that means these clauses don't really count?

Thanks

I suspect that the bank do advise you of the charges. They often are part of the statement they provide. Remember that you not receiving the notice is not necessarily the same as they not having provided it.

If the terms say 'If debited Arrangement Fees (or interest) cause your account to go overdrawn or further overdrawn we will not make a further charge' then of course they shouldn't make any further charge (unless you have made, or attempted to make, more transactions).

If you can prove either of the allegations, then the bank will see this as an error on their part and removal of the charges shouldn't be any problem

david_bedford_2

Anyone had any experience with this, been paying an xbox £4.99 fee for 2 years, however i have also been paying £60-70 to collections, when they lower my overdraft the £4.99 fee takes my account back into the unplanned overdraft, Lloyds then puts 90+ fees on my account, so basically i go round in circles, been to the local branch and made some progress, i provided proof that i have tried to cancel my subscription with the third party (xbox) and letters to bank, Card Disputes Team confirm that they tried to contact the retailers bank, however refunded me the £4.99 charge till june 2009. On the letter is specifically saids any service charges that have been applied please speak to your local branch,also the card i used to pay the subscription expired in november 2009. however the local branch advised me that as it's a rolling transaction the third party can still take the £4.99 charge, surely that's in breach of Data protection Act/fraud , as i have not given them my recent card

NuJon_2

Premier wrote: »

I suspect that the bank do advise you of the charges. They often are part of the statement they provide. Remember that you not receiving the notice is not necessarily the same as they not having provided it.

If the terms say 'If debited Arrangement Fees (or interest) cause your account to go overdrawn or further overdrawn we will not make a further charge' then of course they shouldn't make any further charge (unless you have made, or attempted to make, more transactions).

If you can prove either of the allegations, then the bank will see this as an error on their part and removal of the charges shouldn't be any problem

My bank also had a tendency to do this - charge me and put me over my limit, i mean. After trying to get something sorted over the phone, I decided to go and visit my bank in person. They refunded the charges after I pointed out how unreasonable they were being.

I'm also lucky enough to have reclaimed £4,500 back from them in charges thanks to Martin's advice. It was paid into my account within four weeks of my initial contact.