Reclaimed Bank Charges SUCCESS stories

gk2020

First Direct closed my account whilst I worked abroad in 1997- despite the fact I had £41.00 in it to keep it open. They never informed me they were closing it until I returned in 1998 I found out!

Can I reclaim my £41.00 + interest?

I stupidly re-opened a new account with them and have incurred loads of charges. As a current account with "supposedly" free banking, I wascharged interest each month of approx £10.00.

Can I claim this back?

Also if I went overdrawn and they charged me overdraft fees & extended overdraft fees and more interest. Can I claim the interest back? or is it just charges we can claim for?

Any help greatly appreciated
Gill k

deb123_2

I followed Martin Lewis's advice and it may not sound much but I have reclaimed all my £290 bank charges over the last 6 years. I did not get an offer including the interest but I am not bothered by that. Well worth doing for two 2nd class stamps!

cazziebo

And now it's all over it was really much easier than I thought it would be!

filed MCOL on the 7th , it was issued on the 8th, acknowledged on the 12th and I got £3k in my account over the weekend - according to my calculations minus £90 but not going to quibble about that.

Used the CAG process up to LBA stage, then used this one from LBA on. Found the MSE process a bit more straightforward.

My debt free date is now lot closer!

Thank you so much Martin and team.

cazziebo wrote:

Just keeping you updated as promised! I'm following Martin's step by step guide and using templates.

Gave the bank 15 days to respond after LBA, no response. Filed through MCOL last night and checking the site today the claim is now "issued". They have 14 days to defend.

Did have a few problems with the calculator. I couldn't print it a second time (luckily I printed and photocopied the original) and I also couldn't add on this month's charges. I reverted back to the CAG spreadsheet and used that to calculate.

So just a case of sitting and waiting now, I think....

Cazzie

karl9911uk

iglimpse wrote:

:mad: I am helping my sister to reclaim charges from Abbey (back to 2002). I applied using the template letter but what I got back was useless. Lists and lists of spends but no info on the charges incurred, or the balances. I don't want to let that deter me... Is this their usual ploy?

We have already opened a new account, so that one is dormant for now:cool:

Clearly I need to write back and reiterate that it is the charges info I want, unless you can suggest anything else

Hi, you can find the charges on the statement the bank has sent you, but you have to look for them! If you know when the charges are normally taken it will help. My charges with Abbey are taken or were taken on or around the 3rd of each month. Have got £500.00 out of £1164.00 claimed. Now going to the end via the court system. Good luck and hope this has helped.

Karl

karl9911uk

Hi, I have claimed £1164.00 + interest and court fee's from Abbey. to date theyhave paid £500.00 back into my account and have now entered a defence against my claim. What happens next and what action should I now be taking. I did start this with a view to seeing it to the bitter end if it comes to that, so any help would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Karl

Rex_Mundi

You will receive an Allocation Questionnaire from the court next. You will need to fill this in, and send it back. You just have to wait for this to arrive.

calvinmeek

Bank: Barclays
Amount Reclaimed: £2500
Amount they paid: £1000
The story: 1st letter sent, accepted their "goodwill gesture" of £1000! Excellent news - although i actually do not have the money in my bank yet.... :-)

chekhov

I've just sent the "14 day letter" to Lloyds TSB reclaiming £804. I'll let you know what the response is.

mrdodds

Bank: HSBC
Amount Reclaimed: £1625
Amount they paid: £1300
The story: Sent the letter before action and received a letter back saying they'd pay £1300 mindful of the costs associated with going to court. As you can only claim £750 back in a small claims court in Scotland I thought it was easier to settle at this point.

At least two other people from my work are now claiming back their charges as a result. Cheers for all the help!

165721

Hi there gk2020,

First of all Happy Christmas and good luck with your claim.

gk2020 wrote:

Can I reclaim my £41.00 + interest?

I would be inclined to say yes, as if it is as you say, that was your money. Do you have some kind of statement to say that this money was in your account when they closed it? Are you sure that they didnt send you a cheque or somesuch in the year you were not using the account? I would talk to them about this as this isnt really something that would be dealt with on here, it is a simple banking matter.

gk2020 wrote:

As a current account with "supposedly" free banking, I wascharged interest each month of approx £10.00.

Can I claim this back?

You can only have been charged interest if you were overdrawn, and if this is the case then yes they can charge you as overdrafts are very rarely free.

gk2020 wrote:

Also if I went overdrawn and they charged me overdraft fees & extended overdraft fees and more interest. Can I claim the interest back? or is it just charges we can claim for?

Yes you can claim the interest on the fees they charged you, as long as you work it out so that is in fact the interest on just the fees and not any other part of the overdraft facility. By this I mean you can't claim the full £10 a month or whatever it was, but that part that relates to each charge. Its a lot of working out but you can claim it back.

Hope this helps!!

JJ