Reclaimed Bank Charges SUCCESS stories

madsamuri

alliance & leicster amount £114
claimed £114

i went through the steps Martin suggested and low and behold after they received the court order they suddenly paid up. Although they did say something rather strange in the letter " this should not be taken a sign of weakness on the banks behalf"

anyway they have decided to close my account. so i have to give them back the £500 i had stashed away for a year in my high interst current account from there 0% overdraft offer. but at least i made £100 from the recomend a friend, thats all i was after anyway i was never planning to use the account.

slong5082

Bank: Halifax
Amount Claimed: £966.00
Amount Paid: £966.00

Over 6 years I had numerous failed direct debits and when I read Martin's article was convinced I should try to claim my money back. Started with the standard letter asking for it back and got and offer of £125.00 as a goodwill gesture. Refused this and demanded it all, they then offered £300.00. I was tempted by this but wrote back saying no and told them I would proceed to claiming. Heard nothing back so went through Moneyclaim process and got a letter from Halifax saying they would defend their case in court. At this point I was seriously thinking I should have taken the £300.00. After a week of waiting I got another letter saying it would be 'uneconomical' to go to court and they paid up in full (incuding the 8% and the court costs).

My message to you - don't be put off and don't accept anything but the lot!

Thanks to MSE and CAG!

MSE Rocks!

:j

loopy_lass

just got a measly £25 back off yorkshire credit card, had to argue and argue that i hadnt received the statement hence not paying my £12.55 monthly fee, they said tough take it up with the royal mail.

I said i didnt beleive that the £25 was proportionate to their admin charges and they said it wasnt admin fees it was a late fee which i agreed to pay when i signed for the card. I said as there was no figure on the bit i signed i still felt £25 was not proportionate and i was going to pay all my credit card balance off and then reclaim the £25 plus £5 each time i wrote to them or called them and i was prepared to take them through the small claims court if necessary.

They met me half way and said if i set up a DD with the bank for the minumum amount they would wavie the £25, i agreed, they dropped the £25 and i paid off my CC and cut the card up ;-)


loops

x

camkick

Alliance & Leicester
£2484.62
Paid in full inc. court charges & interest
Applied for statements, requested refund refused.filed on line in court,paid out in 17 days account being closed by A&L Applied for credit rateing to be put right this is still to be done!!!

I have been interviewed by Sunday Times,Beth Chronical, Western Daily Press & bbc radio Wiltshire.

The phone has not stopped ringing with people in the same position.:beer:

zootsit81

Hi there

I recently wrote to Barclaycard asking for details of all charges over the last 6 years and included by £10 cheque . I have recieved a letter back , stating that all records prior to May 2004 are stored on Microfiche and that more than one customers details are stored together without reference to account number or name. They then state that "these records are not 'readily accessible' within the meaning of the Data Protection Act and do not fall within the class of documents to be produced pursuant to a subject access request".

As a result they have offered me access to these files through customer services at £3 per statement. Now I know 2001-2004 was the period I was charged extensively ( I hadn't yet had the epiphany of minimum payment by direct debit) as a result of frequent late payments.

They have include copies of my statements May 2004 to present, which contain £120 worth of penalty charges, but I'm sure there will be at least 4 times this amount during prior to 2004

has anyone come across this situation? At £3 a statement, its going to top £140 for the lot. I know I may be able to cliam it back, but its a lot of money to put down when success is not guaranteed. I dont hold any statements previous to 2004 .

By the way, they havent returned my cheque, It hasnt been cashed yet, but Im expecting it will be...

This just seems to be another prime example of the banks making unreasonable, unjustified charges their own benefit.

Any advice please??

asharon

zootsit81 wrote:

Hi there

I recently wrote to Barclaycard asking for details of all charges over the last 6 years and included by £10 cheque . I have recieved a letter back , stating that all records prior to May 2004 are stored on Microfiche and that more than one customers details are stored together without reference to account number or name. They then state that "these records are not 'readily accessible' within the meaning of the Data Protection Act and do not fall within the class of documents to be produced pursuant to a subject access request".

As a result they have offered me access to these files through customer services at £3 per statement. Now I know 2001-2004 was the period I was charged extensively ( I hadn't yet had the epiphany of minimum payment by direct debit) as a result of frequent late payments.

They have include copies of my statements May 2004 to present, which contain £120 worth of penalty charges, but I'm sure there will be at least 4 times this amount during prior to 2004

has anyone come across this situation? At £3 a statement, its going to top £140 for the lot. I know I may be able to cliam it back, but its a lot of money to put down when success is not guaranteed. I dont hold any statements previous to 2004 .

By the way, they havent returned my cheque, It hasnt been cashed yet, but Im expecting it will be...

This just seems to be another prime example of the banks making unreasonable, unjustified charges their own benefit.

Any advice please??

you cant simply ask for a list of charges you have to make a DPA request which will include details of all transactions then you have to go through each statement for the charges. Send the exact letter as it is on the CAG website then include the £10 fee.

pacart

Hi, has anyone ever challenged the banks as regards closing the accounts of customers asking for unlawful charges to be refunded ? Surely if a term or condition is unlawful then the customer cannot be penalised for challenging it?
Does this not show a contempt for the law? Basically the banks are saying "we only want customers who prepared to accept unlawful charges. If you threaten to take us to court you are out, as we wish to disregard the law"
A lot of people find it difficult to open bank accounts, due to not enough I.D. or a poor credit reference. Having your account closed because you asked the bank to obey the law of the land strikes me as scandalous. The banks keep saying "you read the terms and conditions", loan sharks could say the same. Am I the only person who finds it incredible that a law brought in to protect vulnerable people from backstreet loan sharks is having to be used against high street banks? And that they continue to ignore it? I wish the media would go to town on this one.

bengal-stripe

pacart wrote:

Hi, has anyone ever challenged the banks as regards closing the accounts of customers asking for unlawful charges to be refunded ?

Whatever you might feel about bank charges, don’t forget there has been a breach of contract on the customer’s part previously: not having enough money available, to meet his/her financial commitments. If you’re a landlord and you have a tenant who is a very erratic and bad payer, wouldn’t you want to get rid of him/her?

Just as you can end your business-relationship with your bank anytime, so can the bank ask you to take your business elsewhere. The bank has agreed to give you 30 days notice, unless there is fraud or immanent danger, in these situations, they can close the account immediately.

Mail order companies close accounts frequently if a customer has too many returns (i.e. costs the company too much). Your greengrocer can ask you to shop elsewhere, so why shouldn’t your bank.

oldwiring

bengal-stripe wrote:

Whatever you might feel about bank charges, don’t forget there has been a breach of contract on the customer’s part previously: not having enough money available, to meet his/her financial commitments. If you’re a landlord and you have a tenant who is a very erratic and bad payer, wouldn’t you want to get rid of him/her?

Just as you can end your business-relationship with your bank anytime, so can the bank ask you to take your business elsewhere. The bank has agreed to give you 30 days notice, unless there is fraud or immanent danger, in these situations, they can close the account immediately.

Mail order companies close accounts frequently if a customer has too many returns (i.e. costs the company too much). Your greengrocer can ask you to shop elsewhere, so why shouldn’t your bank.

I wholly agree.

:rolleyes: Why can't people get their heads round the simple fact you have stated, and I elswhere? It's like saying to another, "I don't like you anymore; I don't want to see you again". The other replies, "Oh but you've got to see me". The mind boggles at the response to that.

MoneyJess

HSBC
Claimed - £412.50
Received - £350

I claimed for £412.50 from HSBC, after they charged me an amazing £125 for going over my overdraft limit in June. My initial query to HSBC resulted in a very rude call from them saying that it is all my fault seeing as I didn't read my terms and conditions or manage my account properly. After visiting your site, I went back over statements for the last 5 years and came up with the total.

Three weeks after I sent the letter, I received an offer of £350, which I am going to accept, seeing as I have had an otherwise good relationship with them in the past. Thank you so much for the advice and the letter template - it's so good to get some kind of victory after years of believing that the banks can pretty much do what they want!