Not claimed back bank fees - success thread

inmypocketnottheirs

MoneyMagnet wrote:

I'm a 2 - was charged £70 for bouncing 2 standing orders earlier this year, when I forgot to transfer enough money into my current account to cover them. They go out on the first of each month, & I simply lost track of the date & didn't realise they were due to be paid!

I don't have a strong opinion either way on the reclaiming charges issue (can see both sides of the argument), but I won't be trying to reclaim these - it was the first time I've had to pay bank charges & was totally my own fault for being careless. I'm now much more careful about keeping track of my account balances & payment dates, so it was a good incentive to get organised & ensure it'll never happen again.

Highly commendable, especially by the fat cats whose pockets your are lining. If it even cost anywhere near £70 for not paying these items imagine what the cost must be for paying them!:rolleyes:

Why not reclaim these 'unlawful' charges and donate the funds to a charity or other good cause that has far greater needs than the flesh eating corporate monsters that we call banks?

Just an idea, it may appease your conscience for your transgression for which you appear to feel that you need to be penalised, and will help those who are maybe less fortunate.

westernpromise

inmypocketnottheirs wrote:

Why not reclaim these 'unlawful' charges and donate the funds to a charity or other good cause...?

Excellent idea!!!

MoneyMagnet

inmypocketnottheirs wrote:

Highly commendable, especially by the fat cats whose pockets your are lining. If it even cost anywhere near £70 for not paying these items imagine what the cost must be for paying them!:rolleyes:

Why not reclaim these 'unlawful' charges and donate the funds to a charity or other good cause that has far greater needs than the flesh eating corporate monsters that we call banks?

Just an idea, it may appease your conscience for your transgression for which you appear to feel that you need to be penalised, and will help those who are maybe less fortunate.

I don't feel the need to be penalised for making a mistake. But I spent much of last year not managing my finances very well, as as a result got into some debt which I'm now on the way out of. Those charges were the 'wake up call' that finally motivated me to sort my finances out, so I'm glad it happened!


Of course I realise that the 'actual' cost to the bank was nowhere near this amount. Why don't I claim the charges back? Because that is my choice, and I don't feel I need to justify or explain it here. I respect the choice of those who do reclaim their charges, and I expect my choice to be respected too, even if some people don't agree with it. Not everyone here thinks alike! :rolleyes:

MPH80

inmypocketnottheirs wrote:

Don't you mean in 10 years time they will be forcing people to pay for banking services that used to be charged for 20 years ago?

Absolutely.

Sadly - the public (and the press) have short memories when it comes to negative things - like being charged more ...

M.

MPH80

MoneyMagnet wrote:

I respect the choice of those who do reclaim their charges, and I expect my choice to be respected too, even if some people don't agree with it. Not everyone here thinks alike!

Absolutely - well said there sir.

I too respect the choice of those who reclaim. I merely wish to point out the excuses it's given the banks. I've actively encouraged a number of friends to go out and reclaim and if I felt I had been unjustly penalised by my bank when I was charged I might be doing the same.

As I said - I'm not reclaiming though and that's my choice to do. I'm just here to ensure those who do choose to reclaim understand the potential consequences of that action.

M.

krisskross

southernscouser wrote:

OK, lets say you have 2 DD's coming out of your account the day after you go O/D. If say one of them is a credit card and you cancel the DD's then you have no way of paying this on time. What happens? The CC company slaps you with a £30 charge. So families who are on the borderline are £30 down already next month. The same thing happens to the next bill or whatever. It's a vicious b@stard of a circle!

I think you may have to take a slightly longer term view of your finances than a couple of days. I am no financial genius but I know what I expect to go into my account every month , I also know what standing orders and direct debits I have set up to come out.

I also am a 2 in the original post, one charge was enough to make me ensure it didn't happen again.

dchurch24

YorkshireBoy wrote:

If you are operating your finances 'hand-to-mouth', it may be better to cancel DD's altogether, especially since the new £12 default charges may be harder to claim back, and pay by cash, cheque, etc instead. Then, once the finances have settled down again, you can re-instate the DD's. A little inconvenient maybe, but certainly a whole lot less stressful.

The 'default' charges are not £12 - the banks are still charging between 25 and 39 pounds.

It is credit card charges that have reduced to £12 to avoid legal action from the OFT.

YorkshireBoy

dchurch24 wrote:

The 'default' charges are not £12 - the banks are still charging between 25 and 39 pounds.

It is credit card charges that have reduced to £12 to avoid legal action from the OFT.

Yes, sorry, I didn't make myself clear.

I was referring to 'the future', because I think we all know it's only a matter of time before the bank charges are brought into line with credit card charges.

Tootsie_Roll

Like many people I fall into category 2 - it was years ago when I was younger and even more stupid ! I then turned gamekeeper shortly afterwards and went to work for a bank. Since then I have never incurred a charge as I learned my lesson.

Unfortunately an awful lot of people don't and it is a continual spiral. There are very few reasons why charges are not the fault of the account holder - there are a lot more excuses and I have probably heard most of them. It nearly always comes down to financial mismanagement (whatever the 'reason', I mean excuse).

I applaud Southernscouser for admitting it was his fault, it's a pity the likes of dchurch et al can't face up to the reality as well. I am deeply ashamed that as a society we are always looking to blame others for our mistakes. I detest all the ambulance chasing lawyers and so called support groups like the CAG. Whatever happened to taking responsibility for your own actions.

djohn2002uk

Each of these threads always go off on a tangent with the "holier than thou" crowd trying to justify the banks behaviour. I'm fortunate as I've said on a previous thread in that I've had 2 charges in 50yrs with the same account in the same branch. Both were returned with a phone call.
The point I wish to make is that all of this the banks have brought on themselves through their own greed. If they had simply charged people an amount that covered the losses incurred none of this would have happened.
To the "holier than thou" crowd, I would just say this, you wouldn't allow yourselves to be ripped off in any other type of buisness be it shop, restaurant or anywhere else so I see banks as being no different.
The chickens always come home to roost.

Oh, and let us not forget that the ones on this site are but a drop in the ocean, the banks are, as I post still ripping off millions who know no better than (or have no option but) to pay up and shut up.