estimating bank charges over the years

Edinburghlass_2

mathy wrote:

Hi there,

I worked out the interest rate over the last 6 years, works out to be just under 3%, so therefor i just stuck on 3% interest.

As regards estimating interest had you used the Interest Calculator link in Martin's article this would have been more accurate.

arctophile

Hey,

From the start I have reclaimed my bank charges all wrong. I use BBC Template letters, which quite frankly weren't too good.

I did not have my statements from the last 6 yrs, so I calculate all the charges I had with the two years statements I had and times it by 3. I put in a claim of £936 using a estimated template letter. I have now received an offer of £390. I still do not know how many charges they have applied to my account in the last 6 years, so they could be ripping me off even more. Now I am in a pickle, do I take the money or demand more?

By the way I am with Halifax.

Carol

Edinburghlass_2

I can't help but agree with you being in a bit of a pickle Carol, the BBC template letters are bad!

Personally I don't think you will get a good offer when estimating charges as the bank is likely to think you are ripping them off, which I might add was suggested by a friend of a friend to a user on here.

I can only suggest you start back at the beginning and get those statements and then you will have a proper bargaining tool. Check out the Halifax thread as I think you'll find a number on there for ordering your statements quite quickly.

I'll merge this with another thread dealing with the same question.

chilledc

Hi

I only found this site while looking for success stories and by doing a search. Basically, I sent off the estimated letter that i found on the BBC website a week ago. I know my bank (Halifax) have recieved it, and they have said i will get a response in the next couple of days.
Now I have 15 months worth of statements....totalling about 2.5k of charges! So over 6 years, and to account for the 'fair' charges, I estimated £9000.

Since reading this site for the last couple of days I am starting to panic. I had no idea about requesting my statements and totalling it all up. If I have to take it to court then I will only claim £5000 as the money would make a huge differance (we have discussed taking it higher and claiming for the full amount, but have had a truamatic year and the stress wont do us good, so would like to take it small claims and get it over with).I am furious that we have suffered financial problems in the past, when I think how much they have taken from us!

What should the next step be? Should I request the statements now so I am ready to make a detailed claim? Any help would be appreciated!!

C x

Edinburghlass_2

Get your statements now and make sure you know exactly what you are claiming for. Your list of charges, dates and description will make up part of your defence so you need this.

I hate the suggestion from the BBC website that you estimate your charges although they do say only do this if you don't have some of your statements, over a 6 year period only having 15 months of statements is way too few.

nickmack

chilledc wrote: »

I only found this site while looking for success stories and by doing a search. Basically, I sent off the estimated letter that i found on the BBC website a week ago. I know my bank (Halifax) have recieved it, and they have said i will get a response in the next couple of days.
Now I have 15 months worth of statements....totalling about 2.5k of charges! So over 6 years, and to account for the 'fair' charges, I estimated £9000.

What should the next step be? Should I request the statements now so I am ready to make a detailed claim? Any help would be appreciated!!

You need to be careful, if you are using several different sites for the claim procedure, the processes are slightly different. Personally, I would not recommend estimating charges. Wait until you have all your statements, then work out the actual amount.

chilledc

Thanks for that. I have just phoned and asked for all of my statements dating back 6 years. They said they are taking 2-4 weeks to be despatched though....ohhh i wish i had found this website sooner! I was all ready to take it to court next friday (after the 14 days that the letter said!)

chilledc

Actally i feel a bit calmer now i know tthat i can work it out properly.....i obviously wont be taking it to court until i have worked it out properly...do you think that this first letter wil harm my defence? Or will the bank be grateful for more time?? ahhhhhh!

grantdl

as Edinburghlass says, do it mate !, Ive always thought of myself as quite a confident person, but I still have my moments where I doubt my actions, all I can say is look at the success storys in the forums, people are getting back amounts way over the £5k ceiling in the small claims court. I read them and then I think bu**er me it can be done !. My earlier thread states Ive just requested a judgment to make Halifax cough up.

I know everybody will tell this, but have a chat with the local Citizens Advice Beaureu (is that how its spelt !!)or if you are fortunate to have one already a solicitor, you may have a little bit of a wait, but trust me they are worth their weight in gold.

There is always someone here who can answer a question, I know, Ive asked loads myself !.

kirkie_2

Can you write to the bank asking for charges even if you don't know how much you are owed?