Can I still claim back charges as low as £5 each?

BargainhunterII

I've been looking through my bank statements for the past 6 years (I am missing about 10 so am going to request copies from the bank) and the total overdraft fee charges are £55.00, however each charge is only £5 each- is this classed as excessive??? Or could I claim it back anyway?

Thanks in advance.

Mark7799

Which bank is it and what are the charges described as? Just checking to make sure it is something that could be claimed for before you start?

BargainhunterII

Its LLoyds TSB.

It is overdraft fees shown as 'CHG overdraft usage fee' on the statements. It is not overdraft interest as this is listed separately.

Thanks.

lokiman

It's almost certainly not worth it - the rules relating to refunds of bank charges are concerned with whether or not - in law - a charge can be properly described as a penalty charge; that is, is the amount of the charge representative of the actual costs incurred by the bank as a result of your breach of the terms of your account, or are you simply being financially punished for such a breach, to the financial betterment of the bank? I think you'd probably have a hard time persuading anyone that a 5 pound charge for an unauthorized overdraft is excessive and in the manner of a penalty charge. My recollection is that a study was carried out by a consumer group with regard to bank charges, and it was determined that the average cost to the bank of breaches incurring penalty charges was approximately 4 pounds fifty pence, quite close to the charges that have been levied against you.

Mark7799

Can't find a fee of that amount on the Lloyds website but if you have an authorised overdraft limit, I do not think it would even be a fee the bank are paying back. It sounds like you have a limit and are charged in months you go overdrawn but within the limit. The bank would defend that they are providing you with a service (the overdraft) for the fee. Maybe someone such as ejones999 could comment as they have a better knowledge of Lloyds products than me.

BargainhunterII

Thanks for the advice, I think the reason the charge seems quite small is because it relates back to 2001 so obviously these will have gone up and up over the years. I see what you are saying and therefore will not bother claiming but will pursue HSBC instead.

I know I have gone over the overdraft limit with HSBC but its a few hundred quid so I wanted to pursue Lloyds first as it was a small claim just to get me used to the process!! Oh well. HSBC here I come!!

gizmo111

This is almost certainly a service charge for using your overdraft and not reclaimable.

gizmo111

lokiman wrote:

It's almost certainly not worth it - the rules relating to refunds of bank charges are concerned with whether or not - in law - a charge can be properly described as a penalty charge; that is, is the amount of the charge representative of the actual costs incurred by the bank as a result of your breach of the terms of your account, or are you simply being financially punished for such a breach,

There are no rules in realtion to bank charges the claims are based on law that has been settled for over a hundred years. A penalty charge is in fact valid if it represents the true cost of their loss to the person making the charge.
to the financial betterment of the bank? I think you'd probably have a hard time persuading anyone that a 5 pound charge for an unauthorized overdraft is excessive and in the manner of a penalty charge.

My recollection is that a study was carried out by a consumer group with regard to bank charges, and it was determined that the average cost to the bank of breaches incurring penalty charges was approximately 4 pounds fifty pence, quite close to the charges that have been levied against you.

This was on the money programme and was the perception of some ex bank employees on there it is not a proven figure and can stil lbe challenged - 4.50 stil lseems high for a automated process that happens 1000's of times per day.

Barriebazg

Bargainhunter, how long have you been with Lloyds TSB? I am with them and if you see my post (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=373324)my charges are immensley higher than the ones your receiving!! Seems Lloyds are making them up!

lokiman

gizmo111 wrote:

There are no rules in realtion to bank charges the claims are based on law that has been settled for over a hundred years.

I think you're talking semantics here: there are no SPECIFIC RULES relating to bank charges, but the general law regarding penalty charges applies

A penalty charge is in fact valid if it represents the true cost of their loss to the person making the charge.

[COLOR="Red" Which is precisely what I pointed out (although, strictly speaking, it isn't defined as a penalty charge if it truly represents a party's loss[/COLOR]



This was on the money programme and was the perception of some ex bank employees on there it is not a proven figure and can stil lbe challenged - 4.50 stil lseems high for a automated process that happens 1000's of times per day.

That very well might be true, but in my day job as a Barrister, I'm in the business of giving sensible, practical advice, weighing up the pros and cons of a particular course of action given the scope of my client's loss. A theoretical claim is all well and good, but where loss is minimal, it simply may not be worth pursuing a claim, given the chances of success, the costs involved and, frankly, the general hassle. I would have some difficulty in advising someone to pursue a claim for 55 pounds, made up of individual 5 pounds claims on the basis that those individual claims relate to penalty charges.