Suggestions for honing the Reclaim bank charges article/reclaiming

john_the_bread

Hi Martin
Noticed you are on line wonder if by applying for e-mail banking before starting any action against banks you could download the statements online without out paying a tenner and be able to claim at our time scale rather than wait the forty days and nights in their wilderness?

manfromthepru

Some banks, particularly Clydesdale are stalling and delaying by ignoring letters, saying they never recieved letters (see above..always use recorded delivery) or re-opening a case that was never closed.

To avoid this delaying tactic can the template letters include the word COMPLAINT within them. Without that word the letters are just requests for a refund and do not fall into the 8 week deadline set by the FSA to resolve complaints.

See the FSO's own template letters for requesting bank charges back, it re-iterates it is a complaint over and over again.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/bankcharges-quickguide.pdf

esmerellda

Twinkly wrote: »

I too am puzzled...by your post. Step 5 in the main article clearly lays out what happens if and when you need to take this to court stage. In 1924 (to date) users who successfully recovered charges in 9 months there is only one documented case of a court hearing. You say that there is a fair chance that you will have to go to at least one hearing. As far as I am aware there is only one hearing, not two. At this one hearing (if it gets that far) you win by default since no bank has ever turned up.

There are 1924 posts in the success thread and that is just the people who actually posted their success here after completing the process. Many many more are receiving offers of partial settlement and enquiring as to whether they should accept full settlement without interest. There are probably many more people who took the information from the main article and didnt bother with the forum. However if there were more court cases that actually got into the court then I am sure we would have heard about them.

You say that relatively few have successfully recovered their charges and I am puzzled. Relative to what exactly? There are no reported cases on the forum of failure to receive any charges back after completing the process laid out in the main article and 1924 people have successfully reclaimed. Of researched posts in the success thread for my own benefit statistics show around 80% get the full amount and around 20% settle for lower of their own volition. The rate of getting to court stage varies but it is fairly rare that a bank will actually defend even after threatening to. Not one bank is reported as turning up in court.

From information given by all the people in the success thread the banks respond in different ways to different people. This is clearly reflected in the main article. People are given step by step letters to write and advice on what may happen at each stage. No two cases are identical and the same bank may treat two claimants completely differently. There is no way to be specific and exact about what will happen to individuals. Every persons story is different in the success thread but the end result is the same. They got their money back.

If people end up in court and are unpleasantly surprised then they havent read the article properly.

The full hearing does seem to be the only thing focused on here. There are many many people, myself included, who have attended court for allocation , directions, case management, set-aside hearings ... I don't recall seeing any assistance with these kind of hearings, which the banks are more likely to attend, on this site ? I think people will be suprised and panic'd when an order arrives post defence to attend a hearing and more should be done to advise those people in advance.

The statistics on this site maybe flawed regarding the number of refunds without hearings, as when a hearing does come up for a user they are tending to go over to CAG or PC for assistance and help with the advanced stages...and may not necessarily come back here to post their success.

Louling06

Hey all,
Maybe the template letters could have 'WITHOUT PREJUDICE' underlined at the top, so if anything happens, or you are given half your claim, or you get more charges your previous claim won't have any effect.

Louling06

sheashea1 wrote: »

1. If you go to the Penalty charges website there is a downloadable spreadsheet with formulas already in place, all you have to do is put in the details and all int. etc is calculated.

2. I have found reading Martin's site, the Penalty Charges site and Consumer Action group all help as they all have invaluable info. For eg Penalty charges lists exactly what you can and cannot claim for. But taking time to read through all 3 sites gives you all the info u need and 3 approaches to reclaiming.

Hope this helps.

Hi,
Can you tell me the web address and where I might find this spreadsheet?
Thanks
Louise

bookworm1363

Louling06 wrote: »

Hey all,
Maybe the template letters could have 'WITHOUT PREJUDICE' underlined at the top, so if anything happens, or you are given half your claim, or you get more charges your previous claim won't have any effect.

You obviously do not know what "without prejudice" means, and the effect of it in relation to a claim. It might be wise to look it up before making such a suggestion.

Twinkly

esmerellda wrote: »

The full hearing does seem to be the only thing focused on here. There are many many people, myself included, who have attended court for allocation , directions, case management, set-aside hearings ... I don't recall seeing any assistance with these kind of hearings, which the banks are more likely to attend, on this site ? I think people will be suprised and panic'd when an order arrives post defence to attend a hearing and more should be done to advise those people in advance.

The statistics on this site maybe flawed regarding the number of refunds without hearings, as when a hearing does come up for a user they are tending to go over to CAG or PC for assistance and help with the advanced stages...and may not necessarily come back here to post their success.

Hey Esmerellda

I dont recall seeing advice with hearings of the type that you describe and I dont recall seeing any requests for help with them in my limited time on this forum either. It is user choice as to where and from whom they seek advice but it does beg the question that if people are going elsewhere how is this site to know and deal with it in the precision of detail that seems to be expected ? The forum deals with individual circumstances and offers help-at-hand when required.

I do not hold Martin or any of the board guides responsible for failure to address issues that may not have previously been brought to their attention. I do however agree with you that in the event that these particular situations are posted elsewhere and people are looking to this site for the same issues it would be prudent to address them in some details in the article also, as a matter of balance.

esmerellda

I agree Twinks...I think if a small section of the main article mentions these types of hearings and stops saying its unlikely the banks will defend, when it comes to a defence being entered it will stop people panicing and thinking they are unusual, and either dropping their claim, accepting a reduced settlement, or vanishing off to another site for help.

Twinkly

esmerellda wrote: »

I agree Twinks...I think if a small section of the main article mentions these types of hearings and stops saying its unlikely the banks will defend, when it comes to a defence being entered it will stop people panicing and thinking they are unusual, and either dropping their claim, accepting a reduced settlement, or vanishing off to another site for help.

*nods in agreement*

I do enjoy intelligent discussion with you my friend

esmerellda

Thankyou kindly...

Martin - what do you reckon then ?

increase a bit of info for the later stages of claiming ? happy to help word it if you like.