Bank Charges Snowballing

StirlingBear

Hi guys, just had a look into trying to claim back bank charges. I read the huge thread and the guide but Just a few things I want to clear up before I go hell for leather with my bank.

Basically I went through all my bank statements as far back as May 2007 to the present day(5 years) and managed to accumulate bank charges of £557.95.

Looking closely as these charges basically all bar one of the charges have been because the charges have made me overdrawn. Not sure how this works but looking at it It seems that RBS have made over £500 by continuously charging me and its taken me months to recover each time.

what chance Have I got? has anybody had a similar experience before?

Premier_2

StirlingBear wrote: »

Hi guys, just had a look into trying to claim back bank charges. I read the huge thread and the guide but Just a few things I want to clear up before I go hell for leather with my bank.

Basically I went through all my bank statements as far back as May 2007 to the present day(5 years) and managed to accumulate bank charges of £557.95.

Looking closely as these charges basically all bar one of the charges have been because the charges have made me overdrawn. Not sure how this works but looking at it It seems that RBS have made over £500 by continuously charging me and its taken me months to recover each time.

what chance Have I got? has anybody had a similar experience before?

I would suggest you speak to your bank and ask them to explain the reason(s) you incurred the bank charges.

You have little hope of addressing the recurring charges if you don't understand what is creating them in the first instance.

The MSE guide to reclaiming bank charges is particularly aimed at charges accrued through actions such as " busting your overdraft limit, bounced cheques and direct debits ".

I'm not sure how all the charges (bar one) for the last 5 years have been as a result of the bank applying charges if you have been regularly crediting your account.

The application of bank charges by banks varies; some apply the fees at the point they have occurred, and others apply them in the month following occurrence allowing you to receive appropriate notice of the application of such fees before they occur.

StirlingBear

Premier wrote: »

I would suggest you speak to your bank and ask them to explain the reason(s) you incurred the bank charges.

You have little hope of addressing the recurring charges if you don't understand what is creating them in the first instance.

The MSE guide to reclaiming bank charges is particularly aimed at charges accrued through actions such as " busting your overdraft limit, bounced cheques and direct debits ".

I'm not sure how all the charges (bar one) for the last 5 years have been as a result of the bank applying charges if you have been regularly crediting your account.

The application of bank charges by banks varies; some apply the fees at the point they have occurred, and others apply them in the month following occurrence allowing you to receive appropriate notice of the application of such fees before they occur.

Basically they have charged me for a direct debit that came out on the 20th of the month that left me overdrawn by £2. The money is then taken off me at the end of the next month, £34 pounds. This £34 pounds then made me overdrawn again, this time by 22p.

Same process again charged at the end of the next month this time £28.

Managed fine again after clearing it for a couple of months then I go £15 over because of a D/D towards the end of the month. Again same process the charge comes at the end of the next month without warning placing me over again incurring another charge the next month.

some times its took me half a year to get out of this cycle surely I can do something about it, it's bordering on extortion.

If nothing can be done I will be withdrawing my account and moving to another bank and will be stating my reasons to them (like they care) I will be a mug no more.

Premier_2

StirlingBear wrote: »

Basically they have charged me for a direct debit that came out on the 20th of the month that left me overdrawn by £2. The money is then taken off me at the end of the next month, £34 pounds. This £34 pounds then made me overdrawn again, this time by 22p.

Same process again charged at the end of the next month this time £28.

Managed fine again after clearing it for a couple of months then I go £15 over because of a D/D towards the end of the month. Again same process the charge comes at the end of the next month without warning placing me over again incurring another charge the next month.

some times its took me half a year to get out of this cycle surely I can do something about it, it's bordering on extortion.

If nothing can be done I will be withdrawing my account and moving to another bank and will be stating my reasons to them (like they care) I will be a mug no more.

Again you need to discuss this with your bank (RBS) to get yourself a better understanding of how the charges accrue

RBS do not usually apply unauthorised overdraft charges to most current accounts where the amount of unauthorised overdraft is less than or equal to £6.00.

Whatever the fees, RBS should be advising you of this in advance and it is for you to ensure you have sufficient cleared funds in place to meet that on the specified date.

StirlingBear

Premier wrote: »

Again you need to discuss this with your bank (RBS) to get yourself a better understanding of how the charges accrue

RBS do not usually apply unauthorised overdraft charges to most current accounts where the amount of unauthorised overdraft is less than or equal to £6.00.

Yes that must have been a recent change though as I do have a more recent event when they did not charge me for being £4.21 over.

But back in 2008 I have a charge of £34.94 for being 22p over and also one of £28 for being 26p over.

All I can do is ask and I have nothing to loose. Like you advised I am going to phone first then take it from there. A strong letter stating my problem with the method they have charged me and the fairness of it might be enough to get them to at least pay me something back.

Premier thank you for the advice.

Premier_2

StirlingBear wrote: »

Yes that must have been a recent change though as I do have a more recent event when they did not charge me for being £4.21 over.

But back in 2008 I have a charge of £34.94 for being 22p over and also one of £28 for being 26p over.

All I can do is ask and I have nothing to loose. Like you advised I am going to phone first then take it from there. A strong letter stating my problem with the method they have charged me and the fairness of it might be enough to get them to at least pay me something back.

Premier thank you for the advice.

You can ask, but don't be too disheartened if they reject your claim.

According to the RBS website

As the Supreme Court has found that the level of RBS's unarranged overdraft charges cannot be assessed for fairness under the UTCCR the test case proceedings are now concluded. The Supreme Court's decision is final.

http://www.rbs.co.uk/personal/current-accounts/g4/overdraft-charges.ashx

StirlingBear

Premier wrote: »

You can ask, but don't be too disheartened if they reject your claim.

Yes I seen that and was just going to give up until I read the claim guide on here.

I reckon I fall into category's 2 & 3 of the guide for claims (2. over priced charges for small amount over & 3. Snowball charges for other charges)

All I can do is give it a go, I was astonished to find out how much they actually charged me over the past five years considering it was RBS's charges that continually caused more charges on top.

I am very hard headed and I wont give up until I have exhausted all avenues and If I am dissatisfied with the end result I will take my custom elsewhere just simply because I feel they have swindled the best part of £500 quid off me the last 5 years. Add on top of that the monthly cost of my current account and I think they are getting a good deal.