Reclaim Unfair Bank Charges Discussion Area

IZZY01

Hi Rubberduck, I live in Scotland and am claiming way over the small claims limit of £750. I phoned the FOS to try and find out a contact address for my bank. I got the info I needed and also they told me to write to my bank requesting my charges be refunded and they would also write to the bank, advising that they were aware of the claim, hoping that this would push them on a bit. Within 3 days, I had a reply to my letter advising that they were investigating it blah blah blah! I also explained to the FSO that I was aware of some scottish courts only accepting one claim for each account, which would affect my claim as it was for more than £750. He advised that no matter where I lived in the UK, if the charges were unlawful, then I would be entitled to a full refund. However I read on the FSO website that if you go to them first, they can help, but if you go through the courts first, the FSO will be unable to help after that. I think for my own claim, I will wait to see what the outcome of my request for refund is from the bank and if not satisfied, I will go through the FSO rather than the court. It won't do any harm, giving them a call for advise.

Edinburghlass_2

Good information there IZZY01 and exactly what I would recommend, start your claim off yourself then if you aren't getting anywhere and don't want to persue the court action yourself or live in Scotland with the court restrictions then you can pass your claim over to the FO.

There is a thread here...

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=434244

but sadly this thread suffered when I had problems with threads merging a couple of weeks ago and I'm still trying to sort out the posts that belong in the FO thread from the Lloyds thread

rubberduck_3

Thanks IZZY01,

I might be following you. Let's keep each other informed of developments.

Rubberduck.

IZZY01 wrote: »

Hi Rubberduck, I live in Scotland and am claiming way over the small claims limit of £750. I phoned the FOS to try and find out a contact address for my bank. I got the info I needed and also they told me to write to my bank requesting my charges be refunded and they would also write to the bank, advising that they were aware of the claim, hoping that this would push them on a bit. Within 3 days, I had a reply to my letter advising that they were investigating it blah blah blah! I also explained to the FSO that I was aware of some scottish courts only accepting one claim for each account, which would affect my claim as it was for more than £750. He advised that no matter where I lived in the UK, if the charges were unlawful, then I would be entitled to a full refund. However I read on the FSO website that if you go to them first, they can help, but if you go through the courts first, the FSO will be unable to help after that. I think for my own claim, I will wait to see what the outcome of my request for refund is from the bank and if not satisfied, I will go through the FSO rather than the court. It won't do any harm, giving them a call for advise.

NeilQuinn

Any advice on what step to take if the bank have messed up? I received a list of charges for 2004-2006 and was told I would get 2001 - 2003 in a separate letter.

The Abbey have now sent me a second letter showing charges for 2004-06!!
Is this delaying tactics?

stevo1000

NeilQuinn wrote: »

Any advice on what step to take if the bank have messed up? I received a list of charges for 2004-2006 and was told I would get 2001 - 2003 in a separate letter.

The Abbey have now sent me a second letter showing charges for 2004-06!!
Is this delaying tactics?

your other statements will come in the form of computer printout they should have told you in a letter they sent with your statements they are applying to the microing thingy(microfiche)?? place where they store the details received mine about a week or so later but check your letter to make sure i also received double statements 2004-2006

JAXX

I have only just discovered this site, and immediately sent the £10 and template letter to Abbey to request six years of statements. They have cashed my cheque and sent back a letter stating that they will look into the matter. Should I demand my statements so I can tell them how much
I am reclaiming or leave it to them to deal with. Help!! I was all prepared to follow Martin's advice but they have thrown me off balance.

Edinburghlass wrote: »

Welcome to anyone coming to this brand new board after reading Martin's updated article on the Main Site

To any users who haven't had an answer to their question on the old discussion thread please feel free to place it here and hopefully someone will have an answer for you.

If you want to ask a question about a specific bank please check the boards to see if you can find a dedicated thread to your bank and pop your question on there.

Don't forget to put your Success story on this thread when you complete your claim and good luck.

sharon157

Hi I am claiming £339 + INT + £50 court fees (£409 total) from NAT WEST. Got to MCOL stage, they have acknowledged claim and have until 5th May. I received usual letter offering goodwill gestureof £339 so phoned them and they said they would not pay court fees or interest. I said I would continue with court claim. Have I done the right thing? I am worried they will defend and I will end up with nothing????

Twinkly

NeilQuinn wrote: »

Any advice on what step to take if the bank have messed up? I received a list of charges for 2004-2006 and was told I would get 2001 - 2003 in a separate letter.

The Abbey have now sent me a second letter showing charges for 2004-06!!
Is this delaying tactics?

Same here. The banks are not delaying you deliberately. Information pre-2004 is archived on microfiche and takes a little longer to represent in a comprehensible form for you. Due to thousands of requests for data this process is obviously going to take time. If you dont receive it within 40 days then you have the choice to report them to the Information Commissioner for the delay or to simply wait a little longer.

The ICO are receiving thousands of complaints of this nature and sending them to the banks in batches to be dealt with and your complaint will join the queue for dispatch.

Patience is the key here. Complain by all means but be aware that you will not necessarily receive the data as soon as you would like. That you will get your charges back is also only a matter of time though and good luck

Twinkly

JAXX wrote: »

I have only just discovered this site, and immediately sent the £10 and template letter to Abbey to request six years of statements. They have cashed my cheque and sent back a letter stating that they will look into the matter. Should I demand my statements so I can tell them how much
I am reclaiming or leave it to them to deal with. Help!! I was all prepared to follow Martin's advice but they have thrown me off balance.

As above. Unfortunately the receipt of your data is the most frustrating part of reclaiming charges. Once you have the data proceed with the reclaiming process as laid out in the main article and templates. It will pick up speed when you can actually state what you are reclaiming. Dont be disheartened, have a little patience and good luck

Twinkly

sharon157 wrote: »

Hi I am claiming £339 + INT + £50 court fees (£409 total) from NAT WEST. Got to MCOL stage, they have acknowledged claim and have until 5th May. I received usual letter offering goodwill gestureof £339 so phoned them and they said they would not pay court fees or interest. I said I would continue with court claim. Have I done the right thing? I am worried they will defend and I will end up with nothing????

You've done the right thing. Now you have filed at MCOL you are entitled to reject any offer less than the full & interest & costs. It is highly unlikely you will end up with nothing. Take a look through the Success Thread to boost your confidence a bit and good luck