Reclaim Unfair Bank Charges article discussion Part II

papatwink

Hi all, I sent my first letter to HSBC on 12th December `08 asking for my bankcharges back for the last 6 years and got the standard reply telling me everything was on hold at the mo but they also sent me a booklet to fill in " Putting your Finances in order", and to go see my bank as they would do all they could to help. So i did as told and my bank said there was nothing they could do. I then sent the second letter demanding my bank charges back on 18th March, and also told them i wished to claim under financial hardship as i had been charged 750.00 charges since November `08 and true to form they sent another standard letter and another booklet to fill in, telling me to go to the bank as they would be able help. My question is....what should i do now? I have done all they have asked of me. Is the next stepMCOL??:mad:

barloo69

I have a question which I hope somebody can give advice on .

What if you are on a DMP or reduced repayment scheme with the organisation, I am thinking that these may be in jeopardy of being cancelled should I commence a charges claim against them ?

Am I right to think this ? Answers on a post card please.

still_ill

natweststaffmember wrote: »

Personal or business account? And definitely ask them why you have been charged this amount.

Personal account. I phoned them on Friday to ask if they could help me- because I was so overdrawn last month, it didn't take long for me to max out my overdraft this month, despite being incredibly careful. They refused to postpone my overdraft charge, meaning that it has taken me nearly £150 over my overdraft limit They are sending me a "booklet" on complaints procedures. I didn't want to make a complaint- I wanted them to help me by at the very least just postponing the charge until I get paid.

11 years as a customer means nothing I suppose. I'm so so angry and upset.

dzug1

Scottishlassy wrote: »

The bank can see there is the same amount of money coming in each week and they knew it was enough to cover the dd's.

Whilst I've every sympathy with your plight - no they can't and no they didn't. The bank cannot read your intentions and it's a very dangerous assumption that past patterns will be repeated

Andyluke2

blossom82 wrote: »

hi, could anyone help me?can i still reclaim bank charges if the account is now closed?

Absolutely, theres no problem here.

Andyluke2

Hi all, I have a question that I have not seen asked as yet.

I had a 2nd mortgage for which I got into financial difficulties and incurred charges for unpaid dd's (one fee was £135!!!).

Am I able to reclaim these charges in the same way as a regular bank charges?

I am now free of this loan thankfully and on the road to recovery.

vbhalla

I've read Martin's article wrt Unfair Bank Charges and feel there's another industry where its relevant that has not been picked up on - a certain practice is taking place among more unscrupulous insurance companies.

I recently contacted my insurance company to let them know that there was a change in details as recorded on my motorbike policy - as I have to do by law. This was not due to any driving related offences or a 'negative' scenario in any way. In actual fact I had upgraded my license from being merely a CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) qualified rider to having obtained my full motorbike license (so I could ride a bike without L plates).

I was informed after having given the information that the change in their records would incur a £25 fee. I could understand this if it was due to the fact that I had committed a traffic offence or got certain details wrong in the first place however this was neither of those and could be argued to be a positive adjustment in anycase.

Regardless, I was informed that any change (so moving house and the resulting change of address or getting married and changing your surname) would also incur a standard £25 fee to have the details changed on their database records and that this is stated in the policy booklet.

At this point I asked to cancel my policy, however I was told that the £25 charge would remain outstanding regardless! Its worth noting that insurance companies are regulated by the FSA too - the same body that regulate the banks.

My question is this:

The core argument is that banks should only impose charges which are in proportion to their costs. This is because under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations the charge should not exceed the cost to the provider. Should this not also apply to insurance companies and given the example above, would I be in my right to refuse to pay (I'm currently disputing the situation right now and doing just that)?

Its a bit of a reverse situation to the banks in that the insurance company is chasing me for the sum and threatening me with debt collection etc. however I do believe that the sum being charged is disproportionately high and therefore constitutes an 'unfair term' in the contract.

Would I be right here or have I overlooked something? Would anyone with any experience be able to advise what the best way to go about this would be? Look forward to everyone's take on this variation of what's happening with the banks. Maybe even Martin may feel this is worthy of his attention?

MagicBolton

Can anyone help.

I have had a claim under the financial hardship rules accepted and await my offer letter but the letter confirming the acceptance also says when I receive the offer if I accept it they will contact me when the refund has been credited to my account.

The bank closed my account 12 months ago so can I request they pay it into another banks account or just ask for a cheque?
After all the whole idea of the financial hardship rules is to get the money back to clear other debts.

Any advice would be most helpful.

Magic

minxy77

hi i have left it a while since posting as not alot has happened apart from me making a lot of phone calls yet again was waiting for the halifax to come back with their side of the story for the fos (since then about a month have got another £90 of charges) they finally at the end of april said they have received the spreadsheet from the halifax and are now waiting for an adjuticator to look at it and should be this week so fingers crossed i am now well over £2000 plus interest so can't wait to see what they offer me (if anything)after the first goodwill gesture of £15 but if this doesn't go my way i will be one of the first people to take it everywhere i need to to get my money back will let you all know soon tc xxx

kimjay

I would stear clear of this bank account.It could cost you more than the £100 bonus they are offering.I have had my account two years with them now and every month i have been getting charged £5 for not having £500 going into it this made me go over my over draft of £250 by the £5 causing me to be charged £5 per day ..anyway in one year i have been charged £295 just in charges as i have said my overdraft is only £250 but i havnt had the money to pay this off so am paying enough money in to just cover the charges...this month alone was £85 (taking out on 11th may)i don`t have any direct debits coming out from my account .I only opened it in case my bank (abbey) closed my account when i asked for fees to be refunded.
Has anyone else had these high charges on their account as i think they are even more unfairer than the £35 as mine are that for a week not a month.