Reclaim Unfair Bank Charges article discussion Part II

mramra

porkmaster wrote: »

mramra. you're a mug.

Personal insults are not necessary. I am happy with the ruling today, I have explained why.

Those of you who have mis-managed your finances in the past and incurred hefty penalty fees as a result need to look inwards and take corrective action for the future as necessary.

jasper33_2

mramra wrote: »

Personal insults are not necessary. I am happy with the ruling today, I have explained why.

Those of you who have mis-managed your finances in the past and incurred hefty penalty fees as a result need to look inwards and take corrective action for the future as necessary.

Mr Porkmasters got a point, if your happy with it go away, the users of this forum aren't happy with the ruling and we don't appreciate your comments when you know nothing of our personnal circumstances.

MisterSmith_2

Todays ruling is indeed a sad one for many people who were in hope of a nice cheque from their bank, but lets look on the bright side that there is a tiny glimmer of hope at the end of a seemingly darkening tunnel.
My charges reclaim totalled almost £2.5k plus interest. (I have almost resigned myself to not get this back) however, I'd like to say to the very helpful posters (not mentioning any names that sound like mramra) I have no objection to paying a penalty fee for direct debits failing (in my case) or an unauthorised overdraft (in other peoples case) and in the last 18-24 months I have struggled to make myself {almost} debt free......I dont own my own house so hopefully in the next couple of years I'll be in £120k or so debt again (mortgage). My objection is to the extortionate rate of £25 - £35 penalty being AUTOMATICALLY applied to my account for the priveledge of receiving a letter, informing me of said failed direct debit. Had the banks been fair and applied a nominal fee of say ....£10 or £12 (as most banks lowered their charges to) I would not have an issue.
What really rubs salt into the already inflamed wound is that we learn of the £61bn "secret" bailout of RBS and HBOS, on top of the £billions that was given of taxpayers (mine) money to save the banks previous.
All the while we hear of bankers' bonuses being paid, of frankly telephone numbers to working class like myself. (I will not earn in my lifetime what some of these fat-cat executives will get ON TOP of salary this year!!)
Bottom line is I will explore EVERY avenue available to try and reclaim what I believe to be unfair charges, and if this means exploiting regulation 5... then show me the bandwagon!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

GeorgieBL

this financial system is unfair and unbalanced. A 24 hour mistake cost me £35 from abbey. Happily i closed my account. No regrets.

newcook

I had a good old chuckle the other month – I have been charge £25 for a ‘late payment’. I had to laugh as the payment is set up on a standing order from one account to the other so they have charged me for their system not being quick enough!!!

Broadstone

Hi all,

I was charged an overdraft fee by one of the banks for going overdrawn for one day and I had mitigating reasons for being overdrawn. I have been with this bank for over 25 years and have never been overdrawn in my life before. I even worked for this bank for over 22 years as an IT Manager. I also have shares with them. I complained repeatedly to them to get my money back but they wouldn't budge.

My complaint is now with the FOS and has been with them for several months. I also claimed 3 man-days incovenience (i.e. £300) for my effort in debating my complaint with the bank. Please remember that you can do this for any complaint raised with the FOS. Martin Lewis advised of this in one of his weekly emails a few months ago.

I'm afraid the banks are only interested in making a profit and in order to achieve this, they have a vey poor balance for customer, staff and sharholder focus.

I have now left this bank and taken my current account to the Abbey.

I will wait and see what the Moneysavingexpert team advises next. If I need to raise a new complaint with the bank and FOS, I will do do.

However, please remember for any complaint raised with the FOS, the bank is charged £500-00 by the FOS; so that does bring a smile to my face.

If anyone will need to raise a complaint, amend an existing one, etc. with the FOS, please remember to add a £ amount for the man-day effort (i.e. inconvenience) spent in managing your complaint with the bank. Even if the FOS do not uphold your compaint, they may still tell the bank's to pay out money to as a result of your inconvenience.

By the way, I have never paid postage for any of my letters to the banks and building socities. I instead send them as attachments in emails to the bank CEOs. If anyone is interested, below is a URL with the banks CEOS email addresses :

http://www.connectotel.com/marcus/ceoemail.html

It has worked brilliantly for me. I have got all of my credit cards feees returned and currently have a complaint raised with the FOS for MEAFs. I will probably be raising other complaints with the FOS after the banks have responded to my electronic letters on PPI.

I suggest that everyone does this with their letters as it will hopefully inundate the CEOs email inboxes. If you want to post your letters as well, just ask the for a freepost address to be supplied to you in your first electronic letter. I did this with one of my credit card complaints and it was supplied without any problems.

I hope this helps.

Broadstone

Oops...I meant to say 'I'm afraid the banks are only interested in making a profit and in order to achieve this, they have a vey poor balance for customer, staff and shareholder loyalty.'

dbilsborough

Captain_Cautious wrote: »

Ignoring the fact you worked for NatWest for 11 years, which makes you a far from unbiased observer, you are missing the point. You claim that charges were rife in the 80's and 90's...so what? This simply illustrates the point that thanks to the internet, campaigns like Marin's gain wider exposure. That the banks went unchallenged for so long should worry us, not the fact people have finally woken-up to the inherent unfairness of the charging structure. It certainly shouldn't be celebrated. Also, you make a sweeping generalisation about peoples spending habits, but I can also do the same, arguing that most bank employees are irritating and unhelpful on the phone, and a great many have ridden the gravytrain for as long and as far as possible. Maybe you were one of them?

Of course you get a bias if you work in an industry for a length of time, but it is bias from an informed position, and if you think most people that work in branch banking are on a gravy train then you really need to go and ask a few of the "fat cats" on the tills

You mention that people "knew about overdraft charges and accepted them". We have no choice in accepting them. You cannot ask for better terms from your bank, not unless you are a billionaire. The T&C are set out in the standard contract, which you have to accept or you don't have an account. It's not choosing this charging structure, it's having no viable alternative! As a society, we HAVE to own a bank account. You cannot survive in life without one. All employers demand one, any service of goods will probably require one. And yet, we have an effective cartel in the provision of this ESSENTIAL service with all 4 major clearing banks, by some fluke of nature, sharing almost identical charging structures! How perculiar?!

Yes, we all need bank accounts, but no we don't neeed to go overdrawn without arrangement. It is no fluke of nature that banks are similar, it's economics. Much the same way that the major supermarkets charge broadly the same for a basket of goods, some cheaper some dearer, but basically the same.

The bottom line is this. I currently pay a monthly fee for my account, the HSBC Plus account. This comes with various additional services I deem worth the expense. I am happy to pay for my banking. However, what I object to in the strongest terms possible is being held to ransom by a bank and charged WAY beyond what could ever be called a fair charge for exceeding my overdraft by a tiny amount. It's uterly unacceptable and is nakedly rapacious profiteering by the banks dressed-up as administrative costs!!

I aplaud you common sense at choosing an appropriate product for your needs. Held to ransom though? It is not as if the bank has a gun to your head at the cashtill is it? Just take out what you actually have in the bank or up to your agreed overdraft and everything will be cool.

You are a fool, as are any of your ilk, who celebrate this ruling. What we require is a CLEAR and FAIR charging structure, where people are not caught in a spiral of charges and debt. The banks lectured us on financial responsibility for years, until they themselves failed to heed their own preachings. This ruling won't encourage banks to review their charging structure and entire business model, leading to a simpler, fairer charging structure. Banks should be trying to steer customers away from debt and charges, as opposed to pouncing on any misdemeanour like a pack of rabid wolves. Moreover, banks shouldn't be reliant on charges to generate a profit as they have for years. It's a rotten business that relies on penalties to generate an income. Nor is it acceptable to talk about "free banking" when it isn't free, only to some. Explain this...why does it take days for cheques to clear? Why does it take days for one major clearing bank to transfer money to another? It seems almost laughable to talk of this in terms of progress, but perhaps the banks need to focus on improving their offering, then more customers might consider banking worthy of a monthly fee. These things are taken for granted in other countries, why not in Britain?

A fool is "One who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding.", now I would suggest that people with unauthorised overdraft fees fall into that category, somethign I never do.

The banks HAVE to change, this would have been a first step. As it is we are back in the realms of airy promises, vague talk about the banks taking a new approach and the goverment "having a word".

Broadstone wrote: »

Please do not contribute in this forum as it is for people who are pro-actiively looking to reclaim unfair banking charges. Your views are irrevelant and are not adding any value.

If you choose to respond to my posting, I will just ignore your comments and not respond. I suggest everyone does the same and hopefully this person will just go away.

:rotfl:I don't really know how to counter an argument like that, but thanks for giving us a laugh anyway loving your work.

Broadstone

newcook wrote: »

I had a good old chuckle the other month – I have been charge £25 for a ‘late payment’. I had to laugh as the payment is set up on a standing order from one account to the other so they have charged me for their system not being quick enough!!!

I know how you fill. The reason for me going overdrawn was that my monthly Standing Order was processed over the Easter Bank holiday weekend and as a consequence, it meant that I was overdrawn for one business day.

mramra

Broadstone wrote: »

I know how you fill. The reason for me going overdrawn was that my monthly Standing Order was processed over the Easter Bank holiday weekend and as a consequence, it meant that I was overdrawn for one business day.

I'm afraid that charges apply even if you only go overdrawn without prior authorisation for one day. This should be clearly stated in your terms and conditions. I would advise you keep a better eye on your account balance and forthcoming direct debits and standing orders in future months.