Bank Charges Success Stories II

coled

Bank: Natwest
Amount Reclaimed: 1800
Amount they paid: 1800
How long did it take: since Sept 09

Wrote a letter a to Natwest claiming hardship, they quickly sent reply asking me to fill out financial form. Filled it in and returned, after 2 weeks they sent me a letter saying I had undervalued my income and they didnt think I fell under the hardship category, I then sent them a stern letter with more evidence of hardship and threatening to go to the Ombudsman.

About 2 weeks later the supreme court ruling occured, thought that was it to be honest but I got a letter last week saying they are offering me the full amount :O)

Great Xmas present, thanks to all the guys on the forum especially Martin.

Hope this gives hope to other people to pursue it, you have nothing to lose.

the_insider

The banks are under no obligation to refund charges under financial hardship claims, and they never were. It was recommended by the Office of Fair Trading, the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman that they consider cases on an individual basis. Any redress that has been made, either under financial hardship or because you've threatened court action, has been made as a gesture of goodwill. There is no guarantee that you will receive anything, especially now that the banks have won the test case.

But remember that the banks are not the big bad monster (contrary to popular belief)! If you need help with your finances or can't afford the charges that you are still incurring, speak to them. The best way to avoid bank charges is to regain control of your financial situation, and every bank has measures in place to help you with this.

blazer666_uk

Hi
I am just about to request my bank refund some of the excessive costs I have incurred over the last 6 months, should I send the letter to my branch or the head office

Thanks

alpurser

Bit of background...

I claimed £1657.00 from HSBC for overdraft charges etc back in September 2007. I've rec'd the standard "we will reveiw this case after the outcome of the court appeal" then recently rec'd a letter stating that, following the decision favouring the banks, the case was closed and no fees will be repaid.

Is this really the end of the line for my claim or is there something I can do?

Also, the HSBC account I have claimed upon, whilst not often used is currently £100 overdrawn. I also have around £5k left on a HSBC personal loan. The account I use on a day-day basis is with Lloyds TSB and is consistently in credit....just so you know when giving advice! :cheesy:

Thanks for any help or advice in advance!

esmerellda

You can look at other areas other than the actual level of the charge when making your complaint, have a read http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?t=20932

the_insider

alpurser wrote: »

Bit of background...

I claimed £1657.00 from HSBC for overdraft charges etc back in September 2007. I've rec'd the standard "we will reveiw this case after the outcome of the court appeal" then recently rec'd a letter stating that, following the decision favouring the banks, the case was closed and no fees will be repaid.

Is this really the end of the line for my claim or is there something I can do?

Also, the HSBC account I have claimed upon, whilst not often used is currently £100 overdrawn. I also have around £5k left on a HSBC personal loan. The account I use on a day-day basis is with Lloyds TSB and is consistently in credit....just so you know when giving advice! :cheesy:

Thanks for any help or advice in advance!

If you have an account in credit this would suggest to me that you're not in financial difficulties so they will be looking at your charges case under whatever their new policy will be (most banks have not yet made a decision and the results will vary from bank to bank). It may be that you get nothing under a legal challenge, however you might be able to go back to them and just put in a complaint about the charges which they will have to look at again under their normal 'business as usual' policy. Just make sure you leave it at least 8 weeks from any rejection letter you get so that they treat it as a new complaint.

And if you have funds available start paying off the overdraft as soon as you can so that you can close the account.

suewilo

Help wanted please. I can't find where I originally posted a week ago sorry. I was originally due to court Sept 07, this was put on hold due to test case as we all know. Last week had a letter stating that my case was stayed and was advised by a member to sit tight as more info should be out middle of Jan. Happy with this, but then got a letter 2 days ago saying that I should attend a "general application" on 23rd Feb which may take 20 minutes. Sorry to be thick but what does is a general application, what do I need to take with me? It's been so long ago now I have lost momentum. Will phone the court in the morning, hope they can advise me but maybe someone out there has had similar experience. Thanks

natweststaffmember

suewilo wrote: »

Help wanted please. I can't find where I originally posted a week ago sorry. I was originally due to court Sept 07, this was put on hold due to test case as we all know. Last week had a letter stating that my case was stayed and was advised by a member to sit tight as more info should be out middle of Jan. Happy with this, but then got a letter 2 days ago saying that I should attend a "general application" on 23rd Feb which may take 20 minutes. Sorry to be thick but what does is a general application, what do I need to take with me? It's been so long ago now I have lost momentum. Will phone the court in the morning, hope they can advise me but maybe someone out there has had similar experience. Thanks

What is the wording of the general application?

suewilo

Thanks for prompt reply, short letter which just says
TAKE NOTICE that the GENERAL APPLICATION will take place on 23rd February 2010 at 11.40AM
at Shrewsbury county court (continues with address)
When you should attend
20 minutes has been allowed for the GENERAL APPLICATION
Please note this case may be released to another judge, possibly at a different court.

esmerellda

Hi Sue

Theres another couple of these type of hearings in Leeds and Plymouth around the same time.

Could you give the court a call and ask what the general application hearing is for ? I assume it will be applying the test case judgment to claims (so giving directions/dismissing claims etc I expect they have received a number of letters from banks asking to strike the claims out and stay lifts to proceed ) So I think you will need to, before then, decide if you want to continue with the claim, whether you are going to amend your claim to include the updated arguments, or discontinue it, and submit documents to that effect.

It would help if you give the court a call today sometime and ask them a bit more, say you are a litigant in person and you are unsure what the letter means and hopefully you'll get a nice counter clerk who will give you a better idea.

Documents would need to be in 14 days before (ish) so you should be okay hanging out for MSE's formal guidance end of Jan.

Ame
xx