Reclaiming bank charges does this include interest charges?

Pickle29

:money:Hi
I have today received my transaction lists from Barclays for the last 6 years as I requested them due to being in financial hardship and just starting a DMP.

The bank were great yesterday , 194 pages arrived today! I have gone though them but wanted to know if I can claim for the interest charges they have charged me when I have gone over my OD limit? These charges are nearly as high as the actual returned transaction fees and reserve account usage fees etc!

I have looked on the site and can only sections on me claiming interest from the banks, which I am not considering, I just want to know if I can claim ALL the charges the bank have applied to my account? So that I know what amount to put into my letter

Many thanks in anticipation

dunstonh

I have gone though them but wanted to know if I can claim for the interest charges they have charged me when I have gone over my OD limit?

No. Indeed, bank charges are not reclaimable either. What you are actually doing is letting the bank know you are in financial hardship and asking them to review your recent charges. They will decide what, if anything, they refund. You dont request anything. The solutions they can use can be a refund of some bank charges, suspension of bank charges going forward for x months or a combination or a plain refusal.

Pickle29

Thank you, however don't I need to out a value on what I think they should review?


I have looked on the site and there are templates for reclaiming charges, stating why you think you should be re-imbursed etc and I was going to go down that line due to my current financial situation - is this not right?

When I spoke to the bank yesterday to request the statements, I said what I wanted them for and they seemed very amenable to a review, he told me to go through the transactions and get back to them once I had analysed them.

Not sure what to do next

JuicyJesus

Pickle29 wrote: »

Thank you, however don't I need to out a value on what I think they should review?


I have looked on the site and there are templates for reclaiming charges, stating why you think you should be re-imbursed etc and I was going to go down that line due to my current financial situation - is this not right?

Not for reclaiming charges, no. That line of inquiry is DOA. The bank is merely required to treat your financial hardship sympathetically and positively and come to a solution, which may or may not result in a refund of charges but does not have to. There is no automatic right to have your charges refunded for any reason, and complaints on the point that they are unfair fail every time with both banks and the Financial Ombudsman Service. Similarly, complaints that all charges should be refunded due to financial hardship when the bank has done other things to help with your difficulty (or when they've not been given the opportunity to do other things to help with your difficulty) also fail.

[Deleted User]

Pickle29 wrote: »

Thank you, however don't I need to out a value on what I think they should review?

No, since the bank are not obliged to refund anything at all, there is no point trying to demand any set amount. The Bank won't even consider any historical charges older than six months and will only refund charges at all if you meet their "hardship" criteria which typically means you are struggling to pay essential bills and are not still paying out for non-essentials like subscription television or gym memberships etc.

Pickle29 wrote: »

I have looked on the site and there are templates for reclaiming charges, stating why you think you should be re-imbursed etc and I was going to go down that line due to my current financial situation - is this not right?

The Bank charge reclaiming ship has largely sailed since the court case was won by the banks. The templates provided are largely useless.

Pickle29 wrote: »

When I spoke to the bank yesterday to request the statements, I said what I wanted them for and they seemed very amenable to a review, he told me to go through the transactions and get back to them once I had analysed them.

It is the Bank which will "review" charges on your account, not you. They will want to know all your outgoings as well as regular income and will simply tell you to cancel any "luxury" direct debits like Sky etc if they see these on your statements.
If they see you are genuinely in financial difficulty, they MAY be inclined to suspend future charges for a period and could refund (some) charges from typically the last six months

Pickle29

Thanks, so what do I do next?

Do I ring the bank and say thanks for the last 6 years transactions, will you review my charges and state why- financial hardship, unemployment, illness etc over the last few years and give evidence to bak it up

Or do I write to them saying the same?

Do I tell them what analysis I have undertaken etc?

The guy from Barclays yesterday even asked if I wanted to go back further than 6 years and said I would need to write in if I did. I am very confused now

I have seen posts on here where people have had costs re-imbursed

Help?

Pickle29

Sorry if I'm not getting this, but do I ring them or write to them next?

Also, do I try to explain about my hardship etc or do they do their own analysis?

Many thanks

Pickle29

Ok
Thanks I will ring them tomorrow

[Deleted User]

Pickle29 wrote: »

The guy from Barclays yesterday even asked if I wanted to go back further than 6 years and said I would need to write in if I did. I am very confused now

You can ask for a review as detailed above, but the Bank aren't obliged to refund anything at all.
As I said, a review will involve a member of their team looking in detail at your account to see if you meet their "hardship" criteria. If you do, they MAY choose to refund (some) charges.

Pickle29 wrote: »

I have seen posts on here where people have had costs re-imbursed

Since the reviews are individual to each customer's specific circumstance, there is no point pointing to the apparent experience of posters on the internet. You will only receive what the Bank deem is appropriate in your case.

If you want further advice, you'll need to detail more of your personal financial circumstances

Pickle29 wrote: »

do I ring them or write to them next?

If you ring them and explain a personal review will be arranged for you. You can also write if you prefer, but this may slow things down..

dunstonh

There are multiple solutions available to them. Refunding is just one of those. Suspending interest or future charges for a period is another. You need to focus on making your case for hardship and trying to get the person at the bank to feel sympathy for you. For example, what event has occured that has pushed you over the edge. Hopefully, your spending habits will show you are genuinely in hardship and not just a consumer spending binge that went too far (former would see the banks being sympathetic. Latter would not).

Pickle29

I have telephoned the bank tonight and they are suspending charges with effect from yesterday when they got their letter/ first payment from stepchange. They are going to close the account and said for me to write to them explaining why I want them to review charges etc.

I have drafted a letter, gone through everything - redundancy, paid off my cc and OD but didn't get a job for 4 months, so OD and cards started again ( I know, I know) when I got a job, hubby lost his, so we have had several years of unemployment, low wages, car problems , health problems, etc. ( I have gone into detail in my letter) I have also explained what we have done to mitigate this, and analysed our charges which were in excess of £500 per year!
Fingers crossed they are reviewed sympathetically