Banks charge £12

PaulDesmond

Hi can anyone tell me where the law says banks and credit card companies are limited to charging £12.


I have checked the consumer credit act 2006 and the Banking Code 2005.


HELP Please


Desmond.

BonkersBonkers

They are not limited to £12.

They choose to limit charges to this amount as the old FSA thought this to be a fair amount a few years ago.

Do you have any problems with these charges or is your question just generic?

ic

Yep, they voluntarily reduced charges from around £30 in order to stave off legislation that would make them do it.

PaulDesmond

Hi I am taking NatWest to court over my credit reference but it has to do with credit card companies charging £12 for going over limit and sending out letters informing me of the charges. I believe under the Data Protection act and defaults (and this is a default) they have to notify me. I was under the impression that the £12 was enforceable in some act.


PS.


I was charged automatically £12 for going over my limit. I never received any letter and I was not EVEN over my limit. I was black listed on my credit report. Hence my legal action against them.

eastmidlander

This is correct. If you Google "Current credit card default charges unfair" you can read the full article from the OFT.

BonkersBonkers

PaulDesmond wrote: »

Hi I am taking NatWest to court over my credit reference but it has to do with credit card companies charging £12 for going over limit and sending out letters informing me of the charges. I believe under the Data Protection act and defaults (and this is a default) they have to notify me. I was under the impression that the £12 was enforceable in some act.


PS.


I was charged automatically £12 for going over my limit. I never received any letter and I was not EVEN over my limit. I was black listed on my credit report. Hence my legal action against them.

Mine sends me a letter the first time it happened - with my monthly statement came a breakdown of the charges and when they would be applied.
Did you not get any of this?

Have you SAR them- it would cost £10 but everything they sent you would be on there.

chattychappy

They are not supposed to charge more than what the default costs them (or a fair estimate). The OFT said that they would presume a charge of more than £12 would be unfair, so the CCs reduced the charge to £12. The OFT is not the judge of these matters - only a court could rule on a specific case. More than £12 might be lawful, less than £12 might not be.

I would always "ask nicely" to get the charge refunded - it sometimes works. Failing that, and if you want to take it further, I would challenge them to justify a particular charge by reference to what the default cost them. Failing that, you can consider the courts or the FOS, either of which would take time. If you don't get the money back I would always keep records. This might be the subject of a future challenge which could have retrospective effect.

In my opinion, £12 standard charges for simple one-offs (eg a payment which arrives a couple of days late) and where the CC does nothing more than put a note on the statement are probably unlawful.

frogpants

i thought the oft lost thier case in court, over unfair bank charges?

opinions4u

frogpants wrote: »

i thought the oft lost thier case in court, over unfair bank charges?

Credit card fees weren't part of that court case.

PaulDesmond

"i thought the oft lost thier case in court, over unfair bank charges? "

When did they loose? Banks/Credit cards are now charging £12.


+++


"Mine sends me a letter the first time it happened - with my monthly statement came a breakdown of the charges and when they would be applied.
Did you not get any of this?

Have you SAR them- it would cost £10 but everything they sent you would be on there."


No I should have received 4 letters in all. Can 4 letters get lost in the post. If no default letters are sent out then they can not default me. Consumer Credit act 2006 Section 12 86E

andyuk01

PaulDesmond wrote: »

"i thought the oft lost thier case in court, over unfair bank charges? "

When did they loose? Banks/Credit cards are now charging £12.


+++


"Mine sends me a letter the first time it happened - with my monthly statement came a breakdown of the charges and when they would be applied.
Did you not get any of this?

Have you SAR them- it would cost £10 but everything they sent you would be on there."


No I should have received 4 letters in all. Can 4 letters get lost in the post. If no default letters are sent out then they can not default me. Consumer Credit act 2006 Section 12 86E

It doesn't matter if the letters were received or not, all the bank will need to do is provide a statement stating they were sent - they are deemed served 2 days later

If it was as simple as claiming a letter wasn't received everybody with any sort of default or adverse would do it

However if the charge isn't valid for whatever reason you would be better off going through the banks complaint procedure first, then the ombudsmen