Default notice vs bank charges ...

just_curious_2

Hi everybody,

Please forgive me if this has been asked before, but I'm new and couldnt find the answer after a wee while searching.

Basically I want to know if there is any grounds to dispute a debt with a bank (unpaid overdraft on a now closed account) on the grounds that the debt is made up entirely of unfair bank charges they imposed on me?

The situation may be familiar to some, but unfortunately I've done my best (or worst) to completely stick my head in the sand for a few years,

Anyway, it goes like this: A few years ago, whilst a student, I ended up in a pretty horrific debt spiral with a high street bank.

I lived pretty close to my overdraft limit most of the time. One slip up led to some charges one month, which in turn knocked me past my limit for that month, and so the spiral continued. At the time, I complained to my bank and were not willing to talk about it at all. Their solution was to increase my overdraft ... and then to immedietly charge me 100's in fees which once again put me at the limit.

After having no job as a graduate for a few months the bank then closed my account without warning, I phoned them to complain, saying I'd been given no notice, and they simply said that I'd have to pay back my overdraft. I told them they owed me thousands in unfair fees and said that if they wanted the money they could take it out of that.

After all this, it went quiet for a long while. I moved house, got a job abroad, moved again.

Anyway, I'm now a responsible adult (aort of) and have checked my credit file and seen that I have a default for 2,800 againt me from said bank.

I know I've made several mistakes along the way, but I want to try and sort this out so ... I have a few questions / options that I would like some opinions on.

1 - Is it too late to try and reclaim these bank fees from them, which total over 3,000. If I reclaim that, I'm happy to pay them the money they claim I owe them and pocket the extra for myself.

2 - If I can't reclaim, or may have trouble reclaiming, is there any way to dispute the debt by arguing that the money they claim I owe them is from unfair bank fees?

3 - Since I only have 18(ish) months left before the default expires, am I best to just keep quiet and hope it all goes away after that? I know this way I cannot try to get and bank fees back, because as soon as I approach the bank they will come after me again for the money I owe them ... but quite honestly I already view it as their money.

Genuinely, for years I had thought they had wiped it off against my bank charges (perhaps too hopefully!).

Sorry for the long message. Trying to provide as much detail as possible.

Looking forward to opinions and answers,.

happy_bunny_2

If you haven't paid or acknowledged a debt in writing for 6 years it's statute barred. They can't make you pay. You might not be far off this so keep this in mind if you write.

You can still reclaim bank charges in financial hardship. It's not too late to do that but no guarantees.

misswoowoo

if a company sells on your debt, does the statute barred time limit restart from when the new company took it on? I have a debt from I think 2007 maybe 2006 was last time I was in touch. Wont go into details of it, but after several moves a debt agency has written saying they bought the debt in 2012 and I should contact them to pay. can they still chase (its unsecured debt) and how do i know if they took out a ccj against me? I am worried looking at my credit file will mean they find more about me, as my ex once got a credit report and within a week old debtors were in contact!!

sourcrates

Just_curious, if you are in financial hardship, you can still reclaim bank charges, in your case I would certainly send a letter to said bank as the amount they have added to your debt, and the manor in which they have done this, seems extreme to me.
Written complaint, detail what you have told us, tell them why you think its was unfair, send recorded delivery.
18 months is a long time my friend, they could go for a CCJ just before the SB date, getting more common these days, you could tough it out and see, its a 50/50 decision really weather to stir it up, or let it lye, in the end its down to how peed off you are with them.:cool:

matttye

misswoowoo wrote: »

if a company sells on your debt, does the statute barred time limit restart from when the new company took it on? I have a debt from I think 2007 maybe 2006 was last time I was in touch. Wont go into details of it, but after several moves a debt agency has written saying they bought the debt in 2012 and I should contact them to pay. can they still chase (its unsecured debt) and how do i know if they took out a ccj against me? I am worried looking at my credit file will mean they find more about me, as my ex once got a credit report and within a week old debtors were in contact!!

No, 6 years from original cause of action no matter how many times the debt has changed hands since.

matttye

sourcrates wrote: »

Just_curious, if you are in financial hardship, you can still reclaim bank charges, in your case I would certainly send a letter to said bank as the amount they have added to your debt, and the manor in which they have done this, seems extreme to me.
Written complaint, detail what you have told us, tell them why you think its was unfair, send recorded delivery.
18 months is a long time my friend, they could go for a CCJ just before the SB date, getting more common these days, you could tough it out and see, its a 50/50 decision really weather to stir it up, or let it lye, in the end its down to how peed off you are with them.:cool:

Writing in about bank charges would acknowledge the debt, thus resetting the SB clock and there's no guarantee he'd actually get any money back is there?

I'm no expert on reclaiming bank charges but I'd not recommend writing in on a whim, needs serious consideration.

McKneff

You can only reclaim these bank charges if you are in financial hardship at the moment. I get the impression that this is not the case.


You cannot claim them if you were in financial hardship then.