Bank Charges Test Case Article discussion

shamrock7

shabs4 wrote: »

Hi Everyone!!
Hope someone can answer my question: I had a letter from my bank 2day after sending them a letter 2 reclaim my charges & they sent me a budget planner 2 help me sort my money out!! They also advised me 2 seek debt councelling:mad: !! I was only in debt cos they kept charging me!! Is my case still goin 2 b dealt wiv or have they brushed me aside & think thats all they have 2 do 2 deal wiv me? Im a single mum on benefits & cant afford 2 keep being charged!! Dont know wot 2 do now, please help

If you have a look at Martin's reclaiming page it will show you how to reclaim under financial hardship as your benefits are not allowed to be taken up by bank charges to my knowledge. They will require you to fill in an expenditure sheet but the cases under financial hardship are not allowed to be stayed as far as I am aware. Good luck!

shamrock7

mama67 wrote: »

We had some accounts with Lloyds which went into default, we raised monies to pay off debts and made a "full and final settlement " payment to Lloyds of obviously a reduced amount.

Can we claim the unlawful charges added to these accounts during the last 6 years???

Have got some statements and the charges on those add up and this only for 1 year.

TIA

Yes you can reclaim these charges in my experience. Good luck!

PhiltheBear

krisskross wrote: »

In your situation I would cancel all DDs and standing orders. Draw cash out of the bank and pay bills manually over the counter.

Although there are certain to be changes in the way and amounts that is charged for not having sufficient money to meet DDs there will still be charges. Enough to put someone like yourself with no buffer zone into serious problems.I know that in some instances it costs a bit more to not pay bills by DD but 1 single bank charge can wipe out any savings made.

And therefore incur the extra charges that companies like gas, electricity and telephone companies make if you pay in any way other than by direct debit? At about £5 or more per time. For something that costs them absolutely NOTHING?

What kind of world do you live in? There are a lot of people who've been hit by charges which are not due to their financial mismangement but simply because of greed from the banks. It really is that simple.

All people who are reclaiming charges are saying is that the charges are way out of line with any concept of being fair. If a bank charged me a high rate of interest on an unauthorised overdraft - that's OK. If a bank charges me the costs of sending out an automated letter telling me that it has bounced a payment (say £2-3) - that's OK. Because those things are fair.

But when a bank charges me £39 for sending a letter to bounce a payment and that £39 debit makes me overdrawn and they charge me another £39 per day to keep telling me I'm overdrawn that is quite definitely not fair. And that's what this is all about.

tostao

i have read the judgement, and would ask for advice on two issues, in plain english, how did the judge decide that bank charges could not be penalties, secondly, has a precedent been set on a) basic bank accounts b) charges where no payment was made by the bank.
can we now go ahead and reclaim charges in these circumstances, are they now outside the current court action.

caro8392

:T

Orford wrote: »

Charges - yes. AVGD monthly fee - no

thanks:rolleyes:

bernadette2

I had a 'goodwill payment' end of '06 for around £540 which I accepted as 'full and final settlement of my complaint' (due to ill health, I simply could not deal with battling further.) The bank actuallly owed me around £650 more than that. It is still within the six year limit for the charges. I have managed my finances much better since reclaiming and have not incurred any further penalties. In the light of the recent judgement, and as I only received a 'goodwill gesture' where my bank did not accept liability, can I reclaim the rest now? It would make a considerable difference to my financial situation, (and lower my overdraft!)

EFC_EVO

i have claimed once of llyods tsb now they have put there charges up to a one off payment of £15 and a daily penelty of £25 up to £150 a month can i claim again

PhiltheBear

alexjohnson wrote: »

You seem to want your cake and eat it. You want the lowest prices and the convenience of direct debit, as well as the convenience of not having to keep tabs on your finances.

If you are routinely getting £39 charges and charges on charges, obviously that sucks and I'm not trying to put lipstick on a pig. But there are a number of things you could do about it - budgeting, change bank, arrange an authorise overdraft etc. But you could also not put your neck in that noose to begin with and not have direct debits. Yes, you'd pay more, but It sounds like it would still be cheaper for you overall. That would be the rational approach to the problem, if you're just not wired to make sure you don't overdraw in the first place.

Try changing banks when you are on Jobseekers allowance. Try getting an overdraft. Try budgeting for the unexpected when you are on a 'survival' income of under £60 per week. Oh, sorry, you've probably never actually tried any of that, have you?

And I'd love to have the luxury of budgeting. I'd love to be able to have a few quid in my account at the end of any fortnightly period when my next JSA payment arrives. But, sadly, I have to feed myself. Even paying a penalty £5 to pay a utility bill in cash is beyond my means - because it means I can't buy food.

So, I keep very tight control of what I spend. I know exactly, to the penny. And then, if someone else cocks up I'll be bearing the brunt of it. It's happened to me and I'm well versed in banking operations so I was eventually able to get it sorted. But it took a long time. And in that time the bank remorsely kept charging. It was only because I kept on at them and was able to tell them exactly where their system failed that they eventually put it right. The average person doesn't have access to that knowledge but the banks don't care about causing hardship - they only care about increasing their profits.

Here's an offer. I'll bet anyone that every bank in the UK, especially those that are currently bleating about the 'credit crunch', will by the end of 2010 have posted record profits. And in the interim next years profits will, if at all, be only slightly down on this years.

The banks have been given 'cheap' money by the Bank of England. Have they passed that on to consumers? Not a prayer. Instead of decreasing interest rates on loans and mortgages, they have increased them. So they've doubly profited - lower costs to them, higher interest charged. Yes, they are businesses and yes they should make profits - but not when they do so by exploitation. Which is what the current bank pemalties are - no more and no less.

krisskross

PhiltheBear wrote: »

Try changing banks when you are on Jobseekers allowance. Try getting an overdraft. Try budgeting for the unexpected when you are on a 'survival' income of under £60 per week. Oh, sorry, you've probably never actually tried any of that, have you?
.

No never had to live on Jobseekers allowance. However I have had 2 jobs and my husband 1 at a time to avoid claiming benefits.

I am sure it must be very difficult to budget on a small amount of money but my elderly neighbours do it. One pays everything weekly when she gets her pension, even the water bill. All I was saying was that just 2 refused DDs would wipe out any savings you make by paying by DD.

Do all utility companies charge extra if you can't pay by DD?

divermoose

Hi,

I have had my case in the court since last year, I rejected an offer of 90% of total claim from HSBC. The offer they made stated that I had 10 days to accept or lose it, I rejected but 2 days later the OFT stated that the case would start and my court case was stayed.

I have looked on this website and the HSBC one and they all state that you have 2 months to accept, this was never offered to me only 10 days (although this is some 11 months ago).

The question is, do I have an argument to state I was not given 2 months to accept last year and was forced into a quick decision because of the 10 days acceptance deadline? Coud I ask to accept the offer they made last year?

I have to weigh up their 90% offer against what if the banks lose would be the offer from them after seeing what is deemed a fair charge and the additional money added due to interest payments going back the 6 years, if we all get interest added at 8%.

Thanks