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Ombudsman on Bank Charges

Hey all,

I tried to reclaim some of my overdraft fee's - my bank refused. I was being charged up to 90 a month sometimes, and have paid about 1.5-2k in the past 2yrs (Due to my planned overdraft charges putting me into my unplanned and charging me 5/day) So I figured I might have a chance going through the ombudsman. I think I sent them a contact form around the end of Jan. Never got a confirmation or anything, I emailed them directly to make sure they got my claim. Never heard back either.

Is it unusual for it to take this long or expected?
Capital One - 950/1400 :eek:
Barclay Card - 400/1250 :beer:
Overdraft - 1500/2100 :mad:
Personal Debt - 0/2000 :T
nPower - 900/1115 :A
Total - 3724/7900 -- 52% paid off!

Comments

  • JuicyJesus
    JuicyJesus Posts: 3,832 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    They should at least have got in touch with you to acknowledge your complaint.


    However I wouldn't worry too much since FOS very rarely upholds complaints against charges unless the bank has actually made a mistake.
    urs sinserly,
    ~~joosy jeezus~~
  • Unless the bank has made a mistake in charging you you're unlikely to get anything back.
    DEBT FREE!

    Debt free by Xmas 2014: £3555.67/£4805.67 (73.99%)
    Debt free by Xmas 2015: £1250/£1250 (100.00%)
  • anna42hmr
    anna42hmr Posts: 2,901 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    you may want to take a look on the fos' website in respect to their view on charges, http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/bank-charges.html and http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/factsheets/current-account-charges.pdf

    as advised above, in general you are unlikely to get your charges back if there has been no bank error.
    MFW#105 - 2015 Overpaid £8095 / 2016 Overpaid £6983.24 / 2017 Overpaid £3583.12 / 2018 Overpaid £2583.12 / 2019 Overpaid £2583.12 / 2020 Overpaid £2583.12/ 2021 overpaid £1506.82 /2022 Overpaid £2975.28 / 2023 Overpaid £2677.30 / 2024 Overpaid £2173.61 Total OP since mortgage started in 2015 = £37,286.86 2025 MFW target £1700, payments to date at April 2025 - £1712.07..
  • Anthorn
    Anthorn Posts: 4,362 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Depends on your circumstances: If you are in financial hardship and you can prove it or the charges are disproportionate you can reclaim bank charges and you can appeal to the Financial Ombudsman Service if your bank refuses.
    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/bank-charges
    https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/how-to-reclaim-unfair-bank-charges
  • The Ombudsman won't uphold a complaint on either basis.
    DEBT FREE!

    Debt free by Xmas 2014: £3555.67/£4805.67 (73.99%)
    Debt free by Xmas 2015: £1250/£1250 (100.00%)
  • JuicyJesus
    JuicyJesus Posts: 3,832 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    The Ombudsman won't uphold a complaint on either basis.

    Correct. In the case of hardship FOS will expect the bank to try to assist with the hardship in some way, which can include refunding charges but does not have to. And complaints about charges being disproportionate/unfair are explicitly not considered any more as a result of the 2009 Supreme Court ruling.

    I mean OP can TRY going through FOS on a hardship complaint but not get their hopes up.
    urs sinserly,
    ~~joosy jeezus~~
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