Business bank account charges

jamiesmack

Not sure if this is the correct place to put this, please move / delete as appropriate.

Is it possible to reclaim any business bank account charges?

Not the fees for depositing money / cheques etc, but the charges for returned direct debits, unauthorised overdrafts etc.

I am in some severe financial difficulty at the moment and these fees are really causing me problems. I had just managed to get myself into credit in the account, and then lots of charges went on, and put me back into an unauthorised overdraft and with it the daily fees. Its a spiral i cant seem to get out of.

JuicyJesus

You should talk to your bank about your situation if you are struggling with the charges and these are causing you the "spiral of charges" - if you are in financial difficulty they have a duty to treat you sympathetically. This can include refunding charges, but doesn't have to - your best bet is to talk to them honestly about your situation, ask for them to refund charges so you can get on an even keel, and hope for the best. Business accounts are slightly different but, presuming you're a sole trader and this is a sole trader account, you'll likely be treated on the same level as a personal customer in terms of how the bank has to deal with you and any difficulty you have (since there is no particular separation between yourself and the "business", so to speak).

The Supreme Court judgment on bank charges still applies to SME business accounts (as far as I'm aware, anyway) however so these can't be reclaimed on the basis of being unfair; as such, don't mention the word "unfair" at all in any complaint as that's an easy route to being ignored.

jamiesmack

Thank you for your reply.

What is the best way to contact the bank? In person at branch?

Is there a template letter or similar that could be useful? I don’t want to say the wrong thing, I’m pretty good at that!

I feel the charges are more excessive than unfair

JuicyJesus

jamiesmack wrote: »

Thank you for your reply.

What is the best way to contact the bank? In person at branch?

Is there a template letter or similar that could be useful? I don’t want to say the wrong thing, I’m pretty good at that!

I feel the charges are more excessive than unfair

I'd just call them, or you can go into branch if you prefer. Again, leave out excessive; you are not complaining about the charges, you are seeking assistance with financial difficulty and explaining how the charges are contributing to this. A template letter isn't necessary given this - there is no real means of reclaiming all your charges left any more since 2009 unless you are in financial difficulty, and even then that's discretionary on the part of the bank as part of them helping you with said difficulty.