Low balance charge (building society fee)

alcatraz68
alcatraz68 Posts: 5 Forumite
edited 29 March 2019 at 3:14AM in Reclaim bank & credit card charges
Just wondered if you can reclaim low balance charges? Was a few years back now but seemed unfair to be charged 50p for a low account balance.

Comments

  • Bermonia
    Bermonia Posts: 977 Forumite
    First Post
    As per the court ruling in 2009, charges cannot be assessed for their level or fairness - if the terms stated they could do this then there is nothing to complain about I’m afraid.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,342 Forumite
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    alcatraz68 wrote: »
    Just wondered if you can reclaim low balance charges? Was a few years back now but seemed unfair to be charged 50p for a low account balance.

    What is unfair about the charge?
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
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    I would write to them, after all 50p is 50p.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,342 Forumite
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    Dont forget the 56p second class stamp when you ask for your 50p back.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • cattie
    cattie Posts: 8,841 Forumite
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    dunstonh wrote: »
    Dont forget the 56p second class stamp when you ask for your 50p back.

    2nd class standard letter is now 61p, so really does need to be taken into account:D
    The bigger the bargain, the better I feel.

    I should mention that there's only one of me, don't confuse me with others of the same name.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 26,612 Forumite
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    To be fair to the OP, he obviously had second thoughts about his query prior to anyone responding
  • alcatraz68
    alcatraz68 Posts: 5 Forumite
    I should explain-

    Coventry building society

    Had an account which was primarily used to have benefits paid into. This was not unusual. Bank account was not a viable option for claiments. After a short period of time the Coventry (maybe all building societies) invented a new LOW BALANCE fee. To put this simply it meant that the moment your balance fell below £100 any transaction incurred a 50p fee. So in my situation, where the balance rarely exceeded £50 it was fee after fee after fee. A £10 withdrawal became £10.50.

    After a period of time (I would guess 2 years) they dropped this fee completely.

    It was a fee which hurt people who couldn't afford it ONLY. In a nutshell it was cruel.
  • Nasqueron
    Nasqueron Posts: 8,793 Forumite
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    You can ask them as a gesture of goodwill but you would need to be careful to not mention anything like "unfair charges" as they will simply refer to the 2009 case.


    You want to ask nicely and get them on your side but I would 100% expect them to refuse this.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 26,612 Forumite
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    alcatraz68 wrote: »
    Had an account which was primarily used to have benefits paid into. This was not unusual. Bank account was not a viable option for claiments. After a short period of time the Coventry (maybe all building societies) invented a new LOW BALANCE fee. To put this simply it meant that the moment your balance fell below £100 any transaction incurred a 50p fee. So in my situation, where the balance rarely exceeded £50 it was fee after fee after fee. A £10 withdrawal became £10.50.
    If you were being charged for each withdrawal then surely you should have withdrawn all your benefit as a lump sum every fortnight? Wouldn't this then have resulted in a maximum charge of £24 over the two year period?
    Is such a paltry amount really worth the effort of pursuing?
    alcatraz68 wrote: »
    it was fee after fee after fee.
    Do you have documentary proof of these charges? If not and you are no longer a customer, then you can expect any "complaint" to fall at the first hurdle of there no longer being any records.

    The bank are also under no obligation to refund any of these charges and any payment would be goodwill with no added interest.
  • Bermonia
    Bermonia Posts: 977 Forumite
    First Post
    When you say this was a few years back... how many are we talking? If it was more than six then I would expect that your complaint would be time barred in any event.
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