Reclaim Bank Charges

Reclaiming Bank Charges

2008-02-07T15:16:00.000Z

The test case for reclaiming bank charges continues on this week as we all wait in anticipation for the result. Although the court hearing could end quite soon the verdict may be some time away.

The test case is to decide whether or not the extortionate bank charges that we have incurred over the last 6 years are unfair or justified.

Thousands of people have reclaimed already but there are thousands more waiting for the result of the Office Of Fair Trading test case, so that they too can claim back what's owed.

How To Reclaim Bank Charges Video

2008-01-14T01:01:00.000Z

Today is the start of the test court case by the Office Of Fair Trading to win the right to reclaim unfair bank charges in the UK. The case is expected to last 3 months and if all goes well the reclaiming can commence.

The Government put a hold on reclaiming last July and everyone has been waiting patiently for this day. The banks have already coughed up over £1 billion and there are hundreds of thousands of people waiting in the wings to do the same. If you want to know what it's all about then watch the video below.

Reclaim Bank Charges has a Free pack you can download to help you in your administration efforts. The pack includes 4 templates letters that can be changed with your information to start the ball rolling. Look on the left-hand side bar for the link.

Reclaim Bank Charges Pack Download

2008-01-13T23:50:00.000Z

Simply click on the link below to download your pack.

The file is zipped so you will need to un-zip it after downloading.

The letter templates are in Microsoft Word format.

Download Link
Reclaim Bank Charges Pack

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Reclaim Bank Charges Pack

2008-01-12T20:29:00.000Z

We have put together a 'Reclaim Bank Charges' pack that has everything you need to begin the claims process. The pack contains the following:

Ready To Use Letter Templates:

1) Request Charges Letter
2) Reclaim Charges Letter
3) Renegotiation Letter
4) Court Action Template

Claims Calculator
Use our claims calculator to work out the interest that is owed to you.

Step By Step Instructions
A complete step by step guide to reclaiming your bank charges written in plain English that explains from scratch how to go about it.

Latest Updates
Stay informed about the reclaim bank charges ever-changing situation. When anything new happens you will know about it and be able to adjust your stategy accordingly.

Download your FREE 'Reclaim Bank Charges' pack now!
Just fill in the quick form below.

Government Puts Hold On Reclaiming Bank Charges

2008-01-12T16:18:00.000Z

A crucial test case is to take place over whether unauthorised overdraft fees imposed by banks are lawful or not.

The court case could have consequences for thousands of bank and building society customers and for the future of free current account banking in the UK

What has happened?

A number of UK lenders, including HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland and Nationwide, have agreed to go to court in a test case about overdraft charges.

On Friday, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will file an action arguing that charges are unfair.

The two sides - the banks and the OFT - will set out their arguments and a precedent-setting ruling will be made by the court.

The case is intended to bring clarity to the whole issue of unauthorised overdraft fees.

What are the arguments?

The OFT and consumer groups are concerned that the charges levied by banks and building societies on customers who exceed their overdraft limit may be too high and potentially unlawful.

Some banks and building societies charge their customers more than £30 for going into the red without permission.

But it is alleged by consumer groups and whistleblowers within the banking industry that the true cost of administering an unauthorised overdraft is just a few pounds.

Therefore, critics argue, unauthorised overdraft fees amount to a penalty levied on consumers for breaching a contract with the bank or building society.

Under contract law imposing a penalty for breach of contract - in this instance going into unauthorised overdraft - may be unlawful.

However, the banks and building societies have put a strong counter argument.

They have said that unauthorised overdraft fees are a payment for a service, not a penalty, and are therefore perfectly legal.

What is at stake?

Potentially billions of pounds and the future of free current account banking.

If the OFT argument is upheld it could mean banks and building societies having to return billions in fees collected from customers over the past few years.

What's more, should the OFT win, some senior banking industry figures have suggested that banks may have to start levying monthly current account charges.

Most UK bank customers enjoy free banking while in credit, whereas in many other countries current account fees are commonplace.

Why has this happened now?

The issue of unauthorised overdraft fees - their scale and whether they are legal - has been rumbling on for the past 18 months.

To date, thousands of consumers have threatened their banks or building societies with court action in a bid to reclaim unauthorised overdraft fees.

In all but a small number of cases, banks and building societies have settled without going to court.

They have done this to avoid a test case going to court.

But facing an ever rising tide of complaints the patience of the banks and building societies has now snapped and they are ready for a court fight.

I am currently trying to reclaim unauthorised overdraft fees from my bank, what happens to my claim?

The banks and building societies have been given permission by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to put your claim and those of thousands of other consumers on ice.

In short, you will have to wait for the outcome of the case between the OFT and the banks.

If the OFT wins you are likely to get your money back, if they do not you probably won't.

The Wait To Reclaim Bank Charges Continues

2008-01-12T16:11:00.000Z

People hoping to claim back bank charges will have to continue to wait, after the financial watchdog ruled last week that it will extend the waiver that allows banks and building societies to delay handling these claims.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said last July that banks and building societies would no longer be obliged to deal with unauthorised overdraft charges complaints in the time specified under its rules. This was because it is awaiting the outcome of a court case being brought by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) against a number of banks.

The test case, which is meant to start in January, is expected to resolve the issue of whether bank charges are unfair and therefore should be repaid in full to those who have incurred them. 'When this certainty has been established, complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges can be dealt with consistently and fairly,' says Clive Briault, FSA managing director, retail markets.

The waiver was under review by the FSA to make sure those in financial difficulty are still able to claim - which the watchdog says they are - while all other claims are put on hold. 'The waiver is working as intended,' says Briault.

The FSA's own consumer panel, set up to monitor the watchdog and make sure it is meeting its obligations, is critical of the waiver and said it believes a halt on claims will be difficult to justify if the court case goes on beyond February 2008.

'Although we understand why the FSA has put the waiver in place, it has had the unfortunate effect of delaying consumers' access to justice, whilst allowing the banks to continue taking money from accounts for what may turn out to be illegal charges,' says John Howard, chairman of the financial services consumer panel. 'The longer this goes on the more unfair it will be, especially on those in financial hardship.'

The panel also said the FSA needs to investigate reports that some consumers have been told by providers that complaints in regard to credit card charges are also covered by the waiver.

Such complaints , which under OFT rules must not exceed £12, are not covered and must be dealt with by the credit card company within eight weeks.

OFT Set Test Case Date

2008-01-12T16:06:00.001Z

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) believes, like I do, that charges for such things as exceeding overdraft limits and bounced cheques are unlawful. As a result, it is taking a 'super-claim' to the High Court on behalf of all claimants. It is taking the following banks to court:

• Abbey
• Barclays
• Clydesdale
• HBOS (which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland)
• HSBC
• Lloyds
• Nationwide
• Royal Bank of Scotland Group (which includes NatWest)

If the claim is successful, which is very likely, it doesn't mean we'll all get our money back automatically. What will probably happen is we'll still have to submit claims to our banks, although with the High Court precedent it should be easier to win our claims, especially if your bank is one of those involved in the super-claim.

The OFT's claim could easily take as long as five years when you factor in the many tricks the banks' lawyers can use to delay a final conclusion, including appealing against the initial High Court decision.

Successful Claims Update

2008-01-12T15:04:00.000Z

Below are just a few of the many thousands of people that have successfully claimed back their unfair bank charges.

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Clair Claimed £2965.00 from Lloyds

On checking my bank balance today, to my amazement Lloyds have refunded me my full charges of £2965.00!!!!!!

I must admit I took me 2 months and eventually I entered judgement against them before they paid up.

I would like to say a huge thank you to all who has offered advice on this message board, especially to Superbob and Brechiner....

Despite the publicity regarding Lloyds this week, they still paid up!!!, so don't give up and keep going, I know you have heard it so many times but don't let the banks put you off, they will pay out eventually!!
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Paul Claimed £3467.00 from Barclays

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT MY BANK ARE PAYING IN FULL.....WOW!IM £3467 BETTER OFF...MONEY WILL BE PAID IN TO MY ACCOUNT IN THE NEXT WEEK.THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP THIS IS MONEY AND THEIR TEAM HAVE GIVEN ME AND MY FAMILY.
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Rachel Claimed £3000.00 from Royal Bank Of Scotland

Thank you to all your help, I am now 3grand up from one of my accounts and awaiting news re the other later this week.
That is just over 5 weeks from sending first letter out. I didn't start court proceeding letter just left them a bit longer from the letter previous YEEHA!!!!!!!!!!
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John Claimed £890.00 from Capital One

Just have to share my good news . Capital One have refunded all fees and interest before going to court . £890.48. They say that they have done this as a good will gesture even though they accept no liability for the claim. They also say that they have used that money to reduce my dept with them and have asked me to advise the court thet the claim is settled. I won't do that untill I have proof the money was refunded.
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Chloe Claimed £1796.50 from First Direct

I am claiming back 2385.07 in charges, of which 588.57 is interest. I have just received a letter from First Direct, offering me a settlement for 1796.50, which is the actual amount in charges, but without the interest. Could anyone advise me on what to do now? Should I take the money, or sue? (I was intending on sueing for the whole amount inclusive of charges but am not so sure now) Do people generally claim with or without interest?
If I took this to court, would I get the whole amount, with interest? thanks for any advice!
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Sarah Claimed £500.00 from HSBC

I got a refund of all my charges (but with no interest) from HSBC in Jan which was about £500. My boyfriend also with HSBC is claiming for nearly £3000 in charges with no interest. I got paid within a month of claiming and that was over the christmas period as well. My boyfriend has had nothing apart from an acknowledgement letter and a letter (which was dated before his first letter to the bank!) asking why he had not responded to their offer. He has rung the bank about twenty times and asked them to send another copy of the offer letter which was allegedly sent out (or so they told him). This has been going on for months now and they have still not sent anything. They even promised to send it through internal mail to his branch but this never appeared either. I think his only choice now is to make a claim through the small claims court. Anyone have any other suggestions?
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David Claimed £3425.00 from Halifax

I have just received a letter from the Halifax reimbursing me with £3425 in respect of bank charges incurred and also my Court fee of £120.00, which is exactly the figure I asked for! Many thank to the Money Mail for helping me reclaim this money. Although the Halifax did not admit liability they paid up!

How To Reclaim Bank Charges Video

2008-01-09T02:27:00.000Z

Letter To Reclaim UK Bank Charges

2008-01-05T18:07:00.000Z

The letter to reclaim UK bank charges below will help you with your administration efforts. It has been tried and tested successfully by many people like yourself and can be altered in any way you see fit.

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(*Your Address*)

(*Your Phone Number*)

(*Date*)

(*Name and address of bank*)

Dear Sir or Madam

Ref: (*your account number*)

I am writing to request a refund of all the default charges that have been implemented to my account. As stated by the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 any charges made must reflect administration costs and cannot be punitive. To the best of my knowledge I believe that the following charges have been unlawfully implemented and do not reflect the true cost of administration.

(*put a list here of all the charges and dates*)

I calculate that you have unlawfully charged me (*put the total amount of charges here*) and also (*put the overdraft interest amount here*) overdraft interest and I therefore request repayment for the total amount of (*put the total amount you request here*). I also request that you remove any default notices entered against my credit record.

Please ensure that you remove any default notices and repay the charges in full within 14 days. If you fail do to this I will begin legal proceedings against you for the full amount including interest and my costs.

Yours faithfully,

(*Your signature*)

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Send the above letter to reclaim UK bank charges to your bank as soon as possible. Obviously you should enter your details instead of the brackets (*your details*).

Reclaim Bank Charges

2007-11-15T13:18:00.000Z

Reclaim your UK Bank Charges from up to 6 Years back!

You may have heard the recent controversy about people being able to reclaim bank charges resulting in some cases thousands of pounds being refunded. And now you want to find out if you can also do the same. Well there is a very strong possibility that you can and there are two ways you can go about this:

1. The first is to 'do it yourself' and write to your bank requesting the refund of the total amount you have calculated they owe you. This is fine if you only have a small number of claims to make and also have the spare time to do the calculations.

2. The second way is to let one of the many 'No Win No Fee' Financial Claims Companies handle everything for you. This is the best way if your reclaim is more complicated and needs a lot of working out. They usually charge just 10% of the total reclaimed amount so you make 90% and get to relax while everything is taken care of.

For most people the 'No Win No Fee' route is the best one to go for because it wont cost you anything and also they do all the complicated calculations for you. All you need to do is send them the details of the bank charges you have incurred over the last 6 years. If you do not have that information, with your permission they can apply to your bank in accordance with the Data Protection Act and request the information direct. Your bank is legally bound to give them the information and are not permitted to charge more than £10 for issuing it. The Company usually pays this for you and reclaim it from the proceeds of the refund. However, the Act only covers charges not your statements. If you want to make a reclaim for bank interest charges you will need to find or get copies of your bank statements. Unfortunately most UK banks charge a lot for these. But it's usually worth it as they can calculate the interest charges in reference to the dates you were overdrawn and the rates the banks were charging at that particular time.

So if you think you are entitled to a refund from your bank, building society or other financial institution, start today by visiting a 'No Win No Fee' Financial Claims Company Online and who knows you may be able to reclaim bank charges for the last 6 years resulting in a payout of thousands of pounds.