Bank Charges

[themalster]

i know a lot of people have spoken about reclaiming the illegal bank charges, but does anyone know how long roughly we'd have to wait for it all to begin? Me and my fiancee sent the letter asking for the charges to be given back to us about a month ago yet have not received anything.
Also can they refuse to give us the money back?

[innocenti]

You need to go to the Consumer Action Group website and read up everything on there. I claimed back my charges and from start to finish it took about 5 months, You need to send in another letter to the bank saying they have 14 days to comply and if not you will start court proceedings.

You have to send in a copy of your statements with the charges highlighted with every letter you send your bank

[ELVIS68]

I rang my bank and asked for the last six years statements,they sent me a years worth then sent me a letter saying that the rest are kept on a microfiche and I would have to pay �10 to get these (greedy gits)

I sent them the �10 and they said it can take up to 5 weeks to send them. There`s a letter online which you can download to send in with your highlighted statements, once you get them which ...as innocenti says...they have 14 days to comply

[themalster]

Thanks guys,

I have downloaded the leter and my other half put a table into the letter which showed the charges we want back. As for what you said Elvis, i had the same. Natwest said that i had to pay �10 for my old statements but to be fair to them i got them prety quickly.

However, the 14 days has now elapsed so i'm gonna wait till the end of this week before taking further action

[ELVIS68]

Did you ask for all the charges back?...and do let us know how you get on please

[themalster]

I asked for ALL charges that were over �12 back and my girlfriend also asked for interest (as advised by moneysavingexpert.com).

The way we see it is that its money we never thought we'd see again. Will keep you updtaed Elvis, thanks for your help.

[innocenti]

themalster, you dont ask for the 8% interest yet. You can only ask for the charges themselves back. You can ask for the 8% when you make a court claim.

Until then it is not advised to ask for the interest.

[themalster]

oh, on the moneysavingexpert.com site, he advises to do so??? Letter has been sent already (i actually didnt get involved, my girlfriend did it all!) but thank you for the advice innocenti... will let you know what happens though

[ELVIS68]

So anything over �12..ie charges for unauthorised overdrafts,clearing cheques while overdrawn,interest charged while overdrawn etc?

Blimey, last years charges was over �600, thats after I got my financial affairs back on track, god knows what the previous 5 years will add up to

[themalster]

Mate, its worth a try... end of the day its money you didnt think you'd ever see again... i await my response from Natwest and will keep you informed

[innocenti]

I used the Consumer Action Group's website and on that they advise that you dont ask for interest, only your charges (bounced cheques, going over your O/D and bounced DD's). You only ask for the 8% when you claim in court.

[jeanette1976]

For charges over �12, can you claim the whole charge back or just anything over the �12? EG. If i was carged �30, can I claim the whole �30 or just �18 as �12 of that is leagal?

[jeanette1976]

Also, do you reckon there will be a time limit before we can't claim anything back, as I expect the banks to be desperate to stop forking out alll this money!

[themalster]

Jeanette, anything over �12 ive claimed the lot back (in your example of �30 i have claimed back the lot). If its good for the goose its good for the gander....

As for time limits, well until something is down about it, i cant see the banks turning round and saying no to people wanting to claim anything back. Well unless they go grovelling to the government and they put a stop to it

[ELVIS68]

Today I received my six years worth of statements

I saw the ITV programme about this last week and they said to claim back all the charges,they never mentioned anything about claiming back just the ones over �12

[themalster]

Well, i read that �12 is an acceptable amount so ive claimed back any charges over that.... saying that me and my girlfriend have yet to hear anything and apparently thats one of their "dirty tricks" tactics... so if no letter arrives by tomorrow we are going to proceed with court action

[ELVIS68]

Well I`ve gone through all the pages and it amounts to over �4500 in charges over six years, is it best to take all the paperwork into a branch with the letter or just send the letter off with the total amount?

[themalster]

You can either print the letter, copy all the statements and highlight the charges or do what my girlfriend did and send the letter with the total amount (stating that you have the paperwork which proves that amount). Its up to you whether to send the letter or take it by hand but in my opinion its best to send it recorded/special delivery to the Head Office. But be warned. One of their "delaying tactics" is not to reply, so make sure you give them a specific timeframe within to respond. We gave them 14 days.

[themalster]

Yesterday i received an offer from the bank of �502 as a "goodwill gesture". I asked for �590 so i cant really decline the offer, after all it was money i didnt think we'd see again. However the letter states that they rejected my complaint (they churned out some rubbish about terms and conditions) but "as a goodwill gesture" they offered me �502! It doesnt seem a lot but as i've said, its money you didnt think you'd ever see again! Good luck to all of you who reclaim your fees

[ELVIS68]

Well done, I sent my letter today(recorded delivery) so I hope to hear from them soon

btw...what bank was you dealing with?

[themalster]

Natwest. I like the way at the bottom of their letter they offer the money yet say its "not an admission of guilt"!!!!!