to think that people should shut up about their bank charges? You incurred the charges, so pay up.

[AitchTwoOh]

honestly, i've got a friend who just got £5500 back and he's off on holiday with the proceeds.

he's absolutely USELESS with money and knowingly incurred all teh charges, so why exactly does he deserve to get the money back? it's not a bloody savings account he's been paying into...

or arrange an overdraft facility that you don't use

I think ours was £100 and the bank 'generously' upped it to £1000

tis never used but you never know if a DD goes out too soon or whatever

you don't get charged for it

OK - when you park on a yellow line - all or part of your car you have to pay the fine - you broke the rules and there is a penalty.

You go overdrawn at the bank - £100 or £1000 - you broke the rules and there is a penalty.

In both cases you know the rules and the penalty.

Oh and also, the banks don't have to pay back the charges, they have chosen to pay back all these people. I wonder why.

This thread is so incredibly up its own arse. Oh just don't go over your overdraft limit... don't do this, do this, imagine struggling for money! Imagine not being perfect with your finances! Imagine a dd coming off unexpectedly leaving you over your limit by £2 and then getting charged an extra £38!

Sometimes people make mistakes, sometimes they have bad times, these people can be charged, yes. But do they deserve to be ripped off?? Not in my opinion.

And, I would have thought there might be a little more empathy out there, even for those who have never been in debt, blah, blah.

we don't pay for our overdraft facility as it is not used

and that is definite as I check our statements every month

And people aren't saying there shouldn't be a penalty.

But that the penalty is disproportionate and a rip off, and there really is no alternative because they all charge about the same thing, roughly.

"OK - when you park on a yellow line - all or part of your car you have to pay the fine - you broke the rules and there is a penalty.

You go overdrawn at the bank - £100 or £1000 - you broke the rules and there is a penalty.

In both cases you know the rules and the penalty. "

True - but then you can be conned out of money by not knowing your rights. For example - if you contest a ticket within the 14 days then the council must, by law, freeze the amount of the penalty fee by that amount (say £40 instead of £80). But councils will tell you that if you don't pay in 14 days they will double the fine - this is in fact illegal.

Similarly, in a contract with a bank the bank must act fairly and honestly with it's charges. If it costs the bank £3.50 to send you a letter, it is illegal to charge you £30.

But surely there should be a more justified penalty. The charges that they do charge are ridiculasly high.

it is not the SAME as parking a car because you can CHOOSE where you park.

ALL the banks have similar T&Cs . AND the charges incurred have been proven to be refundable because they EXCEEDED the amount the bank had suffered due to breach of contract. I.e. the banks were taking the piss and charging more than they had to.

The charges are so high becuase that is what the market will take and that is partly why all charges are the same.

What I think you might find is that now with this OFT thing some people will not be allowed to go overdrawn - that's it when your account is empty that will be it. Especially if the economy begins to change and people generally become less fluid with their money and interest rates go up.

You know what the lady at sweb said when they took their bill three times in a day (what shoudl have been £70 was therefore £180)?

'What do ic are , its your problem if your kids starve, none of my business'

I suspect that she may now be on this thread (yes we did complain, she received retraining- ie what i beleive is a euphemism for they ahd a gigle at my letter- NatWest used that one too when the cashier said DS1 wasnt ASD, he was just naughty when we had to wait 2 hours or soemthing to see them and he got upset)

well lucky you getting an overdraft for £1000!

There's an assumption here that all those with the original poster are rolling in money and have it easy - I'm pretty sure that's not the case at all. It's not a rich vs poor argument at all.

Noodle often poele dont have an actual overdraft though- the fees are given them when their attempts at ayment bounce

so no change there for the worst off anyhow

Isn't 3 times £70 £210?

'The charges are so high becuase that is what the market will take and that is partly why all charges are the same. '

Well, now the market is saying NO to it.

Ummm, if I am not incorrect people DO make an agreement with their bank, yes, but most mere mortals have absolutely NO say in the terms and the conditions that are applied - it is NEVER a fair and equitable agreement, but rather one that allows the bank to profit whilst the individual (bank charges aside) is given the privelege of perhaps getting an interest rate marginally above inflation so that they don't lose money. For instance, I cannot go to a bank and say, "I wish to deposit my salary into your bank and therefore I do give you the right to invest it for your own money making ends, but I would like to ensure that I receive 50% of all monetary gains that you make as a result of using MY money."

Banks are a business and are, indeed, in it to make money. The thing is that most individuals have to have bank accounts but do NOT have the power to dictate or even influence how the bank deals with it.

Up it's own arse, I don't know, LittleSarah, but it sure is an aggressive thread, with few posters bothering to read other posts before wading in.

yes

very probably

which is why I am doing a BA and not a BSc LOL

I am most definitley not rolling in it, although I have my eye on the lottery for this evening

it's not because 'that is what the market will take' - it's because they have a captive audience and can charge what they bloody well want.

I suspect they have set the charges at a level they thought they could get away with - enough to cover costs and make a bit on the side and hopefully, put people off from running their accounts into the ground.

They don't make much off private banking anyway.

Lol. Exactly expat.

Fox - this isn't personal - you have no idea the sheer size of our OD - all I was trying to do was give a little more spark to the thread...I just like to mix it up a bit!

I am hoping that with the OFT thing there will be a more competitive edge on the banks and we will see change and we will see more reasonable charges - there will still be charges but I think they will be far more acceptable and non-profiteering.

With my friends I have no issue with them claiming back bank charges, that's fine, the charges are ridiculous and penalise the needy etc.

What I mind about is the fact that my mates in particular are all so bloody smug about it and won't shut up about the stage their claim is at and how clever they have been and what they are going to do with the money and la la la.

Needless to say, they are all childless singletons with vast disposable incomes or DINKY couples who have mostly run up the charges buying evermore sooper ipods. Meanwhile DP and I have plodded on spending our cash on nursery bills and nappies, and carefully totting up the finances each month to work out whether we can afford a holiday or not. So it does rankle a bit that they are getting what feels like free cash and I am not, and yes, their attitude to the whole business is rather irritating.

(Disclaimer: yes, I know it is their own money, I have read the thread, and yes I realise my friends are not representative of most people claiming back bank charges, and yes I know that the system is unfair).

Sorry, the thread is not up its own arse. But a number of the posters are, I have read plenty such posts, too many unfortunately.

Nope, scanned back, I had read more than enough to comment. Good.