Did you know that bank charges of more than £12.00 have been ruled as unfair by the OFT and you can claim your money back? And your claim can cover the last 6 years?

[tigermoth]

I've cut and pasted the article that appeared in Telegraph money section:

Get your money back from the bank

The Office of Fair Trading's ruling that bank penalty charges of more than £12 are unfair could spark a flood of complaints from customers seeking compensation for unjustified charges over several years.

Earlier this month the OFT ruled that penalty charges for late payments on credit cards, unauthorised overdrafts, unpaid direct debits and standing orders and missed payment fees on store cards and mortgages were deemed unfair if they exceeded £12.

Last weekend, this paper revealed that this could lead to redress for bank customers who have been erroneously charged for the past six years.

The OFT's initiative strengthens the case of anyone who has seen penalty charges automatically deducted from their accounts after falling foul of bank and building society small print. As with any legal proceedings, there is not a 100 per cent guarantee that you will win, but lawyers and consumer groups reckon the OFT's position means judges will be far more likely to accept arguments that penalties of more than £12 amount to unfair contract terms that cannot be enforced.

The process for reclaiming the unfair charges from your bank is straightforward.

First your bank is obliged to supply you on demand with a list of all charges you have paid in the past six years under the Data Protection Act. You then need to write demanding the bank repays the unfair charges. If that is not successful, you can take the matter further by either going to the small claims court of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

More details on how to claim and pro forma letters are available on the website of Which?, the consumer group.

"Claiming back these unfair charges from the banks is a relatively straightforward process," says Emma Bandey, a personal finance campaigner at Which? "These charges are nothing but an easy money-spinner for the banks."

I am thinking of doing this. What a windfall if I am successful!

But I am worried about something. If I push for this, and my bank give me my money back, is there a risk that the bank might start to get difficult with me? I don't want them to mysteriously refuse to send me a new cheque book, refuse to extend my overdraft limit or refuse a loan. Do you think there is a risk that banks might start doing this to customers who claim their charges back?

\link{http://moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1141050760,24632,\here}

Take it up again pucca and threaten to report to the OFT this time.

Everytime they get reported to the Ombudsman, they have to pay.

Barclays have now gone up to £30 for 3 days. I was £5 over so they tok £30. Its happened sooo many times, especially if you don't realise (I've had times when a cheque hasn't cleared as quickly as I thought it should, not checked, and 3 days later found I've been charged £75 (in the £25 days))

Does this apply to Building societys as well?

i am going to try this as well, keep meaning to and just haven't got round to it. my firend sent a letter and got back 30% of her charges which was £600 over a couple of years so worth a try and for the price of a stamp they can only say no!

Going to go through my statements over the next week or so and find out just how much I am owed (obviously if I was betetr with money I wouldn't be owed nearly so much )

i posted a little while back about reclaiming bank charges and wrote to the Halifax and complained...they haven't responded with anyhting other than an acknowledgement of my letter (dated 27th Feb)I will defo be follwing this up.

we have 5 current accounts between us if we claim successfully on all 5 it will pay for our hols.

"More details on how to claim and pro forma letters are available on the website of Which?, the consumer group. "

has anyone got a copy of these...i think you may have to be a Which? subsciber.

the money saving expert link loolks the biz

Letter One
This letter asks your bank to send you a list of all the default charges (on unauthorised overdrafts and unpaid direct debits) applied to your account in the last six years.
You only need send this if you want your money back and have not kept bank statements.
You can ignore this letter and go straight to Letter Two if you already have details of all the default charges you have paid.
The bank must supply this information under the Data Protection Act 1998. If your bank makes a charge for this information, the charge cannot be more than £10.
Check through carefully and insert your personal information where indicated in red.
Remember to delete this box before you print out your letter for the bank.

[INSERT TODAY’S DATE]

[INSERT YOUR HOME ADDRESS]

[INSERT THE NAME OF YOUR BANK]
[INSERT THE ADDRESS OF BANK]

Re: Account number [INSERT YOUR ACCOUNT NUMBER]
Dear Sir/Madam,
I request that [INSERT THE NAME OF YOUR BANK] provides me with details of all default charges for unauthorised overdrafts and unpaid direct debits and standing orders I have paid in the last six years.
I understand that [INSERT THE NAME OF YOUR BANK] is obliged to provide this information under the Data Protection Act 1998.
I look forward to hearing from you within 40 days.
Yours faithfully

[SIGN YOUR NAME]
[TYPE YOUR NAME]

found it zippi

Iwas thinking about posting on this a few weeks ago.
No reason at all for them to get shirty with you tiger. They expect it! The fools are the people who don't speak up.
Apparently 70% of people who complain, do get something back.
Expat,the figures you cite are fucking outrageous.
Time to kick up a big fuss!!!

(Tip: If they start getting difficult,mention that you have a journo. friend who works on the financial section of one of the broadsheets and you will be taking it there.
Also do a big long list of cc, even if you don't actually send.
Don't try these straight off though. They are ammo if things become problematic.)

I wrote a letter for my brother to his bank & they have sent a letter refusing as they say they are in the right?

It says in response , we believe that our charges are fair, resonable & transparent. we consider the amounts debited to your account have been applied strictly in accordance with your agreement with us & our published tariff, which we are satisfied, complies with all applicable laws & regulations. we are also commited to ensuring the transparency of the information that we give our customers about the operation of our products.

This was with natwest & is because they charge interest on his account each month for having his overdraft & when they take the interest it goes over his overdraft so then they charge him £28.00.

What would you say in reply to this letter would you keep fighting for it, they have so far taken £400.00

SAM...keep fighting...copy it to the Ombudsman...they ought ot have given you the address

frigging excellent!

AQ- they did not give me the address how can i find it out?

It's ok i have just found it on there website.

Blimey i am not all that good at this sort of thing but i am going to keep on as its been on the tv & everywhere its a complete rip off & they should not be allowed to do it.

Has anyone else written yet?

Also what does OFT stand for ?

It's interesting to see that a bank is refusing. Was this letter sent before or after the OFT ruling and publicity? (OFT stands for Office of Fair Trading somethingaboutmary).

Thanks for your words of reassurance moondog. I guess if enough of their customers complain, the banks can't refuse or get difficult about future overdraft requests. However, I think I'll look into opening a new account with another bank just in case my main bank start getting difficult with me.

I really hope someone who works for a bank can give an insiders view on this. The banks could be giving millions of pounds back in pay outs to their customers.

Has anyone tried it for late payment fees on credit cards?

It is bloomin' criminal since if you pay late they are immediately racking up the interest anyway.

DH is always getting caught out with his works card b/c his work are late paying his expenses and he begrudges paying it out of his own money.

I sent the 1st letter about 2 weeks ago, when was it published?

the credit card thing is particularly interesting to me as I am soo crap at remembering to pay it on time

SAM
here is the letter Which? recommends that you use if your first attemt failed.....

Letter Three
This letter tells your bank that you are unhappy with default charges (on unauthorised overdrafts and unpaid direct debits) you have paid in the last six years and you will go to the small claims court if they do not give your money back.
You only need to send this letter if you have already written to the bank explaining that you are a loyal customer (Letter Two), and that letter did not get a result.
Check through carefully and insert your personal information where indicated in red.
The fourth paragraph (beginning ‘I am only prepared…’) is very important. It protects your position in the instance of you losing at the small claims court, and shows that you are acting reasonably.
If your bank still refuses to pay back your money, the small claims court is the next step (see the factsheet on our website).
Remember to delete this box before you print out your letter for the bank.

[INSERT TODAY’S DATE]

[INSERT YOUR HOME ADDRESS]
[INSERT THE NAME OF YOUR BANK]
[INSERT THE ADDRESS OF BANK]
Re: Default charges on account number [INSERT YOUR ACCOUNT NUMBER]
Dear Sir/Madam,
I refer to default charges relating to unauthorised overdrafts which have been applied to my account by [INSERT THE NAME OF YOUR BANK], amounting to [INSERT THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE BANK CHARGES].
I wrote to you on [INSERT THE DATE OF YOUR LAST LETTER TO THE BANK] asking that you repay these charges as a gesture of goodwill to a loyal customer. Since you have not done so, I intend to take the matter further and claim the amount of [INSERT THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE BANK CHARGES] through the small claims court.
The basis for this request is that under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations and/or the law of penalties, the small claims court could declare such charges unfair and therefore unenforceable.
I am only prepared to pay the charges on the condition that the bank agrees to repay me the full amount if the small claims court finds in my favour and declares the charges unenforceable.
I look forward to receiving your response within seven days of the date of this letter or I will issue proceedings in the small claims court to reclaim the full amount of charges, plus interest and costs.
I am happy for you to contact me on [INSERT YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER] to discuss the matter.
Yours faithfully

[SIGN YOUR NAME]
[TYPE YOUR NAME]

\link{http://www.which.net/campaigns/personalfinance/bankingcharges/whatyoucando1.html\this is the link to Which? where it tells you step by step what you need to do} the downloads look great.