Thank you for your letter of 4th April offering me the sum of £825 in settlement of my complaint against the unlawful bank charges to my two accounts. After careful consideration, however, I regret that I do not feel I can accept this as settlement, especially as more charges are being added to my account on a regular basis, thus pushing the amount I am overdrawn to a level where I am finding it hard to manage financially.
As I have stated in previous correspondences, I am aware that the bank is not a charity; although I accept that I have not always managed my accounts in a way I would wish to, I see this as a temporary measure: the majority of my charges have been accrued since having my second child in 2005 and my wages have reflected a second maternity leave and reduced hours on my return to work. I fully intend to increase my hours in the coming months and get my finances back on track but I am finding the charges being applied to my accounts crippling and disproportionate to the administration charges I believe my going over my agreed overdraft limit truly cost the bank. One of the most recent charges for £30 was applied when my account was only £6 over the agreed limit: I find this unacceptable and, I believe, unlawful.
Up to today?s date the charges on my number one account now amount to £876.16, with £92.20 interest over the past 6 years; the charge for my number two account today stand at £478.39 with £38.55 interest: overall the cost of all charges and interest total £1466.30. I feel that without the full cost of these charges and interest being refunded to my accounts I will be in debt for some time and, although I am sure my custom is more valuable to Barclays in this state, I do not wish to be in this level of debt for much longer.
I hope a look at my recent correspondence with the bank will also show that I have had reason to complain to Barclays twice more in the past 6 months and, although both complaints have now been satisfactorily resolved, it has not given me much faith in Barclays and its assurance that I am a valued customer (and I use the term ?value? here in the sense of respect, not monetarily).
I look forward to hearing from you within 14 days of receipt of this email. If you feel you cannot refund my charges in full, then I reluctantly will proceed with a request to the Small Claims Court.
Yours sincerely