Originally posted by jimslyp69Martin Lewis is a big fan of this and i am a member basically it gives you templates of letters you should be sending to your bank with regards to overcharging etc...they are really helpful and you only need to go on their site to see there are enough people doing this,and i think the banks now being scrutinised by the ombudsman for some these "charges" which are extortionate.
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/index.php
If anyone here has had any dealings with The Consumer Action Group or has successfully reclaimed bank charges under the legislation passed by the OFT this year, I would be interested to hear from them.
Thanks
Jim. 🙂
Originally posted by jimslyp69I pay off the charges on my credit card every month. But one time my payment of a couple hundred dollars was one day late. The required amount to be paid was $10, but because they received the payment a day late they charged my account a $30 penalty fee!
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/index.php
If anyone here has had any dealings with The Consumer Action Group or has successfully reclaimed bank charges under the legislation passed by the OFT this year, I would be interested to hear from them.
Thanks
Jim. 🙂
I called them up and told them I expected them to return the late fee or I'd cancel the account and tell my story to the local newspaper. The person who answered the phone said that they couldn't do anything about the late charge, so I asked them for their name and then told them I wanted to speak to their supervisor.
That is what you need to do if they pull this stunt on you. Get a name and ask to speak to the supervisor... then when the supervisor comes on line write their name down too. Tell them that you are documenting their response and if you are not satisfied, you will closed the account, file charges against their company and write an article to the local newspaper.
They are very happy to return your money as well as apologize for the incident.
... But it's not just the charges that people want repaid. They also want their reputations back. If the bank charges you for some infraction of their rules (eg. unauthorised overdraft, bounced cheque/DD/standing order, etc.), then that black mark is still against your name, and your credit rating is adversely affected.
Originally posted by jimslyp69Oh come on, when you agreed to take out the loan/credit card/overdraft, you signed on the dotted line, it's all in the terms and conditions of the agreement that if you breach you get charged. The OFT deemed the charges to be unfairly high(not illegal) for people in real difficulty not people who cannot send their cheque on time. From my own figures that I have just checked I haven't refunded a fee in over a year...Oh and if people ask to speak to the supervisor I happily tell them that I am the supervisor.
Thank you for your kind advice.
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Originally posted by cadwahThe way I see it is this...
Oh come on, when you agreed to take out the loan/credit card/overdraft, you signed on the dotted line, it's all in the terms and conditions of the agreement that if you breach you get charged. The OFT deemed the charges to be unfairly high(not illegal) for people in real difficulty not people who cannot send their cheque on time. From my own figures th .Oh and if people ask to speak to the supervisor I happily tell them that I am the supervisor.
If I have half a chance of claiming back £600 in bank charges then I am going to do it. Credit cards and banks have plenty of money whereas I don't.
I am not saying that the charges are unfair, only that they don't reflect the true cost of costs incurred by the banks. The law states that penalty charges are only legal when they actually reflect the bank costs incurred, by the customer defaulting on payment. Even Mr Macnamara admitted that all these bank fees fund free banking for everyone. The Halifax charges £39 for a default on a direct debit, whereas egg only charge £16 for non payment of their credit card monthly bill. Now either egg know something that the Halifax don't, or someone is unfairly cashing in.
Anyway, fair or unfair I'm going ot have a stab at claiming this money back. I do hope that this doesn't offend you too much and that you understand my logic.
Jim