Cheers all
I think I may just write to them.
If I phone them, I'm liable to get irate & may swear at them.
Plus a letter makes it easier to go through it all & explain everything.
Nabbed a template letter off moneysavingexpert ("... believe these charges are unfair & unlawful...Please repay them...etc etc"), & whacked in a load of detail as above re. everything (minus calling them *******s).
Also, found something on the net (one of the anti-charging forums I think) suggesting that according to the Banking Code, members must give their customers 14 days notice of any charges.
The only charges we got any notice for were the £30 "Referral Charge" (for them honouring a payment when there were insufficient funds... why were there insufficient funds? 'Cos of the charges, & 'cos they didn't give any leeway for the extra money I put in) and the upcoming £28 "Maintenance Charge" for going over the limit (
a limit only breached due to their previous unfair charges...). [I had thought the only one we had notice of was the £28, but I've just found a letter in a pile which Ally's opened which does actually mention the £30 Referral Charge]
However, from a quick glance at the banking code, it wasn't too clear to me if that actually covers *all* charges (e.g. the bounce charges too), or only covers some charges.
If we had simply had notice of the very first charge (if we were supposed to... which I guess we weren't?
), then none of this would've happened. [Or, if they'd actually allowed a v. brief "grace period" after the 1st charge, & given the extra £40 I transferred time to clear...]
Oh, & here's a petition link, dunno if it's been posted here before:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/BankCharter/
Quote:
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Originally Posted by PM Petitions
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to follow the Bank Charges Reclaiming Charter, which aims to end both the current suspension of reclaiming & the financial misery caused by unfair penalty charges.
Submitted by Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert.com – Deadline to sign up by: 13 November 2007 – Signatures: 50,690
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EDIT:
Oh, one worry I forgot to mention -
Do they tend to tell you to sod off & pay everything back that you owe them if you try & claim charges back? e.g. "OK, Mr Dodd. Here's your £210 in charges. Oh, by the way, we're closing all your accounts & require you to pay back the overdraft" etc etc.