Reclaim Your Bank And Card Charges

[Chrysalis]

lloyds tsb again wow, they defenitly the hardest out of all the banks.

I think CAG and moneysavingexpert hold some blame as to why these people lost, many people are scared to claim and consistently get told its not hard to do and have nothing to worry about, I expect many lloyds tsb customers are more worried now including myself.

[Shaun]

I get the feeling that some are deviating from the standard path. If you follow Mr Angrys advice I'm sure it should go through o.k.

Has worked for many many people already!

[Faulty]

I have been charged £25 everytime i use my card beyond my overdraft, so i took the advice given in this thread, unfortunately it hasn't worked. They have taken a further £275 in charges in the last 2 months, they have also removed the charges while my account was in debit (over my overdraft), furthermore, they are charging me a further £25 for taking the second charge. I am really fep up and angry now, i have had no response to any of my letters, so i am thinking of sending this (below), what do you think?

Dear Sir

You have not complied or even replied to my earlier letter, dated 23 April 2007, and I find this very disturbing.
Since my last letter a further £125 has been taken out of my account, while it was in debit. This is the second time that an illegal charge has been removed from my account while it was in debit, which I know to be against my contract. Furthermore, my account is currently being charged a further £25 for the removal of the above charge, which is illegal.

The amount currently owed to me by your company is £800; this includes all illegal charges and interest. This figure will increase every time a charge is removed from my account.

My solicitor has been informed of these events and is keeping a strict record. If you do not respond or reimburse the funds taken out of my account illegally within 10 days, I will report your company and I will be forced to sue your company for Breech of Contract and Theft.

[Shaun]

I;d not bother. Get yourself over to the Consumer Action Group and read up on the process you need to follow. Send the standard letters and follow the process given to the letter. DON'T send ad hoc letters of your own as they're likely to undermine your case.

If you follow the correct process you should get your money back.

Also - STOP USING YOUR DEBIT CARD IF YOU HAVE NO MONEY!

Even though the charges are disproportionately you still don't have the right to spend money you don't have!

[Chrysalis]

Shaun I expect these people may have done the advice, its luck if you end up in court or not, seemingly the ones that ended up in court are because the bank was too overwhelmed and it wasnt intended. Sending the letter templates doesnt affect what happens in court the court preparation does and to be fair I havent seen much advice on court preparation because all the sites like CAG are so confident that you wont end up in court so they not bothering.

Also - STOP USING YOUR DEBIT CARD IF YOU HAVE NO MONEY!

Umm with my debit card if I get a declined payment there is no charges, didnt you mean stop setting up direct debits when you know they will bounce?

[Derek]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6711197.stm

Originally Posted by BBC

A Judge at Hull county court has threatened to strike out claims by 20 bank customers who are suing for the refund of overdraft charges.
...
It is the first time a judge in the UK has quoted this case as a precedent.

[Mr Angry]

Originally Posted by Faulty

I have been charged £25 everytime i use my card beyond my overdraft, so i took the advice given in this thread, unfortunately it hasn't worked. They have taken a further £275 in charges in the last 2 months, they have also removed the charges while my account was in debit (over my overdraft), furthermore, they are charging me a further £25 for taking the second charge. I am really fep up and angry now, i have had no response to any of my letters, so i am thinking of sending this (below), what do you think?

Dear Sir

You have not complied or even replied to my earlier letter, dated 23 April 2007, and I find this very disturbing.
Since my last letter a further £125 has been taken out of my account, while it was in debit. This is the second time that an illegal charge has been removed from my account while it was in debit, which I know to be against my contract. Furthermore, my account is currently being charged a further £25 for the removal of the above charge, which is illegal.

The amount currently owed to me by your company is £800; this includes all illegal charges and interest. This figure will increase every time a charge is removed from my account.

My solicitor has been informed of these events and is keeping a strict record. If you do not respond or reimburse the funds taken out of my account illegally within 10 days, I will report your company and I will be forced to sue your company for Breech of Contract and Theft.

Assuming the letter of April 23rd referenced above is your first correspondence with your bank then I'm afraid you haven't followed the "advice given in this thread" as the timespan between April 23rd and May 30th does not exceed the time afforded a respondent in respect of compliance with a SAR under the DPA (40 days).

Originally Posted by Faulty

what do you think?

I think you should calm down, count to 10 and be a bit more responsible about your overdraft spending.

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by Mr Angry

Assuming the letter of April 23rd referenced above is your first correspondence with your bank then I'm afraid you haven't followed the "advice given in this thread" as the timespan between April 23rd and May 30th does not exceed the time afforded a respondent in respect of compliance with a SAR under the DPA (40 days).



I think you should calm down, count to 10 and be a bit more responsible about your overdraft spending.

There was no need to go down the DPA route as we had the information to hand from bank statements.
Faulty's tried contacting the bank regarding this and has been ignored every time, although last time she actually went into the branch to discuss it, they admitted they were wrong to take the charges, but said they couldn't do anything about it as it was with another dept!
Many of the charges are charges for charges, where we've had to use her card because my work has screwed up my pay day (I blame Gordon Brown) or where Barclays have delayed clearing cheques into my account (should take 6 days, our deposit cheque from our last house took 7 working days to clear).
The card hasn't been used for about a month now, and there are no plans to use the account again as my wages have been sorted.

The above letter has been discarded, and I've taken over, using the info on the moneysavingexpert website. Currently waiting for the 40 days to run out on the DPA request I've sent to HSBC for my old account.

[Mr Angry]

Originally Posted by Xaccers

There was no need to go down the DPA route as we had the information to hand from bank statements.
Faulty's tried contacting the bank regarding this and has been ignored every time, although last time she actually went into the branch to discuss it, they admitted they were wrong to take the charges, but said they couldn't do anything about it as it was with another dept!
Many of the charges are charges for charges, where we've had to use her card because my work has screwed up my pay day (I blame Gordon Brown) or where Barclays have delayed clearing cheques into my account (should take 6 days, our deposit cheque from our last house took 7 working days to clear).
The card hasn't been used for about a month now, and there are no plans to use the account again as my wages have been sorted.

The above letter has been discarded, and I've taken over, using the info on the moneysavingexpert website. Currently waiting for the 40 days to run out on the DPA request I've sent to HSBC for my old account.

Xaccers old chap,

Be careful in what you're doing. By "taking over" from aul ma Xaccers you are affording the bank even more leverage in that they will draw this out as long as possible.

Additionally, under no circumstances should you or she be explaining to the bank how they arrived at a position whereby they thought they were entitled to levy charges. In doing so you are weakening your case by affording them the opportunity to find fault in her / your money management and you / she might well find yourselves in a predicament whereby they close her / your account citing this as a (perfectly reasonable) reason for doing so.

You know where to find me.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by Chrysalis

Shaun I expect these people may have done the advice, its luck if you end up in court or not, seemingly the ones that ended up in court are because the bank was too overwhelmed and it wasnt intended.

It is intended - even if they know they're not going to win it'll weed out some of the claims as some customers will threaten court but not go through. Instant savings for the beancounters!

Sending the letter templates doesnt affect what happens in court the court preparation does and to be fair I havent seen much advice on court preparation because all the sites like CAG are so confident that you wont end up in court so they not bothering.

It does matter - if you're not reasonable and fair in your dealings with them it'll not go in your favor when you get to court.

Umm with my debit card if I get a declined payment there is no charges, didnt you mean stop setting up direct debits when you know they will bounce?

I have been charged £25 everytime i use my card beyond my overdraft,

This is what some banks apply under the guise of a "card misuse fee" when you use your card to either spend money via switch or guarantee cheques when you don't have the money.

Not all card transactions that will take you overdrawn are declined.

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by Mr Angry

Xaccers old chap,

Be careful in what you're doing. By "taking over" from aul ma Xaccers you are affording the bank even more leverage in that they will draw this out as long as possible.

Additionally, under no circumstances should you or she be explaining to the bank how they arrived at a position whereby they thought they were entitled to levy charges. In doing so you are weakening your case by affording them the opportunity to find fault in her / your money management and you / she might well find yourselves in a predicament whereby they close her / your account citing this as a (perfectly reasonable) reason for doing so.

You know where to find me.

By taking over I just mean I'll print out the letters as per the process and get her to sign them rather than ad-hoc correspondance.


Interstingly, about 9 months ago HSBC sent her a letter saying that they no longer charged pentalty fees but £25 admin fees for increasing your overdraft to cover the outgoings.
£25 per increase. However where someone had a £100 overdraft, if they had a bill etc come out taking it to £150, they were charged £25 for the extention of the overdraft, but the overdraft remained at £100, so if monies were put into the account to bring the overdraft back into the £100 limit, then something else came out, another charge would be applied.
Also, the charging for a few quid over the limit didn't start until September, when it suddenly started and became quite heavy, with charges taking the account over the overdraft limit, and further charges because of that.

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by Shaun

It is intended - even if they know they're not going to win it'll weed out some of the claims as some customers will threaten court but not go through. Instant savings for the beancounters!



It does matter - if you're not reasonable and fair in your dealings with them it'll not go in your favor when you get to court.







This is what some banks apply under the guise of a "card misuse fee" when you use your card to either spend money via switch or guarantee cheques when you don't have the money.

Not all card transactions that will take you overdrawn are declined.

yeah I know someone who had a switch and it allowed him to spend money he didnt have strange, my visa certianly doesnt allow it and payment would be declined and thats the end of the matter.

cheque garuantuee is a diff kettle of fish, and that is irresponsible writing cheques you know wouldnt clear but the bank has to approve them due to the garuantuee.

I think the evil here is direct debits, they are automated, fixed dates and apply a fee regardless if they clear or not when insufficent funds are available, standing orders the same.

From what I understand with the birmingham case is the guy followed correct procedure right up to the court day. ie. he was reasonable and fair and used correct letter templates it was his court preperation that let him down such as not having his original t&c's with him as evidence.

---------- Post added at 04:12 ---------- Previous post was at 04:10 ----------

Originally Posted by Xaccers

By taking over I just mean I'll print out the letters as per the process and get her to sign them rather than ad-hoc correspondance.


Interstingly, about 9 months ago HSBC sent her a letter saying that they no longer charged pentalty fees but £25 admin fees for increasing your overdraft to cover the outgoings.
£25 per increase. However where someone had a £100 overdraft, if they had a bill etc come out taking it to £150, they were charged £25 for the extention of the overdraft, but the overdraft remained at £100, so if monies were put into the account to bring the overdraft back into the £100 limit, then something else came out, another charge would be applied.
Also, the charging for a few quid over the limit didn't start until September, when it suddenly started and became quite heavy, with charges taking the account over the overdraft limit, and further charges because of that.

What about if payments bounced whats the new fee for that called? I assume there would be such a fee.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by Chrysalis

yeah I know someone who had a switch and it allowed him to spend money he didnt have strange, my visa certianly doesnt allow it and payment would be declined and thats the end of the matter.

VISA Electron and Solo both authorize every transaction. That's why you can't use them on a train to buy a ticket as there's no connection to the network.
Maestro and VISA debit both can be used when they can't be checked for authorisation or on paper vouchers up to the companies floor limit. That's how people can spend money they don't have. (It's the same with credit cards!)

If you have Solo or VISA Electron then you shouldn't (but I have seen it) be able to spend money that isn't there.

If you misuse your Maestro/VISA Debit card many companys do charge you for every transaction.

---------- Post added at 13:42 ---------- Previous post was at 13:34 ----------

Originally Posted by Xaccers

By taking over I just mean I'll print out the letters as per the process and get her to sign them rather than ad-hoc correspondance.


Interstingly, about 9 months ago HSBC sent her a letter saying that they no longer charged pentalty fees but £25 admin fees for increasing your overdraft to cover the outgoings.
£25 per increase. However where someone had a £100 overdraft, if they had a bill etc come out taking it to £150, they were charged £25 for the extention of the overdraft, but the overdraft remained at £100, so if monies were put into the account to bring the overdraft back into the £100 limit, then something else came out, another charge would be applied.
Also, the charging for a few quid over the limit didn't start until September, when it suddenly started and became quite heavy, with charges taking the account over the overdraft limit, and further charges because of that.

The new T&C I got from HSBC told me that they would never charge charges on charges. It may be worth digging out the leaflet and checking.

They also said they would not make a charge that was greater than the amount that you went over drawn by. for example you go £18.76 over drawn - they'd not charge you £25 for it.

Our Fair Fees Policy

Our Fair Fees Policy means that we will not charge any fees for agreeing either formal or informal overdraft requests, unless they occur frequently.

* You will not have to pay for your first agreed overdraft request (formal or informal) in any 6 month period. Each further request in a 6 month period may incur an arrangement fee.
* You will not have to pay fees for being overdrawn by £10 or less.
* You will not have to pay more in fees than you are overdrawn by in your charging month***, so a £15 overdraft will not cost you £50.
* You will not have to pay a fee for an informal overdraft request if your account is credited with covering funds by the end of the same day.

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/c...dkPk:11j77hvaa

I think that even though the charges are still too hight for my liking (I'd like to see it around the 5 to 8 pound mark) the charging policy set out by HSBC is one of the fairer ones. No fee for your first bounce in 6 months, no fee if you pay in cash to cover it before close of play. No fees if you go less than £10 overdrawn!

*** Interesting point Xassers

[newguy]

Hello folks,

Well what can I say except better late than never in ref to me sending off the Data Protection Act letter!!! I just done so last Thursday registered so they will have had it by last Friday. I sent it to....
The Data Controller/Compliance Officer
HALIFAX PLC (Bank of Scotland)
TRINITY ROAD
HALIFAX
WEST YORKSHIRE
HX1 2RG

I made the cheque for the £10 out to Halifax Bank of Scotland plc. I'm hoping I sent it to the right office and made the cheque out to the correct dept so I'll update you on my progress from here. Fingers crossed and thanks for all those who gave advice and direction up till now.

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by Shaun

VISA Electron and Solo both authorize every transaction. That's why you can't use them on a train to buy a ticket as there's no connection to the network.
Maestro and VISA debit both can be used when they can't be checked for authorisation or on paper vouchers up to the companies floor limit. That's how people can spend money they don't have. (It's the same with credit cards!)

If you have Solo or VISA Electron then you shouldn't (but I have seen it) be able to spend money that isn't there.

If you misuse your Maestro/VISA Debit card many companys do charge you for every transaction.

---------- Post added at 13:42 ---------- Previous post was at 13:34 ----------

When I use my visa debit card over the phone I am told its been authorised the payment and I have in the past had a payment declined due to insufficent funds, the only way I can spend money I dont have on it from what I see is if I write a cheque covered by the cheque garuantuee. Note my card isnt an electron its a proper visa debit card.