Claiming Back Unfair Bank Charges
It is estimated that the top High St Banks earn over £4bn in penalty charges from people like you and me, and much of this might be illegal.
If you think you are one of those paying bank charges unfairly, you might be able to claim back from your bank any charges you have paid which might have been levied wrongly and illegally. And it is very easy to do. You are not going to make enough money to retire on but in these difficult times why pay any more than you need.
You should be aware that although the Office of Fair Trading won the right in 2008 to examine the fairness of Bank's terms and conditions, the Financial Services Authority has agreed that all claims will be placed on hold until this review has was concluded. However this should not prevent you from putting forward your claim. It just means that you might need to wait a bit until you get your money.
So how do you go about claiming your money back?
The basic law is very straightforward and is defined by The Unfair Contract Regulations of 1999 which says that penalty charges must reflect the administration costs involved and if banks are making a profit from levying these charges then they are acting illegally.
If you believe that the charges imposed by your bank are higher than the costs involved you have a case and you have the right to go back 6 years. So get hold of your last 6 years worth of statements and total up how much you have paid in bank charges over this time. If you do not have your statements to hand then ask your bank for them. They are legally obliged to provide these.
Once you know how much you have paid, write to your bank, politely and firmly is best, quoting the Unfair Contract Regulations and asking for your money to be refunded. You might be made a partial offer. Refuse to accept and threaten to take the case through the Small Claims Court's online money claim service. For more information on this go to www.moneyclaim.gov.uk and see how easy it is to make and submit a claim. This is the court's internet based service for making a money claim. It is simple, secure, convenient to use and, best of all, it's cheap.
Your bank has 14 days to respond but if you don't get a response, you now have the right to enter an outline case. At this point most banks tend to settle in full but should they fail to do so you can ask the court for a warrant of execution by completing form N323 which will authorise bailiffs to take items from the bank to the value of the claim.
And that is all there is to it. Good luck.
One final tip. Make sure you have a new bank account set up before you take on your bank. Banks don't take kindly to requests for money back and they have been known to close the accounts of customers challenging their behaviour.
You should be aware that although the Office of Fair Trading won the right in 2008 to examine the fairness of Bank's terms and conditions, the Financial Services Authority has agreed that all claims will be placed on hold until this review has was concluded. However this should not prevent you from putting forward your claim. It just means that you might need to wait a bit until you get your money.
So how do you go about claiming your money back?
The basic law is very straightforward and is defined by The Unfair Contract Regulations of 1999 which says that penalty charges must reflect the administration costs involved and if banks are making a profit from levying these charges then they are acting illegally.
If you believe that the charges imposed by your bank are higher than the costs involved you have a case and you have the right to go back 6 years. So get hold of your last 6 years worth of statements and total up how much you have paid in bank charges over this time. If you do not have your statements to hand then ask your bank for them. They are legally obliged to provide these.
Once you know how much you have paid, write to your bank, politely and firmly is best, quoting the Unfair Contract Regulations and asking for your money to be refunded. You might be made a partial offer. Refuse to accept and threaten to take the case through the Small Claims Court's online money claim service. For more information on this go to www.moneyclaim.gov.uk and see how easy it is to make and submit a claim. This is the court's internet based service for making a money claim. It is simple, secure, convenient to use and, best of all, it's cheap.
Your bank has 14 days to respond but if you don't get a response, you now have the right to enter an outline case. At this point most banks tend to settle in full but should they fail to do so you can ask the court for a warrant of execution by completing form N323 which will authorise bailiffs to take items from the bank to the value of the claim.
And that is all there is to it. Good luck.
One final tip. Make sure you have a new bank account set up before you take on your bank. Banks don't take kindly to requests for money back and they have been known to close the accounts of customers challenging their behaviour.
