reclaim your bank changes

Taking the bank to court or the FSA

2009-11-23T05:09:00.001-08:00

This is the last step (if you can prove that you are experiencing financial hardship, the bank should settle much sooner - the FSA has instructed them to do so).

Taking the bank to court or the FSA will be more stressful than the earlier stages.

---
If you’ve reached this stage, you now have two choices and need to either consider getting legal on their backsides or going to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS), which also has power over these cases.

It may seem strange, having threatened court action, to now consider a change of tack and go to the Ombudsman. The reason is simple, threatening court action in the earlier letters is more likely to push the bank into offering a settlement; yet remember this guide is a negotiation path designed to get you your money back as easily and swiftly as possible.

So once we’re at this point, even though we’ve threatened court action, there’s no need to follow through. If the right move is to change tack, that’s not a problem.

see step 4 at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/bank-charges#step2 for more details.

Threaten to take it to court

2009-11-23T05:04:00.001-08:00

Write to your bank telling them you intend to take them to court to recover the charges (and court costs added on top).
Local Courts are treating the bank charges cases differently, so you might still be waiting a while.

Sample letters can be found in Step 3 at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/bank-charges#step2

Reply from your bank

2009-11-23T05:01:00.000-08:00

It is likely that you will get a reply from your bank saying they are waiting for the results of the test case.

Well the good news is the test case results are due in approximately 48 hours time (on the 25th of November 2009).

Its likely the bank will challenge any ruling, so we could still be waiting for a nother year before the banks acutally start to settle.

Next step

2009-09-15T03:10:00.001-07:00

Next step

Once you got your bank statements for the last six years, you need to work out how much you’ve paid in bank charges for:

Unauthorised overdrafts charges and interest
Unpaid cheques
Unpaid direct debits
Unpaid standing orders

Go through each statement and record the cost of the charges on each statement.

You need to decide if you want to reclaim these payments with or without interest, there is a calculator at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/bank-charges#step2.

Once you worked out your charges with or without interest, you need to write to your bank asking for your money back, again there are sample letters on the website listed above.

If you apply to reclaim this money through the County Court, you will need to re-enter each charge and interest into another calculator.

With any luck, you bank will respond quickly, and may make you an offer, however, they may fob you off until the ruling we are waiting for, which may or may not come in October 2009.

First Things First

2009-08-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

You need to get you bank statements for the last six years (July 2001 to July 2007) ... if you have not got them, contact your bank and ask them to provide you with the information.

You need to know all:

Unauthorised overdraft charges
Unauthorised overdraft debit interest
Charges applied because of bounced cheques, direct debits and standing orders.

If you phone, the bank may just ask for a letter, but try phoning first.

From personal experience, I have learnt that it is best to send a letter by recorded delivery, as you will have the date and a signature of the person receiving the letter at the bank.

The Data Protection Act allows you to demand this information be provided to you within 40 days, include a cheque for £10.00 payable to your bank, as this is the amount they are allowed to ask for. Send the cheque with your letter, and record the cheque number.

Make sure you ask for a list of charges and not statements for six years - my bank charges £5 per copy statement - that would cost me more than the money I'm claiming back.

There is a sample letter that you could use ... available from http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/redir/5dfbe25a - ensure that you follow the letter up, as the 40 days may turn into 100 - like it did for me.

Good Luck

Through this blog I will help people reclaim money from their banks

2009-08-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

During the last sixe years, if you've paid any unauthorised overdraft charges and interest, and had cheques, standing orders or direct debits returned unpaid ... you may be able to claim this money back.

I will use this blog to go through the various stages that I am working through, I will link to websites that may be of assistance, and I will of course bring you the final result of my claim.