Bank Charges

[Mr Darn]

Check it out guys and gals, Tom is taking the banks on head on!

"Court Battle In The News"

just so you lot know, i got awarded a few hundred pounds today after 2 letters to my bank, the first stating i was intending to take them to court if no offer was made, then, after a standard reply from the bank saying 'no' i sent a second saying i would disregard the last letter and give them 28 days to make an offer before i handed the matter over to my solicitor.

i can prove £1,200 of charges, and they offered me £750 to settle, which, when you think the charge was fair, just the monitary amount was excessive, means i am better off now than if i had given money to a solicitor or went with a 'no win no fee' £200 + 20% deal...

what do you lot think? shall i accept it or wait and see what happens with tom?

Poll closes on Friday@12 midday!

[Andy Millne]

You should absolutely NOT take the offer. I have already been through the process and sure enough the bank settled in full before going to court. Not a single case has gone as far as the courts so just hold out, fill in your court allocation questionaire, wait for a court date and the cheque to land on your doormat.

Plenty of advice available from the consumer action group website and the motley fool website.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/your-money/curr...rd-charges.aspx

I voted wait for tom's decision but really just get the forms in to the courts on time and wait for the settlement in full.

The above doesn't constitute legal advice ..... blah blah blah..... all lawyers are rogues...... blah blah blah ........ Santa Clause does not exist.

[Pete]

You should absolutely NOT take the offer. I have already been through the process and sure enough the bank settled in full before going to court. Not a single case has gone as far as the courts so just hold out, fill in your court allocation questionaire, wait for a court date and the cheque to land on your doormat.

Plenty of advice available from the consumer action group website and the motley fool website.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/your-money/curr...rd-charges.aspx

I voted wait for tom's decision but really just get the forms in to the courts on time and wait for the settlement in full.

The above doesn't constitute legal advice ..... blah blah blah..... all lawyers are rogues...... blah blah blah ........ Santa Clause does not exist.

True

[Blank]

Didn't Barry_Jones say something about claiming off banks or something in a previous post?

"im sure everyone has heard about reclaiming thier bank charges...but has anyone else tried?At first i wasnt sure if it would work,but i thought why not.I coulnt believe my eyes when i got a letter from the bank offering to credit my account for £375 for unfair charges for the past 6 years!My claim was for £400 so i was very happy about that.I used an online company to do all the work for me and they take 20% of the final offer.All i had to do was give them my details and wait.C,mon everyone lets get revenge on the banks!"

So what is all of this about?

So whats classed as an unfair charge?

[Monsta®]

Santa Clause does not exist.

thats not true! he does exist! so who's that in eldon square at crimbo time and at metro centre and manor walks and every where else! if he didn't have a magic sledge how could he be in all these places at the same time?

[Andy Millne]

The deal is that the banks charge you for exceeding your overdraft, cheque bouncing etc.. but the OFT have stated that they believe the amount charged to be unfair and in some circumstances this charge is as high as £75. A lawful charge would "accurately reflect the banks actual administrative cost". In other words the banks should be charging I would say at most about 50p per infraction (the cost to send an automated letter notifying you of your breach, I never received any letter incidently for any charge that was issued so I think even that is steep).

So in brief an unfair charge is anything that doesn't accurately reflect the banks administrative charges and since the banks won't disclose their admin costs the whole of the charge is unlawful.

I managed to recover all charges going back six years plus interest (don't forget to claim interest plus your court filing costs). no need for any solicitor.

Don't take this on lightly however make sure you do your research thoroughly and build your case properly in the event that it does (however unlikely) go to court. There is plenty of information out there.

[BedlingtonLass]

i have already bent mr darns ear on this matter so he knows my opinion, i believe he should take the £750 this will enable him to move on a little financially

[Blank]

I would take it all the way until you get every penny back!

[Guest mongo]

dont take it they will offer you more money if you keep at them

[Cympil]

Personally,i would talk to Citizens Advice before i made a decision..

[Blank]

Honsetly, those avatars totally creep me out!

[Cympil]

Honsetly, those avatars totally creep me out!

Who`s? Mine? It`s only me school photo

[Guest mongo]

i dont look creepy do i?

[Blank]

i dont look creepy do i?

Is that really you Cympil?

Should have gone to specsavers.

And Mongo, its not christmas now, you can take the santy hat off.

[Cympil]

Is that really you Cympil?

Should have gone to specsavers.

And Mongo, its not christmas now, you can take the santy hat off.

:lol: :lol:

[Cympil]

i dont look creepy do i?

You look like Dean Dixon from my street :lol:

[Andy Millne]

i have already bent mr darns ear on this matter so he knows my opinion, i believe he should take the £750 this will enable him to move on a little financially

If the claim is for £1200 and they have only offered you £750 thats not a small sum you are walking away from if you settle early especially if you haven't figured in the interest on your £1200.

The banks have now paid out an estimated figure of over £50million and they are still saying that their reasons for settling EVERY SINGLE CASE out of court is purely for economic reasons? come on get real! you think if they had a case they wouldn't have defended it by now in the courts? the reason they haven't defended is that they can get away with putting people off by taking ages to reply to letters, stalling by any and all means necessary and offering lower settlement amounts.

This case with Tom Brennan is a seperate issue, he has already been offered a full settlement of the charges imposed plus interest and costs however he is pursuing a claim for further damages.

[Mr Darn]

If the claim is for £1200 and they have only offered you £750 thats not a small sum you are walking away from if you settle early especially if you haven't figured in the interest on your £1200.

The banks have now paid out an estimated figure of over £50million and they are still saying that their reasons for settling EVERY SINGLE CASE out of court is purely for economic reasons? come on get real! you think if they had a case they wouldn't have defended it by now in the courts? the reason they haven't defended is that they can get away with putting people off by taking ages to reply to letters, stalling by any and all means necessary and offering lower settlement amounts.

This case with Tom Brennan is a seperate issue, he has already been offered a full settlement of the charges imposed plus interest and costs however he is pursuing a claim for further damages.

Lets face it, if he wins, this will mean economic crisis, claims will flood in, banks will go bankrupt, it will be mayhem. he will be the barrister everyone wants in their corner, and he will make millions., however, if he looses....£750?? that will sort out 3 of my financial problems at the moment...

at the moment, my position is this:

they have said the money will be in my account in 10 days...i'll let this happen, if tom looses, i have £750 i wouldnt have had, if he wins, i'll say "hold on, i never said yes to this settlement, i want the full amount.!!"

that way, i cant lose, and i get the money straight away. hopefully this court case wont take long!!!

[Andy Millne]

well if the money would come in handy in your circumstances write to the banks solicitors and accept it as a partial settlement. Make sure you specify that you will continue with your claim to recover the full amount outstanding and don't sign their (illegal) ready-made full and final settlement form.

[threegee]

Lets face it, if he wins, this will mean economic crisis, claims will flood in, banks will go bankrupt, it will be mayhem...

That's nonsense - the banks are worth countless billions, and the BoE stands behind them anyway.

...i'll let this happen, if tom looses, i have £750 i wouldnt have had, if he wins, i'll say "hold on, i never said yes to this settlement, i want the full amount.!!"

that way, i cant lose, and i get the money straight away. hopefully this court case wont take long!!!

This could be a big mistake. The banks make their money from people's inertia, and it sounds like they are reading you right too. The longer you leave it the easier it is for them to claim an implied acceptance, and where would you be then? Are you then going to take them to court fighting on their own ground? The other matter could take years to settle in the courts, and probably will!

The best advice is already in this thread, but it sounds like you are talking yourself out of doing the necessary.

[Mr Darn]

That's nonsense - the banks are worth countless billions, and the BoE stands behind them anyway.

This could be a big mistake. The banks make their money from people's inertia, and it sounds like they are reading you right too. The longer you leave it the easier it is for them to claim an implied acceptance, and where would you be then? Are you then going to take them to court fighting on their own ground? The other matter could take years to settle in the courts, and probably will!

The best advice is already in this thread, but it sounds like you are talking yourself out of doing the necessary.

not at all, i was just stating my current position.

judging by the views on the poll, i think it may be better so ask for a little more.

what i dont want to happen is, say no to the cash now, then tom loses and i get nowt!

a third letter is already drafted...i'll wait till the weekend before i send it, like i said, friday@noon is showdown time!

[threegee]

...i think it may be better so ask for a little more...

I wouldn't use that adjective - ask for what you are due, no more and no less! Other than that will be read as weakness. You have the great advantage of knowing the banks current policy, so don't give them the counter advantage of knowing that you're not fully decided. Remember, you are just a minor irritation to them, and the very last thing they want is the publicity.

Stick the court papers on them at the earliest possible moment. As long as you do your homework, as others have, it will pan out OK. It's a well-worn path, with plenty of help on the net. Life is nothing but risk, however this one scores rather low.

[threegee]

A High Court judge has warned banks to stop behaving unreasonably when customers accuse them of levying unlawful overdraft charges.

Judge David Mackie QC issued the warning at the London Mercantile Court, in the Royal Courts of Justice.

He said some banks were wasting the time of claimants and the courts by pretending they would defend claims when they had no intention of doing so.

Full story from the Beeb here.

[Pencil_Neck]

Read this.........end of the train

Visit My Website

[Pete]

Read this.........end of the train

Visit My Website

Doesn't that just sum up what big Business can get away with in this country, the bank didn't even bother to turn up at court.