Extortionate bank charges

[iq_145]

Had a direct debit presented to the bank when there were insufficient funds in the account to pay it. Hence received a letter from the bank saying that the funds were insufficient to pay the third party, but that they had found sufficient funds there for them to pay themselves £35 of my money for the pleasure of sending an A4 piece of paper to me with a second-class stamp.

The letter was entirely automated and cost the bank nothing, apart from one sheet of paper, one envelope, one (franking machine) stamp, some ink and the cost of paying someone to place the letter in the envelope. Three pounds should have more than covered the bank's expense, not £35 !

Given that there is a court case going on regarding bank charges in general, it is probably not the right time to take this to a small claim (the bank manager has refused to refund my money), since the court will just postpone the case until the big one is finished (which may be years away yet).

Anyone found themselves in a similar situation? Any advice? Am I entitled to a bill for the £35 I unwittingly paid them? Is their unilateral award to themselves legitimate?

[girlgye]

suggest paying it and then keeping the receipts and do about 6 months study on this site and you should know what to do to get your charges back and triple them with a good boot back in the face besides. Btw this site will also lead you to most of the major gurus and the grand daddy to answer your question.

Also I came into this with my back against the wall for various reasons. It's taken me 8 months to finally decide who I am.

No quick fixes.:)

[iq_145]

suggest paying it and then keeping the receipts and do about 6 months study on this site and you should know what to do to get your charges back and triple them with a good boot back in the face besides. Btw this site will also lead you to most of the major gurus and the grand daddy to answer your question.

Also I came into this with my back against the wall for various reasons. It's taken me 8 months to finally decide who I am.

No quick fixes.:)

Thanks for that.

Since posting the question, I've done a little research; the banks are only allowed to recoup their loss, hence they would need to justify their costs which, of course, they cannot do. I now think a small claim would stand a very good chance of success. :)

[aura]

I would call the bank and inform them about the recent letter which you've received and why the funds wasn't there to cover the costs.

The bank should cancel the charge, as they don't have the legal right to ever win these cases, which is why they always drop the charges.
I had the automated letter about 6 months ago for missing about £2 and it only took about 3 minutes 'once they answered' to have them cancel the request. Good luck!

For more information:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com

[girlgye]

Thanks for that.

Since posting the question, I've done a little research; the banks are only allowed to recoup their loss, hence they would need to justify their costs which, of course, they cannot do. I now think a small claim would stand a very good chance of success. :)

Yes some banks are reasonable others are greedy feckers. So have they changed the law then on these greedy fat cat bankers getting £40 a pop in bank charges just cos you've gone 6p over your credit limit?

[iq_145]

I would call the bank and inform them about the recent letter which you've received and why the funds wasn't there to cover the costs.

The bank should cancel the charge, as they don't have the legal right to ever win these cases, which is why they always drop the charges.
I had the automated letter about 6 months ago for missing about £2 and it only took about 3 minutes 'once they answered' to have them cancel the request. Good luck!

For more information:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com


Thank you; most helpful.

The bank manager kept talking about a court case that was "ongoing." He said it had been going for two years and could last another two. Someone at Head Office said that I had to wait until January. This is all rubbish. They are only allowed to charge for their loss. The "court case" turns out to be a time waiver that the banks desperately negotiated (and continue to try and extend past Jan 2010).

Any real court case and they pay up straight away.

But wait a minute. Isn't stealing money theft? Isn't that a crime under common law? Can we not send the boys in blue in? :)