Unfair bank charges - EVERYONE should read this!

Have any of you seen this?

http://www.bankcharges.info/

It's run by the Govan Law Centre and is one of the most helpful websites I've ever seen. My brother sent me a link several weeks back. I couldn't believe it at first - but if you read the info and user comments on there, it seems that the banks really HAVE been ripping us all off.

I've since claimed back £100 from one credit card company, been offered nearly £350 from Barclays, and am in the process of claiming back another £600, just by sending a couple of letters (templates for which are provided on that site). There are some people on there who've claimed back THOUSANDS, however!

I'm sending this link to all my friends....it's a great site..thank you.

My husband also found this website independently and I have just totted up my charges from 2002 to now and written to my bank.
I am at the end of my tether with HSBC as they have also just changed my name to the wrong married name and refuse to change it until ~I fill out some forms. I have now done this but for the past 2 weeks due to a catalogue of mishaps by them, including voiding my old card with my maiden name on it and sending me a new card and chequebook with the wrong name on it (hello, fraud?!); I have been unable to access my money. As the name is wrong, I can't even draw money out over the counter- I have no ID for a person who doesn't exist.
Anyway, I have also copied my letter in to BBC Moneybox programme who are running a campaign against unfair bank charges.
I'll keep you posted.

Jan the old one wrote:

I'm sending this link to all my friends....it's a great site..thank you.

Glad to be of help!

I hope more of you SE1 forumers check out that site - it's been like a small lottery win for me :-)

I claimed back £3.5k in bank charges and interest from HSBC and I have just been offered £2.5k by them.
I accepted, but then was told that if I had pursued it further by threatening to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, they would probably have offered more.
I am pretty happy with £2.5k though and I recommend everyone does this.
I will be closing my account with HSBC when I receive the money (in the next fortnight)as I have had enough of them after 10 yrs of unfair charges, indian call centres and utter incompetence.

I have never incurred bank or credit card charges or even had a reminder for any utility bill.
Surely paying your bills the day they arrive makes sense and certainly gives you peace of mind.
And now with online banking and telephone banking there's no reason to squander your hard earned cash on 'charges' for late payments.

A Tale of Two Cities
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.

How very helpful you are phoney (and smug!).
The charges aren't for late payment of bills, they usually occur for example when a direct debit goes out the day before you are paid, or a switch transaction which takes a few days to go through, is authorised and then takes you overdrawn.
A lot of mine were racked up when I was at law school, but it still happens occasionally now and is very unfair.
This thread is designed to help others who may be in the same situation.

I recommend first direct. I haven't had any bank charges since I switched to then 12 years ago.

When a direct debit was erroneously taken out early, I wasn't charged, and they even called me to apologise. And when I have accidentally gone overdrawn for a couple of days, I've never been charged, either. They are great.

phoney wrote:

A Tale of Two Cities Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.

I fear that my some of my colleagues believe me to be the living incarnation of Wilkins Micawber, but nevertheless, I must point out that this phrase is actually to found in local lad Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield"

Quote:

Welcome poverty!..Welcome misery, welcome houselessness, welcome hunger, rags, tempest, and beggary! Mutual confidence will sustain us to the end!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7364422.stm