Important Information - Read before making a Claim!
Although you have every right to make a claim for your Bank Charges to be refunded, there are a couple of things to bear in mind before you start:
Make sure you have a backup Bank Account at another Bank!
Because so many people are rightfully claiming back their bank charges, and taking money away from the banks, they are starting to fight back! Because they can't legally stop you from claiming your charges back, they are resorting to "Dirty Tricks" to try to put people off claiming.
The most common of these is to refund you your charges, and then close your account, which they are legally allowed to do.
If you are claiming charges back on an account you don't use any more, or thats already been closed, then you have nothing to worry to about, as you won't be affected.
However, if you are claiming back bank charges on your main day to day account, you need to be prepared for the fact that it could be closed. Its a good idea to have a backup account at another bank so you aren't left with out a cash card, cheque book or direct debit facility for example, in case they do close your account.
Having their accounts closed does not happen to everyone, but it is on the increase as more people are claiming. Obviously, the less you claim for, the less chance you have of them closing your account, as the bank still make money out of you all the time you are with them, so they don't want to lose all their customers!
It shouldn't put you off claiming back your bank charges, just make sure you are prepared before you start your claim, in case it does happen to you.
If you have credit from the bank, such as an overdraft, make sure you have provisions elsewhere to cover it!
As above, if the bank close your account, then they will ask for you to pay back any credit you have on the account, such as an overdraft. In some cases, the banks have closed accounts and then put debt collectors onto people who couldn't pay everything back straight away.
If you have a good credit rating, it shouldn't be a problem getting an overdraft or credit elsewhere, and then you can simply use that to pay off your existing overdraft.
If you have a poor credit rating however, you may find it difficult to obtain credit from a new lender, so this is something to bear in mind before you start claiming your charges, so that you can be prepared.
Make sure you are prepared to follow through!
Claiming your bank charges back isn't an instant process, and it can take a number of months before you get your charges back (although there is little work to do, mostly it is a case of waiting for the bank to respond).
You may also have to take the bank to court in order to get an amount of charges back that you are happy with (as the banks usually make an offer lower than the amount of charges, down to 50% with some banks). Make sure that you are prepared to do this before you start, otherwise you are wasting your own time, and delaying the bank from processing other peoples applications.
You do not have to physically attend the court to put in a claim, it can be done over the internet, so don't worry about having to take time off to do this. There is a charge however to bring the case to court, usually £120 or less for claims of less than £5000 (which can be dealt with in the Small Claims Court). You will get this back however, when you win the case, or if the bank backs down before the case is heard.
Don't rely on the money refunded by the Bank!
Because you don't know how long its going to be before you get your bank charges refunded, its important not to add the money to your budget, and rely on it, to pay off other bills for example.
Although you will definately get your bank charges back, you need to think of them as a bonus, and money you weren't expecting.
Can the Bank put a damaging entry in my Credit File if I claim my Charges back?
Some people are worried that if they claim their bank charges back, the bank will put a black mark on their credit file, and this stops them from claiming.
Rest assured though, the banks are not legally allowed to do this, so it won't be a problem.
Don't let any of the above put you off Claiming back your Bank Charges!
Most importantly, don't let anything above put you off claiming back your bank charges! The charges were taken illegally, so you have every right to ask for them to be refunded to you.
The details above are just to let you know what can happen, so that you can be prepared before you start claiming your charges back, and you won't have any problems if the bank decides to play dirty!
