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The Guardian - Outfits offering to reclaim bank charges under scrutiny
A string of new companies set up to help customers reclaim bank charges and payouts after accidents could be breaking the rules of a new regulator created to police the burgeoning claims management industry.
By April 23 all companies offering advice on claims, from personal injury to bank charges, need to be authorised by the Department of Constitutional Affairs' new Claims Management Regulation body.The new regulator has already found 30 organisations that have sprung up to offer advice on reclaiming bank charges.
After being alerted by the Guardian, one of its first inquiries is likely to be into the Blackpool-based The Banking Advice People. The company offers to help refund bank charges but made repeated false assertions in a cold call to a Guardian reporter's mobile.
Claims Management Regulation has been created by the government to make it an offence for companies to provide claims management services without authorisation. Customers have begun to inundate their banks with claims for fees levied over the past six years, after the Office of Fair Trading deemed them excessive. The Financial Ombudsman service, which resolves disputes between firms and customers, saw complaints leap last month to some 1,200, with about 2,000 inquiries a day. It followed calculations by Which? the consumer body, that bank customers could see up to £3.5bn in unauthorised overdraft charges by the end of year.
The Guardian - Watchdogs back down over limits on high street bank charges
Britain's leading financial watchdogs have backed away from imposing restrictions on current account charges and the sale of controversial payment protection insurance after a campaign of sustained lobbying by high street banks.
The Office of Fair Trading said it was unable to follow the advice of consumer groups that have argued for a cap on current account charges, without an in-depth review. The watchdog said a review was needed after an initial study found "the banking industry is not straightforward and that a more detailed examination is needed".
Some banks have suggested recently that any regulatory moves to restrict bank charges could lead to the end of free accounts.
Consumer groups said the OFT's decision left millions of bank customers in the dark about charges levied for overdrafts, bounced cheques and direct debits and would force them to pay billions of pounds in excessive fees before the regulator's review was completed.
The Guardian - Formal investigation launched into bank charges
Britain's main financial watchdogs have backed away from imposing restrictions on current account charges and the sale of controversial payment protection insurance after a campaign of sustained lobbying by high street banks.
The Office of Fair Trading said it was unable to follow the advice of consumer groups that have argued for a cap on current account charges without an in-depth review. The watchdog said a review was needed after an initial study found "the banking industry is not straightforward and that a more detailed examination is needed".
Consumer groups said the decision left millions of bank customers in the dark about charges levied for overdrafts, bounced cheques and direct debits and would force them to pay billions of pounds in excessive fees before the review is completed.
The Guardian - OFT targets current account fees
A widely expected crackdown on the level of current account overdraft charges has been put on hold while banks and building societies are subjected to further scrutiny, it was announced today.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) had been expected to publish the results of its initial review of bank fees shortly, and was predicted to recommend a maximum level for the charges.
However, it said today that although it shares consumers' concerns about the level of fees, a flat cap on them would be impossible because of the different ways banks and building societies run accounts.
Instead detailed investigation was needed to work out how charges could be made fairer without account providers simply adding new fees elsewhere, the OFT said.
Emma Bandey, personal finance campaigner at the consumer group Which?, said it was right that the OFT investigate pricing across the board.
Ms Bandey said customers who had paid bank charges should act now to reclaim them, rather than waiting for the OFT's final report.
The Guardian - Consumers successfully reclaim bank charges
The majority of people who have taken on their bank over unfair overdraft charges have managed to get at least some of their cash refunded, the consumer group Which? said today.
In a survey of 2,200 people, 85% of those who had made a claim against their bank had won a payout equal to some or all of the money they had handed over in penalty payments for going overdrawn.
Which? said that if people who were initially turned down by their bank had persisted, this figure could be closer to 100%.
However, it also said people were still accepting charges without complaint, with two-thirds of those questioned saying they had yet to reclaim their money.
The Guardian - Nationwide backs down on account closures
Nationwide has backed down in the row over customers reclaiming their bank charges, and says it will not be closing the current accounts of people who have won refunds.
The move came days after Guardian Money took Britain's biggest building society to task for kicking out customers who had been given their money back after complaining about unfair charges.
Nationwide has also rewritten the letters it sends out to people who complain. Two weeks ago, we reported that it was telling people they could have a full refund - then sending them a letter saying their account would be closed, and if they tried to use their chequebook or card after the closure date, "we will view this as attempted fraud and may start legal action".
