Hy
I hope this will be of use to a lot of people as i have just requested the information today.
Read on and maybe......just maybe any bank charges you may get back from over 6 years worth could pay towards your Australia move, flight or fresh passports the list goes on.
This information isn't common knowledge and when you read on you will undr=erstand why the banks wish to keep it quiet.
Below is a copy of the script on the website i found this information and i rang my bank this morning and pressed the issue with them, guess what ? they finally gave in when i mentioned that it is my right under the Data Protection Act.
Read on
While every effort’s been made to ensure this article’s accuracy, it isn’t intended to be seen as legal advice and no liability can be accepted for any individual claimants who rely upon the information given.
It's believed any charges banks levy on their customers must be proportional to the actual costs they incur. The simple question is, ‘does it really cost £35 to send an automated letter when someone’s gone 1p over the limit?’
Thus write to your bank asking for a list of your last six years’ charges, add interest on top and ask for a full refund. When it refuses inform it you’ll go to court under the small claims system. In most cases, the bank will simply pay out. One person received £36,000.
Let’s be technical for a moment. The core rule being argued is that if there’s a breach of contract under English or Scottish law, any charge should not exceed the cost of the breach. In other words, banks can only impose charges which are in proportion to their costs.
Yet when you go beyond your overdraft limit, or have a cheque or direct debit payment bounce, the bank charges a penalty of £30 to £35 a time. Is a charge of this scale really proportionate? Remember it could simply be a charge for going a penny over the limit.
Importantly, the bank is actually fining you for going over the limit, and this fine is too high, hence under the law of penalties this is ‘extravagant’. After all, it simply sends a computer-generated automatic letter with a franked stamp. In fact a recent report by a Professor of Banking tasked with the job estimated the real cost, even being generous, to be only between £2.50 and £4.50.
When you look at all this together, bank charges are unlawful, and that means the bank did not have a right to take your money. Yet it did, and it did it automatically, thus you are entitled to get your cash back.
Isn’t it in the terms and conditions though?
Of course when you got the bank account there were terms and conditions (though most don’t read them). Yet that’s irrelevant; a contract must be written within the law, and they can’t enforce a contract with legally unfair terms. Ultimately if it isn't proportionate then it's unlawful, and thus you've a right to your money back. Let me use my favourite analogy for this:
If someone told you they were about to punch you before smacking you; it doesn’t make it legal. The same’s true with bank charges.
If anyone wants the website address then leave a reply to this thread.
Good Luck
