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BANK CHARGES: Will my bank close my account if I pursue them? |
I am considering claiming back some bank charges from the last couple of years but I am worried that I will be asked to close my bank account if I am sucessful. The amount in question is relativly small (but I would rather have it my pocket than theirs!), so if I know that my account will be closed I will probably not bother getting the money back. An article on the BBC News site mention that one bank has used this practice but does not name anyone. Has anyone else tried to get money back from the Natwest, and what was the outcome? This has happened to some people in the past, and the standard advice is to have a backup bank account to use if the worst comes to the worst. However, the situation is starting to change now because so many people are claiming their bank charges back. If the bank shut down the account of everyone who claimed, then they`d have very few customers left! The main way the banks make their profit is by borrowing your money (by having it in the bank) and giving you a small amount of interest, and lending it out to others at a much higher interest rate. The difference between the two rates is how the banks make their profit. Even if you claim your charges back, the bank still need your money to make a profit. If you are only claiming back a small amount, the bank is much less likely to close your account. Its only really used for to try and put people off claiming large amounts back. The OFT are also looking into the situation, as although the bank can choose to legally close your account at any time, they should not be penalising you for claiming back your charges. I haven't personally claimed back from Natwest, my claims have been with the HSBC, but many users of my site have successfully claimed from natwest, in the end the procedure is the same for all banks. Only, last week, one man got back 拢36,000 from Natwest! If you follow the procedures correctly, you WILL get all your charges back, the banks cannot win, and won't even try! They will drag things out into court, but when it actually comes to the hearing they will either settle before hand, or just won't turn up, so you will win the case. The charges you can claim back are penalty charges, for breaking the terms and conditions of your contract with the bank, basically charges for things that take you overdrawn like a bounced cheque or direct debit or a card misuse fee. The process to claim your charges back is: 1) Write to the bank and ask them for a copy of your charges for the last 6 years, or alternatively a set of statements for the same period. You do this by making a "Subject Access Request" under the Data Protection Act, enclosing a cheque for 拢10 made out to the bank. This by passes the banks normal charges for statements which is normal a large amount for 6 years worth. The bank have 40 days to send you the data. 2) Write to the bank asking them to refund your charges, giving them 14 days to reply, attaching a "Schedule of Charges" (a list of the charges you are claiming for). 3) Send the bank a "Letter before Action" giving the bank one last chance to refund your charges before you take court action. They have 14 days to reply. 4) File a claim online using the Money Claim Online web site run by the UK Court Service. The claim is served on the bank 5 days after its submitted. The bank has 14 days to acknowledge the claim. If they don't you can request a "Judgement by Default" and you win the case, and get your charges, statutory interest at 8%, and your court fees. If they do acknowledge the claim, they then have 14 days to submit a defence (making 28 days in total from the date the claim was served). If they don't then you can again request a "Judgement by Default", and get back your charges, interest and court fees as above. If they file a defence, then you and the bank get an "Allocation Questionnaire" to fill in. Some judges dismiss the case at this stage, as the bank can't win, so again you win. If this doesn't happen, a hearing date is allocated. The bank will either back out before the hearing, or won't turn up in court. Again you win the case and get your charges, interest and fees. Follow the correct procedures and you will get your charges back! Its important to send all letters to the bank and courts by recorded delivery, so you can prove they were received, and more importantly when they were received (which you can find from the tracking section of the Royal Mail web site). Also make sure that you send all letters to the banks head office, and not your local branch. Don't phone the bank either, as this can delay things and you have no proof of whats been said. Have a look at my website below, which gives detailed guides to the process of claiming your charges back, along with template letters and spreadsheets you can put your own details into and send to the bank. There are also forums to get further advice, and a complete guide to using Money Claim Online to file your claim online in the small claims court. Basically, it has all the info you need to get your charges back! The site is free to use! Source(s): http://www.claimbankchargesback.co.uk/... If you were charged bank charges for no reason, I would go for it and get it back! And if they threaten to close your account, I would let them. There are millions more banks that are probly better than the one your at! they cannot cancel your account for this reason. they can cancel it if you have no money in your account. and are no longer using it. natwest closed my account when i had 拢5 in it, and hadn't used it for one year. without telling me or giving me warning. (that was a while ago though, and these banks seem to keep changing their practices so often lately) MY MATE JUST DID THE SAME THING AT HSBC FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS HE GOT A CHEQUE FOR 拢571 SO PURSUE IT THEY CANT CLOSE YOUR ACCOUNT IF THEY DO GET ON TO THE BANKING OMBUDSMEN . IT DOSENT MATTER WHAT BANK YOUR WITH THEY WILL ALL TRY TO EXTRACT AS MUCH AS THEY CAN OUT OF YOU SO STAND UP TO THEM AND BE CONTED GOOD LUCK just go for it i claimed my charges back for the last 6 years which is as far back as you are allowed to go this cost me ten pounds to do but ended up with a nice amount of nearly 2 grand being put back into my account when i threatened them with court action its you money not theirs after all i think they make enough money from us anyway I've looked into claiming back charges but haven't actually done it yet. However, it appears that most banks will close your account if you claim back your charges. If they do this though then find another bank (or even another way as Natwest says! Lol). Alliance and Leicester are a good bank and if you get a friend who also has an account with them to recommended you then you both get free money! Try this link for more info and search for bank charges for the right article and impartial advice on all thing money http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/... Good luck |
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