Intro
Ever been stiffed by a bank with charges you thought were unreasonable? Then we've got just the thing for you - a step-by-step guide for how to get your money back and with interest on top! It's been written by a HEXUS.forum member who wishes to remain anonymous but who has successfully taken on his bank and won - with free help provided by The Consumer Action Group.
There has been a lot of talk in the media lately about bank fees - whether or not they are lawful and whether or not they are enforceable. By now you’ve probably heard about people who've threatened to take banks to court, forcing them to back down and hand over the money.
Bank charges are big business. Last year Which? estimated that the top four UK high street banks made £3 billion from these charges alone.
As the banks make so much from charges and levy them so freely - one in five bank customers is hit - you’d presume that they are only doing what they're legally entitled to.
But, it appears that isn't the case - I'm not aware of a single bank that's allowed a claim to reach court. They’ve always paid up just before the court date – in one case paying 600 per cent of what was being claimed to avoid court.
Bank charges are not legally enforceable if they are penalties. Penalty clauses in contracts in English (and Scottish) law for breach of contract are not legal if the penalty exceeds the actual cost of the breach to either party.
How much does it cost Natwest or HSBC or any of the others to send a letter that is automatically detected, printed and even automatically stamped electronically?
£25? £38?
No, nothing like it; it's pennies.
Added to that, typically, they only send out the letter the first time it happens but they still charge you each and every time.
And how much does it cost a bank to return a direct debit, standing order, or cheque?
Again, a trivial amount.
Now, I'm just one of thousands of people who've taken on the banks and won back the money banks have lifted from them - and that's something anyone can do.
In my view, though, there's only one place to start - The Consumer Action Group.
The service is free – though you're asked for a voluntary five per cent donation if you win - and the site has everything you need to successfully reclaim unjustifiable bank charges.
You will, though, need to register to access the forums where various documents – and where many of the URLs below point.
On the site, every stage is laid out step-by-step and every letter that you need is ready and waiting as a template. The minute it takes to register is going to save you an awful lot of time – and make certain that things goes smoothly. The forum software used is the same as on HEXUS, so you'll immediately feel right at home.
The CAG forums do more than give you access to templates. As you'd expect, they also let you call for help from experienced members (myself included) who will answer your questions and try to smooth the path for you.
So, what's involved?
The first thing that has to be understood is that it can take some while for a claim to work through. It took me three months but can take longer.
That said, if all goes well, it shouldn’t require too much effort – four or five letters (for which templates have already been prepared) and filling out a court claim – and that can be done online.
Before setting out, you also need to understand that there is a chance that your case will go to court and that you might lose. However, I'm not aware of either happening before, so the odds are heavily stacked in your favour.
Banks, though, are very powerful and influential and can be expected to find a way some time of stopping all these many claims from being laid. So, if you want to make sure of getting your money back, then act now - not tomorrow - and start doing something about it.
Enough preamble, dive over to page two to check out our step-by-step instructions...
