Bank Withdrawal
17/04/07 17:44 |
Personal
How great it
was to read this morning of the Norfolk businessman
who has successfully reclaimed - and been repaid -
almost thirty six thousand pounds from the National
Westminster Bank for
what he
considered to be illegal charges made to his account
for being overdrawn. Like most of us at one time or
another, he had suffered cashflow problems while
waiting for his customer's cheques to clear their
account into his. As we know, there is a delay of
some three days between the two procedures
completing, during which the banks benefit from the
interest gained on the amount. Each time he was
overdrawn during this period, he was charged a thirty
five pound fee by the bank, which on some months
amounted to three thousand pounds per month. He
finally had enough of what he considered to be gross
overcharging and using advice gained from the website
of the Consumer Action Group
he sent
one of their standard letters off to the bank in
January of this year which was subsequently
ignored. So, he then started a legal action using
the government's Money Claim Online Service
and a case
conference had been scheduled for May 11th.
Last Friday, a cheque for the full amount arrived with a letter from the bank's solicitors, denying they had been guilty of overcharging but were settling in full, because the costs of a court case would be more than the amount claimed
Campaigners however, say that if the banks did turn up to face a court hearing they would be forced to admit the true cost of a bounced cheque was more like two pounds than the thirty they have been charging their customers. Most of the main banks have recently taken to refunding similar claims, some relating to charges dating back several years, rather than having to admit their real costs in court.
Surprised? No of course not. For years the banks have been treating customers like they were lucky to be able to deposit funds at their facility rather than the other way round. The charges have been both unjust and unreasonable.
It is always good to see a bully getting a black eye!!
Another useful resource is Money Saving Expert
Last Friday, a cheque for the full amount arrived with a letter from the bank's solicitors, denying they had been guilty of overcharging but were settling in full, because the costs of a court case would be more than the amount claimed
Campaigners however, say that if the banks did turn up to face a court hearing they would be forced to admit the true cost of a bounced cheque was more like two pounds than the thirty they have been charging their customers. Most of the main banks have recently taken to refunding similar claims, some relating to charges dating back several years, rather than having to admit their real costs in court.
Surprised? No of course not. For years the banks have been treating customers like they were lucky to be able to deposit funds at their facility rather than the other way round. The charges have been both unjust and unreasonable.
It is always good to see a bully getting a black eye!!
Another useful resource is Money Saving Expert
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