Bank charges - Lloyds Tsb defend charges.

Lloyds TSB fends off overdraft fee court challenge
16/05/2007

A county court has ruled against a customer's claim to be compensated for overdraft penalty charges, in what many will see as a crucial test-case on the legality of the charges. Thousands of customers have challenged their banks over what they claim are 'unfair' penalty charges, and the fees are currently the subject of an Office of Fair Trading investigation.

**Yep and I was one of those customers, on top of that I have also recieved a few other payouts from my former bank of Barclays Bank Plc, due to the constant errors - they refer to them as "goodwill gestures" and I can think of a few gestures I can make to them as well -oh and had charges and countless errors on the account put right many times previously.

But the Birmingham County Court judge this week ruled that Lloyds TSB customer Kevin Berwick had been fairly charged after exceeding his overdraft limit. Mr Berwick was claiming £2,545 compensation in what he claimed were unfair fees, but district judge Cooke ruled the charges represented the legitimate costs of servicing his overdraft.

Marc Gander of the Consumer Action Group said he was "very disappointed" by the judgment, but added that it was not binding as it was made by a district, not a High Court, judge.

**The banks will claim that they are right, this is not the case as many thousand have and will continue to claim their illegally stolen money back off the banks. They just want to do what banks do best, carry on extorting money from customers and telling them they lack the power to strike back.

"The charges complained of are not charges for breach of contract but part of the price of the services provided by the bank," the judge said. The ruling "is highly unlikely to be the final word in what has been a long campaign to stop banks overcharging their customers", moneysupermarket.com's editor Nic Cicutti claimed.

**Well maybe not a breach of contract but lets face it the banks turn billions in profit each year, know that most customers - especially those in debt or have a mortgage are fairly well tied down to them and banks have a long record to taking the proverbial. You go for example 1 penny piece over your limit and a computer sends you an auto generated letter sticking you for £35 pounds plus.

A service it may be, but a bloody poor one at that. At the bottom of this page are the links to the Daily Mail and some handy templates. I used these and the whole process to get the money that Barclays Bank PLC had illegally taken off of me back from them thieves took about 4 weeks. I still state this that charges as they stand are both illegal and immoral, that Barclays(and the other high street banks) were and still are thieves in regard to this matter and if they are not happy at my calling them thieves then Barclays can always attempt to sue me for defamation of the banks good character. After all they really do have such a highly regarded name amongst the customers that they steal from.

Quote this when dealing with your bank in relation to charges:

• Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (1999) all penalty charges have to truly reflect the cost of administering them.
• They are not permitted to be a profit-making enterprise for any business. He believes if a penalty charge is higher than its administrative cost, it is illegal.
• You can claim back all charges over a six year period, the maximum period that you can claim under English law. Ask the bank for a set of statements going back over that time, tally up all the charges and claim them back.
  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6169539.stm

But the ruling could mean banks become more confident about refusing out-of-court refunds to customers submitting reclaim forms. Find out more about reclaiming bank charges

© Adfero Ltd

Ah well at least Barclays are being investigated over that BBC program, well thats a start:
http://www.silicon.com/financialservices/0,3800010322,39166896,00.htm

some old links:http://newportcity.blogspot.com/2007/04/bank-charges-record-numbers-changing.html
http://newportcity.blogspot.com/2007/04/bank-charges-dont-let-them-rip-you-off.html
Read about how they use underhand tactic to hurt customers: banks use sneaky tactics

Link to BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6476155.stm
Ye olde links to previous bits: Previous bits on Barclay's and some tags:http://newportcity.blogspot.com/2007/02/banks-bloody-parasites.html
alsohttp://newportcity.blogspot.com/2007/02/banks-make-change-its-worth-it.html
alsohttp://newportcity.blogspot.com/2007/02/cry-freedom-escape-from-barclays-bank.html
also:http://newportcity.blogspot.com/2007/02/barclays-bank-still-cunts-even-now-i.html

check out this site. http://www.chargeclaims.co.uk/
http://newportcity.blogspot.com/2007/02/cry-freedom-escape-from-barclays-bank.html
http://www.blagger.com/db4/company_id/130/companyname/Barclays.html
http://www.litsl.com/miscellaneous/poor_customer_service/barclays_bank_barc_the_woolwich.html
http://www.ciao.co.uk/Barclays_Bank__Review_5133047
http://www.teneric.co.uk/forums/finance-forum/business-banking-complaints-4719.htmlhttp://www.grumbletext.co.uk/vt.php?t=108http://www.barclaystory.com/
and lastly where your charges go: http://newportcity.blogspot.com/2007/03/barclays-bank-barclays-pay-bob-diamond.html

Claiming charges back, this is from the Daily Mail:

To view copies of the Daily Mail letter templates you can edit to include your own details and print off, click on the links below. Each one will open in a new window.

Step 1: Request your details
You can claim up to six years' worth of charges. If you don't have the statements, use this letter to ask your bank for a list of charges.

Step 2: Ask for your money back
With the information from Step 1, add up your charges. You can reclaim one-off charges for going into the red, monthly or daily charges for being overdrawn, charges for bouncing cheques, direct debits or transactions and charges for authorising a payment. Add to this total any interest charged on unauthorised overdrafts and send this letter.

Step 3: Don't back down
Keep copies of all letters you send and make a note of the date you send it. Most banks will probably offer you a partial refund. This may be one charge - as a matter of goodwill - or sometimes half the amount you have demanded. Do not accpet this. Send this letter.

Step 4: Take them to court
If your bank still refuses to pay up, take them to court. Don't worry, no bank has yet defended a case in court. Fill in a form at the website www.moneyclaim.gov.uk and submit it online or visit your local magistrate's court to begin proceedings.

Tags: Bank Charges, Banking, Information Commissioner, Charges, The Financial Ombudsman

**CAUTION! - There are a number of sites on the internet that are offering guides for about fifteen to twenty pounds, that claim they will help you get money back. Pay nothing, all the information can be found here and on many other sites for FREE! Don't pay for guides as your throwing money away.

I do this to stick two fingers up at Barclays and the other thieves passing themselves off as banks and want not a brass penny from anyone.

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