Bank Charges Refunds for Unfair Bank Charges
So you may have heard about bank charges and bank charge refunds but may be wondering what they are. Some of you may have already experienced an unfair bank charge, these are when banks will charge you £30 for accidentally dipping into your overdraft by a pound or something similar. Some people have obviously been hit a lot harder than this and received multiple unfair bank charges.
The theory on why people are making claims for refunded bank charges is that bank charges are said to be unlawful. But not surprisingly the banks don’t agree with this, so this subject has been much debated and has been taken to court.
The main argument that people are making is the banks should only make charges that are in proportion to the costs. According the Unfair Terms in the Consumer Contract Regulation a charge should not be more than the cost to the provider. So if you dip into your overdraft by a pound or have a direct debit payment that bounces then some banks have been charging up to £39 each time. The cost to the bank for this service is sending a computer generated letter to you which most people would agree does not cost the bank £39 a time. One professor has estimated that the actual costing of you going getting a bank charge is between £2.50 and £4.50.
The latest news is that claiming bank charge refunds are on hold while the courts decide which direction to take the situation. But this currently this doesn’t apply to people in financial hardship who can still claim bank charge refunds.
It is thought that hundreds of thousands of people are currently in queue to have their bank charges refunded so it would be advisable to join the queue and see if you can make a claim.
The ruling on where you stand with bank charges is changing, so it is a good idea to seek advice from a finance specialist about what you can do and whether you are eligible to have your bank charges refunded.