I want to know about the new banking law that is meant to imp lie they can only charge you £15 for unpaid item

Question

I was told that the law in england has been change to say that banks can only charge you £15 for any unpaid items is this true let me know

Answer 1

Do a search for the banking ombudsman. I got a sample letter and sent it to my bank, HSBC, who were charging me £125 for being £50 overdrawn. I threatened to take them to court and recieved £1200 compensation. The banks can not be bothered wasting time and money taking on their customers in court.

Answer 2

Its not a change in Law as such, more of a legal precedent.

There was a case that ruled that the banks were only entitled to charge for the administrative costs of what they did and not 'fine' you.

This administrative cost was deemed to be approx £15, so to avoid being taken to the small claims court by anyone who gets charged more, most of the banks have reduced their charges.

Answer 3

Banks have not yet reduced their charges but the OFT is investigating this. The only charges thatbhave been reduced are in relation to credit card payments

In response to the OFT's statement of principles on the calculation of credit card default charges, credit card issuers have agreed to reduce their default charges - the majority by almost half.

In April, the OFT stated that credit card default charges had been generally set at a significantly higher level than was considered fair and set a 12 threshold for OFT intervention unless there were exceptional business factors. Many card issuers have stated that they do not agree with the OFT's view of the law and that they believe that their default charges were fair but, in view of the reduction in charges across the market, the OFT is satisfied that no further intervention is warranted in this area at this time and that this change has brought about substantial benefits for consumers.

The April statement also indicated that the OFT considers that the broad principles in relation to default charges are likely to be relevant to other standard agreements with consumers such as those for bank current accounts. The responses received from the banking industry have generally challenged this belief but the OFT remains of the view that the broad principles do read across to the retail banking area and has decided to undertake further work on the application of these principles to bank current accounts. In the course of this work the OFT will liaise closely with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and hold discussions with the British Bankers' Association (BBA) to ensure that distinctive features of retail banking and the circumstances in which default charges are applied are identified and taken into account. The OFT has also been made aware of concerns about the personal current account market in Northern Ireland by the General Consumer Council (GCC) and will consider its report as part of this exercise. This fact-finding exercise is expected to take between three to six months, at which stage the OFT will consider whether a further detailed investigation of the fairness of individual bank default charges is needed.

If you want a good website to look into claiming your charges back look at www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk. I recently won my bank charges back using the information on this site.

Answer 4

not yet but the bcsb [banking code standards board] which oversees the industry's code of practise has told banks that customers should be notified of charges 14 days before they are taken out .this should be law by next year.go to citizens advice the will tell you how to take bank to small claims court if all else fails

Answer 5

different firms can charge different amounts i was under the impression that the limit was £12.00. You need to go to a bank and ask for a copy of the banking code of practice and it will have it in that for you .... good luck

Answer 6

Speak to the financial ombudsman. then tell your bank about complaining via the ombudsman and watch the bank panic!!!!!