claiming back bank charges?

Question

Has anyone claimed there bank charges from halifax, if so how far did you have to go before they gave back the money? Did they close your account when they gave back the money

Answer 1

hi, although i've not claimed back from halifax i'm currently claiming back from alliance and leicester and abbey.

firstly if like many you dont have you statements for the last 6 years you must request them or a list off all the charges incurred over this time and include a £10 fee (the max they can charge) for them doing so. they have 40 days in which to reply to you if not you should follow up with a phone call and report them to the Information Commissioner.

once you've sent it off they will send you either all you statements for the last 6 yrs or a list. compile all the charges and total them. write to them againdetails the total. you can also include any interest charged whilst you were in unauthorised overdraft. and interest for oportunity costs which is 8% from the day of your first charge. however they are not entitled to give you this additional 8% unless it actually gets to court. all this does is gives them a bit of incentive to pay up instead of getting into court because once there you can add interest compensation for stress and your legal costs to the bill, but it should all be stated in the letters.

once thats done they may write to you trying to convince you the charges are legal, DONT BUY IT. or they may offer you a partial settlement. its up to you to accept this if you feel its satisfactory. or you could accept letting them know that you'd expect the rest in the near future. however most strongly recommend you go for all.

if they dont want to pay up file a judgement against them in the small claims court and if necessary call in the bailiffs

they should not close you account but may try to. the Financial Ombudsmen has ruled against them doing so, so if they do you're allowed to report them and could be entitled to further compensation

from what i've read most cases are dealt with in 2-3 months but i'm sure some are done quicker, then again banks may want to hold on to the money for as long as they can to earn interest.

what most important to remember is if you do get to court you should be properly prepared as ill preparation could cost you to lose. although very few banks send someone to defend them resulting in you immediate victory.

know i've provided way more info but hope it all helps and good luck

Answer 2

Not from Halifax but from another bank.... I wrote to the Head of the Company - kept it very official and got a refund. Why would they close your account? By giving your money back they are accepting their error and I'd fight them on unjustified bank account termination too if they tried that on me! Good luck!

Answer 3

Check this out. It's free and it might be useful.
http://www.penaltycharges.co.uk/