Bank charges

I got charged £88 when one standing order came in too late before my rent went out. I am a reliable customer, I pay off my credit card each month and now that I am earning more I will likely be saving more and more money with them. I am not one of these people that borrow forever and accrue loads of charges, so I think in my case the bank charges were ridiculously high and a kick in the teeth for a decent customer. I wrote off two letters and got the full amount back. Banks are the only institutions to be able to do this because they can remove funds straight from your account. If it was a plumber or something who had to invoice you for the charge you would fight it all the way!

Originally Posted by sv_dan

Banks are very sneaky and some of the charges are just plain illegal. I have just recovered over £1000 back from charges over a 6 year period.

I'm on with this as we speak... <fingers crossed>

That's the whole point though- the banking code states that a charge should not be a punishment, just a recovery of costs. £30 charges for not blocking a payment that's gone over the overdraft limit (for which a charge of £20 has already been accrued) is not proportional to the cost of- oh, say 2 computers talking to each other, not doing much and logging it for the next statement/cash collection. How many man hours does that cost? 0.0000000000000next to nothing. Ink on the statement? The same. Running costs for the bank- also the same. Nothing near £50 then or even £30.

People make mistakes- some months are tough for other reasons. Sometimes because of the fallout of charges- some people stretch themselves as they are aiming to better their lives a little outside work, eat, sleep, drink. I got £110 worth of charges the other month- having a tricky few months for cash meself and made a couple of mistakes. However, £110 of charges is an awful lot for 1 month (roughly my food bill for a month) and therefore increases my risk of going over again and seeing more charges and perpetuating the circle..

I am considering going through my charges and asking for a refund for the charges I've received over the last few years, having become sick of this (I've downloaded a template letter about it).

I accept my mistakes to a reasonable degree will make good on the,, but feel that punishment in this case does not improve/prevent the situation, only perpetuates it and makes the banks more money. Of course they'll let you go overdrawn- they can then charge you for it. Of course they'll pay the bills for you when you are over- they can charge you for it.

I wonder how many genuine, long time friends you have, MPaton, with your seeming intolerance of so many types of 'these people'- we seem to be a majority!

I take your point about the potential 'cheekiness' of reclaiming fees which you were made aware of in advance, and are supposed to act as a deterrant to 'misuse' of your account.

However:

1) the banks have knowingly been acting illegally and hoping they'll get away with it - so in my mind deserve all they're getting now

2) sometimes the charges can be as high as £30 per time and many people get charged several times in one pay month. This then contributes to people getting further into debt and hence going overdrawn the next month, etc etc That's not helpful to anyone, and if the banks are looking for these charges to be a deterrant then crippling some poor soul financially isn't going to do the job

3) the banks are making little effort to help customers manage their money instead of going overdrawn. Most of us are too busy to check our balance everyday, and even the most careful people occasionally forget about a payment coming off, are a day late paying a credit card, etc. One notable exception is First Direct, who send you a text with your balance everyday if you want. The three peeple who I know have switched to this system haven't gone overdrawn since. Simple - you help us and we'll help you

Hmmm, which would I prefer (if I were a bank):

A) To charge extortionate fees & have to give some of it back, meaning I make little profit.
B) Have people rack up massive debts, then, because of my extortionate charges & them being physically unable to pay, they wind up many thousands of £ in debt to me. Great! Only they declare bankruptcy & don't have to pay me a penny. Damn.

Erm, business sense points to A. I've seen people do B in the past, and skip having to pay anything up to £30,000 owed. They never had to hand back anything that the bank bought for them either.

B is acutally more legal than A is!