Banking/Savings Section

Been Charged Excessive Overdraft Fees? - This Website Can Help Get Your Money Back!

March 2006

Corporations and big business have much to be grateful about when it comes to the internet age but there's also a downside for them - People Power.

The internet can now facilitate a group of like minded individuals into a very potent force. And with the 'knowledge is power' mantra this is often great news for us consumers.

This Website Can Help You Reclaim Bank Fees

If you've been charged overdraft fees or late payment fees on your bank or credit card account then this website www.BankActionGroup.co.uk is doing some outstanding work helping many thousands of people reclaim these fees.

So how is it possible for the person in the street to take on the big banks and win? Simple, it's all to do with the law because it now appears that these charges have been levied as 'penalties' which is deemed to be both unfair an more importantly unlawful.

The gist of the argument is that charges can be levied but only if they are relative to the amount of work that is needed to enforce them. And a computer sending out a letter automatically and charging something like £25 or £30 is just not a realistic figure.

Therefore the banks are deemed to be profiteering which is why they're so scared at the moment and have (so far) backed down from appearing in court if threatened.

Here's some information from the BankActionGroup.co.uk website -

What is The Bank Action Group?

We are a group of people who have been, or know someone who has been affected by punitive charging by banks. These charges are not only unfair, but in our opinion, unlawful.

It is the duty of the Office of Fair Trading to take the banks to task on this - they have even warned the credit card companies directly of their intention to take legal action if they did not 'fall in line' with the 1999 Consumer Credit Act. Further to this, they also instructed banks to comply in regards to ALL charging for ALL of their consumer products.

They have not done so. In fact, banks have INCREASED their charges:

What To Do If You've Been Racking Up Banking Fees

Go to the website and join the Forum where a lot of free help is offered
It's standard Forum etiquette never to ask questions straight away because it's highly likely that the question will have been asked/answered many times before
The best strategy is always to spend at least 30 mins reading through the previous posts
Also, if there is a FAQ section make sure you read this as well
Finally, if you need to ask a question or get clarification on a matter don't hesitate because talking on Forums is valuable for everyone involved

Nip Unfair Banking Fees In The Bud

Another way to get late and other often unjust bank/credit card fees reimbursed is to simply call and ask for them to be reversed.

Be polite, argue that they are unfair, tell them how good a client you've been etc and in our experience there's at least an 80% chance that the bank will reimburse the money.

But this strategy only works if you only get the odd charge now and then, say 1 or 2 a year. It will also only work if the charge is recent, within the last month or so.

It's also interesting to note on these help lines that you never talk to the same person so if the first person refuses to re credit your account call back the next day and ask again.

Summary

Fighting is the key with the banks if you want to have any chance of getting these late payment and unauthorised overdraft fees reimbursed

Being in it for the long haul (around 3-6 months) is also imperative because the banks have many tactics to try and derail your efforts. But if you use the advice and tactics discussed on the BankActionGroup.co.uk website you've got one hell of a useful weapon on your side.