Reclaim Even More Bank And Card Charges

A few weeks ago I wrote this article explaining how I was going to reclaim some unfair bank charges. I have a confession to make: I still haven't sent the letter! I've been so busy responding to your emails about the article that I've simply had no time to get a stamp!

I may not have made any progress, but many others have. The Consumer Action Group reports that 517 people have recovered £430,287. And that's just the people who have bothered to respond to their survey.

One outstanding Fool read my article and immediately got on the phone to his bank. They agreed to refund his bank charges then and there. However, I've received lots of hopeful emails from people who couldn't believe what they were reading -- and that this is actually possible. So, without further ado, here's some more information about what you can do and what to expect.

You can reclaim both bank and credit card charges

Many of you were concerned that this might only apply to credit card companies, because the Office of Fair Trading report that inspired my article was about credit cards only. However, the reasoning behind the OFT's damning report applies to banks as well. It has reviewed existing regulations and found that the charges applied by credit card companies are too high. It also said that the same applies to bank charges. See this press release from the OFT for more.

The reasoning behind this is that it's been unlawful for companies to penalise consumers for breach of contract for many years. Only in exceptional circumstances are charges like this allowed. In the case of banks and credit card companies, the most they're allowed to get out of you is the extra costs in administration caused by your breach. This means they should be charging us about 25 pence, not £25!

You should get back the whole lot

The OFT suggested that credit card companies reduce their fees immediately to a maximum of £12, but that doesn't mean you still have to pay £12 per charge. This is just its recommendation in order to quickly reduce the amount us consumers are paying. It's obvious from the report and its press release that it believes even this figure is too high. Therefore if a bank or card company offers to reduce a charge to anything more than just a few pounds, I'd refuse.

They can ask for a fee if you request details of your past charges

If you can't find out how much you've been charged, you need to ask your bank or card company. Under the Data Protection Act, the company must provide you with the data you request within 40 days of receipt. However, it's allowed to charge you its administrative costs for doing so, up to a maximum of £10 for the whole lot. For more, see Tactics For Reclaiming Bank Charges and this page of the Department for Constitutional Affairs website.

> Read The Ultimate Guide To Reclaiming Bank And Card Charges.

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