Hi Mr Z - In answer to your question "Has anyone had any success claiming back charges since the OFT lost its battle" - the answer I thought was NO but if you believe what you read on MSE then it appears people are still being paid out: - "Some inspiration before you begin Even after the Supreme Court judgement we continued to receive reports from MoneySavers saying they’re getting their money back... here are just a couple of examples: I had been writing to the Halifax for several weeks and not once would they accept that the charges were unfair. They sent my final response stating they would not re-charge or pay compensation so I decided to write to the Ombudsman. After a few short weeks they resoponded and Halifax have upheld my complaint and I am receiving a cheque for £1772." Sep 2010 I can only assume the people that are receiving payouts must be in absolute severe financial hardship i.e. only enough money for bread & water each day (no meat). For the rest of us who have received charges in the past & have yet to commence court proceedings then its a good idea to keep an eye on the excellent work of the Govan Law Centre: - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?248268-Sheriff-puts-Bank-of-Scotland-to-proof-on-bank-charges&p=3341383&viewfull=1#post3341383 Get the ball rolling by complaining to your bank now, any questions please ask. Have a read around this great site. All the best

hi, thanks for reply. I would have to go back to the scene of the crime to be sure but yeah I think it was about that size.

Hi All, I received a ticket of my local Council when on the morning of 31st Dec I was parked for longer than permitted on a street in my local town. There are no ticket machines on said street. I was not aware there was a time limit of 1 hour, however upon returning to my vehicle & seeing the ticket I looked around & saw a post about 6ft high with a small sign at the top about 8 inches wide advising that Mon - Fri there is a 1 hour limit. My argument is that this sign is too small & is not visible enough to inform the public about the restrictions on parking. Does anyone know the law about how large the signs should be & is it worth bothering to challenge this or should I just pay up. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi there, sorry to hear of your misfortune. I am no expert but if I were you I would do the following ASAP:- 1) Bring overdraft to below £2K otherwise you will be hit with evil bank charges that will 'snowball'. 2) Cancel any direct debits that are not essential, e.g. Gym membership, dvd rental, xbox etc - anything not essential. 3) Do you have any assets you can sell, like a car that is not essential or cud u sell current car for a cheaper model. That's what I did when the s*it hit in the fan in 2009. 4) How is your credit rating, if good then transfer credit card debt to a 0% interest free deal - use MSE. 5) Do as you say & write to lenders & ask for help. 6) Job centre daily. That is all I have on this windy Tuesday night but I would have thought someone else will contribute. Good bye & good luck!

Hi All, Just to confirm HSBC are getting worse in their charging practices. I made a charitable donation to RNIB (Royal National Institute for the blind) for a small amount (under £30.00) and the cheque was cashed a day before my monthly wage went into the account (due to the fact I left the letter on the side & someone posted it too early), cheque was honoured but I was charged £25.00 for this. I have written to the bank explaining it was for charity & asking them to refund & not so much as even a reply saying sorry but go away. Does anyone know how people are getting on taking any of the banks to court themselves? Or is there any positive recent news from the Govan Law centre case? Tried a bit of googling but no recent news seems to be out there.

O.K. I thought that might be the case, thanks DJ. Not sure whether I will pursue it down that the small claims avenue.

Good afternoon, After complaining to shop direct group (great universal) about mis-sold PPI & sending them the recommended FOS PPI questionnaire I got the usual sod off & go away letters. So I of course then complained to FOS & filled in the complaint form & sent them a copy of the questionnaire I had previously sent to the company. I have now received a reply that basically states - " Having looked at the information you have supplied to me, it appears that your complaint against the firm relates to events which occured when it was not a member of the General Insurance Standards Council (GISC). 'As the firm membership did not begin until 22 December 2003 and ended on 13 January 2005 I am afraid that your complaint is not one that the Financial Ombudsman Service is able to consider". So does anyone know what ,if anything, can be done next - complain to FSA? Thanks in advance for any advice, Cheers.

Hi, you can certainly claim back the late payment/overlimit charges. Ref - Cash advance fees - these are an absolute disgrace. I too place the odd online bet. About a month ago I decided to use my cap one card on the Coral website to deposit £20. When my statement came I also got charged £3 for the pleasure. I found in the small print on Coral website that some credit card companies treat gambling websites the same as cash machines i.e. charge for each transaction! Luckily for me I only did it once but feel for you gettin stung like that. I wud write a separate letter to them on this & complain if I was you.

They don't send a letter saying it has been received - Start the 40 days the day after you post it. Send to the Trent house address too. It took em 3 weeks to cash my cheque payment & they started 40 days from then - cheeky monkeys. But I couldn't do anything about it cause I sent standard 1st class & not signed for.

Yes Subject access request. Send a cheque for a tenner too (not a postal order cause they go missing). With a cheque you can see when it was cashed. Send it signed for & be prepared to wait the 40 days

yes carry on using that addy.

Hi, welcome. Interesting, have you checked for any strange info on your credit report using a firm such as Equifax or Experian? Check for any links to anyone you may have been financially linked to in the past. Also you haven't recently moved have you?

Hey hpatters, how did you get on in court?

Direct with Barclaycard in my opinion as I doubt third party would be able to clarify the amounts etc. I just had the easiest claim with HSBC credit card by the way, I sent off my request for list of charges & they replied back with the list & included an acceptance form to sign which included all the charges & interest! Only 30 quid but will buy me a slap up meal & a few beers! Why can't they all be like that! Cheers

That addy (Trent house) is spot on.