I have found at least 2 of these on my bank statements (admittedly from a while ago) but I have no idea what these are or why they've appeared, or whether they are claimable??

I also have a number of referral fees some months, but they form no pattern, and are for a variety of amounts (seems to be in £20 units though, but there are no details)

Any advice appreciated

iPeach

Can anyone help with the arrestment fees? from what I understand it's when your bank takes money out of your account on behalf of a creditor, but there is no record of them actually removing any money other than for things we've paid??

Referral charges you can claim back, they're just extra charges for when you go over your OD limit or whatever. They tend to vary on the whim of the bank as far as I know and often bare no relation to the level of misdemeanor!

You should really look into those arrestment charges in more depth - they should not be taken out of your account without your knowledge and you should have been taken to court to in order for the creditor to get an arrestment order first. Also, it usually means that your account has been completely frozen - is this the case? (Bank arrestments only apply in Scotland)

Bank arrestment

If you have money in a bank or building society account or with a credit union, the money you owe can be taken from your bank, building society or credit union account.

When can money be taken from my bank account?

Before this can happen your creditor will normally have taken you to court. In most cases they should also send you a charge for payment. This tells you that unless you pay what you owe within 14 days they are going to take action to get the money that you owe them. After 14 days they can then use a bank arrestment.

How does a bank arrestment work?

Your creditor sends the arrestment to your bank, building society or credit union. When the arrestment is served, the money, which you have in your account, is frozen and you cannot withdraw that money or use it to make other payments such as standing order or direct debit payments.

All the money in your account is frozen, even if that is more than the total amount which you owe.

When is the money taken out of my account?

Your creditor doesn't get the money that has been frozen right away. They have to go to court to force your bank or building society or credit union to release the money. The court will order your bank or building society or credit union to pay the amount that you actually owe. The court may also order you to pay the costs of doing this court action.

If you want to avoid paying the costs of this court action you can give permission to your bank or building society or credit union to release the amount that you owe.

Hi Lucy,

Thanks for that! Its utterly terrifying as I have never been to court over charges, so it looks like these have not even been actioned properly, or worse, actioned unlawfully (now there's something new )

My account was frozen once, in June 2000, when the benefits agency overpaid me (their fault, I owed them no money), but there was no arrestment charge on that occasion, I've never known them to freeze it otherwise!

It only makes me more determined to get every penny back from them.

Thank you!

iPeach