Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
Online Article - Chris Gilchrist - Every Investor
November 09 2006
Link from MSN Home Page
:grin:
For years, banks have been able to levy hefty penalty charges on customers if they become overdrawn or default on payments.
A few brave souls have quietly won charge battles against the banks in the past, but most borrowers tended to submit to the penalties and add to their bank's already swollen coffers.
However, in the past 12 months the situation has changed - thanks to the Office of Fair Trading. In its judgment on credit cards, the OFT said the card companies could only make charges for late payments that reflected the actual costs of dealing with them.
The card companies complained but quickly capitulated and slashed their charges to £12 per item. But the OFT, in what was almost a throwaway remark, said the same principle should apply to bank charges. And this has led far more customers to challenge banks’ penalty charges on current accounts.
Charges can make life a nightmare
These can become nightmarish very quickly, because a penalty charge, of, say, £30 can make an account overdrawn, so it then incurs more penalty charges as well as interest, so many customers have found themselves clobbered for £100-plus penalty charges for small and inadvertent account management errors.
So far, no bank has chosen to defend its penalty charges in court. Customers who have lodged Small Claims Court cases demanding refunds have got them - the banks have settled out of court without admitting any wrongdoing.
Take your money and go!
But it has now emerged that some banks are giving refunds to customers who challenge penalty charges - and then forcibly closing their accounts. Alliance & Leicester features prominently, though it’s believed that several other high street banks have done the same. A&L defended its action on the grounds that its charges were in its terms and conditions and if customers wouldn’t accept those they couldn’t have an account.
The banks have been arguing with the OFT about the penalty charge principle, but my betting is that they will cave in, just as they did on credit cards, and reduce all their penalty charges to much more modest levels.
We recommend that you consider switching accounts to land better rates of interest on your money while you are in crredit and cheaper overdraft rates when you are not. Most major banks now have dedicating current account swtiching teams and the process has never been easier. There’s no need to put up with a bank that has been giving you bad service and charging you more than they should for the privilege. Get switching today!
Here are the current accounts on our best buy list: Name Interest paid Interest charged Features Type
Alliance & Leicester
6.1% AER
5.9%
0% overdraft for 12 months
Branch, internet, phone
Coventry
5.10% AER
NA
£250 interest-free overdraft
Branch, phone Nationwide
4.25% AER
7.75%
No foreign card charges
Phone, internet
cahoot
3.75% AER
11.8%
£100 free overdraft
Phone, internet
Giving with one hand and taking with the other
The reduction in charges is not entirely good news for customers, because the banks will probably claw back those charges simply by raising the interest rates they charge for overdrafts and cutting the credit rates they pay on current accounts. Many banks already charge interest on ’unauthorised overdrafts’ at whacking rates of 20% or more and I don’t think the OFT has the authority to prevent them doing this.
It will also give the banks another excuse to proceed with the ongoing move to two-tier banking. The way it’s going, a free bank account will pay lousy rates, charge high rates and offer no frills, while a monthly fee account will pay a decent credit rate and charge a lower overdraft rate.
Getting your money back
If you have been hit with penalty charges on your account at any time in the past six years, you can probably get them back. You’re entitled to ask the bank for a statement of its charges (not a set of bank statements, but the bank’s own statement of charges) and it has to provide this with a maximum charge of £10. When they tell you, ask for your money back.
If they won’t give you a refund, threaten court action, which is a lot easier than it looks. It won’t cost you a bean to fill in a form, copy it and send it to your bank as evidence you are about to lodge a claim. If that’s not enough, actually start the court procedure. So far, no bank has shown up in court to defend penalty charges, and if you incur costs in an undefended case, they have to pay those too.
MSN - Online Article 10.11.06
hefty penalty charges on customers if they become overdrawn or default on payments.
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