Thread: About the OFT (not so) impending report - PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU'RE WORRIED

In the "Tonight" programme a few days ago, Martin Lewis announced his belief that the OFT "cap" would be set at £12-£15 and that the banks would then only refund the difference between that amount and the amount people were charged. This opinion created a panic amongst reclaimers, thinking that they were about to lose a large chunk of their money if they didn't rush to claim now.

This needs a few clarifications:

First, this is Martin's opinion. It is not based in law, or insider knowledge. He may be a well known journalist, but it is still only his personal opinion, speculation if you will.

The facts are these:

a) The OFT is a regulatory body, they do not make law. The only way the law can be changed is through an Act of Parliament.

b) The OFT, when they announce the results of their enquiry on bank charges, will only be announcing a level at which they themselves will take legal action against the banks. It is not a cap!!!

In their credit cards report of April 5th, 2006, they clearly stated that they could not declare what was a fair or lawful charge, only the courts could decide on this. Furthermore, the OFT also declared at the time that consumers who felt that they had been charged unfairly should go through the legal system to reclaim their charges. There is no reason to suspect that their stance will not be identical this time.

c) The law on penalties is well entrenched in contract law. Even if a bank tries to tell you after the OFT announcement that they will only refund the difference between the "cap" (It's NOT a cap!) and what you were charged originally, (leaving aside the fact that such a decision couldn't apply retrospectively anyway ), well, they also told you their charges were lawful, fair and transparent, and did you believe them? Why should you believe them now?

d) Bottom line is this: If the bank try to say that they'll only refund you the difference, carry on with your claim. They will still have to convince a judge that what they are charging is lawful, which means they would still have to disclose how those costs are calculated, and they still won't want/be able to do that.

Conclusion: Ignore the sensationalism, stick to the facts, and you can't go very wrong. In other words, business as usual, OFT or no OFT report.

I hope this helps setting a few minds at rest.

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Thanks, Kimmy.

Don't want to sticky it, as there already are too many stickies up there and it will not get seen as much. So if people keep on bumping it, there's a better chance of it being viewed by more.

Someone told me Martin was on Ch5 earlier, repeating that "you only have till April to claim".

I repeat: THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!
*sigh*

Martin can stand there, wiggling his butt and fluttering his eyelids...and then try to woo people with soft and calming words...ignore him...as Bookie says, it is only his opinion...and it is wrong.

You don't need to look very far to see other opinions that are wrong...they are in the news everyday...and forgotten ten minutes later when the reality strikes home.

CAG methods have been tried and tested, there is experience in the advice, and resolve in the determination to continue with full settlement of claims...the banks will try to concede the beach-head, and convince you that you have won - do not let others reinforce this view...

Excellent posts folks.

I claimed against cap 1 credit card... they offered the difference between the charge and £12. I told them to pay it all up... they did so.

The banks will have to do the same, its exactly the same situation.

this is nothing more than a red herring.

Originally Posted by HSBCrusher

lol @ phoenix

Well, it was a nice birthday present for her...and a sincere form of flattery - who else can claim to have been a part of both Phoenix' and Spicey's sig???

I do feel that MSE (with Martin) has become a poster-site for the bank charges reclaim, and it worries me greatly. Almost all articles/documentaries/reports on bank charges reference the MSE website, so I'm guessing that most of this second/third wave of reclaimers are starting off there; and if the advice up there is anything like the 'live' advice that he gives, well...I can't actually listen to him go on about charges because it ends up with me wanting to beat him over the head with a frying pan and say: "You're being misleading! AGAIN!" I think it leads to people just charging in left right and centre, thinking it's just a case of writing a letter = automatic refund, and panicking, then abandoning their cases when it doesn't pan out as they were led to believe. This means the banks get to keep more of their ill-gotten gain...
grrr rant on Martin over.

Ahhhh the good old days... I recall an email about a year ago which told us all there was something happening that could be very exciting and if anyone had ever had any bank charges they should visit a new site called BankActionGroup (as was).

Back then, Martin was not afraid of sending people here because (a) he knew nothing about the actual mechanics of reclaiming and (b) far better for a dedicated site to deal with the issue!

Still, at least (a) remains the same

I can at least be glad that I found the site early on - if I were new to the issue today, things could be sooooooooo different. (was that enough o's?)

We all need to make sure that we tell everyone we know what the truth is, rather than the 'other' version.

Originally Posted by jonni2bad

Back then, Martin was not afraid of sending people here because (a) he knew nothing about the actual mechanics of reclaiming and (b) far better for a dedicated site to deal with the issue!

Still, at least (a) remains the same

b) remains the same too.

Originally Posted by jonni2bad

Ahhhh the good old days... I recall an email about a year ago which told us all there was something happening that could be very exciting and if anyone had ever had any bank charges they should visit a new site called BankActionGroup (as was)

We all need to make sure that we tell everyone we know what the truth is, rather than the 'other' version.

These two bits also remain true...