I do work for a Bank, yes. At some point bank charges are going to be non-reclaimable. When that happens, people need a contingency so as not to get into serious debt problems. Do I think this sucks? Absolutely. The point I was trying to make is this: at the moment a lot of people are using the fact that they can reclaim charges as a safety net, but this won't last.

Just a little heads up about some banks that have started to change their terms and conditions. When someone engages in unauthorised borrowing, this represents a breach of contract. When this happens, the injured party (the banks) are entitled to recover the costs incurred to them as a result of the breach. However, it is unlawful for them to charge more than the costs they incur and make a profit from these charges. This is the legal basis of all of the claims against the banks. What many banks (including Lloyds TSB and HSBC) have now done is to change their terms and conditions so that unplanned overdrafts are within the terms of the contracts with their current account customers. Therefore, the fees they charge for these are no longer penalty charges for breach of contract and are therefore perfectly legal. Whether you think these fees are fair or morally justifiable, they will now stand up in court. The banks are beginning to close the loopholes in their terms and conditions which have allowed so many people to get back their charges. Basically what I’m trying to get across is that people who habitually go over their overdraft limits can’t rely on getting these charges back in the future. If you are at risk of incurring these charges, you need to do one of two things to avoid these charges: a) Manage your finances very closely so that you don’t go into an unplanned overdraft or b) Close your current account and open a basic account that does not have any credit facilities attached