I've got the TV on in the background whilst I'm reading the Forum and they've just announced that tonights' Panarama is about how the banks lure us into debt! Might be interesting to watch!! BBC1, 10.15pm.

I think that it is 6 years before it can be wiped off your file.

That's very helpful, thank you Michael.

I've been reading and re-reading this site over the past couple of weeks, and now I've decided that I finally have the courage to reclaim my charges! Only thing is, I have two a/cs with NatWest, one with probably more charges on than the other - is it advisable to take them one at a time? I'm a bit worried that I might get muddled if I try to do them both at the same time! I think that this is a great site, and have had great fun and sympathy reading the threads. I'm a self-employed house and animal sitter, and my money isn't regular, and despite a small overdraft facility, there sometimes is not enough at the end of the month to pay off all direct debits, but it is usually only £'s, not even £10's ! and they bounced something the other day that was £3.50 short! So now my blood is up!