I am thinking of claiming against Abbey for £170 of bank charges (for being overdrawn for 6 days) and I have read the advice that suggests opening a new account before you start in case your old one gets closed. I am thinking of closing the account anyway so that all of my direct debits can be transferred before I approach Abbey for a refund. Have people found it more difficult to claim against a bank that they are no longer a customer of? Would I be better off claiming first, or does it really make no difference? Any advice would be much appreciated as I'm new to this.