£12 Credit Card Charges?

[PhantomReclaimer]

Has the new £12 charge for Credit Cards taken effect yet, if not does anybody know when effect will take place? Reason i ask is because only this week i had a charge from Capital 1 for £25.

 

Thannks ...... Mike.

 

The new £12 charge? Please don't take this the wrong way but I think you are being led astray by the money lenders.

 

The £12 mentioned by the OFT in their report is NOT a "new" fair and lawful charge but rather the level above which the OFT will consider to be automatically unfair. A charge of less than £12 will not automatically be considered fair though.

 

English (and Scottish) Law is clear on the issue. A clause in a contract that imposes a penalty upon one party is unlawful at Common Law and a clause which requires a person acting as a consumer to indemnify another against negligence is void under the terms of Sec.4 Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, unless the inclusion of the clause it's self meets a test of reasonableness. The fact that the charge created by such a clause is set at a particular level does not make the actual clause that provides for said charge valid.

 

P.

[PhantomReclaimer]

Phantom, what are you on about?

 

OP is asking when the cap was due to be implemented, which was the end of August. He never said anything about "fair" or "lawful".

 

Yes, we know it's not an "allowed" fee per se, but the point is that the c/c companies were all supposed to drop their charges to a maximum £12 by the end of August, and if they haven't, then OP should contact the OFT ASAP and make them aware, as it is a clear breach of the OFT's decision.

 

Sorry, from what OP had written I got the impression that he thought that the £12 figure was one which the OFT had ordered the CC providers to impliment as a fair and lawful fighure which couldn't challenged. They haven't, of course, and such a fee can still be challenged.

 

P.

[PhantomReclaimer]

Hi

 

Just so I understand this properly, just because the banks have reduced their charges to £12 now, it doesn't mean we can't chase them for those too?

 

I ask only because I've only just started sending out SARs, and in 40 days time, I'll probably have more charges levied but at the new rate and I need to know what I can claim for and when the 6 year time limit starts and ends.

 

Thanks

 

SirOweALot

 

In answer to your first question - correct.

 

The 6 year limit runs from the date at which the original cause of action arose. Normally this would either be the date of the charge or the date at which you became aware that said charge was actually unlawful. This limit is set by the Limitation Act 1980. However, the Act provides an exemption from this 6 year limit if you can show that the unlawfulness of the charge had been hidden by the bank that made it, that they had decieved you into paying it. In such a case the 6 year limit will start running from the point at which you discovered the banks deception, or the point at which you could/should reasonably have discovered it. Sensibly, I think the earliest that customers could reasonably have been expected to know about it was the time of the OFT report in May 2006. The banks, I suspect, should have known about it at least two years prior to the report because they must have known that the OFT was investigating. In reality I suspect that the banks knew about it decades ago but it's proving it that is the problem. There is a seperate thread on this matter somewhere.

 

P.

[PhantomReclaimer]

Just for people that didn't know, i have had to research alot on cheques lately with the banks being silly with me. Someone might find this useful

 

The reason it costs them 45p to deal with a cheque is because its sent to a centre in Milton Keynes i believe (this applies to all banks) and is sent 1st class this is why it can take up to 5 days for a cheque to clear, however the system that is in place should mean that the cheque should clear in 3 days. I realise this is off topic but someone may find it interesting.

 

This is an interestng point about cheque clearance times.

 

I spoke to my bank, Northern Rock, about this just the other week because I had written a £30 cheque for a parking ticket but it had been paid as £60 (I had put £30 in words but put £60 in figures). They said they would trace the cheque and that it would take a few days. I queried this as I assumed they would just go to whatever department where the presented cheques were stored and photocopy it. Apparently, however, they don't get all their cheques back from which ever bank they were presented to. Only cheques for over £5K actually go through the system and end up back at the issuing bank. Perhaps this is only true of NR though?

 

This is another nail in the banks coffins as it obviously dosen't cost as much to pay a cheque this way and makes one wonder why the bloody hell it still takes 5+ days to clear a cheque that never gets sent anywhere!

 

P.