Chezt v RBS Joint Account

[edinburghbeerbucket]

Hi Chezt,

 

A few points for you.

 

1. Reclaiming the interest on your overdraft. There are many different ideas on what interest rate to charge, and when to charge from etc, but if your are owed more than you owe them, and you haven't been using the account, you certainly have a good case for claiming back interest.

 

2. Tell Mr Hubby that you will get your money back. It's just a matter of patience.

 

3. I would suggest that when you send off your initial request for repayment you ask the bank to freeze the interest on the overdraft, as you are now effectively disputing that you owe them this money.

 

4. Assuming CCCS is a debt management company, I strongly advise against using them. I have no personal experience, but from just about everything I've read they are not worth what you pay for, and don't do much to help your credit rating. I suggest instead going to the CAB who will effectively give you the same (if not better) service, and won't charge a penny. I know these companies can be tempting when you're desperate, but have a read around on this forum and I'm sure you'll see it's not a good solution.

 

Hope this helps!

[edinburghbeerbucket]

Do you think I should calculate the interest charged on the amount from when the balance reached the point where they owe me more?? Should I perhaps save the claim for this interest once I've won back the charges?

Like I said, there are many different ways of deciding how much interest to charge and from what point. I recently read a thread where there was a hearing and the judge agreed with the defence's solicitor saying that you aren't deprived of the money until you repay it (link anyone?). So basically, if you can think of a reasonable way to justify the amount of interest you apply to the bank's charges, and you think it has reasonable grounds, go for it. Sounds like you have the right kind of idea.

 

I also think claiming for the interest in a seperate action has its advantages, particularly in that the issue of the charges being unlawful has already been cleared up. It does, however present a couple of problems:

 

1. The inconvenience.

 

2. The banks may be keen to set a precedent that it's not reasonable for one to charge interest on the charges they've applied. We've already seen a hint of this in the post I mentioned. But that said, they're unlikely to want to get tied up in fighting with you in the first instance.

 

Overall, it might be worth taking the view that they're likely to settle the full claim for charges+interest, but it might p**s them off a bit when they think they've finished with you and then you whack them with a new bill for interest!