Is this info the bank told me correct?

[Danko]

Hi all,

 

great site!

 

I have been writing to my mother's bank protesting at charges for rejecting direct debits as they are costing her a fortune.

 

The bank said that the OFT's guidelines were not applicable as these charges are fixed charges and not defualt or penalty charges.

 

Are they correct? I think they are rtying to fob me off.

[blueskies]

They are trying to fob you off, the OFT report was actually specifically aimed at credit cards but the underlying principles are the same. Any charge the bank apply due to you breaching the contract (such as a direct debit request made to the account with insufficient funds) must equal the costs to them. Any more than this is a penalty charge and not allowed in law.

 

Read the FAQ's (if not already done so) and fire off prelim letter. You will get the money back

[nordek2006]

Hi

 

Great site this guys fell across this by accident one night and it has really opened my eyes!!

 

I have received a reply back from my Bank (RBS) as I wrote to them and highlighted all the bank charges for direct debit and overdraft etc: it totalled £1120..I asked them to refund me this amount in one of the letter templates off this site their response to this was:

 

"We believe that are charges are fair, reasonable and transparent. We consider that the amounts debited to your account have been applied strictly in accordance with your agreement with us and our published tariff,which we are satisfied,complies with all applicable laws and regulations. We are also committed to ensuring the transparency of the information that we give to our customers about the operation of our products."

 

"We have considered and responded to the Office of Fair Trading's statement of April 5th 2006. We do not accept the Office of Faie Tradings findings in relation to Credit Card fees. We are concerned that the Office of Fair Trading has publicly called into question the setting of charges applied to other products,including current accounts. The Office of Fair Trading has restricted it's investigation to credit cards and has made no attempt to consult with RBS or the industry in relation to other, entirely different products."

 

After saying this they have offered me £289 as a full and final settlement:(

 

Seems a bit odd that they say that the claims are not official and then offer me £289 off the £1120...am I missing something here, am I entitled to all my bank charges and overdraft fees to be returned to me?

 

Should I turn this offer down and send another letter?

 

Any help would be much appreciated:confused:

 

Regards

 

Nordek

[JonCris]

They might disagree with the OFT but then they would wouldn't they but then statute & common law doesn't agree with them (& they know it). As for the agreed terms your mum agreed because she didn't know their terms are unlawful which means she can't be bound by them.

 

Their comments to you are a red herring to muddy the waters. Get on & follow the procedure as set out on the site to get the money back. Don't forget to add compounded contractual interes to the total.

 

Also if you haven't already make sure you have your mums written authority to act on her behalf & make sure you send them a copy for their file.

[natwesttookmymoney]

Hi

When I saw the name of this thread "Is this info the bank told me correct?"I immediately thought 'no, it isn't - I wonder what they're talking about?'

Blueskies is absolutely correct - as you would expect of a Moderator (bows humbly) and so is JonCris. Remember the old saying - 'no matter how high you are, the Law is above you'. they can s disagree with the OFT all they like, but the Unfair Contract Terms Act, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Act, and reams of case law all pre-date the OFT's report, which referred to them.

So, do your stuff and get your money back. We're here to help.

Best wishes

Westy

[Danko]

Thanks, I suspected as much.

 

In the past they have also asked for £10 to provide copy statements.