Many consumers claiming over a thousand pounds each from banks
The recent controversy to hit the financial world with regards to the unlawful and unfair charges that UK banks have been charging customers for many years has seen a flurry of activity, where bank customers have quickly seized the opportunity to try and claim back these charges, plus interest, going back as far as six years. And according to recent reports, over fifty percent of those that have made claims for a refund on these charged have been asking for more than one thousand pounds to be refunded.
So far, banks have been paying out to those claiming back these charges, although they have been doing their best to use delaying tactics, and have even threatened – and in some cases enforced – account closure for customers that have claimed back these charges. The charges relate to overdraft fees for going into the red or exceeding an agreed overdraft limit, and for returned direct debits and bounced cheques, which cost the bank just a few pounds in administrative costs but have been charged to the customer at nearly forty pounds in many cases.
The fact that half of these claims are for over one thousand pounds demonstrates the kind of profits that banks have been making from their customers by applying such charges to the account. However, although banks have been paying out on these claims, and have failed to justify why customers have been charged such high fees, there are over fifty percent of bank customers that have not made a claim for bank charges to be refunded – in fact, recent data from Uswitch revealed that around fourteen percent were not even aware that this could be done.
Customers have now been urged to get their claims in as soon as possible, as the Office of Fair Trading is due to make a ruling with regards to a ceiling limit on these charges, and this could give the banks an excuse to reduce the amount being asked for on future claims.
External Links: