Published in on Sunday, April 26 2009 by Ideal Debt Solutions
If you have discovered that you are living in financial hardship (and this opinion adheres to official criteria regarding this status) and you decide to reclaim bank charges deemed unlawful, there are several steps that you should follow.
1. Contact your bank to find out how much you have been charged. Try going back as far as summer 2001 (although bear in mind that you may not, in reality, be able to claim charges back this far)
2. Write an official letter to your bank asking for the bank charges to be paid back to you
3. Make sure you state clearly and officially that you are currently in financial hardship and you wish your claim request to be regarded under the hardship rules
4. The bank may agree to your request but they may also refuse to pay you the charges
5. In this instance, contact the Financial Ombudsman for free. It is really worth standing your ground, even if your bank refuses to pay initially, since you could be entitled to thousands of pounds
6. You will then be able to establish who is in the right, and, if you are actually living in financial hardship, the likelihood is that the Financial Ombudsman will rule in your favour
Claiming back bank charges when you’re not officially in financial hardship is also possible but the process is likely to be far more complicated and drawn out. The outcome may also be less favourable in the short term for you. If you are not in financial hardship according to official bank criteria but are still struggling with debts, contact a professional debt management company for help managing your money and tips on how to get out of debt.