Bank Charges – How to Claim Back
Following the huge response to our bank charges survey, the SRC has teamed up with Govan Law Centre to produce letters which you can customise to suit your circumstances, and then send to your bank. The letters contain a statement of the law, and give the bank an opportunity to refund your charges voluntarily. The letters also threaten court action if a refund is not made.
Please note these letters have been updated as a result of the outcome of the test case in 2009.
Results of our survey showed that many of you are being charged when a direct debit, standing order or cheque payment is honoured by the bank even although there’s not enough money in the account to cover it. For the letter which covers this situation, click here
For those times when the bank refuses to honour the payment, and still charges you anyway, the letter is slightly different – click here.
How to use the letters
- Decide which letter is relevant to your situation
- Paste into a Word document and add your own details and information about your situation to customise it.
- Keep a copy of the letter, and send it Recorded Delivery to your bank.
- If the bank hasn’t replied or refunded the charges within 7 days, come into the Advice Centre to discuss raising a small claims action against your bank.
At any stage, if you want a bit more advice or information, contact the Advice Centre or have a look here for further information .
We’d like to keep track of how things are going – if you are successful in getting charges refunded, drop us an email or post a message on the forum to let us know.