Have you suffered financially from unlawful bank charges

The banks have been making excessive charges every time you go over an agreed overdraft limit or do not have the funds to honour a cheque or a direct debit.

It is now possible to claim this money back plus interest for charges dating back for up to six years. The banks have been breaching a law that says that any charge should not exceed the cost of the breach ie they can only enforce charges which are proportionate to the costs.

Example - the cost to a bank of producing a computer-generated automatic letter is unlikely to be more that £4.50 but if they have been charging £30 then they have been over-charging by £25.50. In addition you are also entitled to the interest accrued on this money. Under the law of penalties the banks actions are regarded as 'extravagant' - they did not have the right to take your money and you are entitled to get it back.

At time of writing, the banks are not keen to go to court because if they lost it would set a legal precedent and the resulting publicity would produce an even bigger torrent of claims. The banks are currently settling large numbers of claims and most people who have sent a claim have received something.

The way forward then is to calculate how much you think you are owed and send this with a letter to your bank. For more information about calculating and making a claim visit the Which website

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