If your waiting on a refund of bank charges, hard cheese.
The 'Supreme court' ;D has allowed the banks' appeal. Bit unexpected to say the least.

Yeah, just seen this, does seem to go a bit against the grain of rulings at the moment, but then the poor old banks have got to recoup some of their losses I suppose ::)

Bet they still wham withdrawl charges ups ,which all the papers quoted about the last couple of days, also heard on the radio today that the Bank of England is still lending billions to the banks, so who will pay for their ineptitude in the long run ......us the customers >:( >:( >:( >:(

jerry wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 14:47:

Yeah, just seen this, does seem to go a bit against the grain of rulings at the moment, but then the poor old banks have got to recoup some of their losses I suppose ::)

oh yeah >:( : take a look here
"Compensation experts estimate that bonuses will increase an average of 45% from last year's dismal numbers, when the banking industry was in the throes of crisis."

Not really a surprise... The government have bailed out the banks and own large proportions of them... The banks stood to have to repay £Billions so the government have done them a favour >:( >:( >:( >:(

Feckin thieving, robbing gits >:( >:( >:(

Many would, no doubt, vote with their feet.. If the only alternative wasn't "under the mattress".

Kevin

Lazydocker wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 16:22:

Not really a surprise... The government have bailed out the banks and own large proportions of them... The banks stood to have to repay £Billions so the government have done them a favour >:( >:( >:( >:( Feckin thieving, robbing gits >:( >:( >:(

Er, no arguments here ....sadly, its never been any different though and when their own greed gets the better of them its always the customers/taxpayers who bail them out

Wait till those of you with Uk bank accounts owned  by Spanish banks see Spanish practices brought in. Then you will see real charges for all sorts of stuff.

Even if the ruling had gone the other way, lets face it they would still have got the money back somehow.

Try bouncing a cheque on a french bank -- it comes back to you with a Gendarme attached !!!!

What did anyone expect, you should have known that the banks weren't going to have pay back the money, they always get away with robbing us !.
Plus the government have too many pals in the city / banking industry, that's why don't have the hard laws that we really could do with.

Like someone has already said, watch the bank still ramp up the charges, as it's been "a try to take us one, watch us screw you more now we've got away with it - AGAIN".

Somehow, something tells me that Labour aren't going to get in again in a few months time seeing as they've let us down time and time again - There own fault !.

I'm afraid I'm going to go against the concensus here. You have a contract with the bank, the terms and conditions of your account. If those T&C's say that if you go overdrawn, we will charge you £X, then that is all they need to tell you.
If you want to continue using their money, rather than your own, knowing full well the consequences, then that is up to you.
As the banks always say, if you dont like it, close your account and go elswhere.

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 19:12:

I'm afraid I'm going to go against the concensus here. You have a contract with the bank, the terms and conditions of your account. If those T&C's say that if you go overdrawn, we will charge you £X, then that is all they need to tell you. If you want to continue using their money, rather than your own, knowing full well the consequences, then that is up to you. As the banks always say, if you dont like it, close your account and go elswhere.

I think the thing was that charges have to be reasonable, and reflect a true cost of the overdraft, which their's plainly weren't.

Having been caught by charges pushing us over next month and hence more charges I am not exactly happy with the incompetant, thieving, useless B******* 

Ken

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 19:12:

I'm afraid I'm going to go against the concensus here. You have a contract with the bank, the terms and conditions of your account. If those T&C's say that if you go overdrawn, we will charge you £X, then that is all they need to tell you. If you want to continue using their money, rather than your own, knowing full well the consequences, then that is up to you. As the banks always say, if you dont like it, close your account and go elswhere.

Yes, I hear what your saying ST, but is it not our money that is now supporting the banks, look how much money is being ploughed into supporting them, so I'm effectively having my money (paid into the governments account via taxes, national insurance, etc), paid into my bank to take my money back out, then if I'm even a day over due that I normally wouldn't be, that I'm told "tough" you've got to pay us extra for your 24Hr error.

Well maybe now I ought to charge the bank £100 per letter of mine, when I've spotted one of their errors, and want it correcting, and charge interest for everyday that the "$%&*'s" fail to do something about it !!.

I can understand why people are starting to go back to the mattress idea.  :-?

I  think there is some confusion in the postings here between High st. banks and investment banks.
It is the High st. banks which seem to take pleasure in crapping on their customers from a great height (although stmo does have a point).It was also the high st. banks which got themselves involved in investment banking and then had to be bailed out by the taxpayer.
Most people have never heard of most of the investment banks,but it was they who made the profits which fuelled the boom which a lot of people have been living in for the last decade,and they are the banks which didnt take any taxpayers money and are still making reasonable profits today.If they want to pay their employees any amount of money ,its between them and their employee and no-one elses business imo. ;)

Ken T wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 19:22:

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 19:12: I'm afraid I'm going to go against the concensus here. You have a contract with the bank, the terms and conditions of your account. If those T&C's say that if you go overdrawn, we will charge you £X, then that is all they need to tell you. If you want to continue using their money, rather than your own, knowing full well the consequences, then that is up to you. As the banks always say, if you dont like it, close your account and go elswhere. I think the thing was that charges have to be reasonable, and reflect a true cost of the overdraft, which their's plainly weren't. Having been caught by charges pushing us over next month and hence more charges I am not exactly happy with the incompetant, thieving, useless B*******  Ken

The cost which they choose to place on any of their services is no different to what any plumber/electrician etc. chooses to place on their services. Why should banks be different? You can always tell a plumber to get stuffed, and then watch your house flood. You can always tell a bank to get stuffed, pay what you owe them and close your account.

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 19:26:

Ken T wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 19:22: wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 19:12: I'm afraid I'm going to go against the concensus here. You have a contract with the bank, the terms and conditions of your account. If those T&C's say that if you go overdrawn, we will charge you £X, then that is all they need to tell you. If you want to continue using their money, rather than your own, knowing full well the consequences, then that is up to you. As the banks always say, if you dont like it, close your account and go elswhere. I think the thing was that charges have to be reasonable, and reflect a true cost of the overdraft, which their's plainly weren't. Having been caught by charges pushing us over next month and hence more charges I am not exactly happy with the incompetant, thieving, useless B*******  Ken The cost which they choose to place on any of their services is no different to what any plumber/electrician etc. chooses to place on their services. Why should banks be different? You can always tell a plumber to get stuffed, and then watch your house flood. You can always tell a bank to get stuffed, pay what you owe them and close your account.

Eh no, I turn off the water and then fix the leak, simple really  ;D ;D ;D

ken

The banks will always survive, they've got lots of friends like Mandelson behind them  :o :'(  :-X

ken

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 19:12:

I'm afraid I'm going to go against the concensus here. You have a contract with the bank, the terms and conditions of your account. If those T&C's say that if you go overdrawn, we will charge you £X, then that is all they need to tell you. If you want to continue using their money, rather than your own, knowing full well the consequences, then that is up to you. As the banks always say, if you dont like it, close your account and go elswhere.

For once I tend to agree with you, however a friend of mine opened an account many years ago, which would not allow you to go overdrawn at all, he would go to the cash machine and if he had no money in his account he could not draw it out.
So the bank move the goalposts and remove this block without telling him and he goes overdrawn. I this right.

Also I have just opened bank accounts for my son's (14 and 16) and they cannot go overdrawn until they are 18. Why the heck can't the banks just keep block on an account if you ask for it.
Tha banks do it on purpose to make more money out of people.

Mantahatch wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 19:31:

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 19:12: I'm afraid I'm going to go against the concensus here. You have a contract with the bank, the terms and conditions of your account. If those T&C's say that if you go overdrawn, we will charge you £X, then that is all they need to tell you. If you want to continue using their money, rather than your own, knowing full well the consequences, then that is up to you. As the banks always say, if you dont like it, close your account and go elswhere. For once I tend to agree with you, however a friend of mine opened an account many years ago, which would not allow you to go overdrawn at all, he would go to the cash machine and if he had no money in his account he could not draw it out. So the bank move the goalposts and remove this block without telling him and he goes overdrawn. I this right. Also I have just opened bank accounts for my son's (14 and 16) and they cannot go overdrawn until they are 18. Why the heck can't the banks just keep block on an account if you ask for it. Tha banks do it on purpose to make more money out of people.

Sorry to harp on, I dont work for a bank, honest ;D, but I do think it's an individuals responsibility to know how much money he has, not the banks.

Well some people go over due to changed direct debits - it does happen.

Some charges are ridiculous like nearly £400 for £40 over

I myself have been caught out with charges before, however i was lucky enough to claim all my charges back  :)many years ago before all this high court stuff went on.

I agree that if you go overdrawn then the banks have a contractual right (its there in the small print) to charge a fee for this, its the fact that they charge a fee for it and this then takes you overdrawn hence another charge and so it continues that i disagree with.

These days im just a lot more carful but i i do sympathise as it can be a viscious treadmill so to speak.

im on my phone but couldn't resist: i got money out of atm on a saturday and the receipt says i have 300 left. i got money out of atm on sunday and it says 300 left!! then got charged for going od cuz i only had 300 in account on friday but the computer doesn't update balance over weekend ! who's fault is that?

Harison213 wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:18:

im on my phone but couldn't resist: i got money out of atm on a saturday and the receipt says i have 300 left. i got money out of atm on sunday and it says 300 left!! then got charged for going od cuz i only had 300 in account on friday but the computer doesn't update balance over weekend ! who's fault is that?

Yours. £300 - £X doesn't = £300. I thought you'd have guessed that. ::)

Harison213 wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:18:

im on my phone but couldn't resist: i got money out of atm on a saturday and the receipt says i have 300 left. i got money out of atm on sunday and it says 300 left!! then got charged for going od cuz i only had 300 in account on friday but the computer doesn't update balance over weekend ! who's fault is that?

The banks

Harison213 wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:18:

im on my phone but couldn't resist: i got money out of atm on a saturday and the receipt says i have 300 left. i got money out of atm on sunday and it says 300 left!! then got charged for going od cuz i only had 300 in account on friday but the computer doesn't update balance over weekend ! who's fault is that?

The only way you can truly lose track of what you have is if you have hundreds of thousands at the least, monetary levels that don't make at least 3 zero's on a weekly basis aren't going to confuse anybody IMO.

Martin Imber wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:25:

Harison213 wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:18: im on my phone but couldn't resist: i got money out of atm on a saturday and the receipt says i have 300 left. i got money out of atm on sunday and it says 300 left!! then got charged for going od cuz i only had 300 in account on friday but the computer doesn't update balance over weekend ! who's fault is that? The banks

Good grief Martin! If you have £300 on a Friday and you take out £200 on Saturday and £200 on Sunday, it shouldn't come as a great surprise that you are £100 overdrawn on Monday. Sheesh.

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:28:

Harison213 wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:18: im on my phone but couldn't resist: i got money out of atm on a saturday and the receipt says i have 300 left. i got money out of atm on sunday and it says 300 left!! then got charged for going od cuz i only had 300 in account on friday but the computer doesn't update balance over weekend ! who's fault is that? The only way you can truly lose track of what you have is if you have hundreds of thousands at the least, monetary levels that don't make at least 3 zero's on a weekly basis aren't going to confuse anybody IMO.

Well, apparently you're wrong ::)

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:29:

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:28: Harison213 wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:18: im on my phone but couldn't resist: i got money out of atm on a saturday and the receipt says i have 300 left. i got money out of atm on sunday and it says 300 left!! then got charged for going od cuz i only had 300 in account on friday but the computer doesn't update balance over weekend ! who's fault is that? The only way you can truly lose track of what you have is if you have hundreds of thousands at the least, monetary levels that don't make at least 3 zero's on a weekly basis aren't going to confuse anybody IMO. Well, apparently you're wrong ::)

That's why there are so many "no win, no fee" mouthpieces about Steve.
Apparently it is perfectly acceptable to be a dumb *uńt these days, and woe betide anyone who point's out the obvious  ::)

It looks to me like STMO........is the bankers new "best friend"........I say we all string him up.....as an example to all greedy ....inept.....incompetent ....banks.

.......it would be for his own good... ::) ::) ::) ;D ;) ;)

Opti wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:35:

It looks to me like STMO........is the bankers new "best friend"........I say we all string him up.....as an example to all greedy ....inept.....incompetent ....banks. .......it would be for his own good... ::) ::) ::) ;D ;) ;)

If I have to listen to much more cr@p, I may string myself up! ;D

You ALL seem to be missing the elephant in the room!

"The 1999 Regulations were made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 in order to transpose into national law Council Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts."

The "victory” then, is one for EU law – which completely goes against the grain of expectations. As for the "Supreme" court, all it was doing was interpreting the diktats of our masters in Brussels. But, as always, in none of the MSM accounts does one see any reference to this.

The Times rails that the "decision is bad for consumers and competition" but it does not tell us why it was made. The invisible "elephant in the room", as always, is positively thriving.

Thus we get Money Mail assistant editor James Coney lamenting "If OFT can't decide bank charges are unfair, who can?" The answer, of course, is "the EU stoopid". But we are not allowed to know this.

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/11/stunning-victory.html

Sorry, I forgot I wasn't allowed to post this as it reveals me to be a "Little Englander".  ::) ::) ::) ;)

i went over drawn once, they refunded me when i queried it. Asked if i wanted an over-draft setup (i had none before) its now set at £250. Charges are a pain, but i don't see why they are 'unfair'

Banks charging to send letters is particularly rich. Mine send me junk mail about once a week trying to persuade me to take out a loan. If I charged them £30 a letter to receive them I reckon they'd think twice. >:(

Many charges in life are unfair. I think most train fares are unfair, and don't reflect the true cost of providing the service - so I drive. I think the cost of a brand new car doesn't provide good value for money - so I buy second hand. I think £90 a bottle Champagne tastes like Asti Spumante, so guess what I don't drink?

There are always choices to be made, and, whilst the high street banks do have a bit of a monopoly, which limits choice, you can still choose to avoid their charges if you consider them to be excessive. They will dangle every carrot they can find to persuade you to misbehave, but you don't have to take the bait.

Kevin

I must confess, I am one of the many who have a claim outstanding with the bank. I don't have an issue with a reasonable charge for going overdrawn but my biggest concern is that I got caught in a downwards spiral.

I made the mistake of going overdrawn... It was completely my fault and a miscalculation on my part. I went into the Bank and asked for an overdraft increase of £200 to ensure I had no more charges and confessed it was completely my fault but I didn't want to get hit by more charges because I was living on a very tight budget (couldn't afford to go out anywhere other than work and shops for food!) and couldn't afford them. Even told them to reduce the overdraft buy £50/month to get it back to the agreed level.

Computer says no >:( >:( >:(

That one event led to a spiral of charges month after month and totalled over £1700 :o :o :o Just because they refused to help out. I accept that I made the initial mistake but it was the banks charges which caused other DD to fail. In more than one case I had sufficient funds in the account to pay a DD, but the bank took their fees and left insufficient funds for the DD, hitting me with more charges >:( >:(

Anyway... Never mind. Those days are behind me and, even though I had a verbal agreement my claim was going to be settled before all the High Court stuff started, I'll crack on with life. The refunded would have been nice but I wasn't relying on them :y :y

tunnie wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 22:44:

i went over drawn once, they refunded me when i queried it. Asked if i wanted an over-draft setup (i had none before) its now set at £250. Charges are a pain, but i don't see why they are 'unfair'

i went 38p.....38p, overdrawn couple of years ago...and the bank charged me £38!!!!! how the hell can anyone call that fair!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:(

cam2502 wrote on 26. Nov 2009 at 08:41:

tunnie wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 22:44: i went over drawn once, they refunded me when i queried it. Asked if i wanted an over-draft setup (i had none before) its now set at £250. Charges are a pain, but i don't see why they are 'unfair' i went 38p.....38p, overdrawn couple of years ago...and the bank charged me £38!!!!! how the hell can anyone call that fair!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:(

I'm with ^^^^  :)

And back to my note about taking money out of atm, if you have say £300 in your account on Friday no matter how much money you take out on Saturday/Sunday (obviously less than £300), unless they've changed it since it'll still say you can withdraw £300 on the receipt when you take out cash or balance enquiry. IMO this is bank's problem not mine!

Funniest of all Barclays send a letter and said because this was your 1st OD, if you don't go overdrawn throughout next year this will automatically be refunded. Not only it didn't, but also they gave me bull$hit when I mentioned this a year later!!

Another thing which is unfair is when they decide not to bounce a check or DD just to make your account go overdrawn and then charge you for going OD!

And finally not everything is fair just because you've signed a T&Cs agreement. Unfair terms in an agreement, even after you've signed them, shall meet the requirements of The Unfair (Contract) Terms Act. If you read your bank's T&C you'll notice they have the right to charge you if you go OD, etc. and the charges may change from time to time. They can charge you whatever damn they please for going OD and this is what's not fair.

Yes you should be in control of your money at all times, but this doesn't take away the responsibilities of teh bank towards you.

I now  have an angry face >:(

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:28:

Harison213 wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:18: im on my phone but couldn't resist: i got money out of atm on a saturday and the receipt says i have 300 left. i got money out of atm on sunday and it says 300 left!! then got charged for going od cuz i only had 300 in account on friday but the computer doesn't update balance over weekend ! who's fault is that? The only way you can truly lose track of what you have is if you have hundreds of thousands at the least, monetary levels that don't make at least 3 zero's on a weekly basis aren't going to confuse anybody IMO.

I used a debit card for a £10 transaction--5 months later I had 3 small direct debits returned unpaid costing me charges of £105.The DD's were for £1.99 each, I checked the day  before and had about £9 in account, never have much in anyway, however the debit card transaction from 5 months earlier had come out overnight thus resulting in £105 of charges for a total account activity of £16.The limitation on debit card transactions I was told is 6 months from the date of purchase.

You don't need a vast amount in you account to lose track when things like this occurr.£105 is twice my weekly Carers Allowance and nearly all of my wife's Incapacity Benefit.

I learnt my lesson, if places don't take cash they don't get my business.

Plus another £28 at the end of next month for going overdrawn--£133 in total

threppence wrote on 26. Nov 2009 at 12:22:

wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:28: Harison213 wrote on 25. Nov 2009 at 20:18: im on my phone but couldn't resist: i got money out of atm on a saturday and the receipt says i have 300 left. i got money out of atm on sunday and it says 300 left!! then got charged for going od cuz i only had 300 in account on friday but the computer doesn't update balance over weekend ! who's fault is that? The only way you can truly lose track of what you have is if you have hundreds of thousands at the least, monetary levels that don't make at least 3 zero's on a weekly basis aren't going to confuse anybody IMO. I used a debit card for a £10 transaction--5 months later I had 3 small direct debits returned unpaid costing me charges of £105.The DD's were for £1.99 each, I checked the day  before and had about £9 in account, never have much in anyway, however the debit card transaction from 5 months earlier had come out overnight thus resulting in £105 of charges for a total account activity of £16.The limitation on debit card transactions I was told is 6 months from the date of purchase. You don't need a vast amount in you account to lose track when things like this occurr.£105 is twice my weekly Carers Allowance and nearly all of my wife's Incapacity Benefit. I learnt my lesson, if places don't take cash they don't get my business. Plus another £28 at the end of next month for going overdrawn--£133 in total

>:( >:( >:(

I am lucky enough to have accountancy knowledge and these days I use an application to keep track of my finance. BUT, people don't need to be accountants to credit an "accounts payable" for a £10 transaction which pops out of nowhere in 5 months time!!

£133 charge for this amount of money is ridiculous. Now tell me if you still think this is fair because he's signed the T&C!

Have had about £9000 back for friends and family.

Yes we have to control our own cash but we generally are at our lowest ebb when getting t*atted by these excessive, repetitive charges so I feel they are wrong by their level and ferocity.