Tweet
from this is Money http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=htt...eOydUsLAbPNugw
More than 1m bank charge claims on hold
Alan O'Sullivan, This is Money
4 September 2009
Reader comments (4) | Chat | Guide
There are 1.1m bank charge reclaims stuck on hold since the bank charges waiver was introduced in 2007, according to figures obtained from the City watchdog by This is Money.
High stakes: millions of bank customers have been kept waiting.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
BANK CHARGE SUCCESSES
Thousands of people have successfully reclaimed with TiM's guides. Read: >> Bank charge success stories
RECLAIM ALL FEES
> Bank charges
> Credit card charges
> Mortgage exit fees
> Loan insurance(PPI) > Business charges
BANK CHARGES CALCULATOR
Find out what you're owed in bank charges and interest. Then send it to your bank. >> Bank charges calculator
These are the first definitive figures on the number of bank charge claims on hold.
They reveal the extent to which banks have continued to impose high fees while the OFT and major banks argue out a High Court case.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) published data on customer complaints within the industry for the first time yesterday, covering the three years between 2006 and the end of 2008.
However, it omitted comprehensive figures on complaints relating to current account overcharging, which have since been obtained by This is Money.
These reveal 1.1m complaints placed on hold due to the waiver.
There are no definitive figures on the amount of bank charges complaints made in total.
However, the figures reveal 1.2m complaints to banks between 2006 and the end of 2008 on current account charges, the vast majority of which are based on bank charges complaints.
Using the figures for complaints on hold it can be extrapolated that there have been an extra 640,000 bank charges complaints this year, leading to a grand total of 1.8m since 2006.
Although the figure for the number of cases on hold relates solely to bank charges, those for between 2006-2008 include complaints about other charges on current accounts such as currency charges.
However, the 'vast majority' of these relate to bank charges, according to an FSA spokeswoman.
If the Office of Fair Trading is successful in its ongoing legal battle with eight High Street banks, then banks and building societies would have to pay out billions of pounds in bank charge repayments to settle the million-plus claims.
The number of cases on hold to date may be significantly higher as the figure of 1.1m relates to the number of bank charge complaints lodged with the 10 largest banks between July 2007 and May 2009, according to the FSA.
But banks received approximately 550,000 complaints on current account overcharging in the first six months of 2007, many of which may not have been settled before the waiver was introduced in July, and will have continued to receive complaints since May this year. This could raise the total number of cases on hold to approximately 1.6m.
More than 1m bank charge claims on hold
Alan O'Sullivan, This is Money
4 September 2009
Reader comments (4) | Chat | Guide
There are 1.1m bank charge reclaims stuck on hold since the bank charges waiver was introduced in 2007, according to figures obtained from the City watchdog by This is Money.
High stakes: millions of bank customers have been kept waiting.WANT TO KNOW MORE?BANK CHARGE SUCCESSES Thousands of people have successfully reclaimed with TiM's guides. Read: >> Bank charge success storiesRECLAIM ALL FEES > Bank charges > Credit card charges
> Mortgage exit fees
> Loan insurance(PPI) > Business charges
BANK CHARGES CALCULATOR Find out what you're owed in bank charges and interest. Then send it to your bank. >> Bank charges calculatorThese are the first definitive figures on the number of bank charge claims on hold.
They reveal the extent to which banks have continued to impose high fees while the OFT and major banks argue out a High Court case.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) published data on customer complaints within the industry for the first time yesterday, covering the three years between 2006 and the end of 2008.
However, it omitted comprehensive figures on complaints relating to current account overcharging, which have since been obtained by This is Money.
These reveal 1.1m complaints placed on hold due to the waiver.
There are no definitive figures on the amount of bank charges complaints made in total.
However, the figures reveal 1.2m complaints to banks between 2006 and the end of 2008 on current account charges, the vast majority of which are based on bank charges complaints.
Using the figures for complaints on hold it can be extrapolated that there have been an extra 640,000 bank charges complaints this year, leading to a grand total of 1.8m since 2006.
Although the figure for the number of cases on hold relates solely to bank charges, those for between 2006-2008 include complaints about other charges on current accounts such as currency charges.
However, the 'vast majority' of these relate to bank charges, according to an FSA spokeswoman.
If the Office of Fair Trading is successful in its ongoing legal battle with eight High Street banks, then banks and building societies would have to pay out billions of pounds in bank charge repayments to settle the million-plus claims.
The number of cases on hold to date may be significantly higher as the figure of 1.1m relates to the number of bank charge complaints lodged with the 10 largest banks between July 2007 and May 2009, according to the FSA.
But banks received approximately 550,000 complaints on current account overcharging in the first six months of 2007, many of which may not have been settled before the waiver was introduced in July, and will have continued to receive complaints since May this year. This could raise the total number of cases on hold to approximately 1.6m.
Comment