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Hi all
My daughter is a single parent surving on benefits and earlier this year due to a slip up the bank started taking charges and it snowballed.
I wrote to them at the end of March requesting repayment for £121 of charges and quoted S187 of the Social Security Administration Act 182.
They replied stating:
As you will appreciate given the nature of your allegations it has been necessary for the matter to be referred to the banks legal advisors. Their considered view is that your arguement is wrong as a matter of construction of the Act.
they state:
"you have confused 'charges' in the sense of fees, to which the Act has no relevance and 'charges' in the sense of a proprietyary right attaching to benefits to which the Act relates, but which the leveying of fees on overdrafts does not create"
Then they go on to say:
however your account is goverened by the bank's stipulated t&c's and by conducting your account as you have then charges have been deducted from your account.
Then the usual gumpf about the test case.
I wrote back and said I found their letter confusing and mis leading due to them talking about fees and then charges.
They then wrote on 16th April saying that their position remained the same as before but could she please include an I&E statement which she did.
Today they phoned here and said that they have agreed to refund a total of £249 (£120 more than asked for). I am assuming that they had continued to apply charges but will know more when she gets the letter and she has a chance to check the account.
Anyway I just thought our story might be of help.
My daughter is a single parent surving on benefits and earlier this year due to a slip up the bank started taking charges and it snowballed.
I wrote to them at the end of March requesting repayment for £121 of charges and quoted S187 of the Social Security Administration Act 182.
They replied stating:
As you will appreciate given the nature of your allegations it has been necessary for the matter to be referred to the banks legal advisors. Their considered view is that your arguement is wrong as a matter of construction of the Act.
they state:
"you have confused 'charges' in the sense of fees, to which the Act has no relevance and 'charges' in the sense of a proprietyary right attaching to benefits to which the Act relates, but which the leveying of fees on overdrafts does not create"
Then they go on to say:
however your account is goverened by the bank's stipulated t&c's and by conducting your account as you have then charges have been deducted from your account.
Then the usual gumpf about the test case.
I wrote back and said I found their letter confusing and mis leading due to them talking about fees and then charges.
They then wrote on 16th April saying that their position remained the same as before but could she please include an I&E statement which she did.
Today they phoned here and said that they have agreed to refund a total of £249 (£120 more than asked for). I am assuming that they had continued to apply charges but will know more when she gets the letter and she has a chance to check the account.
Anyway I just thought our story might be of help.
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