In my last Blog entry I shared with you my frustration with Credit Card charges and how I’m going to try and ease my debts by claiming back all of Barclaycard’s unfair charges before they try and put a stop to people like you and me from getting our money back.
A friend of mine, who does not have an agreed overdraft with his bank, discovered he had unknowingly become overdrawn by £1.05 the other day and the bank has charged him £30 for privilege. But how can he become overdrawn if he doesn’t even have the facility on his account in the first place?
The reality is it’s an unjustified charge which is just helping to make the banks richer.
According to financial professionals High Street banks have raked in nearly £580 million in penalty overdraft charges since the start of the court case in January 2007 challenging the legality of these fees.
The case was brought by the Office of Fair Trading to establish whether charging of up to £30 a time for exceeding credit limits and for bounced and stopped cheques are legitimate and fair.
Millions of people have already claimed back more than £1 billion in overdraft charges, but last July the Financial Services Authority announced a waiver, preventing consumers from claiming refunds until the case had been decided.
In the meantime, the banks are still charging high fees and the longer the case takes before being settled, the more money consumers are losing in penalties.
Consumer groups were initially hopeful that a decision would be reached by early April, but experts believe it is likely to be summer at the earliest.
So get ready Penny Pinchers to claim back money which was rightfully yours!

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