Listener responses to George’s talkSPORT radio show

Respect member & talkSPORT listener Marie Xenos adds some important information after George’s show on 26 November 2006

"Following on from what what your caller Andrew said, just to emphasise to your listeners that they are legally entitled to claim back these illegal bank charges (for example banks charging £20 or £30 a go per day for unpaid direct debits are doing so completely illegally). Many people have learned about this over recent months and have successfully claimed back these charges. The banks desperately want this to remain as quiet as possible for obvious reasons and have so far coughed up pretty quickly and have settled all disputes out of court - they certainly do not want to be taken to court, lose the case and a precedent established to confirm that they have indeed been charging people illegally.

"Please have a look at the Money Saving Expert website for more information.

"Here's a quote from the site:

"‘The law is plain: any charges banks levy on their customers must be proportional to the actual costs they incur. The simple question is, "does it really cost £35 to send an automated letter when someone’s gone 1p over the limit?" Thus write to your bank asking for a list of your last six years’ charges, add interest on top and ask for a full refund. When it refuses inform it you’ll go to court under the small claims system. In most cases, the bank will simply pay out; one person received £17,500.’"