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Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has his top tips for reclaiming bank charges, PPI & more
For the first time in history, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is publishing which individual companies including big banks and insurers it's ruled against, showing the success ratios.
Why this is important
For complaints to get to the Ombudsman they must've already been rejected by the finance company itself. Yet the data is likely to show the Ombudsman regularly rules against some banks – with figures as high as 95% of all complaints.
One reading of this is that some companies deliberately reject complaints, even when they know the Ombudsman would disagree, in the hope that people will be put off going all the way. Therefore using this data you can get a good indication of how likely that is to happen.
Reclaim, Reclaim, Reclaim
You have a right to be 'treated fairly' by lenders, banks, insurers and any financial company. If not complain, asking that the wrong's put right and possibly compensation on top.
There've been some high profile reclaiming areas recently – all of which have seen £100s million paid back to consumers...
- Bank charges
It's thought nearly a billion pounds worth of unfair charges have been paid back. There's a major test case currently in the Supreme Court to decide whether charges for going beyond your overdraft limit are fair.
While the decision is awaited, banks have to acknowledge but not process claims – unless you're in financial hardship in which case it needs to be heard now. Yet as up to a million people are thought to be in the reclaiming queue already – and its big money as you could be able to claim back eight years worth – so to speed up a potential payout it's crucial to get your claim in asap.
For free reclaiming template letters and full updated info on bank charges see the useful links section.
- Credit card charges
This isn't on hold. In 2006 the Office of Fair trading said thought any fees of over £12 were likely to be unfair and most companies dropped their charges from the prior typical £35.
Therefore if you were charged over £12 before that (and most charges then were) its relatively simple to get back the difference and this can add up. See the useful links section for more. - PPI / Loan insurance
I wouldn't be surprised if £10 billion worth of payment protection loan insurance (PPI) has been missold - making it bigger than bank charges. It can be anything from being told it was compulsory (it isn't), to having employment or medical cover which didn't actually cover you.
If you've got a loan, credit or store card, you urgently need to check whether insurance was included when you took it out, and if you were missold it.
See the useful links section for more info. - Been treated unfairly by any finance company?
Firstly, you must complain directly to the company you feel has mistreated you, to give it the opportunity to right its wrongs.
If it rejects your complaint don't assume that's the end of it – even if they use legalese to tell you your complaint is nonsense, don't give up . Shockingly, some businesses say no automatically, even when they know the Ombudsman will almost certainly decide in your favour.
If you've got nowhere, head straight to the Ombudsman and fill in a copy of its complaints form, which you can get online or request to be sent over the phone. The Ombudsman will then take over from there, and come back to you with a decision, or if it needs any further information.
For more information see the useful links section.
