What I Have Been Up To Recently:

For the last three months I have been heavily involved in litigation against HSBC, and have recently had ALL bank charges refunded to me from the last six years...

For the benefit of others, a brief summary of the Spiceskull v HSBC action to recover bank charges, with the help and advice of Consumer Action Group.

I have had an account with HSBC for 24 years (opened when it was Midland Bank) - and in that time I attempted to run the account properly. However, life being what it is, there were many periods when I incurred overdrafts and cancelled direct debits, and penalty charges were ruthlessly applied to my account.

Many times I contacted HSBC to have these unfair penalty charges refunded, but all my requests were flatly refused. I heard about Consumer Action Group from MSE (Money Saving Expert), and understood that the unfair bank chargeswere unlawful, and that I would be able to use the courts to reclaim the right, and have the bank chargesrefunded.

After reading around the CAG forums, the steps I needed to take were clear:

Step One: The first step in getting penalty charges refunded was submitting a DPA request to HSBC. This involved the bank providing me with a full transaction history on my account, and specificaly highlighting all instances of when unfair penalty charges had been applied, as well as any evidence of manual intervention in my account, in respect of unfair bank charges.

Step Two: Once my transaction history had arrived (in the form of statements) I was able to calculate the total value of all bank charges applied to my account. Over a period of six years there had been more than £3,000 worth of penalty charges applied, and with the help of Consumer Action Group I was determined to get a refund.

Step Three: Step three was to send a preliminary request for a refund from HSBC, outlining my beliefs that the unfair penalty charges were unlawful, and that I expected a full refund. This was met with a standard letter of refusal by HSBC, who maintained that the unfair bank charges were lawful, fair and transparent.

Step Four: A second letter to HSBC, a letter before action, giving the bank the opportunity to reconsider their position regarding bank charges, and putting them on notice that I would raise a claim in court if the penalty charges were not refunded within fourteen days.

Step Five: Again HSBC refused, and therefore I raised my claim. Along with the claim form, requesting a full refund of the unfair penalty charges, I provided a schedule detailing where the unfair bank chargeshad been applied. My claim also included a request for interest, pursuant to s.69 of the County Courts Act in respect of bank charges.

Step Six: HSBC had 14 days to acknowledge my claim, which they duly did. The next thing I heard from HSBC was a letter from DG Solicitors. The letter indicated that HSBC believed that the penalty charges were fair, transparent, and fully defensible in court. Therefore HSBC would not be refunding any unfair penalty charges to my account.

However, DG Solicitors advised me that HSBC was mindful of the management time and costs associated with litigation in respect of unfair bank charges, hey were prepared to make a payment for the full amount, representing the bank charges applied, and requesting that the settlement remain confidential.

Step Seven: I wrote back to DG Solicitors, informing them that the offer made by HSBC was not satisfactory. I fully expected the refund of penalty charges to be unconditional, and that I would therefore seek to recover the unfair penalty charges in court. Two days later I received another letter, advising me that HSBC would be crediting my account with the full amount, in respect of unfair bank charges applied to my account.

The moral of the story is simple - the banks do not want to defend bank charges in court, and therefore they will settle all claims before divulging the true cost of penalty charges.

To see the steps I took to recover unfair bank charges with the help of Consumer Action Group, please read my thread Spiceskull v HSBC.