Bank penalties and charges most commonly apply when an account has experienced a bounced cheque, a direct debit exceeding the account balance or the bank account holder going over their agreed overdraft.
If you have recently experienced high bank charges and think the penalties applied against your account are unfair, there are ways to recover and reclaim your bank charges.
What banks charges mean to you
When penalty charges and interest fees are taken from bank accounts at a high interest rate, the charges may be excessive.
Legally, banks can charge you for going into unauthorised borrowing, including bounced cheques and exceeding a overdraft facility. However, they can only charge for what it costs them to deal with it.
With common £30 charges for bank letters and £25 overdraft fees, many banks are overcharging for administrative and letter sending services - but there is action you can take to reclaim some of your bank charges.
Taking a stand against unfair bank charges means keeping tabs on your account and spotting excessive bank charges. It also means staying informed and working out what the bank owes you.
Campaigners around the UK have been lobbying and working to highlight the unjust fees pressed on customers by their banks. However, at this point banks are still authorised to charge fees for certain account activity.
Help overcoming bank charges
If you feel that your bank has charged you unfairly and want to recover your bank charges and you would like information on how to reclaim your bank charges, visit either the Money Made Clear website or The Office of Fair Trading website.