What do you think of this approach?

[Rog.]

I've read the FAQs, the standard letters and the reports on the claims so far. My bank has hit me with £250 in charges over the last 3 months, but probably only £100 - £200 more over the last 6 years.

My first thoughts are to phone first and ask for the money back, then go in and request it back in person, backed up by information from this website and with the fallback of having set up a new bank account in case they get nasty. I would then follow this up with the standard letter + claim procedure.

Initially however, I am only going to ask for the £250 back, not the back charges, or any interest, on the assumption that this would be easier to approve at a branch level.

Do you think this approach would weaken my claim if, when I take things further, I include the back charges and interest? Can it be used as a bargaining position - eg pay this amount now or I'll be claiming twice as much via the courts? Is offering confidentiality a good idea (and conversely, is it worth saying you'll post your story to the local paper if they get pissy and close your account?

Any opinions gratefully received.

Thanks,

Rog.

[JamesBooker]

Hi Rog

They're very unlikely to close your account unless you actually launch legal action against them but phoning or going into the branch is probably not going to work. Send them a letter demanding back the charges for the last three months if that's what you're most concerned with. However if you think you'll eventually want them all back you'd be better off making a Data Protection request now and working out exactly what they owe you.

[Rog.]

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