Can We Claim Back Credit Card Charges?

Why can we claim back credit card charges?

Does it really cost £35 to send an automated letter when someone’s gone 1p over their limit’?

Over the years that’s exactly what card providers have done whenever people have missed credit card repayment dates or bust through their credit limit. And it’s for this reason that you should be able to get back the last six years’ worth of cash.

Incurring charges combined with not being able to pay off your balance is a danger signal. It means you have money management and over-indebtedness issues. While these charges are worth fighting, it’s also important to turn the spotlight on yourself.

Are you managing your money properly? Are you spending beyond your means? By far the best thing to do is to avoid them in the first place. This isn’t just to save you cash and hassle. If you’ve got fines from your credit card company each one takes a chunk out of your Credit Score. This means you need to do three important things.

Ensure you never miss a payment.

This is easy to do, simply set up a Direct Debit to pay off the card each month. You can do this for just the minimum repayment, and that way you’ll never be fined. Yet only paying the minimum will leave you in debt virtually for ever (see the Danger! Minimum Repayments article), so just consider it a way to ensure there won’t be a penalty – and continue to pay by cheque or card payment each month on top.

Cut the cost of the interest.

The more interest you pay, the less of your money goes towards paying back the actual debt; the more you’re likely to go beyond your limit. It’s easy to slash credit card interest either by shifting your debt to a new card (see Best Balance Transfers) or getting a new card for cheap spending (see Credit Card for Spending).

Sort out your finances.

It may be that your debts are simply a symptom of overspending.

There are a number of ways to combat this, by simply shifting to better value products (see Give Yourself a Payrise andBudgeting) or simply Stopping Spending). If you are getting credit card fines, this is a good way to deal with them.

*Free Letter*

Use this sample letter to request you account details.

name and

address of bank

your name

address

date

Account Number

Dear Sir or Madam,

RE:-  Subject Access Request

I am writing to request that you forward me a copy of all data held by your organisation about me for both current and closed credit card accounts. This should include, but not be limited to all transaction lists, agreements, notes made on my account and copies of letters relating to my account.

This request should include any data held for more than 6 years as under the Data Protection Act there is no time limit for information requested.  If you do not hold data for a period longer than 6 years I also request confirmation of this in writing along with your methods used for disposal of such information to comply with the Data Protection Act stating the name and contact information of your registered Data Controller and Code Compliance Officer.

I look forward to your response within 40 days, as you are obliged to reply within this time under the Data Protection Act.

I enclose the statutory maximum fee of £10.

I wish to request a full refund of these charges.

Yours faithfully,

signature

insert your name (printed)