Claims Review could help you reclaim your unfair Credit Card Charges
Is it possible to have my credit card charges reclaimed?
Why can You Reclaim Credit Card Charges?
The simple question is, ‘does it really cost £35 to send a computer generated letter when someone’s gone a couple of pence over their credit card limit’? Over the years that’s exactly what most card providers have done whenever people have missed credit card repayment dates or bust through their existing credit limit. And it’s for this reason that you should be able to get back the last six years’ worth of charges.
Even the OFT have said that credit card fees are unfair
Not that many realised then, but a report in April 2006 by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was important in supporting peoples cases. Having investigated credit card charges the OFT said, in plain language, that it would not launch a specific investigation on any card companies with charges lower than £12.
While the OFT ruling had no official power, it did pave the way for a new charging structure and across the board, most credit card companies reduced their charges to the £12 level.
This has certainly made it a lot easier to reclaim back the difference between what you were charged and the £12 figure. So for each £35 charge, you could get at least £23 of it back; though sometimes you may be able to get the whole £35.
The Bank Charges test case didn't impact on credit card reclaim cases
You might have heard of the recent disappointment in the Bank Charges test case where the Supreme Court decided that charges could not be assessed for fairness. It’s important to understand this is specifically about Bank Charges and does not apply to credit card charges reclaims.
How to avoid Credit Card Charges in the first place
Incurring charges combined with not being able to pay off your balance is a warning signal. It means you have money budgeting and indebtedness problems. Whilst these charges are definitely worth fighting and ultimately reclaiming, it’s also important to turn the spotlight on yourself and check to see if there is anything you can do.
Are you managing to budget your money properly? Are you overspending beyond your means? By far the best thing to do is to try and 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 overall Credit Rating. This means that you need to do three important things.
- Ensure you never miss payments.
This is simple to do, ask your credit card lender to 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, 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 you are paying.
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 or getting a new card for cheap.
- Sort out your personal 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 or simply by stopping spending. If you are getting credit card fines, this is a very good way to deal with them.
We can help you reclaim your Credit Card Charges
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