What To Do If You Only Have Some of Your Bank Statements
You can submit an estimated claim if you genuinely believe you have
been charged during a period for which you have no statements. Calculate
all the charges from the statements you have and if you believe
the missing statements would also record similar charges, then estimate
the missing amount.
Fill in the necessary details in the template for the "estimated
charges letter" in the box below and post it Recorded Delivery
to your bank/lender's branch address.
Your bank/lender will almost certainly work out how many charges
you have actually incurred in the past six years. It may contact
you within 14 days to either make you an offer, in part or in full,
or to state that it has refused to refund your money.
If the claim is small, banks/lenders tend to settle the claim quickly to reduce their legal and administrative costs, but each organisation reacts differently. If the claim is large, then it is more likely the bank/lender will do nothing until a claim is filed at court.
Check online with the Post Office to confirm the date that the lender received your letter and then allow 14 days from that date for it to respond.
If, after 14 days, you have received no response at all, or are unhappy with the bank/lender's response then the next stage is to file a claim at your local small claims court (see section titled 'File at Court' below). There is a fee to file a claim. If your bank pays up, this fee is refunded at the point of settlement.
The lender is then obliged to defend its case before the judge or else to pay the amount you are claiming against it. If it chooses not to defend itself, as well as paying the full amount of your claim, it will also refund your court fee. So far no bank/lender we are aware of has defended its penalty charges in court. (see section titled 'File at Court' below).
We have teamed up with www.penaltycharges.co.uk to provide you with all the documentation you need to make your complaint.
