Credit Card Refunds for Penalty Charges

Bank customers have been quick to act on getting their money back from overcharged fees. The credit card holders have been slower to act in getting their money back though. It is possible if you have a credit card to get your late fees, overdraft fees, or even the missed payments fees back. It seems a court case finally decided there is a difference between a breach of contract charge and penalty charges. Many have been charged these penalty fees. Legally a bank can charge for late payments, missed payments, or overdrafts, however the Office of Fair Trading has stated these fees are excessive and the court case earlier this year has ruled in favour of the OFT.

This ruling states that the credit card companies are not allowed to charge more than 12 pounds per default. If they charge more than that there must be concrete evidence for why they did so. For consumers it means getting a little refund if you take action. There are a few steps in getting the refund and not all of it is going to be fun.

It can take a lot of time to get the process started, but as long as a consumer starts now they can get their money back, in full for some cases.

When you take out a credit card you are signing a contract with that company stating you will honour the agreement of payments, credit card limit, and other fees outlined in the contract. The bank is allowed to charge you fees for any default as long as it is a fair fee.

A lot of consumers don’t take a detailed look at their credit card statements so it is possible to miss fees. You will need to see what type of fees you have been charged to make sure you are eligible for a refund. Once you have assessed the charges you can then talk with the credit card companies. For a first time incident you will be able to make a payment and perhaps get the charge taken off. However, if you didn’t realise you were being charged these charges or tried to get them removed by talking with the company you are able to work out what you are owed in the refund and provide the documentation within 40 days of first speaking with the company.

Everything should be outlined in a letter that you send to the company. At this point things are in the bank or credit card company’s hands. Once they make a decision or refuse to answer your request you can start on the next proceedings.

A lot of the banks and credit card companies’ responses have been in the negative. This is where you would be able to enter a claim in the court based on the Office of Fair Trading stipulations for your case. If there is a case the OFT will take the matter to the court for a refund decision. There are several waiting on answers now.

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