Bank account wrong cheque book
I have two bank accounts. One is my working, current account for which I have an approved and well used overdraft, the other account is for just paying my rent and has one amount deposited per month and the same amount paid out to my landlord.
I requested a new current account cheque book via telephone banking, which duly arrived about 2 months ago and I have just started using it, using 3 cheques. I received a letter from the bank about two weeks later informing me that I had taken an unauthorised overdraft and apart from being charged for each cheque also have to pay £10 per day in penalties. I then realised that the bank had sent me a cheque book for the wrong acount (although I had requested it from the right account).
I had previously attended a meeting with my bank to set up the special account just to ring-fence my rent and had told them that I did not want or need a cheque book for that account as it would be self-defeating.
Although I didn't notice that the wrong account number was on the cheque book, do I have a case against paying the bank's penalties?
You may have a case against
You may have a case against paying the bank's penalty charges. You should refuse to pay them until the Supreme Court have reached a decision in the ongoing Office of Fair Trading case concerning the unfair charges made by banks. A decision is expected by the end of October 2009. If the bank ignores your refusal to pay you can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) formally making a claim for the refund of the charges. However all claims are currently on hold pending the decision by the Supreme Court. If you have a written record of the meeting that you had with the bank which confirms that you had clearly stated that you did not require a cheque book for the second account you should submit this to the FOS. You should ask the FOS to investigate the matter and whether they are able to force the bank to refund the charges on the basis that the bank made an error in sending you a cheque book for your second account.
I am a Legal Advisor employed by Sarginsons Law and specialise in Civil Litigation matters. I deal with disputes between individuals and businesses including Landlord and Tenant issues, debt recovery and property disputes.
Telephone 02476 553181