I needed to find out how much I have paid in bank charges in the past six years. I sent a letter (the template is in the template letters section) to my bank asking for six years worth of statements so I can calculate all the charges.

The bank responded promptly, didn’t cash my £10 cheque (the most they can charge for access to this information under the Data Protection Act) and provided me with statements within a few days.

I realised I could have saved myself a fair bit of time by calling the bank first and just asking for the statements, and only send the letter if they didn’t play ball.

So I sat with a highlighter and added all the charges together… over £1500!

A few years ago, I was extremely wreckless with my finances.

I never knew how much I had coming in or going out of my account. I was constantly in my overdraft and near the limit. I would go out nearly every night of the week and if I was short of money, I would call up the bank and extend my overdraft, often whilst I was out at the pub!

I remember getting my bank statements through the door and noticing bank charges of about £30 but sometimes as much as £72 as a result of going over my agreed overdraft limit and took it in my stride.  However, when I realised just unhealthy my financial situation was and then tried to fix it, I found these bank charges were snowballing, with direct debits defaulting incurring further charges and subsequently found myself with financial troubles for a few years after.

I have since found out it is possible to claim these charges back from and have launched this site to document my claim and provide the information necessary for others to do the same!