What do I need to get started?

All you need to do is to fill in the three forms stored on the next page of this website called 'Start your Claim'. Just print them, sign them and send them off to us with the details of your account numbers. It won't take you more than a few minutes.

What if I don't know how many charges I've paid?

That's our job not yours. We do all the work for you and answer any questions the bank may ask. The bank may deduct £10 from your account before supplying us with all your past statements and some banks won’t even do that but insist on you sending them a cheque with a formal signed Data Protection Act request and clear instructions that they have your consent to their forwarding all your statemnets directly to us.

What will you do for me?

Once we have received your signed forms asking us to handle your claim(s) we will complain directly to the firm asking for a list of all the unfair charges applied to your account. Personal bank account claims as mentioned on our home page will then be put on hold, but complaints about mortgage or credit card or loan default charges can go full steam ahead and if we don't receive a full refund of the charges plus interest we will lodge your complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Most cases will be progressed through FOS but if for any reason your complaint does have to go to court we will pay all the court fees for you and guarantee that any cost awards are paid by us so that there is no risk for you whatsoever in the whole proceedings.

What does your service cost?

We charge no upfront fees and nothing at all unless we are successful, provided you leave the case in our hands throughout. Once we have won you your money and you've banked it we will send you our bill. We charge exactly a quarter of the compensation we win for you plus VAT with a minimum fee of £200 plus VAT per claim.

How long have you been in business?

We have been in business since 1989, CLAIMS was the first business set up in the UK to help people who had lost money from bad financial advice. Since then we have helped thousands of people in a wide range of claims against Banks, Building Societies and Insurance Providers.

Can I complain without professional help from a firm like BankPenaltyClaims.com?

Yes. Of course you can. It is important that you are aware of this so that you know all of your options at this stage. If you want to have a go then do so and please use the information on this website and others to help you. If you are the sort of person who, for example, does their own tax returns without the need to pay an accountant, having a direct fight with your bank over their charges will probably be your preferred route. Remember though, that the banks will not give in easily. They are extremely likely to reject your claim or make a low offer and tell you that it is merely a goodwill gesture and that you are not entitled to anything. You must then calculate what you think you are owed and take the matter further.

You can apply to your local small claims court or to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). A small claims court charges a maximum court fee of £120 for a claim of up to £5,000 which you will get back if you are successful. But be warned, going to a small claims court is never a walkover. You'll lose a day's work and you could well lose your claim if you get the wrong judge. Law is a complex subject and success in the courts cannot be guaranteed.

If you take your case to FOS there is no referral fee but once again it will be up to you to make your case. FOS does not represent consumers or think of ways to legitimately increase the value of your claim as we do. FOS is a mediation service which takes a midway stance between the complainant and the firm. If the bank makes an offer FOS will send it to you and ask if you wish to accept it. It will not tell you that the offer is much too low, and it will not tell you how much you should actually claim for. You must decide that.

Winning our clients the maximum amount of money is our specialty and people come to us because they don't want to do all the work of fighting a big bank on their own. Banks and creditcard firms have highly experienced complaint-handling staff backed by bevies of lawyers. They know how to drag out a complaint and make it time-consuming. Many people don't have the energy to pursue it through to the bitter end. If you ask us to represent you we will deal with the whole complaint on your behalf from start to finish taking the burden from your shoulders. The choice is yours.

If I instruct you to act for me can I cancel my agreement?

Of course you can. At any time. The Ministry of Justice stipulates a 14 day cooling-off period which we have voluntarily extended to 16 days. There will be no charge whatsoever if you change your mind in the first 16 days after asking us to help. If you want to read our contractual agreement with clients press the "Start your claim" button and open the singular or plural client agreement which sets out our terms of business. This explains that there will be a charge after the cooling-off period for cancelling the agreement as we cannot afford to work for people, making phonecalls, writing letters, sending faxes and emails, carrying out complex calculations of loss etc. and then be told by clients "you're fired" - sometimes just before our clients know they are going to receive compensation.