Charges refunds withheld by banks

By DAN ATKINSON, MAIL ON SUNDAY ECONOMICS EDITOR
Updated:

 

Banks forced to repay excessive charges are withholding the money from some customers with whom they have agreed Individual Voluntary Arrangements.

In some cases they are simply keeping the money and are not even sharing it with the customers' other creditors, such as utility companies.

IVAs are an alternative to bankruptcy for individuals. Lenders agree to write off a proportion of the debt in return for the borrower repaying the rest.

On occasions the banks effectively set aside the IVA and apply a refund to the whole of the original debt, rather than the smaller sum they have agreed to accept.

This could leave the banks open to criticism at a time when the Office of Fair Trading is investigating bank charges, particularly as they may have forced some people into the IVA.

Four of the big five banks have said they will withhold refunds in some circumstances. Lloyds TSB said: 'If a customer gets a refund we would normally set that off against the whole of the original debt.'

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