If you bank with HSBC in Switzerland, you might want to ring you relationship manager and check all’s well because it emerged this week that personal details of an estimated 24,000 clients of HSBC Private Bank in Switzerland have been stolen. According to an FSA investigation, the data theft occured three years ago but HSBC only learnt about the incident in December 2008.

The bank reacted by spending over £60million on improving the security systems but by then, what the FSA calls “large amounts of unencrypted customer details” had been taken from the systems and posted to third parties. HSBC has said the stolen data is “highly likely” to include information about British customers.

Believe it or not, there’s a financial time bomb ticking away in UK, and if it goes off: hundreds of thousands of individuals stand to lose everything because of the culmination of a number of factors. We’re talking about attempts to stay afloat and keep the wolf from the door but these attempts could well bring the wolf in, sit him down and offer him afternoon tea. Have a read of this to find out more…

Just a quick one today to point you in the direction of Msartin Lewis’ Blog, he’s been to No. 10 to discuss the future on bank charges and credit card charges. Looks like the PM’s on board with making sure the banks reduce fees and play ball, check it out here…

Playtime is over for the banks as the Financial Services Authority (FSA) rings the bell on Self-Regulation.

Great, but what will the customers get out of it? Well, we’ll get what’s as-standard in every other industry: fair, open and non-misleading dealings and communication.

Under the previous self-regulation system, the banks watched over themselves through the Banking Code Standards Board (BCSB). If we’d all been made aware of this fact a few years back, we might not be in the mess we are now; the BCSB are so toothless, they can’t even fine the banks for breaching rules (imagine the soft-talking, not-built-for-this teacher at school).

Under the new regulatory system, the FSA will crack the whip and as well as slapping fines on the Bentleys windscreens for bank charges UK customers will also receive an improved service. Such improvements include: faster payments between accounts, an early heads up when T’s & C’s are changing and other stuff that the banks didn’t think was important like listening when we have a complaint.

This bank charges test case has been going on for nearly 2 and a half years now and we’re seemingly no closer to a resolution on the matter. There’s been extension after extension and delays followed by appeals, all of which means the victims have been unable to get their hard-earned back.

This situation will come to an end and probably quite soon (although we’re not going to say it’ll be over by Christmas) but in the mean time you can still get your unfair bank charges claim in the system and in the queue. And remember; Credit Card charges are exempt from the test case ruling and can be paid out. Also, if you’re facing financial hardship (who isn’t) then your case has to be heard and a decision made, so be sure to look through those statements.

It’s been a year since the banks started changing their policies on unfair bank charges which saw a raft of changes and reduced fees. But interestingly, this new, fairer banking system we find ourselves part of is throwing up a few bizarre financial oportunities.

Lloyds Banking Group now have an overdaft policy that charges you £1 for every day you are over your limit. That fee is applied whether you’re £1 over or £2500 over which results in an overdraft becoming an attractive loan proposition. So over a year, you’d pay £365 in fees if you stayed within the £2500 overdraft limit. This works out to 14.6% in annual interest which ain’t too bad in the current market place!

Are you sitting down? Because we’ve got some shocking news – A major bank is scrapping overdraft fees as from October. I Know! The thing is, it’s National Austrailia Bank (NAB) but it’s a move that is thought to help UK-based victims of bank charges.

NAB said that as of October; it’s going to get rid of their £15 charge for going overdrawn without permission. This could possibly see other lenders within the NAB group also abolish fees, those banks include The Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks although early reports indicate they will not be scrapping the charges.

NAB’s spokesperson Lisa Gray said:
“Most of our customers who experience these fees don’t think it is fair. Getting rid of them will improve our relationship with customers”.

Lisa hits the nail on the head and although bank charges claims are still on hold pending the outcome of a test case those experienced financial hardship can have their claim heard.

If you’re interested in getting your money back from the banks, but aren’t sure how much you could receive, you can now use a simple Excel spreadsheet calculator to ‘figure out the figure’. The guys at personal finance news website thisismoney.co.uk have 2 downloadable claim calculators that will help you put an amount on the bank charges you’ve paid out.

They’re easy to use and free, which means you can quickly see exactly how much of your money has been pocketed by the bankers before you start your bank charges refund claim.

No this isn’t a wind-up, Josh Muszynski of Manchester, New Hampshire, went into his local corner shop to buy his usual pack of cigarettes with his credit card. Everything went according to plan until he got his statement at the end of the month which showed he had paid over £14 quadrillion for one pack of cigs.

Now, Josh is an average guy with an average credit limit so it’s no surprise that this hefty price-tag took him a little into the red and as a consequence, he received a $15 credit card fee. But he wasn’t the only Visa customer to be slightly over-charged for a purchase, the system glitch left many across the country with credit card charges for going quadrillians over their limit.

When interviewed by WMUR-TV, Mr Muszynski said  “…I thought somebody had bought Europe with my credit card.”

Ha, what a joker, considering the current climate – you could probably pick Europe up for the actual price of a packet of cigarettes.

A Treasury Select Committee report on the banking crisis was released on 1st May with an aim of establishing what went wrong.

It turns out (surprise, surprise), that the bankers were to blame by making “an astonishing mess” of the UK financial industry which includes hiking bank charges despite being bailed out by taxpayers.

The report also called for UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body set up to represent the taxpayer’s share in part-nationalised banks, to start being more assertive.

The report was not hailed by everyone – Vince Cable, LibDem Treasury spokesman, said: “This is a disappointingly weak report. It fails to meet the previous standards of tough criticism advanced by the select committee when interrogating the bankers.”

And of course, the bankers themselves had something to say, which went along the lines of the famous Bart Simpson quote…”I didn’t do it”. Angela Knight, CEO of the British Bankers’ Association, said: “If we simply continue to blame the industry for all of the problems of the economy in the UK it will do little to help us out of the recession and will further damage the UK as an international financial centre.”