Just read through the posts on this site and just wanted to add to it.

I'm not a financial adviser or debt counsellor or in any way financially qualified but I am a Trading Standards Officer. I've been following the progress of reclaiming bank charges with interest as i've got some to reclaim myself and have been waiting for all decisions to be finalised. There is NO WAY anyone needs to pay any service to claim these charges back on their behalf, these companies are constantly being reported to us as a scam. The mechanisms are in place for these charges to be claimed back by the consumer themselves, template letters are available and the process is very simple.

The process has not yet fully completed, there are still final stages of appeals to be finished, although it does seem highly likely that the ruling will be in favour of the charges being unlawful. Once the decision has been made, every consumer can claim these charges back without the intervention of companies cashing in on this subject and charging for what we can all do for free. Even if you don't think you're good with words or letters, give it a go, the content is there for you, all you have to do is fill in the blanks. The more people who use these companies and pay for their services, the more they'll carry on making unsolicted phone calls etc.

The moneyexpert.com website has loads of info in their "reclaim £1000s" section - this includes template letters. Alternatively contact your local Trading Standards service or Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 to get the correct advice - and please at least do this before you consider paying for any of these cowboys to do for you what you can easily do yourself.