This is a selection of BCALC clients, both large and small, and serves to indicate how widespread the problem is.

Case No 1

Medium size garage group in South of England with eleven showrooms and a turnover around £25M per annum running a consolidated account where the interest is charged to the central "wash" account on the daily cleared overdrawn balances were overcharged £16,000 in just fifteen months. Despite having on line banking and a chartered accountant as financial controller they were unable to detect the over charge until BCALC carried out the Audit. The over charge was repaid to the company by their bank which is a household name.

Small shopkeeper in Surrey selling furnishings with annual turnover of £600,000 was charged £10,600 in interest and managemant charges in just fourteen months. The overdraft averaged only £5800 per month for the period and peaked for just one month at £12,000. If it was not for the excessive charges, the account would have remained in credit for most of the period audited. The charges caused the overdraft for most of the time!

A London based civil engineering company was overcharged £43,000 on a straight forward mortgage account over six years. The FCA who managed the finances for the company was convinced he was being overcharged but was unable to prove it until BCALC audited the account.

A small but old established family firm of builders was overcharged £4,000 during six years with his bank and also paid an additional £4,000 in excess charges through selective discrimination by returning the company's cheques, without any consistency or pattern, to boost charges to the account.

A multi million pound turnover motor dealer with three showrooms in Surrey and Hampshire was advised by BCALC their account was overcharged more then £33,000 in three years. They are now having the remaining three years of their account audited by BCALC and have changed their bank.

After more then twenty years with the same High Street bank a small building company in Staines was consistently overcharged on management time and interest charges despite constantly telling the bank that their excess charges were not acceptable. It cost the company over £10,000. BCALC is now negotiating for the return of these monies.