Can I Reclaim The Amount I Paid In Credit Card Penalty Fees?

In 2006, the Office of Fair Trading ruled that credit card companies' default charges shouldn't go any higher than £12 ... or if they did, there'd have to be a very good - and well-documented - reason why.

It also made a ruling along the same lines when it came to bank charges, and although people have been slower than expected when it comes to reclaiming excessive charges, they've been enjoying a very high success rate, and averaging returns of around the thousand-pound mark.

As far as credit cards are concerned, you get charged for three main reasons:  exceeding your credit limit, bounced payment cheques and late payment.

Chances are, those charges will have been considerably higher than the £12 stipulated by the Office of Fair Trading.

You've got the right to go back through six years' worth of card statements and list any charges above that £12, add the interest you've paid on those charges and request that sum back from the card company.

If you don't have those statements to hand, you can request duplicate statements, but be prepared to pay for them.