Trade Finance Point

£35,000 in Hidden Bank Fees: How TFpoint Audited LCs and Unlocked Trapped Liquidity

Challenges

Lacked internal expertise to verify whether hidden fees were legitimate.

Bank statements littered with vague charges with no clear breakdown or justification.

No time to audit historical transactions or challenge the bank's fee structures.

Faced bank charges as a cost of doing business without realising how much was recoverable.

Solution

Audited LC transactions, uncovered £35,000 in improperly charged fees, and secured full recovery from the bank. Restructured future fee agreements to prevent recurrence.

Conducted a comprehensive forensic audit of 24 months of LC transactions.

Categorised improper charges — duplicate amendment fees, inflated confirmation charges, unauthorised discrepancy fees.

Compiled a formal challenge document citing the bank's own fee schedule and industry standards, leaving no room for dispute.

Negotiated directly with the bank's trade operations team using former banker's expertise, securing full refund within three weeks.

Restructured the LC facility with transparent, capped fees, preventing future hidden charges.

Testimonial from CEO

Our business supplies precision-engineered components to manufacturers across emerging countries. As a growing company, we run a tight operation. Our team is lean, our margins are carefully managed, and every penny counts. We rely on Letters of Credit to secure our international transactions, but for years we treated bank fees as simply "the cost of doing business." We never questioned them. We never had time. That perspective changed when I came to know about TFpoint through an email they sent to us, describing themselves as former bankers and CDCS experts who audit LC transactions and actually recover money from banks. At first, I was sceptical — but curious enough to reach out.

TFpoint asked for 24 months of our bank statements and LC records. Within two weeks, they came back with a finding that stopped me in my tracks: our bank had improperly charged us over £35,000 across dozens of transactions. Duplicate amendment fees. Confirmation charges applied when they shouldn't have been. Discrepancy fees for discrepancies that never existed. They walked us through it all, line by line, with clear evidence.

TFpoint didn't just identify the problem — they fixed it. They compiled a formal challenge citing the bank's own fee schedule and negotiated directly with their trade operations team. Because they're former bankers, they knew exactly which arguments would land and who needed to hear them. Within three weeks, the full £35,000 was credited back to our account. No lengthy disputes. Just results. Beyond the recovery, TFpoint helped us restructure our LC facility with transparent, capped fees. Now when we see a charge, we understand exactly what it's for — and we know it's fair. For any growing business that uses LCs, I cannot recommend TFpoint enough. They don't just fix problems; they save you money you didn't even know you were losing.

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