Hi - I filled my N1 a week or so ago for bank charges and have just recieved Abbey's defence. I typed it out to fully understand it, and thought you guys might be interested.
The big question is:
Is this the same as what you've got?
If it has changed what do I need to look out for?
Thanks in advance and hope this is useful.....
In the XXXXX County Court
Between:
XXXXX
Claimant
- and -
ABBEY NATIONAL PLC
Defendant
DEFENCE INTRODUCTION
1) In this Defence:
a) The Defendant’s Account Conditions will be referred to as
“the Conditions”
b) References to an “
unauthorised” overdraft are to an overdraft permitted by the Defendant without prior application and arrangement under clause 6.1 of the Conditions
2) It is admitted that the Claimant held the following
account with the Defendant, account number XXXXXXXX (“
the Account”). It is admitted and averred that the contractual provisions between the Claimant and the Defendant in relation to the Account are set out in the Conditions.
3) It is denied that those charges payable and that rate of interest applicable upon a customer going into an unauthorised overdraft or exceeding an authorised overdraft constitute a penalty at common law. It is denied that those charges and that interest are payable on a breach of contract.
4) The true position is as follows:
a) Each and every payment instruction presented by or on behalf of the Claimant to the Defendant which would, if honoured, take the Account into unauthorised overdraft or beyond an authorised overdraft, constituted a request (in law, an offer) by the Claimant to the Defendant for a loan of the requisite amount on the terms set out in the Conditions (alternatively on the Defendant’s usual terms as to such overdrafts as at the date of the payment instruction in question).
b) The Defendant was free to accept or reject each such request.
c) If the Defendant honoured the payment instruction in question, the Defendant thereby accepted the Claimant’s offer.
d) Accordingly, The Claimant became bound to pay interest and charges in relation to that loan at the stipulated rate.
e) That liability does not, at common law, constitute a penalty.
5) It is denied (if it be alleged) that, on a proper construction, clause 6.3 of the Conditions provides that a customer going into unauthorised overdraft or exceeding an unauthorised overdraft constitutes a breach of contract (for which the customer is liable to pay damages). It is averred that clause 6.3 of the Conditions operates as a trigger to bring into effect certain other provisions of the Conditions.
6) It is denied that those charges payable upon the Defendant dishonouring a payment instruction presented by the Claimant by reason of the state of the Account (namely that the Defendant honoured the instruction in question, it would have taken the Account into unauthorised overdraft or beyond an authorised overdraft) constitute a penalty at common law. Such charges are not payable on a breach of contract. They are, by clause 6.4 of the Conditions, a fee.
7) The Defendant understands the Claimant’s allegation to be that the fees and interest payable in respect of an unauthorised overdraft and an overdraft in excess of an authorised overdraft and fees in respect of the dishonouring of payment instructions are not binding on the Claimant by reason of regulation 8(1) of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 (“
the 1999 Regulations”).
The Regulations, by regulation 1, came into force on 1 October 1999 and are of no application to any event occurring before that date.
9) Regulation 6(2) of the Regulations provides that:
“In so far as it is in plain intelligible language, the assessment of fairness of a term shall not relate –
(a) to the definition of the main subject matter of the contract, or
(b) to the adequacy of the price or remuneration, as against the gods or services supplied in exchange.”
10) The fees and interest payable in respect of an unauthorised overdraft and an overdraft in excess of an authorised overdraft and fees in respect of dishonouring of payment instructions are: (i) set out in plain intelligible language in the Conditions, and (ii) amount to the “price or remuneration” in respect of that provision of such overdraft or such dishonouring.
11) Accordingly, by regulation 6(2) of the 1999 Regulations, the provisions of the Conditions as to the fees and interest payable in respect of an unauthorised overdraft and an overdraft in excess of an authorised overdraft and in respect of the dishonouring payment instructions are not liable to be assessed for fairness under those regulations.
12) It is denied that paragraph 1(e) of Schedule 2 to the 1999 Regulations is applicable. As pleaded above, the fees and interest payable in respect of an unauthorised overdraft and an overdraft in excess of an authorised overdraft and in respect of the dishonouring payment instructions are not payable on a breach of contract by the Claimant.
13) Alternatively, if (contrary to the Defendant’s primary case pleaded above), the provisions of the Conditions as to the fees and interest payable in respect of an unauthorised overdraft and an overdraft in excess of an authorised overdraft and in respect of the dishonouring payment instructions fall to be assessed for fairness under the the 1999 Regulations, the Defendant’s case is as follows:
a) Regulation 5(1) of the 1999 Regulations provides that: “A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer”
b) Regulation 6(1) of the 1999 Regulations provides (so far as presently relevant) that: “…the unfairness of a contractual term shall be assessed, taking into account the nature of the goods or services for which the contract was concluded and by referring, at the time of conclusion of the contact, to all the circumstances attending the conclusion of the contract and to all other items of the contract….”
c) It is denied that the Conditions breach the provision of the 1999 Regulations. In particular, (i) the Defendant’s charges and interest rates are published and provided to its customers from time to time and are expressed in clear language: (ii) the incurring of charges and interest respect of an unauthorised overdraft and an overdraft in excess of an authorised overdraft and in respect of the dishonouring payment instructions is a result of the Claimant’s actions; and (iii) the Defendant’s charges and interest rates are not, in the circumstances, excessive in relation to the value of the services provided in relation thereto.
d) The Defendant reserves the right to plead further in this regard on the provision of full and proper particulars of the basis on which the Claimant contends that the Conditions contravene regulation 5(1) of the 1999 Regulations.
14) Save as expressly pleaded to above, each and every allegation contained in the Particulars of Claim is denied as if the same were individually traversed.
STATEMENT OF TRUTH
I believe etc…
thanks for reading - so it this business as usual ?
Keytar -v- Abbey: Abbey National's Defence in FULL - recognise this? 
