Help required plz

[coopigeon]

Hi , sometime ago i posted for some advice regarding my bank charges from abbey. I used the advice given to start a claim for over £700 . It was virtually at the point where i issued a court claim but then the test case cropped up and everybodies claims where stayed . Because of this and the Costs of issuing claim which was going to be stayed i held of claiming and thought id "watch this space " so to speak.

Surely enough i got the standard letter from abbey about the test case and that i had to wait for the result and thats that.

Since then some 11 months ago they cancelled my £1200 overdraft and i started paying £100 a month back . I did this for six months until i only now owe them £663 . I then read on here that i shouldnt have to pay them as the accounts in dispute so i stopped paying them immediately.


Some five months have passed and i heard nothing , only recieved a monthly bank statement containing no instruction just my account balance.

Today i received a letter saying i had defaulted on my agreement and my overdraft was now £0 and i have to pay £663 immediately. ( nice letter to recieve after getting nothing for 5 months and no charges on top ).

I rang them and explained that i stopped when i owed less than they owed me and that they shouldnt be chasing me when the account is in dispute.

the lady told me she needed no less than £100 a month again which i cant afford .

What can i do ? do i have to pay them .? is there a letter which will keep the DCA from coming .

i currelty pay more than three quarters of my wages on debts i.e loans etc and barely have enough left for rent let alone food clothes . (girlfriend pays for this. ) i have nothing in my name no house etc and dont know what to do for the best .

[Mr lex]

Hi Coopigeon,

I take it you never got as far as claiming in court ? If not you sould do this now. Your case wil be 'stayed' but only the court can do this.

There is a chance you can claim Hardship and I have put a link below, you can use the same speadsheet to show you can't afford the £100 a month they are asking for.

Hardship and Stayed Claims

Although the banks have a ongoing test case with OFT there are a number of reasons why you should have started a claim at court.

Any older charges (coming up to 6 years) could be lost if you wait for the OFT case to end. Start your claim now and those charges are protected.

When the stays are finally lifted, you will be one of the first in the queue to get paid.

While the banks are protected by the stays, we the consumer, have no such protection and charges continue to mount up.
For some people this may mean going into default. If it is clear that the default was made in respect of charges and that it was lodged after a charges claim was begun then these users have a really excellent chance of having it removed.

I hope this helps

Lex

[coopigeon]

Thanks for your reply Lex. Could i clarigy one point . Beacause i didnt issue court proceedings when i should have does this mean i cant go back 6 years from when i started ? I guess i thought that as i had received the abbeys letter concerning the test case that it would just hold til the outcome of the test case.

Should i start a fresh from 6 years from now ? i have a feeling alot of the charges went right back to the end of the six year limit

[Mr lex]

Hi Coo,

As you have asked for the charges back and THEY have told you the case is on hold, I would just update your S.O.C add any new charges and see what they do. There is no harm trying, if fact you should be OK.

Lex