Ogion v Abbey

[Ogion]

Hello all,

I've been a member a while but haven't posted before - gained lots of info' thru 'ghosting' tho'. Currently seeking a refund from the Abbey.

Followed all of the steps and everything going nicely then...

Have read the FAQ's and various threads but wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience / can offer advice?

In a nutshell - £1300 (including charges of £180 for TWO bounced cheques)!!!! Extra charges from Abbey have now pushed this to £2000!!! I haven't included the extra in the original allocation questionnaire - can this be added now or do I go through the whole process again?

24 Jan 07
Wrote to bank re charges on account (not seeking refund initially- just a helping hand)!

01 Feb 07
Abbey replied asking for 4 weeks' to look into acct. Meanwhile continued to add charges.

Visited branch (Truro) twice.

20 Feb 07
Wrote again as further charges levied as result of existing issues.

27 Feb 07
Abbey replied - requested another 4 weeks' grace to look into acct. Continued applying charges!

Thought enough is enough and started action to recover charges.

22 Mar 03
Abbey wrote to advise acct being closed; field agent appointed and default to be registered!

28 Mar 07
Letter from Abbey - thanks for your complaint, investigation continuing. Requested another 4 weeks to look into acct.

31 Mar 07
Letter from Abbey - a/c closed and field agent debt recovery threatened!

02 Apr 07
Letter from Abbey - thanks for complaint - will respond within 4 weeks!

04 Apr 07
Letter from Abbey - Please call us so that we can do all we can to help resolve this.

12 Apr 07
Spoke to Abbey - only interested in payment of charges and threatened default action again.

16 Apr 04
Letter from Abbey - will register default 14 May 07 (Coincidently, date set for court).

01 May 07
Contacted Banking Ombudsman for their help/input - would not get involved due to pending court action.

14 May 07
Allocation questionnaire completed / delivered.

24 May 07
Judge ordered stay until 13 Jun 07 for all parties to attemp settlement. Stipulated that by 27 Jun 07 one of following must happen:
a. claim be settled
b. extension to stay be requested by either party
c. file a completed allocation questionnaire (again)????


Many thanks for reading this - would love to hear your take on events to date.

[Leecabs]

Hi Ogion,

I think now that the judge is involved it may be to late to add these latest charges on, I would say your best bet is to speak to the courts and see if you can put in a revised schedule of charges bringing you up to date.

I would be weary though as I have heard on other threads that this delays things.

Maybe when Abbey settle and we know they will you should ask them directly for these new charges back to. They may see sense (it would be a first ) and give them back to you.

If not you can always prepare a new claim and although it may take time you will be earning that 8% on the charges each day they delay.

Can anyone give some more advice to Ogion?

Good luck

Leecabs

[Ogion]

Thanks Leecabs!

To bring this up to date, correspondence as follows:

24 Jan 07 - Letter requesting help with fees applied sent (also visited branch - no joy).
01 Feb 07 - Abbey advised investigation would take 4 weeks.
09 Feb 07 & 19 Feb 07 - Rang Abbey because worried about extra charges being applied. Abbey disinterested told me to pay up etc etc.
20 Feb 07 - Followed-up calls to Abbey with letter asking for help - no joy.
Action to recover charges begun:
25 Feb 07 - Request for refund of charges sent.
27 Feb 07 - Abbey wrote asking for more time.
07 Mar 07 - Abbey threatened default agency action.
12 Mar 07 - Letter Before Action sent.
12 Mar 07 - Responded in writing to Abbey re their letter of 07 Mar 07 (Advised in dispute over unreasonable level of charges applied etc stated that default action unreasonable at this stage until dispute resolved, also stated that if account closed would consider this a vindictive act on part of Abbey)
22 Mar 07 - Abbey wrote advising account cancelled and unless cheque books etc returned by me then a 'field agent' would be sent to recover them at a charge of £45 + VAT).
27 Mar 07 Abbey wrote again requesting more time to look in to complaint!?
28 Mar 07 - Responded in writing to Abbey re letter dated 22 Mar 07 (Restated contents of my letter of 12 Mar 07).
28 Mar 07 - Claim issued by Truro Crown Court (deemed served on 05 Apr 07).
31 Mar 07 - Abbey wrote stating that I now owed £2000+ (plus interest and charges!!!!) requesting payment of same.
02 Apr 07 - Letter from Abbey asking for more time to investigate complaint!
04 Apr 07 - Letter from Abbey requesting immediate payment of outstanding charges.
12 Apr 07 - Rang Abbey - they only wanted payment and were not interested in helping (no surprise)!
11 Apr 07 - Defence filed by Abbey (Appears to be standard as per others on the site).
16 Apr 07 - Letter from Abbey advising intent to register a default with credit reference agencies.
25 Apr 07 - Advised by Court that defence filed. AQ requested by 14 May 07.
14 May 07 - AQ filed (filed on day due to procedural delay at Court (awaiting evidence of entitlement to exemption of fee)).
Judge ordered stay until 13 Jun 07 for all parties to attempt settlement. Stipulated that by 27 Jun 07 one of following must happen:
a. claim be settled
b. extension to stay be requested by either party
c. file a completed allocation questionnaire (again)????


Becoming disheartened L many others on the site seem to have a much more straightforward experience than this!

I have a couple of questions:

Presumably, Abbey will request an extension of stay; I need to get it removed? If so, how?
In attempting negotiation as per judge’s instruction, is it acceptable to just ring Abbey once or does it need to be in writing? What arguments should I use to attempt removal of stay? Will the judge insist on a new AQ, if so, will I need to pay / gain exemption again? Also, why the disparity in dates – claim is stayed until 13 Jun but outcomes must be known by 27 Jun – is this logical or correct?

Any advice greatly appreciated as getting a little desperate (and out-of-depth) searching through the forum.

Apologies for the long post – but thanks for sticking with it!

[Robdblynd]

Sounds to me like your judge is attempting to force Abbey's hand and get them to settle.

If you contact Abbey you must do it in writing or by email so there is a record of what you say. Telephone conversations can be denied, not that I'm saying they would, but it's a consideration. Also, any letter not marked "without prejudice" can be shown to the court.

No, you don't have to agree to another stay, you can ask the court not to order it because they've had enough time to reach a settlement and so far they have not even attempted to negotiate.

[Ogion]

Thanks Robdblynd!

Hadn't looked at it that way. Abbey seems to spend most of its time stone-walling rather than assisting - despite the contents of the letters!

Does anyone else out there have similar experiences / any other advice?

Thanks again for your help.

[Ogion]

Advice needed...

Just heard from scAbbey with a 'Without Prejudice" offer of settlement. They have offered £1288.94 'in full and final' settlement. I asume the advice will be accept as a partial settlement and advise that we will pursue the balance through the courts..

The questions are

1. Can scAbbey withdraw their offer if we do this?
2. The case has been stayed for us to reach settlement - if this offer is refused and/or we pursue the balance how will the judge view this - I.e. will he look less favourably on our case?
3. Would it be wise to accept in light of current events?

Any help would be very welcome.

[Ogion]

HI all,

Does anyone have an opinion on this - we need to respond to Abbey asap. They caught us on the hop with this. We approached them previously (as per the stay instructions) and advised us then that they would not reach any offer of settlement; we prepared a response to the court based on their position which now appears invalid???