Ian v Cahoot

[Weesimba]

Got the following email after sending the first letter demanding the bank charges I ahd calculated they owed me. Has anyone claimed in a Scottish court yet? Do I need to send another letter before I start proceedings. My total is actually over £2000 and therefor is above small claims thershold for court, anyone know if you just do the same for larger claim?

Dear Mr X,
I refer to your letter dated 4th June 2006 regarding your cahoot accounts. I've taken ownership of your particular case in order to provide a response to the issues you've raised.
We don't accept that the cases that you mention apply in this situation or that cahoot's charges are unfair under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. The object of these Regulations was not price control nor were they intended to interfere with people's freedom to agree the terms of their contracts.
It's well known that banks make charges and cahoot's charges are in line with those of other banks. As you've stated in your letter, the terms and conditions of the account and the charges that apply are clear and fair and were provided to you at the time you opened it. You freely agreed to the terms and conditions and the charges when you opened the account. You weren't under any obligation to do so and could have gone to another bank if you didn't agree to the charges. Equally, you're free to move your account to another bank at any time if you don't agree with the charges.
In any event, we don't agree that the charges are disproportionate. The charges are reasonable and proportionate to the administrative costs incurred by cahoot.
In light of the above, I'm unable to refund the charges you've incurred fully appreciating the disappointment this may cause.
If you need anything further please don't hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely

	Bank Charges You should have started your claim for your bank charges by now. Don't wait. You should send your bank a Subject Acess Request asking for all personal data they hold on you - not just statements. You should calculate all of your bank charges and related interest as far back as 1995. You should send your bank a demand for a refund giving them 7 days. You should commence your legal action adding 8% statutory interest. If you wait for the outcome of the test case, you may not be able to claim like this. you may not be able to claim interest. You may only be offered the difference between the charge and the OFT "fair charge". The repayment scheme will try to limit you to refinds from 2001 only. A repayment scheme will not deal with any bank charges related defaults on the credit register whereas in a court action you can ask for these to be removed and to be compensated for the damage caused to you and your family by them. You should also write to the bank and to the CRA and put all charges related credit entries in disupte and warn them that you will want them removed from the Register when the test case is over. Warn them also that you are likely to be seeking compensation for these wrongful data entries. Full and final settlement Have you previously accepted a partial repayment of your bank charges in full settlement? You will still be able to claim the rest of your money back after the Test case is decided. Get all your information back to 1995 and put in your claim now.

[monochrome_blue]

Isn't the threshold £5k?

[Weesimba]

No in Scotland the threshold is £750, there is talk of an increase to bring in line with rest of UK but not changed yet!

[Weesimba]

Ended up making two claims for seperate a/c's. A joint a/c and single a/c. Got an offer for exactly half the amount claimed from one a/c but these charges were a small claim. Rejected it and got the full £420. Must be paying a fortune to the scottish solicitors to handle these claims

My initial writ is calling this week for a whopping £2720 for the other a/c, can't wait to see if they try and defend it.

	County Court guidebook by Judge Patricia Pearl Follow this link to read the review of this excellent Small Claims Guidebook. This comprehensive and very accessible guide will take you through the process of suing or defending a claim. This guide will help you take control of your litigation and make you more confident about doing it yourself. Applies to England and Wales

[Weesimba]

Well the date passed a week ago for a defence to be lodged by Cahoot on the initial writ. Nothing lodged so decree granted against them and now only have 1 more week to wait before sending the sherriffs officers with the decree for the full £2720 + court fees.

Anyone had experience of how long they have been taking to pay up? Might just petition to wind them up if they take too long.

[shonabilly25th]

Hi Ian

How did you arrange an Initial writ?

We have 2 accounts in Scotland with charges of around £2000.

Your help will be much appreciated.

Shona and Billy

[Weesimba]

Have had the decree in my hand for over a fortnight now and as of yet they have still to repond to my letters so will just pass it to a sheriffs officer.

Shona&billy, Got the info form the Govan Law Centre website. You pay a higher fee than a small claims, £59 I think. If need be I could send my copy of the intial writ to you by PM. You can let me know. Also have the initial letters to cahoot too if you need them.

[Weesimba]

Settled for £2555 on Friday