Cahoot not prepared to refund me, what next?

[sort it oot man]

Dear Sir/Madam,

My request
I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges which you have levied from my account over the last year.
I now understand that the regime of fees which you have been applying to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent Consumer regulations.

Your responsibilities
I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary.

What I require
I calculate that you have taken £240 plus £12 which you have charged me in overdraft interest for the sum which you have taken. Total £252.00.

My targets to resolve this matter
I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets.

I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting unconditionally my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

If you do not respond or you do not respond positively within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.

After that there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline.

Yours faithfully,
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I received this reply yesterday.

I refer to your letter dated 14th March 2006 regarding your cahoot Current account. I have taken ownership of your particular case in order to provide a response to the issues you have raised.

We do not accept that the cases that you mention apply in this situation or that Abbey'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 is well known that banks make charges and Abbey's charges are in line with those of other banks. 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 were not under any obligation to do so and could have gone to another bank if you did not agree to the charges. Equally, you are free to move your account to another bank at any time if you do not agree with the charges.

In any event, we do not agree that the charges are disproportionate. The charges are reasonable and proportionate to the administrative costs incurred by Abbey.

I am therefore unable to refund the charges you've incurred fully appreciating the disappointment this may cause.

If you need anything further please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Lee Loftus
cahoot Service Relationship Manager
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Just what I expected really, nothing.

Should I now write to them informing them of my intention to raise a small claims action or should I just go ahead and start the thing?

Thanks in advance.

[richardc]

Send the Letter before Action. Follow the step bt step guide.

[Maxie]

They are right about UTCC but there further interpretation is wrong and that is why you will win! UTCC reg are not about price controlling - correct. The contract became unfair as it was unilateral and not negotionable.

If you had said to them, I'm not paying £20 late fee, I think it should be £1 they would not have given you an account - that makes it unfair as they 'impossed' terms. Besides, the made you agree to an unlawful charge so it is unfair there too!

[sort it oot man]

Thanks folks, I will do as you say and let you know how it goes.

Cheers

[gumbodave]

Hi,

I got a smilar reply form good old Lee:

Thank you for your recent reply.
>
>We do not 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 is well known that banks make charges and cahoot's charges are in line
>with those of other banks. 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 were not under any obligation to
>do so and could have gone to another bank if you did not agree to the
>charges. Equally, you are free to move your account to another bank at any
>time if you do not agree with the charges.
>
>In any event, we do not agree that the charges are disproportionate. The
>charges are reasonable and proportionate to the administrative costs
>incurred by cahoot.
>
>I therefore believe my previous offer to be fair under the circumstances
>and if you do wish to accept please do so by e-mailing me stating your full
>and final acceptance.
>
>Your sincerely
>
>Lee Loftus
>cahoot Service Relationship Manager

So I filed a claim for and they have returned an Ackowledgement of Service, indicating they intend to defend the claim in full... oh well. They have 28 days to file a defence. I guess we'll see what they say!