Quisitrix Vs Capital One

[Quisitrix]

I have had it with Capital One. I've been trying to pay off my overlimit amount for ages. I've been paying off as much as I can. They agreed to stop charging me as long as I was paying them regularly. They were phoning me every week to remind me that I should pay off as much as possible and to ask, politely, if I could pay off more.

Just recently the phone calls have been getting less and less polite. Today they told me that they are going to start charging me again and if I don't make a big payment soon they are going to sell the debt to a debt collection company.

So I got out all the statements I could find for the last 5 years and put them into the spreadsheet and it turns out they owe me £634 not including interest. My total debt to them is £679.

So I need some advice. Firstly do I add interest and if so how? Secondly am I right in thinking that I send the Preliminary Letter then the Credit/Store Card Letter? Thirdly do I have to do anything differently in these early stages because I live in Scotland?

Thanks for your help,
Q

[Quisitrix]

I suppose I'll give up on the idea of interest then and just send the preliminary letter from the library.

Q

[Quisitrix]

Adjusted the preliminary letter and got it ready to send.

[JMio]

Hi - Sorry I've only just spotted your thread!

At this stage, just ask for the charges back, (going back 5 years with you being North of the border).

You're correct about your letters, 1st one is Prelim, followed, 14 days later, by the Letter Before Action.

Let me know how you're getting on by replying to this thread & we'll help as much as we can.

Good luck

[Quisitrix]

Finnaly I have enough money to pay for the postage. I have adjusted the standard letter and I thought I'd post it here before I post it for real.



Dear Sir/Madam,

ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXXXX


My request:
I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges which you have levied from my account over the last 5 years

I now understand that the regime of fees which you have been applying to my account in relation to over limit fees, late payment fees and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent Consumer regulations. If you say that they are not then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put by as a result of my breaches in order to reassure me that your penalties really do reflect your costs.

Additionally it has now been confirmed that your particularly high level of penalties are considered to be unfair per se by the OFT who reported on the 5th April 2006 and are therefore presumed to be unlawful in the absence of specific proof to the contrary.

I have been trying to avoid these fees by paying an agreed amount every month. Now I have been informed that Capital One has changed it’s policy and that I will be charged an over limit fee every month. I have also been threatened with a Debt collection agency. I am left with no choice but to ask you to refund the charges as this is the only way I can pay off the over limit amount and avoid future fees and harassment.

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. I consider that your repeated representations that your charges are fair and reasonable are deceptive and that they have deceived me into agreeing to pay them. You concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now.

What I require:
I calculate that you have taken £634 and I request full payment of that amount.

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



Yours faithfully,

[Quisitrix]

Letter posted. Now I just have to wait.

[Quisitrix]

Got a reply from Capital one. The usual stuff about how they think their fees are fair and they disagree with thte OFT. However they are offering to reduce all my fees to £12 as a goodwill gesture,

I'd probably have accepted this just to reduce the hassel if it weren't for the fact that they've just re-instated the overlimit fee on my account even though I am following my agreed payment plan and they've threatened me with a Debt collection agency.

Any suggestions for my reply or how I should re-word the complaint settlement form?

Q

[Quisitrix]

Have replied in the negative and sent an LBA

[Quisitrix]

Capital one have replied to my LBA withdrawing their goodwill offer. So it looks like I'll be going to court with them as well as Abbey.

Oh well I've got nothing to loose except annother chunk of money.