well played smile!

quincy · 11th July 2006, 19:44

Well even though ive not posted much on here - thanks for the info- smile have refunded the charges on one of my accounts to the tune of £647!
the other account with them was begun later so is still in progress but so far all is good!!!

i'll make a donation when i get home from the pub!

hats off to smile for doing this properly, i'll continue to bank with them...

(still dealing with Lloyds - reached moneyclaim stage now!)

quincy · 11th July 2006, 19:48

couldn't wait - donated just now, thanks again!

Leo1 · 17th July 2006, 22:52

At what stage did Smile pay up? Congrats BTW!!

closey · 18th July 2006, 08:53

Good work, Smile really are proving themselves to be the best of a very bad bunch. Shame you have to deal with Lloyds, they are amongst the worst!

pootle · 18th July 2006, 10:16

Yeah! Well done indeed. Could you let us know how long it took to get your money refunded, from the date of your initial approach. It can be very interesting/encouraging for other posters!

quincy · 22nd July 2006, 21:05

They paid up 3 days after receiving (by recorded post) my LBA.
(sorry didn't reply sooner, pc got sick!)

quincy · 2nd August 2006, 20:54

It's taken a new twist here with my claim for the other account i hold with smile - the deadline for the lba was up yesterday.
I secure messaged them to remind them giving them until midday today to reply - at 1203 they messaged me to say "when we have a decision we'll get back to you"
Tomorrow, i'm going to commence proceedings....

caro · 3rd August 2006, 00:06

They paid up ok on my current account, but when I reminded them about charges on my visa and since my original claim they seemed to toughen up a bit. Don't worry though, you will still get your money.

quincy · 4th August 2006, 08:11

As i've been busy i've not yet filed my moneyclaim - bit reluctant as they paid so well last time, but a deadline is a deadline....
I'll do it this evening - should i give them ANOTHER warning today or will it look like i'm wimping out? (which i'm not!)

quincy · 9th August 2006, 22:37

moneyclaim against Smile filed this evening - they've had plenty of time to avoid it!

The last message i got was
"As previously advised on numerous messages we are dealing with your complaint and are in the process of investigating. We will reply with a decision once our investigations are complete."

sent by them 8 days after the LBA deadline had passed.

I'll keep you posted!

closey · 10th August 2006, 08:55

I maybe wrong but I'm pretty sure that this is the first moneyclaim filed against Smile. Up to now they have been very good and paying back unlawful money levid from customer accounts.

My initial guess is that they are simply overwhelmed with the number of claims they are receiving (unlike most banks Smile are actually quite small), however perhaps they are testing the water to see if a number of claimants get scared at this stage and drop action.

Stick with it. You will win. Could you PM either Bankfodder or Dave with your claim number and details so that they have a record of it. They should be able to confirm if this is the first case against Smile.

caro · 10th August 2006, 11:21

You are probably right Closey, but perhaps this will focus their attention to getting everyones claims sorted in a timely fashion. They are large enough to put more staff on this if necessary.

closey · 10th August 2006, 11:28

You are quite right Caro. I have never worked in a bank, however I can guess that crediting money into someones account can be done just as quickly as taking it!

quincy · 24th August 2006, 08:52

had a call from Smile's solicitor yesterday to "check details of the claim". The message they left was quite hard to understand, i didnt get the solicitor's name or address clearly - so rang the number she left, said the amount i was claiming (which she tried to say i couldn't include the Data Protection Act £10) then she just said thanks i'll consult Smile's legal dept.

Reckon they were trying to subtly scare me/test the water or maybe the amount clearly typed in to moneyclaim wasn't clear?

The number had an 0161 prefix (Manchester?) - i'll re listen to the voicemail and try and work out their name to post on here.

roofer · 24th August 2006, 11:05

Hi - I'm new so ....! I asked SMILE nicely for return of funds - endless auto messages telling me how concerned they were and they'd get back to me. Took a long time to respond to Data Protection Act, ignored LBA - paid up with Moneyclaim letters for £1600 SMILE and £350 Visa -

caro · 24th August 2006, 18:13

Well done Roofer.

Quincy, I suggest that you try and avoid phone conversations if possible, unless you have recording equipment. If they phone again just ask them to put any requests or information in writing so you have time to properly think through your reply.

quincy · 25th August 2006, 08:54

I thought that when i rang to see what they wanted - if they'd have said anymore than "how much are you claiming" i'd have insisted on written communication.

I have their details now - will post them up later for info.

caro · 25th August 2006, 10:03

That's fine then. Just wanted to be sure you had thought about that angle.

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