Stonelaughter vs First Direct **WON !!!**

[Movingon]

Hello folks!

Just printed off my Data Protection Act Access Request for three accounts, two of which are now closed (and one of which has a large overdraft at present) and will keep you posted. Thanks very much to CAG (all two of you!) for this wonderful resource.

[jonni2bad]

Welcome aboard..

And nice to see another Nott'm user

[Movingon]

Originally Posted by jonni2bad

Welcome aboard..

And nice to see another Nott'm user

Heh!! Sutton in Ashfield here mate - thanks for the welcome.

[jonni2bad]

Even closer then,

I see your Sutton in Ashfield

and

I raise you with



HUTHWAITE

[monkey_uk]

ooh, my company have a data centre in Huthwaite....!

Useless fact for you.

[jonni2bad]

It's the centre of the universe.

Official.

[Movingon]

Originally Posted by FirstDirect

Dear Mr Stoney-Giggle

request for information

Thank you for your letter dated 25 April 2006 requesting information about your accounts.

The charges information you have requested is contained within the account statements. We will arrange to provide you with copies of your accounts' statements, as detailed in your letter. The bank only retains information of this nature for six years. The information regarding manual intervention can be found in your Notes, and we will provide copies of these Notes.

This information will be provided free of charge, and will be sent to you by courier. Your signature will be required to acknowledge receipt.

The cheque forwarded with your request is enclosed.

If you require any further information blah blah blah

Yours sincerely

J V Brook

pp Linda Young
Data Security Manager

Well... seems they've refined their letter a bit; no reference to specific business applications by name, and claiming only to retain information going back six years.

One question for the masses; they have categorically stated that they only retain information for six years. Does that mean that I can attempt to claim for previous years on a pro-rata, estimated basis? (On the grounds that my "cause was concealed from me"). If so, I will attempt to find out what dates I opened these accounts and claim back to that date. Obviously the info for the six years to date will be on one line of the Moneyclaim, and the previous years on a separate line; that way the Judge can deny one and grant the other...

Thoughts anyone?

[Movingon]

Statements arrived today - I'm owed £705 across 3 accounts over the last 6 years. Prelim letter's going today.

p.s. I'm sure the buggers do it on purpose; they arrived by DHL at 0650hrs...

[Movingon]

Here's my Prelim letter:

Originally Posted by Stonelaughter

Dear Sir,
Request for repayment of charges – Accounts numbered xxx and yyy

My request
I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges which you have levied from my account over the last 6 years. 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. If you say that they are not then you will pleased to 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.

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. Your concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now. I further point out that the presence of information regarding these charges in your standard terms and conditions, which were not individually negotiated with me, does not automatically render them lawful.

What I require
I calculate that you have taken £705 from my accounts detailed above in unenforceable charges. As a goodwill gesture, I am prepared to waive my claim to any interest charged on the increased overdraft resulting directly from these charges, to which I would also be entitled in law. I require a refund therefore in the sum of £705 immediately.

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,

[monkey_uk]

Originally Posted by StoneLaughter

they arrived by DHL at 0650hrs...

Exactly the same time as mine arrived!

[Movingon]

Prelim letter sent on the 8th May; reply received today. The reply was the standard "...do not believe...", "...fair and transparent...", "...Robert Kernaghan..." etc etc etc

My letter was as follows:

Request for repayment of charges – Accounts numbered xxx and xxx

My request
I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges which you have levied from my account over the last 6 years. 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. If you say that they are not then you will be pleased to demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put 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.

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. Your concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now. I further point out that the presence of information regarding these charges in your standard terms and conditions, which were not individually negotiated with me, does not automatically render them lawful.

What I require
I calculate that you have taken £705 from my accounts detailed above in unenforceable charges. As a goodwill gesture, I am prepared to waive my claim to any interest charged on the increased overdraft resulting directly from these charges, to which I would also be entitled in law. I require a refund therefore in the sum of £705 immediately.

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

Mr Stoneygiggle

[Movingon]

Well, here we go; fast approaching the sharp end. Sent the following today special delivery to First Direct PLC at the Wakefield Road address:

Originally Posted by StoneLaughter

Dear Sir

LETTER BEFORE ACTION

Accounts numbered nnn and xxx
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.
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 calculate that you have taken £705 in fees from my account during the past six years; I require repayment in full of this money. If you do not comply fully within 14 days then I shall begin a claim against you for the full amount plus interest plus my costs and without further notice.


Furthermore, I shall submit a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading referencing the Consumer Credit Act 1974 on the basis that you have failed to comply with their direction of 5 April 2006 and are therefore not a 'fit and proper person' to hold a consumer credit licence under the 1974 Act. If you do not understand what this means then seek advice from your legal department.

Yours faithfully,

T StoneyGiggle

[Movingon]

I think it's fair to say that all the banks are using the legal system to "test the resolve" of people who are trying to get their charges back; we all know they're not going to GO to court. Is this an abuse of the court system which I could bring to someone's attention? Can I legitimately write to a Judge?

[bram stoker]

Fattie sent his LBA to FD also today.
Fattie v First Direct

[bram stoker]

Originally Posted by StoneLaughter

I think it's fair to say that all the banks are using the legal system to "test the resolve" of people who are trying to get thei