puffinstuff v lloyds - **WON**

[puffinstuff]

Hi I have been reading this site every evening and it seems everyone except me has actually had a reply to the request for information.
I have checked with royal mail that it has actually been signed for as it was showing as not received.
I sent it recorded delivery 5/4/06 and still not a word from Lloyds.
I just want to get started with this and show them we will not let it go this time.
I have emailed customer support to ask if it had arrived , but just total silence.
Oh well I will have to grit my teeth and wait I suppose.
B West

[puffinstuff]

Ok my statements arrived today going back to 2000, well statement type sheets for 2000/2001 and then a list of overdraft excess fees and 2 unpaid mortgage charges for remaining 4 years to 2006.

They also include overdraft interest charges + overdraft usage fees.

Am I right in saying I cannot claim for either of these charges but I can include 8% when I actually file my court claim.
Im a bit miffed actually because the charges only amount to £202 as prior to this period my whole pay was going on charges from 1983-1999 as we were really struggling to keep our heads above water at this time and the banks just bled us dry.
I do however intend to apply for my complete activity on my account from 1983 - 2000 as you never know when you may need these in the future.
Just waiting to hear what they have to say in reply to my preliminary request for payment.

[puffinstuff]

Hi I know this has already been discussed on another thread but didn't want to hijack it.
I know its been said that overdraft usage fee can be claimed back but does this apply if I had an approved overdraft facility,I have loads of these on my statements and I also know I was very rarely out of my overdraft at this time.
My actual bank charges are only £200+ but my OD usage fee are wayyy over this.
Can someone tell me if this is correct, meaning I never actually paid the usage fees off due to being OD forever.

[puffinstuff]

any comments on this please?.

[Bookworm]

Sorry, things have gone crazy again, missed your first post.

You can NOT reclaim an overdraft usage fee, unless it's either an UNAUTHORISED overdraft fee, or the totality of your overdraft is made of penalty charges, and they allowed you an overdraft then to avoid further charges.

An authorised overdraft fee is a service, and legit.

[puffinstuff]

Lol thanks for that I thought it was too good to be true,worth a try though hehe!.

[puffinstuff]

Hi all this is what I received this morning by email from our friend David Just.


Our Ref : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dear Mrs West
Re: Account Charges for Overdraft Excesses and Returned Items
Thank you for taking the time to contact us about your account.
I understand that
· You feel that the charges you have incurred are unlawful.

• You are unhappy with the amount of charges you have incurred as a result of being overdrawn and from returned items.
• You have requested that all charges incurred should be refunded for the past 6 years.

When you become a customer, we give you details of any charges for the day to day running of your account. Details of our charges are also available from our branch staff, telephone helpline or our website.
For the vast majority of our customers banking with us can be completely free as charges are not made for services such as debit cards, cash machine withdrawals, balance requests, statements, cheque books and Internet banking. We also do not charge for processing Direct Debits and Standing Orders when they are paid through our customers' accounts.
One of the few services we apply charges for are when a customer does not have enough money in their account to meet payments they have requested us to make. If customers think they may exceed any limit they have, we urge them to contact us to discuss their requirements. Any requests for further lending are then assessed in line with our usual credit policy. Similarly, when we return an item, we are preventing a customer from exceeding their limit, and again as we explain clearly to our customers, this process incurs a charge
Typically, we do not levy customers an excess overdraft fee the first time they go overdrawn without agreement, as long as it hasn't happened in the past twelve months and we limit excess fees to a maximum of three occurrences in any one month.
As a business we are entitled to set charges to cover additional work. These charges are not hidden and are notified in the guide to banking charges leaflet we produce. We advise our customers to ensure cleared funds are available in their accounts to meet payments due. You will also note that in the front of each cheque book we request that funds are available before cheques are issued.
You incurred charges because you did not ensure funds were available in your account to cover the payments set up by you. It is your responsibility to operate your account within any agreed limits and within the terms and conditions.
You accepted these terms when you opened your account and when you agreed your overdraft. We did not agree to pay your account in excess of the amount agreed without charges being made.
Accordingly, I am unable to agree with your request to refund the charges. We do expect your account to be run in line with the terms and conditions of its operation. This means that you must ensure that cleared funds are deposited into the account the working day before any payments are due. If you do not feel you will be able to run your account in accordance with the terms and conditions, we may have to consider withdrawing certain facilities, such as any debit cards, overdrafts and chequebooks.
In case you haven't received a copy of our leaflet called 'How to voice your concerns' I've enclosed one with my letter. This tells you all you need to know about resolving your complaint with us.
If you are unhappy with my decision and feel that you have something to add which might change the outcome, please get in touch. If we cannot agree on a solution at that point, I will help you refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service for independent arbitration.
Yours sincerely

David Just
Assistant Manager
<<voicing your concerns.pdf>>


Am I right in thinking I now send letter before action and can I send it by email as well as recorded delivery.
B

[Bean]

Are you also claiming back overdraft interest charged on those penalties?(overdraft interest on your spending is legitimate but overdraft interest on an unlawful charge is not). If o/d for a long time, this can be a fair sum - o/d interest rate for one type of Lloyds account is 17.7%.

If you haven't already done so, I suggest you find out from the bank the o/d interest rate at the appropriate time, for your type of account. Apply this interest rate to the penalty element of your charges, e.g. if the charge is £20 and you think £2 is representative of the bank costs, apply it to £18 for the o/d period following the charge date, i.e. till the date you were next in credit.

Regards,
Bean

[puffinstuff]

Rightyo,I just got the usual drivel from Ltsb.


"Unfortunately, I am unable to add any further information to my letter dated 22nd March 2006, although I do respect your opinion about our charges.

This letter is the banks final response, which means that if you remain dissatisfied you may now refer your complain to the Financial Ombudsman.
Do I now file my claim?,I will probably be back again looking for help with the wording as I am hopeless with things like this.
Wish me luck.
Puff.

[BankFodder]

Well you seem to be doing all right things.

Now use calculate your charges, said your preliminary letter. The bank will ignore this. You then send your LBA. At the expiry of each deadline you make sure you go to the next step and if necessary (unfortunately it probably will be) you will have to issue your claim.

[simartin22]

Hi just got told to check out this site as im alwalys incuring charges, how do i set about reclaiming my money back? where do i get the letter to start the ball rolling? thanks. si.

[reload]

Hi simartin22, always good to see a new face. The best thing to do would be to create a new thread of your own - and most importantly, read the FAQ posts here:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...isplay.php?f=5

[puffinstuff]

Originally Posted by BankFodder

Well you seem to be doing all right things.

Now use calculate your charges, said your preliminary letter. The bank will ignore this. You then send your LBA. At the expiry of each deadline you make sure you go to the next step and if necessary (unfortunately it probably will be) you will have to issue your claim.

Sorry bankfodder preliminary letter and letter before action have already been sent, this was the response to my lba.
Would I be better to wait until monday to start my moneyclaim or does it not matter, also does anyone have any advice on the best way to word this.
Puff.

[puffinstuff]

I have had a very strange letter today from lloyds telling me"We are pleased to confirm bla bla overdraft limit £1100 terms and conditions of this limit are Bla Bla.......... it then has 2 pages of information , how much we will charge you if you go over your overdraft etc.
Now the strange thing is my overdraft review is in november ??????????.
It looks like they have sent me a contract detailing all the amounts for different SERVICES.
"THIS IS A CONTRACT FOR AN OVERDRAFT. THE MAIN FEATURE OF THIS SERVICE: A short -term borrowing facility on your account.
Is this the way they are going to get out of the oft warning that their charges are unlawful.
OUR CHARGES FOR THIS SERVICE ARE SET OUT BELOW.
I just got a new scanner so it will take me a while to suss it out but I will scan as soon as I can.

[Bookworm]

Yes, pls, then a copy to research@bankactiongroup. co.uk, if you could.

Thks.

And yes, that seems to be the newest trend: a service. For which they can charge what they want, bless 'em. Except it won't work.

A rose by any other name smells just as sweet.
BS by any other name stills smells of manure...

[puffinstuff]

I will do and I will be filing my claim on monday no matter what, I have waited too long for it to go pear shaped at the last hurdle.
Puff

And Im bricking it Lol, but it had to be done,I was up with the larks this morning to finish filing the claim as it kept coming back with an error message.
Anyway all done now and my claim number is.
6QZ 29525.
I need a bit of advice as well because my Data Protection Act request 40 days deadline for my credit cards has expired today.
I emailed them last week to say get a move on and they mailed back to say it was being dealt with.
Do I wait until tomorrow morning and then complain to the information officer.