Thread: Letter recieved received settlement please advise....

I have recieved a letter from the A&L in response to the £211 court claim I have started- could you have a look at contents below and let me know if you think i should sign copy of this letter or not as it is requesting? I have sought successfully to claim charges bank before on this account but was offered the settlement (for similar amount) in full over the telephone. I'm a bit reluctant to sign my name to anything which might be used againist me if they decide to apply the excessive charges to the account again..... any advice/help greatly received!

Dear......

In respect of your claim for a refund of fees on your current account, as you may be aware the Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") is currently reviewing the issue of current account charges. It is our understanding that they have suggested that there may be some similarities between the default charges on credit cards and similar charges applied to current accounts, however, it recognises that the application of the general principles set out in 2006 to the banking industry is not straight forward and that a more detailed examination is needed in relation to bank charges.

Default charges may apply to current accounts when items are presented for payment whilst the account is in excess of its overdraft limit and are returned unpaid (bounced) and a fee is charged. We do not believe that the term applies to other types of fee.

We believe that all our charges have been applied in accordance with the Terms & Conditions of your account, of which you have been given a copy. However, having reviewed the particular circumstances of your case and taking into account the ongoing OFT review, in order to resolve this matter we are prepared to refund the sum of £211 which includes the court fee of £36 in Full and final settlement.

This reflects the difference between the amount of charges for unpaid items actually applied to your account and the amount of charges that would have been applied to your account if the charge had been £12 (being the amount that the OFT indicated was not unreasonable in relation to credit card default charges). This offer is time bound and is available until 30 July 2007. Please sign the enclosed copy letter to confirm your acceptance of this offer and return it to me in the envelope provided. On receipt, I will apply the agreed refund immediately.

You may have seen media reports that some banks have considered closing certain customers' accounts where the customer has complained about bank charges. We would like to re-assure you that if you do accept our offer of settlement we will continue to operate your account. We would only do so on the basis that you accept the terms and conditions of your account previously notified to you and that charges will be applied in accordance with our current charging policy.

We would stress that as the OFT has not concluded its review, the offer of settlement contained in this letter is made on an entirely ex gratia basis and without any acceptance by us that £12 is an appropriate charge for returning an item unpaid.

This letter is written without prejudice to any contention that the Alliance & Leicester may have for saying you do not have a reasonable cause of action against us or that you do not have a reasonable prospect of succeeding in any claim you may bring.

Alison Riley
Customer Services Manager,
Current Accounts

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Hi, if you are accepting the refund (which I read to be the full amount and the court costs), then you do not have to accept their T&Cs. As what they are trying to tell you is that if you say "ok" then if they charge you again, then you will not be able to reclaim the fees.
As Russjo points out though, by putting "without prejudice" this prevents them from using this letter in a court case. DO NOT REPLY in your letter to them with a "without prejudice" header!
So, in summary, if you ar happy, accept the refund, and do not agree to their "new" terms and conditions. Keep your rights!
Good luck Red

I got the exact same letter with different ammounts.Seems they are using templates as well .So now we know how much it costs them to do us a letter.

As long as you accept the higher amount! LOL
Red

thats weird i got exact same letter with same deadline to accept, must be a standard blog letter, lol

yes,ive received that letter for the second time this monring

on the day im allowed to go for judgement

Why would we acept a £12 charge? If the chages are penalties they are unenforceable in their entirety. I would much rather hold out for the full amount - particularly since the A&L T&Cs are an absolute dead cert penalty clause - they say "You MUST" keep enough funds in your account to cover any payments. Incurring charges is definetely as a result of a breach of the agreement and in the penalty charge argument A&L customers have a very strong position.

I'd tell them to bite me

Yes, using the T&C's and saying "You Must" makes their case extraordinary. I

I received the same letter about 3 weeks ago from them and kindly declined their offer which was about £5k less than I'm claiming for!! They've since written back saying they're sticking to their guns and that their charges are fair blah blah blah. I've taken my complaint against them to fos, and they are aware of this, but it doesn't seem to be making any difference and they're still dragging their heels. Bit worried now that I'll end up with nothing

Has anybody recently been awarded back any charges from A&L????

I havent received any A&L refund charges recently, but started again with a prelim. letter.
Regarding the £12, I was offered the difference back between this OFT guideline and a £25 "penalty charge". I declined (don't remember me even being that polite!) and said it was an all or nothing. Customer services said "nothing" then. And then told me where I could write to. Why do the banks insist on sticking to their guns, especially when it is on my record (which customer services keep referring back to me) that I have successfully reclaimed all bank charges and court fees once before? Do they think that I won't bother a second time? Or that I will accept only half the fees back?
Rubbish!
Red

It seems a few people have had the same letter. I've only had one refusing to agree to refund my fees but it was in response to the prelim letter I sent the A & L.

Is this other letter that several of you have had, a bit further down the line? I suspect they have standard letters for each stage of the process and would be interested to know if that's so.

Thanks for all your tips and info has been very helpful and reassuring, to update I have signed the letter and sent it back on Friday, I needed the money and thought that the letter in court prob wouldn't add anything more...........but....... ............

Today on checking my account online (hoping to find the £211 in it) I have found that I have had another 2 charges applied- total of £50 out of the account and to add insult to injury I am currently 10p overdrawn because a debit of £5 went through yesterday and also yesterday i was able to withdrawn £20 leaving me 10p in the red!!

I phoned up A&L cause I was that fed up and have been told that my charges would be 'quietly referred' when asking what this mean't it was explained that the account would be referred to another department who would decide if the charges would be applied or not (!) I said but its excessive so I want the money back and would like it back in my account today as quickly as it was withdrawn- I was advised that the earliest I would find out would be in two hours but that it might take 24 hrs before the money was back in my account.

How can they be sending out letters saying that it will prob be a charge of £12 but then apply £25?? I am that annoyed have got the first request letter printed off and will post that today.

Oh JK, its good news/bad news isn't it?
I dont blame you for getting your letter ready.
Hope that A&L see sense before hand though and refund you all of what you are owed IN FULL!
Red

just got another letter from A & L .......

Basically reads as follows.....

You contacted us recently regarding charges made on your account.
I have now had an opportunity to review why the charges were raised and have also considered your comments. I can confirm that the charges have been applied correctly in line with the terms and conditions of your account, and as such, I regret I am unable to agree a refund on this occasion.
I appreciate you may be disappointed with this decision, but please be assured our charges are in line with those made by other financial organisations. You can ensure no future charges are incurred by arranging for sufficient funds to be in your account, ahead of any payments being made. On the reverse of your statement*, you will find details of cheque and cash deposit clearance times which you may find helpful when planning payments.

Then refers to A&L 24 hour automatic service and internet (!)........fails to mention that when trying to speak to anyone on 'phone you need to remember or have on you the security numbers including a 12 digit customer ID, phone pin etc, that moving money even between two A&L accounts will take several days to clear. Also in this case I was able to withdraw money although it was obvious from an earlier transaction on the debit that that would put me overdrawn....
Should I continue with second letter or give it up and move account?

JK, continue!
A&L hope that everyone will back down when they refuse to refund you what is rightfully yours.
Do not be bullied! Please please carry on! Don't let them get you down.
They are wrong, you are right!
Keep us posted what ever your decision!
Red

i had exactly the same. A bog off letter then a Full and final settlement for £1000. less than im claiming for. Im refusing and gona take them to court.