Thread: Crystalcag vs Alliance & Leicester

Hi everyone, thought I'd start my A&L thread - am also claiming charges back with Lloyds TSB and with Cahoot/Abbey for my partner.

Having given A&L lots of time to repay the charges they have taken from my account it's now time to take court action. (Preliminary sent 29 May 2007, lba sent 16 June 2007 - both resulted in standard response letters offering nothing).

Both letters so far have asked for charges plus interest plus contractual interest. The contractual interest actually only amounts to £11 and given the recent precedent I think I'd like to adjust my claim and go for just the charges.

Do you think I should mention my change or just go ahead and fill out the N1 minus interest and keep quiet?

Thanks for any help!

Similar Threads:

• Crystalcag vs LloydsTSB
• Alliance and Leicester
• alliance & leicester
• Amy vs Alliance Leicester
• Jon v's Alliance & Leicester

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I've read that you cannot claim both statutory interest (8%) and compound interest at the same time. The majority of people are claiming for statutory interest, which you are entitled to when you reach court stage.

Hi MimiJane, Sorry I wasn't very clear. I meant charges, plus the interest I've already paid on the charges plus the interest I'm claiming on the whole lot. No you can't claim for both.

-Compound interest calculated daily at 29.8% EAR (unauthorised o/d rate)
-Compound interest calculated daily at 18.7% EAR (authorised o/d rate)
-Simple interest under s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at 8.00%.

I've been filling out the N1 and have decided to just fill it out with simple interest. It's less brain ache for a start!

oh no it's one of those days! My last post makes no sense...I deleted something by mistake. The 3 different interests relate to what I put in the Particulars of Claim in my claim against Lloyds - so the judge could make the choice. Think I might have a break now...it IS Friday.

Originally Posted by crystalcag

oh no it's one of those days! My last post makes no sense...I deleted something by mistake. The 3 different interests relate to what I put in the Particulars of Claim in my claim against Lloyds - so the judge could make the choice. Think I might have a break now...it IS Friday.

Not the 13th is it

:o ... luckily it isn't!

They must be reading my posts!. I received a letter this morning from Alison Riley offering a small Full and final settlement. "It reflects the difference between the amount of charges for unpaid items....blah blah". So what about the £50 every month for unauthorised overdraft? I've got until 1st August to reply. I'll do some research but should I alter my POC in any way to take into account this offer and the fact that they admit the charges are too high?

I received another letter this morning from A&L. They ARE trying to drive me mad... I was going to send a letter rejecting their offer, giving them 7 days to decide before filing my claim at court. (Their time was up on the 29th June. I didn't realise how much extra time I'd given them!). BUT having received this I don't feel like giving them any time at all!

Does anyone have any advice? I'd really appreciate it.

Dear Crystal,

Despite contacting you previously, your account is currently overdrawn by £19.69 even though you do not have an agreed overdraft facility. (this is the first letter I've received about this)

Please note that the overdrawn amount does not include any administration or overdraft fees or debit interest for which you are now liable. (It is in fact entirely due to last months overdraft fees) These will be notified to you on your next statement. Full details of our current fees are shown on the back of your statement and on our website.

You must make immediate arrangements to clear the overdrawn balance on your account before 11 July 2007.

This is now a serious matter and you should not use your card(s) or stationery until the overdrawing has been cleared, and replacement cards and stationery cannot be ordered until this time.

Please note you can get help from your nearest Citzens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards Department, alternatively you can ring us on the above telephone number to discuss this matter further.

Yours sincerely

MIS WATTS

Thanks for your advice Jan
I wish I could clear the overdraft. Unfortunately I'm not working at the moment and every penny is going out on rent and food etc. I've been overdrawn before like this (usually due to their charges) and they've never put any limits on my account usage in the past. I think it must be retaliatory and I'm sure somewhere there is a letter that I could use.

Very quiet round here at the moment.

I'm just going to go ahead and file my claim at court today and hope for the best.

Good luck Crystal and keep us informed

Thanks MimiJane and Jess. I'll let you konw what happens.

Hi there, Just hoping someone will be able to help with a letter I received today. I'll give a quick update since my last post...
I submitted my claim on the 26th July. It was deemed served on the 3rd August. I've heard nothing yet, but I believe my local court is sending out letters to inform all bank charges claimants that all claims will be stayed because of THE High Court case.
I received an unprompted letter dated 31st July entitled "good news about your current account" - letting me know I have been approved for an upgrade to a Premier account. They are trying to drive me mad with these good cop bad cop letters. sigh
Today I received this letter:

Although I have already asked you to clear the overdrawing on your account, it is still overdrawn by £108.07. This does not include administration fees or debit interest that will now become due.
You must repay the debt immediately, otherwise further action will be taken which may lead to the closure of your account and legal action being taken against you. This could result in adverse information being recorded against you with a credit reference bureau, which may make'it difficult for you to get credit facilities elsewhere.
As this is a serious matter you should not issue any further payments until your account returns to credit, also no further stationery can be ordered for you.
Please note that if you have a Flexiplan or Flexiplan Plus Account, withdrawal of your current account will mean that the outstanding balance of the account will become immediately repayable,in line with Condition 9.2 of the Flexiplan/ Flexiplan plus Conditions of Use.
In accordance with your account terms and conditions, any funds available in a linked current or savings account will be transfered to cover the amount overdrawn, or will be used as a part payment.
Please note you can get help from your nearest Citzens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards alternatively you can ring us on the above telephone number to discuss this matter further.
Yours sincerely
D Owen

I don't have the funds to pay off the overdraft (which is made up entirely of charges and interest) and was relying on getting the charges back so I can pay off some other debts (as I'm sure a lot of people are). The stay is a nightmare - I feel that by the time I am paid back my credit rating will be in tatters. It's not just the bank I worry about but other creditors.
My plan is to write and remind them that the entire overdrawn amount is in dispute but want to make sure I word it correctly. Does have any experience of this and wisdom they want to share? I'm going to do a search now. A&L got their wrists slapped for closing accounts I think so I might have a look at posts on that too.

hellooooooooo! is anybody out theeeeere?

OH NO!!!!! I've been so overwhelmed with things at the moment that I didn't reply to the letter I asked about above. This morning I received a "Formal demand for payment" from A&L. I'm now overdrawn by £210.16 (all charges). They say they have "no option" but to withdraw my banking facilities - will be adding interested and administration charges and that I must return all my cards & cheque books etc. I received a second letter saying a direct debit had been refused (and charges would be made blah blah). That is really strange as I cancelled all direct debits using online banking because there was no way I could get the account into credit enough for any payments to go out. A&L say I must not make any further transactions against my account or it will "constitute a criminal offence under the Teft Act 1968, under which we may have to take appropriate action". They have given me until September 10th to repay the whole balance (or they will add more charges and contact credit reference agencies).

Please please please could someone give me a bit of advice?

I don't have the money to put the account into credit so I need another option. HELP!!!!!

Thanks Jan, so glad to know someone is around...and I'm not alone. I phoned A&L. BUT got a message that said the queue was 7 minutes. My money situation is such at the moment that my phone wouldn't last 7 minutes. So I decided to write. I sent a letter with a s10 notice. I'll paste it here for any comments - if there's anyone else here - here - here.

Dear Ms Riley,
I am writing with reference to a letter I received from M Price dated 3rd September informing me of the closure of the above account due to an outstanding overdraft of £210.16.
As you are aware the overdrawn balance of the account is currently in dispute. I am seeking repayment of penalty charges and interest you have taken from my account now totalling £566.23. I wrote to you regarding this matter on the 29 May, 15 June and 10 July. You left me no alternative but to request the return of my money through the Court. On 26 July I filed a county court claim which you acknowledged on 8 August.
I have informed members of your telephone team on at least 3 occasions that a) I am at present unemployed and not in a position to credit any money to the account, and b) the account is in dispute. I also stopped all direct debits and standing orders in July. I would be grateful if you would inform your customer services team of the court action and withdraw the threats contained in their recent correspondence. The content and tone are aggressive and unsympathetic and constitute a breach of the terms of the Banking Code.I refer to:

Section 13 paragraph 6, which states that an account which is in dispute may not be passed to any credit reference agencies;

Section 14 paragraph 1 and 2, which states that any financial difficulties will be dealt with positively and sympathetically, and any action will be precluded by a period of discussion and the formation of a plan to help deal with those difficulties.
Please find enclosed a Notice pursuant to S. 10 of the Data Protection Act 1988.
Yours Sincerely,
Crystal

A bit nerve wracking, but as you say there's nothing to lose. My experience of A&L has been pretty bad all along so I don't think I will fight to have my account reinstated.
Crystal