Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
I have read everyone's messages and as a single father with 3 lads at home I thought I'd get the 6 yrs bank charges list from the Woolwich to give them a well earned holiday. To start with they tried to charge me £5 per statement x 12 months x 6 yrs or in short £360. As you can imagine that was out of my league but I knew I had been charged fortunes so I phoned back up and just asked for list of charges and not statements. I received these yesterday free of charge and all the charges (not including interest) comes to £6827.50.
I am going to use the letter another member of the forum used to request this money back WITH interest. I will send a copy of the spread sheet they sent me so they can't dispute the figures and wait for their reply. I will tell them I require repayment in full of this money. If you do not comply within 14 days then I shall begin a claim against you for the full amount plus interest at 8% plus my costs and without further notice.
As I'm not 100% sure of what I'm doing I'll be updating as soon as I receive a reply.
I have read that a small claims court is upto £5000 so what differences do I do as my claim is over that figure.
It's nice to know that people are there to help.
I have purchased a small claims kit off the consumer group so I hope it doesn't turn out to be a waste.
Ok Michael will do, am just a bit worried when they (hopefully) settle, then they will get me to sign a document stating the payment closes the case and then they close my account. Could I still claim the other part of my money if the bank account is closed?
You only would only agree to a final settlement in relation to that particular claim and no other conditions.
Even if they close your account you can still pursue them for the rest.
When settling the first claim you can ask them to settle the 2nd at the same time. They might, butif they refuse, off you go again and this time you know exactly what you're doing.
I received spread sheet back and have split it into 2 parts.
Here is a copy of the letter I sent the bank:
Dear Sirs
Re Account Reference xxxxxxxxxx Account Number: xxxxxxxxxxx
Due to recent media coverage on bank charges I am now aware that you, The Woolwich, have been charging me, charges, that are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Schedule 2 (e) of the said regulations gives a non-complete list of terms, which may be regarded as unfair, such as a term that requires me as a consumer who fails in his obligation, to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.
I believe that your charges are disproportionately high and therefore they are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Regulations 1999. In addition I believe that your charges are a Penalty. Penalty charges are irrecoverable at common law. The precedent for this was Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor co Ltd [1915] AC 79.along with Murray v. Leisure play [2005] EWCA Civ 963 It was held that a contractual party can only recover damages for an actual loss or liquidated losses. It is clear that your charges do not reflect any actual and or real loss.
Your charges appear to be nothing more than a profit-making scheme. Therefore I require you to refund my bank at a total of £4304.50 (plus interest @ 8% from the date the charges were taken from my account), representing the total, unlawful amount from 17.01.01 to 25.11.03 as per attached spread sheet (Details from your own staff). I hereby give you 14 days to refund the charges back on to my account. For the avoidance of doubt, if this is not done within 14 days, I will commence my claim in the courts without further warning. This action will inevitably involve you in additional costs.
I received letter back today, the usual sorry bla, bla, bla will sort out problem by 1st August. Tonight I will be writting up letter not accepting their timings but sticking with my 14days.
I will post copy on here and then start reading up the small claims pack I purchased off you.
Hope I'm still on the right tracks.
Lloyds TSB - £972
S.A.R, prelim and LBA sent
Claim acknowledged
Defence received
AQ 20/06/06 ***FULL SETTLEMENT RECEIVED 20/07/06***
Woolwich - £2288
S.A.R, prelim and LBA sent.
Offered half
Moneyclaim filed online 02/08/06
Judgement filed online 23/08/06
WARRANT FILED ONLINE 30/08/06
MONEY RECEIVED BY BALIFF 04/10/06 ***FULL SETTLEMENT RECEIVED 09/10/06***
Smile - £175
Pelim 23/06/06 ***FULL SETTLEMENT RECEIVED 07/07/06***
My Ex vs Woolwich - £715
S.A.R sent 30/08/06
Pelim 06/10/06
LBA 20/10/06
Advice & opinions provided are personal, and not endorsed by CAG or BAG, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.
Hi,
The 14 days are up in a couple of days so here is a copy of my LBA. Hope it sounds ok. I will send it 1st class on 14th July and then on 28th starting court action.
I hope this time scale is correct because, like most on this site I haven't done anything like this before. Any way here is my LBA
Mr Philip Rose
xxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxx
14.07.2006
Michele Wallis,
Sales & Service Manager
Woolwich Openplan Customer Contact Centre,
Jackson House,
Clacton on Sea,
Essex,
CO15 1WH
I am very disappointed that you have failed constructively to respond to my letter of the 01.07.2006.
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 £4304.50 from my account from 17.01.01 to 25.11.03.
I am enclosing a copy of the schedule of the charges which I am claiming. I have already sent you a copy of this in my original letter of the 01.07.2006.
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 Consumer Credit Act 1974 complaint to the OFT upon the basis that you have failed to comply with the OFT's 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,
Mr Philip Rose
In the meantime I have rec. another 4 bank charges because of bank charges being put on my account and back dated to the previous day so they can charge me again and again and again.
Thank you again for all your help and I will definately donate 5% of any refunds.
After this case I then have 2003 to date to claim which is another £3k now.
The lba has been sent so my next stage is to send claim to court. I read on one thread that I might not have to pay court costs due to being a single father on income support. Is this correct at a small claims court as well?
If you receive benefits you may not have to pay court fees. I think you have to do this in person at your local court, with documentary proof etc.
Telephone the court and they'll be able to tell whether your eligible and what you need to do.
I have had a look around the Threads (about an hour a night since I started) but I haven't found a spread sheet showing which banks have paid up, how long it took and which banks take the longest to settle before or after court action.
Is there such a page that I have missed?
Also on the top of the screen there is a link to 'Bank Charges Survey Result'. However this is isn't a comprehensive list of results, but helps to give you an idea.
Lloyds TSB - £972
S.A.R, prelim and LBA sent
Claim acknowledged
Defence received
AQ 20/06/06 ***FULL SETTLEMENT RECEIVED 20/07/06***
Woolwich - £2288
S.A.R, prelim and LBA sent.
Offered half
Moneyclaim filed online 02/08/06
Judgement filed online 23/08/06
WARRANT FILED ONLINE 30/08/06
MONEY RECEIVED BY BALIFF 04/10/06 ***FULL SETTLEMENT RECEIVED 09/10/06***
Smile - £175
Pelim 23/06/06 ***FULL SETTLEMENT RECEIVED 07/07/06***
My Ex vs Woolwich - £715
S.A.R sent 30/08/06
Pelim 06/10/06
LBA 20/10/06
Advice & opinions provided are personal, and not endorsed by CAG or BAG, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.
I received a letter from the Woolwich today stating 'In view of the complex nature of the issue you have raised, your complaint has now been escalated to our head office. All relevent documents have been forwarded etc etc etc.........snore, snore, snore.
So I take it now is the time for court (well Friday as thats the 14 days from lba).
Hope I haven't missed out a stage on the way to getting this far.
I will let you know when I have completed the next stage.
Going for it to give boys a holiday hopefully
bank charges list from the Woolwich to give them a well earned holiday. To start with they tried to charge me £5 per statement x 12 months x 6 yrs or in short £360. As you can imagine that was out of my league but I knew I had been charged fortunes so I phoned back up and just asked for list of charges and not statements. I received these yesterday free of charge and all the charges (not including interest
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Re: Going for it to give boys a holiday hopefully
xxxxxxxxxx Account Number: xxxxxxxxxxx
