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.
if you request information on your account, going back several years, there appears to be a 'transaction limit' set up for their system, which can significantly delay the arrival of your statements.
beyond 420 transactions, they have to refer to their 'archive' to retrieve the info, but beyond a certain amount more, their system produces an error, and fails to comply with the request.
i have been told this amount is 900 transactions. I called back and the next team leader told me it was 1260 transactions...so i'm unsure as to the validity of the claim, but still, this is useful info.
if the system does indeed fail to deliver, they wont tell you. they will wait for you to call in, so the onus is on you; if you suspect that they could use this excuse on your account, demand that they send a direct request to the department that prints the regular monthly statements, and avoid the hassle i've been thru!!
I think this is a delaying tatic as I am sure there are more than 420 on my six years of statements.
Halifax
Sent LBA 27/6/06
Been on hol for a week, got home found letter from them dated 27/6/06 offer of £92 claiming £1155.10 so no deal.
Filed claim with Moneyclaim 12/07/06
Halifax acknowledged claim 25/7/06
Court papers received 28/7/06 Halifax intend to defend.
HALIFAX SETTLED IN FULL 1/8/06
Donation made
Birmingham Midshire (mortgage charges) Prelim letter sent 2nd Aug 2006, full offer received 11th Aug with conditions.
13th Aug accepted offer unconditionally.
BIRMINGHAM MIDSHIRES (MORTGAGE) SETTLED IN FULL 24/8/06
Sent SurlyBonds template letter to get defaults removed to Birmingham Midshires 27/08/06
DEFAULTS REMOVED 5/09/06.THATS 9 DAYS LATER, YES 9 DAYS
Hi
wot a load of rubbish, we received our letter telling us that our statements where coming from the archive and might take a while then they landed on the door step two days later to both the postmans and the dogs delight. Take no notice of them shouting at them hel;ps i find lol
Debnste
Regardless of what they say... they have 40 days to comply with the Data Protection Act request.
And whilst shouting may make you feel better and no doubt some of them deserve it just remember they are just trying to do their job and are certainly being given direction from way above their pay scale.
Just the FAQ’s ma'am. Please read 'em thoroughly before jumping in. Cheers
Being a man, I am always right (however I will make no admission of liability if you have misinterpreted my instructions!! ) If you are in any doubt, then consult a professional. All opinions offered on this site are just that, and should not be taken as legal advice.
Halifax - £1400 reclaimed. Now on a crusade to help others!
If memory serves from Data Protection Act (I had to study it as part of my job in the Army), they have to BY LAW retain all records for 7 years (at which they can be destroyed by 1 of 4 secure means (Burning, Pulping, Shredding & No one ever remembers the 4th way)).
So if they give you rubbish about XXX transactions, remind them they have to by law retain all information for 7 years before it can be destroyed or lost. Any breach of this results in a Breach in Data Protection Act, thus resulting in a Unlawful Destruction Charge (Approx £1,250 per item detroyed)
If it looks like bullsh*t, and smells like bullsh*t, you can proberly guess its bullsh*t!
Just so you know I received all my statements from my bank within days of requesting them even though they went back 6 years and the account had been closed for 6 months. I called head office when I came across obstruction (i.e. they weren't getting to me any time fast and said the letter hadn't arrived blah blah) and learnt that your statements can be ordered from any branch (!!) - well they could at least for Lloyds. None of the staff seemed to realise they could do this but when I pushed it one of the lady's behind the customer service counter figured it out. It took her half an hour to work out how to place the orders but she got there and they appeared at my home address a few days later. You don't even have to order it from the branch you set the account up with - I didn't. I also didn't have to pay anything. Perhaps I way round getting hold of your statements. Just thought I would share the info but as I said earlier not sure if this just applies to Lloyds...???
Just so you know I received all my statements from my bank within days of requesting them even though they went back 6 years and the account had been closed for 6 months. I called head office when I came across obstruction (i.e. they weren't getting to me any time fast and said the letter hadn't arrived blah blah) and learnt that your statements can be ordered from any branch (!!) - well they could at least for Lloyds. None of the staff seemed to realise they could do this but when I pushed it one of the lady's behind the customer service counter figured it out. It took her half an hour to work out how to place the orders but she got there and they appeared at my home address a few days later. You don't even have to order it from the branch you set the account up with - I didn't. I also didn't have to pay anything. Perhaps I way round getting hold of your statements. Just thought I would share the info but as I said earlier not sure if this just applies to Lloyds...???
Good luck
Hi
Did you ask for a list of the charges or just your satements? I have been through the internet statements but they only go back to 01/07/02 and the 2 years before that were particularly bad financially. I only need the charged between 2000-2002.
thank you for your letter requesting specific information on your accounts with us. Ican confirm that copies of duplicate statments have been ordered and will be sent under separate cover.
with regards to your request for information relating to manual intervention on your account. ***** plc under no statutory obligation to record this information and therefore. I am unable to assist further with your reuest.
i have now recieved all statments but under the charges it says Charges as Notified.
with regards to archiving, this is the case after 420 transactions, as for the 920 ish, this depends what 'platform' the account is held on, they will try as hard as possible not to, as it does cost them a fair bit to get back -the only thing that does cost them!!!!!
so they will try to fob you off. persist, and speak to the Data Protection team if they aint having it- go through on 01422 380880 switchboard, and ask for the data protection team AT HALIFAX! the one's at scotland are very rude!!!!!
hope this helps someone, if it helps more than no one, its worth knowing!
AB123uk
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Hi folks, I am new to this like a lot of you. I sent my letter to the Halifax and within the forty days I received statements going back to the first time I opened the account, over 10 years ago. As regards manual intervention, I did not receive this. I have prepared the next letter to request repayment. Is it sufficient just to put the date of the charges, and the amount of the charges in a separate schedule or do you have to specify how the charges came about? There is so much bank jargon it is difficult to work out how the charges came about. Any information would be helpful?
[quote=Bill Lynch;367661]Hi Bill,
You really do not need to know what the charges were for,just collate the info from your statements ie;date of paid charge & amount. I have done this & have been offered half of what i am claiming,i am now at the stage where i have just sent a final request before action letter.....so excited,they have 14 days to pay me or i begin court claim........happy xmas to me...i pray!!
Follow the process shown on this site & use the letter templates oh & dont forget the spreadsheet that calculates the interest they owe you ontop of the initial claim.
Its all very daunting at first but it gets easier & more comprehendible...after my claim i intend to help several people i know....what a liberating experience...i hope!
Good luck
Hilary
Hi Bill,
You really do not need to know what the charges were for,just collate the info from your statements ie;date of paid charge & amount. I have done this & have been offered half of what i am claiming,i am now at the stage where i have just sent a final request before action letter.....so excited,they have 14 days to pay me or i begin court claim........happy xmas to me...i pray!!
Follow the process shown on this site & use the letter templates oh & dont forget the spreadsheet that calculates the interest they owe you ontop of the initial claim.
Its all very daunting at first but it gets easier & more comprehendible...after my claim i intend to help several people i know....what a liberating experience...i hope!
Good luck
Hilary
Hi Hilary,
Thank you for that. I really am very grateful for your help. It is comforting to know that any one of us is not on our own and that, for a pleasant change, we can let big organisations know that they can't just dip their hands into our accounts when they feel like it. And if they do we will give them a bloody nose. Good luck to you and to all who are in the same boat.
Regards,
Bill Lynch
I am new to all this but I have got as far as working out the charges that I have accumulated over the last 6 years. I now need to file the letter claiming that amount back and I have noticed from Hils01's post that there is a section on the site detailing the process and a list of templates and a spreadsheet. Can anyone tell me where I might find this info as I may as well have my eyes closed when trying to navigate my way around websites.
Hi Stuart,
Press 'Archive' at the bottom of the this page and it will bring up another page with a long list of other options. Press 'Bank templates library' and take it from there.
Best of luck.
Bill
Hello people,
I'm brand new, my first post.
After reading that i might request the past six years charges from the branch as a means of getting them faster i thought, why not try and call them, i did. The lady asked me my security details, as normal, i asked for the charges on my accounts for the last six years, and she said they'll be in the post to you today!
Woo hoo a triumph i think!!
Hope this helps, give em a ring!
Many thanks
Am at stage 1 of negotiations to reclaim extortionate bank charges. Will try velvet glove first and then no doubt return here. Doubt will go to court
since sums involved small but overdraft of £5 has so far resulted in two lots of £28 charges on grandson's account. He's not blameless but this is way over the top.
Glad I've found this forum! I've just spoken to Halifax about £360 of recent bank charges for 'Charges as notified'. Our joint account is only used to pay monthly bills and the odd store payment. We went unintentionally overdrawn by £45, but then excessive charges of £30 for each DD payment meant that we've continually been overdrawn despite our regular SO being paid in.
To make it worse, we've not been notified by post, only as a note on our online account. The first we knew about the charges was with a printed statement.
What a [problem]!
I got no response from customer services other than them asking for me to complain in writing - so I guess it's time for a letter.