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I sent A&L the preliminary approach letter on Friday. Got a letter from them this morning saying that they are looking into it and giving me a copy of their complaints procedures.
Do i go by their timescales regarding complaints or can I stick to the timetable I found here on this site? If so, do I wait 14 calendar days or, 14 working days before sending the next letter?
Firstly can I thank all who have answered my questions before. Knowing that there are other people in the same position as me gives the me confidence to see this through to the end.
Now another question(or two!!).....if you don't mind.
Sent of letter for preliminary approach a couple of weeks ago, then sent of letter before action at the start of this week. I have now got back a letter which is confusing me a bit
Even though i got my statements from the last 6 years using the DPA letter, they are saying that if I require statements it will be at a cost of £5 per year. They say that this does not come under the DPA. They then say that if I require copies of transactions for the last 6 six yearts I need to fill out an "Additional Sevice Form" and send a cheque for £30.
I really don't understand this as I have already received list of transactions within the last six years and that is how I have been able to send the letter for preliminary approach and then the letter before action!!!
Then there is just the usual - "our charges are reasonable within the industry", and if I had had sufficient funds in my account there wouldn't have been any charges to start of with.
Finally they say that this should bring this matter to a close and if they have not heard from me within 8 weeks they will take it that I have accepted what they have said.
I am obviously not going to let this drop they have taken almost £3000 in charges over the last 6 years and I want it back!!
Do I now wait the 14 days stated in the "letter before action" before starting legal proceedings or because I have received this letter from them this morning do I start leagal proceedings now?:?
I really can't thank all of you enough if it wasn't for you there is no way I would have been able to do this on my own.
Hi Kathryn, firstly you've already got all your statements so i'd just ignore the letter about £5 per year and the additional service form etc.
Secondly, i was in the same boat as you, £3,000+ in charges. When i received the same reply to my lba i just wanted to get on with moneyclaim, but i was advised to wait the 14 days. The reason being that it shows the courts that you have given A&L reasonable time to pay up. Its a lot of money so don't risk any mistakes at this point, just wait a few more days , it'll be worth it in the end.
A&L Data Protection Act sent 8/6/2006 - Statements received 27/7 - Prelim request for payment sent 28/7 - LBA sent 8/8 - MCOL 21/8 - Settled in full £3317.66 20/9 MBNA Data Protection Act sent 8/8 - 14/9 Offer of £2,247.35 accepted. (£1,160 charges plus compound interest). Second account = offer of £1,182.30 (£436 charges plus compound interest) Morgan Stanley Data Protection Act sent 8/8 Total of £875 charges.
I totally agree with Lee - wait 14 days and hit'em with the moneyclaim or N1 (court claim -template found in templates library).
This may just be a pitiful attempt at a delaying tactic by attempting to confuse you. They tried it on with me by offering a part refund so it would mess my schedule of charges up but i've managed to include these refunds and deduct from my claim.
Let me know how both of you are getting on as i'm at similar stage to you both.
I've just filed my moneyclaim on Monday for £3,300. I'm going to Cornwall on Saturday for a week so it would be nice to come back to a cheque from the "lovely caring bank" Alliance & Leicester.
Good Luck
A&L Data Protection Act sent 8/6/2006 - Statements received 27/7 - Prelim request for payment sent 28/7 - LBA sent 8/8 - MCOL 21/8 - Settled in full £3317.66 20/9 MBNA Data Protection Act sent 8/8 - 14/9 Offer of £2,247.35 accepted. (£1,160 charges plus compound interest). Second account = offer of £1,182.30 (£436 charges plus compound interest) Morgan Stanley Data Protection Act sent 8/8 Total of £875 charges.
I have just been looking through Moneyclaims site so I am ready to proceed on 4th September if A&L don't pay up (highly unlikely that they will at this stage I know)
The problem I have is that I live in Northern Ireland and the Moneyclaim site said I need to live in England or Wales to use them!!!
I'm hoping to claim back almost £3000. Please, please, please tell me there is another way I can claim rather than go through Moneyclaim.
The small claims procedure is available in NI but I believe the maximum claim amount is £2000. Money claim online only deals with England & Wales so you will have to use the old paper method.
Get yourself off down to the local court house and ask them for the relevant forms for starting a claim using the small claims procedure. You should get a guidance leaflet along with the form.
The process set on this website is otherwise the same.
Your claim is more than £2000 so you will need to make multiple claims. Do them one after the other. Don’t do them at the same time or they might get lumped together putting you outside the small claims process.
I have merged your threads together Kathryn so that if you need more help or post more information everything is in one place.
If you use the forums search tool and put in the word "sever", you will find help on how to split your claim to keep it under the Northern Ireland limit.
When the Liberals and Conservatives were in opposition they both agreed that banks should pay back high bank charges to customers. Nothing seems to of happened since they came into power as a coalition. PPI insurance has been sorted now they should turn their attention to bank charges and help customers get exorbitant charges refunded.
Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.
Alliance & Leicester Moneyclaim issued 20/1/07 £225.50 full settlement received 29 January 2007
Smile £1,075.50 + interest Email request for payment 24/5/06 received £1,000.50 14/7/06 + £20 30/7/06
Yorkshire Bank Moneyclaim issued 21/6/06 £4,489.39 full settlement received 26 January 2007
Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, 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 now realise I'm going to need to split my claim as the small claims court in Northern Ireland has a limit of £2000.
not sure of a couple of things maybe someone could help:-
So far I have sent all the relevant letters, the final letter being the "letter before action". I got a reply back from A&L saying the usual - charges are fair within industry, will consider the matter closed if don't hear from me within 8 weeks etc etc. My two weeks from that letter is Monday 4th September.
I'll start claiming for the first part on 4/9/06. When that part has been settled do I need to go back to the bank with "preliminary letter for approach" and "letter before action" again or can I just start court proceedings for the second amount?
So far I have told them that I will be claiming back the full amount (which incidentally is £2811.05 & interest)
Also if someone could clarify - Do I add the 8% interest on - as per the spreadsheet - when I fill out the court documents. (Can't do it on Moneyclaim as they don't include Northern Ireland).
I now realise I'm going to need to split my claim as the small claims court in Northern Ireland has a limit of £2000.
not sure of a couple of things maybe someone could help:-
So far I have sent all the relevant letters, the final letter being the "letter before action". I got a reply back from A&L saying the usual - charges are fair within industry, will consider the matter closed if don't hear from me within 8 weeks etc etc. My two weeks from that letter is Monday 4th September.
I'll start claiming for the first part on 4/9/06. When that part has been settled do I need to go back to the bank with "preliminary letter for approach" and "letter before action" again or can I just start court proceedings for the second amount?
So far I have told them that I will be claiming back the full amount (which incidentally is £2811.05 & interest)
Also if someone could clarify - Do I add the 8% interest on - as per the spreadsheet - when I fill out the court documents. (Can't do it on Moneyclaim as they don't include Northern Ireland).
any help greatly appreciated
Kathryn
As you have already indicated what you want back there is probably no reason why you need to start from scratch but it may be better to do so. If you do send them all the letters again, they cannot complain.
If they close your account in the meantime, it make absolutely no difference.
a. Claim 1, use the charges from the earliest up to the one that gets you to just under the £2000 limit.
b. Add the 8% statutory interest to each of the charges plus interest.
e.g.
£yy charge + interest they charged you X 0.00022 X no of days since charge taken (0.00022 is the daily interest rate on 8%pa)
All the charges + all the interest they took + all the 0.00022 amounts make up the amount of your claim.
c. Remember to include the paragraph about claiming the statutory interest so it continues after you lodge the claim.
d. When you get paid ensure that you do not accept any conditions on the payment. A favourite one is "Full and final settlement" - do NOT accept this as it may limit your ability to claim in the future.
e. Do it all again for the second claim to get the rest of your money back.
It might be worth you checking out if you can claim 8% in Northern Ireland. I might be mistaken (I often am) but I think I may have seen somewhere that it is 5% in Northern Ireland.
When the Liberals and Conservatives were in opposition they both agreed that banks should pay back high bank charges to customers. Nothing seems to of happened since they came into power as a coalition. PPI insurance has been sorted now they should turn their attention to bank charges and help customers get exorbitant charges refunded.
Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.
Alliance & Leicester Moneyclaim issued 20/1/07 £225.50 full settlement received 29 January 2007
Smile £1,075.50 + interest Email request for payment 24/5/06 received £1,000.50 14/7/06 + £20 30/7/06
Yorkshire Bank Moneyclaim issued 21/6/06 £4,489.39 full settlement received 26 January 2007
Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, 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.
Will look into the amount of interest I can ask for - 5% or 8%.
Also does the amount of charges plus the interest have to total under £2000 (because its Northern Ireland) or is it just the charges? Can the interest bring the claim to over £2000 but still be eligible for the smalls claims court?
I cannot answer for NI. I suggest you contact your local court and ask them these questions. If you find out the answers it would be great if you could post them for others in the same situation to use. Good luck.
When the Liberals and Conservatives were in opposition they both agreed that banks should pay back high bank charges to customers. Nothing seems to of happened since they came into power as a coalition. PPI insurance has been sorted now they should turn their attention to bank charges and help customers get exorbitant charges refunded.
Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.
Alliance & Leicester Moneyclaim issued 20/1/07 £225.50 full settlement received 29 January 2007
Smile £1,075.50 + interest Email request for payment 24/5/06 received £1,000.50 14/7/06 + £20 30/7/06
Yorkshire Bank Moneyclaim issued 21/6/06 £4,489.39 full settlement received 26 January 2007
Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, 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.
In the England and Wales claims you need to insert a specific paragraph to claim the Section 69 8% interest. In NI it is called Article 45a.
Check the guide docs (link above) for specifics on this.
Yes that's right it is 8%. I checked it out myself too and stand corrected. Not sure where I dreamt up 5% from. I told you I am often wrong! Good thing Aitken Brotherston is on the ball.
When the Liberals and Conservatives were in opposition they both agreed that banks should pay back high bank charges to customers. Nothing seems to of happened since they came into power as a coalition. PPI insurance has been sorted now they should turn their attention to bank charges and help customers get exorbitant charges refunded.
Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.
Alliance & Leicester Moneyclaim issued 20/1/07 £225.50 full settlement received 29 January 2007
Smile £1,075.50 + interest Email request for payment 24/5/06 received £1,000.50 14/7/06 + £20 30/7/06
Yorkshire Bank Moneyclaim issued 21/6/06 £4,489.39 full settlement received 26 January 2007
Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, 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.
Even though i got my statements from the last 6 years using the Data Protection Act letter, they are saying that if I require statements it will be at a cost of £5 per year.
They say that this does not come under the Data Protection Act. They then say that if I require copies of transactions for the last 6 six yearts I need to fill out an "Additional Sevice Form" and send a cheque for £30.
does anyone else find this pricing interesting in an official reply?.
in effect it seems their saying it costs them £5 to send 12 statements , so it should follow that the charges they are taking from us would also cost about the same,perhaps even less?,
puts a very interesting light on how much thier making on all this +compound interest.