Hi there

I have worked out my charges etc using the complex charges excel spreadsheet calc from this forum (thanks!) If I'm understanding this correcty this just adds all my charges & calculates the actual interest I've been charged on them each month?

Anyway, my question is that the amount I'm owed is MORE than I owe them on my overdraft. It is an account I haven't used for ages & I just pay in a bit of money to try & bring down the amount as & when I can and for this I incure a small interest charge each month - should I be claiming back any of this interest as basically they owe me more than I owe so therefore why should I pay interest on them borrowing my money?

What do I do? Does this make sense?

Thanks in advance

Another Q .... My hubby is very sceptical that we will actually get this money back - he fails to see how/why etc they will send us a cq for this money when we owe them money & have a credit card with them too (not checked charges on that yet!) and at the moment we are really struggling to pay so have enlisted the help of the CCCS who are working out a debt management plan for us. We aren't meeting the monthly payments & CCCS will be making a small offer per month as part of the plan.

Can anyone reassure me that this is still worth doing & will we be successfull despite of this?

You are entitled to claim back any unfair charges plus any interest you have accrued as a result of these charges also if you go to court you can also claim your 8% interest on top of your claim.

Of course you will get your money back it will just take some patience, the ability to copy some letters and the purchase of a few stamps and maybe a visit to the court to collect some papers.....but don't worry about that yet, lets cross that bridge when we come to it!

I'm afraid i don't know what/who CCCS is so I can't advise on if this will make any difference to your claim.....but I can't see how it would, it's your money your entitled to claim it back.

GO FOR IT......keep us posted how its going

Hi Chezt,

A few points for you.

1. Reclaiming the interest on your overdraft. There are many different ideas on what interest rate to charge, and when to charge from etc, but if your are owed more than you owe them, and you haven't been using the account, you certainly have a good case for claiming back interest.

2. Tell Mr Hubby that you will get your money back. It's just a matter of patience.

3. I would suggest that when you send off your initial request for repayment you ask the bank to freeze the interest on the overdraft, as you are now effectively disputing that you owe them this money.

4. Assuming CCCS is a debt management company, I strongly advise against using them. I have no personal experience, but from just about everything I've read they are not worth what you pay for, and don't do much to help your credit rating. I suggest instead going to the CAB who will effectively give you the same (if not better) service, and won't charge a penny. I know these companies can be tempting when you're desperate, but have a read around on this forum and I'm sure you'll see it's not a good solution.

Hope this helps!

Hi Chezt,

 

A few points for you.

 

1. Reclaiming the interest on your overdraft. There are many different ideas on what interest rate to charge, and when to charge from etc, but if your are owed more than you owe them, and you haven't been using the account, you certainly have a good case for claiming back interest.

 

2. Tell Mr Hubby that you will get your money back. It's just a matter of patience.

 

3. I would suggest that when you send off your initial request for repayment you ask the bank to freeze the interest on the overdraft, as you are now effectively disputing that you owe them this money.

 

4. Assuming CCCS is a debt management company, I strongly advise against using them. I have no personal experience, but from just about everything I've read they are not worth what you pay for, and don't do much to help your credit rating. I suggest instead going to the CAB who will effectively give you the same (if not better) service, and won't charge a penny. I know these companies can be tempting when you're desperate, but have a read around on this forum and I'm sure you'll see it's not a good solution.

 

Hope this helps!

Thanks for your reply - CCCS is the consumer credit counselling service and it is a registered charity - all their help is free of charge - I got their details from the Trever McDonald Tonight program on ITV. I'm sure they are legit & I've read of other people using them on here.

I like your idea of telling them to freeze the interest - I will add that into my initial letter - thanks for that idea! Do you think I should calculate the interest charged on the amount from when the balance reached the point where they owe me more?? Should I perhaps save the claim for this interest once I've won back the charges?

Lol @ 'Mr Hubby' - I'm sure Mr Hubby won't be a sceptical WHEN we get our cheques & can pay off some debts eh!

Thanks Muchly!

You are entitled to claim back any unfair charges plus any interest you have accrued as a result of these charges also if you go to court you can also claim your 8% interest on top of your claim.

 

Of course you will get your money back it will just take some patience, the ability to copy some letters and the purchase of a few stamps and maybe a visit to the court to collect some papers.....but don't worry about that yet, lets cross that bridge when we come to it!

 

I'm afraid i don't know what/who CCCS is so I can't advise on if this will make any difference to your claim.....but I can't see how it would, it's your money your entitled to claim it back.

 

GO FOR IT......keep us posted how its going

Thank you for your words of encouragement - I have a lot to go at & know it's gonna be a lot of time & effort but from reading on here I'm convinced it'll all be worth it in the end - just need to convince hubby .. roll on the 1st payout cheque - that hould help!

CCCS is the consumer credit councelling service who are a registered charity & help with debt problems free of charge.

Thanks again for your post - much appreciated

Do you think I should calculate the interest charged on the amount from when the balance reached the point where they owe me more?? Should I perhaps save the claim for this interest once I've won back the charges?

Like I said, there are many different ways of deciding how much interest to charge and from what point. I recently read a thread where there was a hearing and the judge agreed with the defence's solicitor saying that you aren't deprived of the money until you repay it (link anyone?). So basically, if you can think of a reasonable way to justify the amount of interest you apply to the bank's charges, and you think it has reasonable grounds, go for it. Sounds like you have the right kind of idea.

I also think claiming for the interest in a seperate action has its advantages, particularly in that the issue of the charges being unlawful has already been cleared up. It does, however present a couple of problems:

1. The inconvenience.

2. The banks may be keen to set a precedent that it's not reasonable for one to charge interest on the charges they've applied. We've already seen a hint of this in the post I mentioned. But that said, they're unlikely to want to get tied up in fighting with you in the first instance.

Overall, it might be worth taking the view that they're likely to settle the full claim for charges+interest, but it might p**s them off a bit when they think they've finished with you and then you whack them with a new bill for interest!

Like I said, there are many different ways of deciding how much interest to charge and from what point. I recently read a thread where there was a hearing and the judge agreed with the defence's solicitor saying that you aren't deprived of the money until you repay it (link anyone?). So basically, if you can think of a reasonable way to justify the amount of interest you apply to the bank's charges, and you think it has reasonable grounds, go for it. Sounds like you have the right kind of idea.

 

I also think claiming for the interest in a seperate action has its advantages, particularly in that the issue of the charges being unlawful has already been cleared up. It does, however present a couple of problems:

 

1. The inconvenience.

 

2. The banks may be keen to set a precedent that it's not reasonable for one to charge interest on the charges they've applied. We've already seen a hint of this in the post I mentioned. But that said, they're unlikely to want to get tied up in fighting with you in the first instance.

 

Overall, it might be worth taking the view that they're likely to settle the full claim for charges+interest, but it might p**s them off a bit when they think they've finished with you and then you whack them with a new bill for interest!

OK so if 'it might p**s them off a bit' then that's wot I'll do eh??

Only kiddin - had a rethink ... if I claim for contractual compound interest will this account for the interest that has been adding to my account since it reached the 'They owe me more thatn I owe them' stage???

Can't get me head round it .... HELP!

Still thinkin .... Or should I just mention it separately in my claim ...??

Any help/suggestions greatly received!

if I claim for contractual compound interest will this account for the interest that has been adding to my account since it reached the 'They owe me more than I owe them' stage???

 

Can't get me head round it .... HELP!

Any input anyone?

Bit unsure exactly what you mean here...........can you elaborate a bit?

Bit unsure exactly what you mean here...........can you elaborate a bit?

This is an account I don't use now but am still in overdraft (I pay in occasionally to try & bring the amount down) - the amount I am going to claim back in charges is MORE than I owe on the overdraft. I get charged interest monthly so basically they are charging me money on what I owe them but they owe me more!

Does this make sense? Not always easy to explain wot u mean in type!

I was basically wondering how I can claim the overdraft interest too IYKWIM?

I know exactly what you mean as I am in exactly the same position! As far as I can tell, it doesn't matter if the charges you are claiming are more that the overdrawn balance. Whether you use the account or not. The one thing I am doing tho is making sure that I put a bit of money into it whenever I can so they can't bite back and default me for the overdrawn balance.

Hope this helps you.............

WOW quick reply!

I was wondering if by claiming compound contractual interest if this would actually account for the interest on the o/d balance made purely of charges (well technically) but can't seem to get my head round it ....

I think thats the jist of it. You wouldn't have paid the interest on your o/d if they hadn't charged you. And you can claim it back altho I think it can be tricky to work out like you said.

Personally, I'm claiming 18.9% on all my charges. At the end of the day thats what they charge me for borrowing and if it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander. Some people are actually claiming at almost 30%, the unauthorised borrowing rate if you read around..........

I'm just wary of pushing my luck!!

Dazza, you have got it exactly right, including the possibility of charging approx 29% interest (unauthorised borrowing).

One thing to remember, if claiming contractual rate, declare this from the outset (ie prelim stage).

J

One thing to remember, if claiming contractual rate, declare this from the outset (ie prelim stage).

 

J

Does this mean I have to send another prelim then?? I've now worked out how to calculate compound contract interest & want to claim it - Can I not just mention the amendment in my LBA?

i think you will need to reissue your first letter. however this just means an extra sixteen days so not to much lost and you can charge interest on those sixteen days anyway. quite a nice savings scheme? dont know any savings accounts that pay that kind of interest. ps. tell mr hubby that my mr hubby is eating his words after my first cheque fell through letterbox this morning hehehehe

i think you will need to reissue your first letter. however this just means an extra sixteen days so not to much lost and you can charge interest on those sixteen days anyway. quite a nice savings scheme? dont know any savings accounts that pay that kind of interest. ps. tell mr hubby that my mr hubby is eating his words after my first cheque fell through letterbox this morning hehehehe

Bugga I was hoping not to have to do that ... been tryna find wot everyone else did n I' found that MINDZAI issued an LBA with amended claim details - I may re-issue Yorkshire bank prelim & just send amended studio LBA as they haven't even replied!

Anyway, Congratulations on your cheque - that's just brill! Which claim have u won ?

Hoping my Mr Hubby will soon have some words of his own to eat then eh? (BIG ONES!)

i won the second one listed on my signature against the bank of scotland. my hubby could finish eating all his words for dinner so he had to take some with him to work for lunch hahahahaha lol.

lol - I'll have to remember that line to use with my my hubby!

Good luck with your other claim then - presumably you will have no problem with it as they are both BOS!

Need some help again please - Getting ready to claim back bank acc charges & finishing my spreadsheet - i've entered all charges & interest & have continued to list the interest charges up to the current rate as I 'think!' that this will bring into my claim the fact that RBS actually owe me more than I owe them - therefore taking account of my claiming back the interest I'm being charged each month on my overdraft which wouldn't be there if I didn't have charges ... does this make sense - Does anyone see why this is not ok?

Comments Ppppeeerrrrllleeeeeease!

Need some help again please - Getting ready to claim back bank acc charges & finishing my spreadsheet - i've entered all charges & interest & have continued to list the interest charges up to the current rate as I 'think!' that this will bring into my claim the fact that RBS actually owe me more than I owe them - therefore taking account of my claiming back the interest I'm being charged each month on my overdraft which wouldn't be there if I didn't have charges ... does this make sense - Does anyone see why this is not ok?

 

Comments Ppppeeerrrrllleeeeeease!

Getting ready now to start my claim - does anyone have any comments as to my theory on interest?

You are perfectly entitled to claim back the interest you have incurred as a direct result of their charges - is that what you meant?

You are perfectly entitled to claim back the interest you have incurred as a direct result of their charges - is that what you meant?

Sort of - I've already calculated the interest each month as n when the charges were added - My Q is more that I don't really use this a/c now - just pay in a bit of dosh every now n then to try n reduce the overdraft - I'm obviously still payng interest each month on the overdrawn balance & my claim for charges is MORE than my overdraft so they owe me more than I owe them.

i don't wanna just claim back the charges + interest I wanna also include the extra interest added each month since up to the current date.

Wot I've done is added a line onto the spreadsheet for each month with the interest charged details on to try & account for claiming this back but there are no more charges to add alongside

Does this make sense - it's reall hard to explain in type!