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 really just wanted to pop on & introduce myself at this stage. I've been reading & researching on these forums & FAQs for a while now & finally plucked up the courage & found the time to start the proceedings.
I've sent my Data Protection Act request & I'm now waiting for the info. Today I received what looks to be the standard letters (one from Woolwich, one from Barclays) & my cheque was returned.
At some stage. I'm hoping to include removal of all defaults on my credit file (something they've refused to do before) by connecting the defaults with the charges. If anyone has any experience of this, please get in touch, cos I'd love to know more!
Welcome on board jmc and good luck hope it all goes well with you ! regarding default i have read some threads in the debt and baliffs group and i think they deal with the issue surrounding default have a look there !
Thanks for the direction. I found the prelim letter with the bit about defaults on it so I'll be using that.
Just received my list of charges, which total £1288.50 so I'll hopefully be getting the letter in the post tomorrow morning. I'm guessing I just send back to H/O in Kent?
After reading a load more posts, I'm really interested in this contractual interest thing, but I can't seem to work out how to calculate it, or what will give me the most chance of getting it. The charges I'm claiming back are from 2001-2002 and I no longer have any paperwork from the Woolwich, so if anyone can help me out with what kind of rate I should use to work it out and if there's any posts I've missed on how to calculate it, I'd really appreciate a shove in the right direction.
Also, should I change the "Account Number" bit to show the reference number they've told me to quote?
OK, so I've had a hunt around online and I've found their current interest rates of 15.6% authorized and 27.5% unauthorized. From looking at their current account T&Cs, these look to be current from 24th August 2001, about 6 months after my first charge.
The only info I could find on Open Plan rates was from a comparison site and they're exactly the same as the surrent account rates, so I guess it would be safe to say they were introduced at the same time?
So I've just worked it all out on one of Vampiress's spreadsheets (Thanks Vamp!)
I'm claiming back money taken throughout the course of 2001/2002 adding up to £1288.50. ONce I add the contractual interest at their unauthourised rate of 27.5%, the grand total comes to £4361.26!
I need someone to be my conscience on this one.. Shoud I go for it and see if I can claim back all this money? Or should I give it a go on their authorised rate?
Also, the first charge I'm claiming for was on 06/02/01, so I'm a little worried about the statute of limitations kicking in. nIs adding contractual interest likely to make the case take longer?
The only info I have to go on is a list of charges sent from the bank after my SAR letter. This just shows dates, charge amount, TXN amount (?), Available balance, O/D limit and Info. Will I be able to work out the o/d interest owed from just this? If so, how?
Right, I've now decided on not trying to claim the o/d interest and just stick to what I can back up with the paperwork I have. This will be the £1288 plus compounded contractual interest, and I'm going to split the calculations to reflect the two different interest rates that I was charged.
I'll be going for 27.5% for the charges that caused me to go over my authorised interest rate, and 15.6% for the ones that didn't. I'll then add the two calculations together and then add that to the actual charges amount.
I decided to do this after reading this post and figured I want create as solid a case as I possibly can.
hi jmc, well you are ight you cant claim actual interest and 28% interest, but you can clain what it cost you and then slap on the 8% when they ignore you and it goes to court. re claiming interest back if you have a 2000 over draft and 30.00 of that is taken away in interest, you then have 30.00 less overdraft with which to pay for your food clothes house etc. so i dont see how the judge can say you are only deprived of it when you pay it off.
I've adjusted my prelim letter to reflect how I think I should do this. Some opinions would be mch appreciated, including suggestions for better wording.
What I require
I calculate that you have applied £1288.50 in levies and further, I also claim interest at a rate of 27.5% on charges which put me over and above my authorised overdraft limit, and at a rate of 15.6% on charges which did not result in my exceeding my overdraft limit, as set out in the attached list of charges. I believe these rates to be justified under the principle of mutuality and reciprocity, and are based on your contractual rates of unauthorised and authorised borrowing respectively that would be applied under the terms of the above mentioned account. Therefore the total amount owed as of today’s date is £3420.75.
Preliminary Letter sent to Woolwich 05/06
LBA sent 19/06
Court claim filed 04/07 : Total £824.75
Acknowledgement of Service 27/07
Defence received 08/08
AQ filed 11/08
Barclays AQ filed 05/09
Hearing date 20/12 SETTLED IN FULL £840.49: 14/12/06
I received a letter from the Woolwich today stating that the Head Office Customer Relations Team is now dealing with the request.
My next step is to fill in the MCOL, so do I use the address I've been using prior to this (The Woolwich, Watling Street, Bexleyheath, Kent DA6 7RR), or do I use the new address they've given me in this letter (Floor 10, 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP) when I fill in the MCOL?
First of all, thanks Michael for the clarification on the address, and thanks everyone for all your help so far.
So I'm about to make my application to the court (MCOL if I can), but I have two questions:
1 - The MCOL template post says I need to send the bank a full schedule of charges before filing the claim. I have sent spreadsheets detailing charges and interest I'm claiming back. Is that sufficient?
2 - It says I need to put a date for when the account was opened, but I have no idea when this was. I can't even remember which year it was! Could some one advise me on this?
1 - The MCOL template post says I need to send the bank a full schedule of charges before filing the claim. I have sent spreadsheets detailing charges and interest I'm claiming back. Is that sufficient?
Send 2 copies of your schedule of charges, clearly marked with your claim no. + a brief covering letter asking for them to be filed with your claim to:
The Court Manager,
Money Claim Online
Northampton county court
21-27 St. Katharine's Street
Northampton
NN1 2LH
Dear Sir/Madam
(Your Name) –v- (Bank)
Claim No: ********
Date Issued: xx/xx/xx
Please find enclosed a schedule of penalty charges taken from me by the defendant, along with interest claimed at the annual rate of 8% pursuant to section 69 of the County Court Act. The interest in addition to the amount in charges equates to the total amount of my claim, namely £(AMOUNT).
I respectfully request that the enclosed schedule should be attached to the particulars of my claim.
Yours sincerely,
Wait until you receive the Notice of Acknowledgement from the court and then send a copy to the bank’s solicitors, since they are the ones who will now be dealing with your claim
Dear Sir,
(Your Name) -v- (Bank)
Claim No: ********
Date Issued: xx/xx/xx
Please find enclosed a copy of my schedule of charges relating to the above claim.
Yours sincerely,
2 - It says I need to put a date for when the account was opened, but I have no idea when this was. I can't even remember which year it was! Could some one advise me on this?
Phone or go into your branch and ask. If asked, you can say your accountant/Inland Revenue needs to know.
Ok, so I've tried filling in the MCOL form, and used way too many letters (about 3 times the allowed amount) so I'll do it via the N1 form at my local court.
Regarding the date issue, the account hasn't been used in about 4 years and was closed around 3 years ago. Will they still be able to give me this info?
I've now completed my first draft of the particulars of claim. I've had to get a bit creative with a couple of bits, and I'd really appreciate some feedback if anyone's got the time:
5. Accordingly the Claimants claim:
a) the return of the amounts debited in respect of charges in the sum of £1288.50.
b) Court costs;
c) the additional costs incurred by the Claimant in the writing and sending of letters to the Defendant pursuant to this claim in the sum of £4, as set out in the attached list of costs.
c) Compounded contractual interest at a rate of 27.5% per annum for charges that resulted in my exceeding the authorised overdraft limit, from the date of each transaction to 01/12/06, which is £1402.82, and at a rate of 15.6% for charges that did not result in my exceeding the authorised overdraft limit, from the date of each transaction to 01/12/06, which is £786.36 as set out in the attached lists of charges.
The account’s terms and conditions specify the interest payable on authorised and unauthorised drawings from the account. The Claimant holds that this applies to drawings by the Defendant as well as to drawings by the Claimant. Should the court deem this incorrect, the Claimant claims the rates to be justified under the principle of mutuality and reciprocity, and are based on the Defendant’s authorised and unauthorised overdraft interest rates that would be applied under the terms of the above mentioned account.
Should the court find that these interest rates is not applicable, then in the alternative the Claimant claims interest per S.69 County Courts Act 1984 of 8% - £526.60, continuing at 8% until judgment or settlement at a daily rate of £0.39
JMC160 Vs. Woolwich *** WON ***
) & my cheque was returned.
Reply With Quote
