Thread: LBA Advice Required

After 1 successful claim against the Halifax and managing to clear most of the overdraft which has been hanging round my neck for 5 years I am now claiming against Lloyds. This promises to be a much trickier job. Background is that I joined the forces at age 16 in 1987 and opened an account with Lloyds who had a branch on the base where I did my basic training. Soon after this Lloyds allowed me to have an arranged overdraft - still at age 16. I had to leave the job after 18 months and still had a minus balance but no job. Overdraft was £200 or £300 at the time as I remember - still only 17 years old. You can probably guess what happened next - stuck my head in the sand & ignored letters etc right up to 2001 where they defaulted me for about £1100. Have been paying sporadically to BLS Collections DCA since then but the debt still stands currently at around £1100 - no doubt due to the DCA's own further charges. Sent S.A.R - (Subject access request)'s to Lloyds and the DCA in July asking for full history of account - i.e. since the account was opened in '87. Lloyds responded in September with records going back 6 years. These are mostly charges from 2000 up until the date of default in 2001 and nothing after that. DCA ignored SAR completely. Have sent them both a Data Protection Act lba this week. Received a letter today from Debt Managers Ltd (another DCA) demanding payment in full for the same account. There are a few things I am unsure about - As I was under 18 at the time of opening the account were Lloyds in the wrong in giving me an overdraft in the first place and would it have been legally enforceable? - What should I do if the statements pre 2000 don't turn up as the charges post 2000 only come to about £400? Should I do an estimated claim for the amount I owe them now? What about the money I have already paid them over the last 4-5 years? Bearing in mind I told Lloyds in my Data Protection Act request that I would be claiming any charges back should they have referred this matter to anther DCA? Is this going to be statute barred for the pre 2000 charges? How would I word an LBA for this one? I'm finding this all very confusing and would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

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Originally Posted by steveoram1

As I was under 18 at the time of opening the account were Lloyds in the wrong in giving me an overdraft in the first place and would it have been legally enforceable?

Not sure. This is something you need to look into. Make a SAR specifically for the account opening documents and records. If you're origional one was for 'complete account history', don't do a new one and chase it up under that. Heres a Lloyds Data Protection compliance number that may be of use 0845 0707124. Be prepared for them to say they no longer hold the record of it though.

What should I do if the statements pre 2000 don't turn up as the charges post 2000 only come to about £400?

They are only obliged to keep records for 6 years. You are limited by statute to claiming 6 years anyway - unless you argue that the banks concealment of the nature of their charges means the statute of limitation is negated. You would need to fully understand the issues first if you were to go down this route and the bank would almost certainly contest it. Do a search under 'statute of limitation'

Should I do an estimated claim for the amount I owe them now?

No - not unless its all charges, plus as above, you would'nt be able to claim those charges dated over 6 years.

What about the money I have already paid them over the last 4-5 years?

What about it? Any charges that were imposed since 2000 you will be able to claim back.

Bearing in mind I told Lloyds in my Data Protection Act request that I would be claiming any charges back should they have referred this matter to anther DCA?

Not if the account was 'in dispute'. This is contrary to s.13.6 of the Banking Code. Normally your account would be in dispute once you've sent a prelim, but it is argueable that as your SAR refurred to the charges as unlawful, and informed them of your intention to reclaim them, this would mean you disputed the balance of the account. In fact, Lloyds probably took action becouse of your intention to claim back the charges. The FSA ruled against this sort of retaliatory action earlier in the year, so you could try a complaint to them - and Lloyds - but I doubt they'll provide much in the form of redress.

Is this going to be statute barred for the pre 2000 charges?

See above

How would I word an lba for this one?

?

I'm finding this all very confusing and would appreciate any help.

Its bound to be at first. Slow down and take it one step at a time. Spend a while researching before taking any action, and all should become clear.

Hope this helps.

If I'm reading this reply correctly Lloyds can chase me, employ DCA's to harrass me & threaten court action etc. for a debt going back more than 6 years but I can't make a claim against them for the same debt as it's statute barred. This doesn't seem right to me - I thought it was only statute barred if there was no contact between the two parties in the intervening period. Also - if Lloyds have no records going back further than 6 years how can they prove any money was owed pre the 6 year period? The statements I have going back 6 years show a negative balance with charges being added every month but the account was already about £900 overdrawn at the very beginning of this period. If this went to court how would they prove I owed them £900 in the year 2000 if they have no records other than a statement showing an opening balance of -£900?

stevoram1, you say you were 16 when the account was opened. How old were you when they gave you the overdraft?

I was 16 or maybe just turned 17 when given the overdraft. I left the job about 3 months before turning 18 & the next job I got paid cash so I never bothered with banks again for a few years - hence all the charges. When I sent the S.A.R - (Subject access request) I asked for a full account history but so far they've only given me 6 years worth of stuff which doesn't really help as all but about £400-£500 of the charges are missing & they are the ones which would attract the most statutory interest and thus pay of the amount still owed. I would like to claim the whole lot back including all the money they have [problem]med off me over the years paying this never ending debt. I've probably paid them £700 over the years and still owe more than the original amount of the default.

If you were under 18 when you signed the credit agreement, then as far as I'm aware it is unenforceable! This is quite unusuall, so you might want to give your local CAB a call.

Originally Posted by spiritgirl59

Hi Steveoram1

I reckon Robertxc is right, you should consult the CAB.

Our son took out a credit agreement in a shop when he was 16 unbeknown to us (he pretended to be 18 in order to buy a CD player ) and when we found out and contacted the finance company they wrote the debt off, didn't ask for the goods back (which we would have of course given to them) and profusely apologised for the shop not doing any "checks" before they signed him up to the agreement.

Good luck with your claim!

Spiritgirl

But if they want to enforce payment from you, they'll have to prove you signed a credit agreement. If you were 16 at the time, there's no way they'll be able to enforce it.