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.
Alecto, Magaera et Tisiphone: Nemesis on Earth is come.
All advice and opinions given by Spiceskull are personal, and are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group. 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.
Hi all,
Thanks spiceskull for the email. just to keep you all up to date i've had the standard response from HD agent 36 ... final paragraph on how A&L can save me money made me laugh out loud given the circumstances!
best
stuart
Thank you for your e-mail.
I have forwarded your query to our Customer Correspondence department, they will be contacting you shortly regarding this.
Kind Regards
Internet Banking Helpdesk
Tel 0845 300 2562
To book an appointment at your local Branch to review your finances and find out more on how we can make and save you money please call us free quoting reference INTO1 on 0800 068 66 99. Alternatively, you can call into your local Branch anytime.
Hi all,
Latest exciting instalment from dear old A&L pasted in quotes below.
They really just don’t get it do they? letter before action ready to be sent on April 27th.
Good luck to everyone else – and keep the pressure on!!
Stuart
"Dear Dr Shields
I am writing in response to your recent communication and was very sorry to learn of your disappointment with the service you have received.
Thank you for taking the time to highlight your concerns, we are currently looking into the situation and will be writing to you with a more detailed response.
In the meantime, I am enclosing a leaflet which explains the steps we will take to handle your complaint.
Hi all
Unfortunately i was unable to resist - so emailed A&L a quick reminder based on the Mcuth fax (hope you don't mind) in response to today's letter.
Should I be enjoying this so much? Have a nice weekend everyone
stuart
Thank you for your letter of 20th April 2006, received today.
In my email of 13th April 2006, I set out that you had 14 days from receipt of that email, i.e. Thursday 27th April 2006, to reply unconditionally accepting my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment of the £286. I also stated that “If you do not respond, or do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a further letter before action allowing a further 14 working days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments. After that will be no further communication from myself and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline”.
In the absence of a satisfactory resolution from yourselves, please note that I will continue to work to this timetable and if needed will commence litigation.
If we are unable to resolve this issue within this timetable, I am highly doubtful that the Financial Ombudsman Service has the ability to rule on the legalities of liquidated damages & punitive charges
See for example
Scottish case of Castaneda and Others v. Clydebank Engineering and Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (1904) 12 SLT 498;
English cases of: Wilson v Love 1896; Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor Co Ltd 1915 AC 79; Ford Motor Co v Armstrong 1915; Bridge v Campbell Discount Co. Ltd 1962; Murray v Leisureplay 2004.
Also, the Financial Ombudsman Service would be unable to rule on unfair terms of contract, see Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (SI. 1999/2083), reference paragraph 1(e) of schedule 2).
I look forward to hearing from you by return.
Yours faithfully,
Stuart Shields
Hi all
Apologies for not keeping everyone up to date with what’s been going on but what with the bank holiday and then a house move …
Well I received the by now standard response from A&L to my emails on April 28th with the usual claims about charges clearly being shown in the literature, being in line with our competitors, in the terms and conditions of your account etc. They have also included a paragraph about the OFT statement which I had mentioned in my preliminary approach: “There has been no consultation between the banking industry and the Office of Fair Trading about current accounts. If there is any industry wide consultation on this matter, Alliance & Leicester will participate as appropriate”.
A&L were a bit slow off the mark though as their letter arrived the day after I had sent my lba. So am now waiting for May 12th to commence action and have been compiling my small claims court file using the material on this website.
More on May 12th or maybe even sooner if the cheque arrives in the post!
Stuart
Hi Stuart, I had the same response from A&L re: the OFT statement not applying to current accounts. I have also sent lba, with my Moneyclaim due on May 15th. Seems like we're on a similar timescale so will be watching your thread with interest.
Well my timetable is up tomorrow and i am ready to start with my claim. But in another stunning occurrence of left hand and right hand not knowing what the other's up to we got a letter yesterday May 10th thanking us for our correspondence and confirming that they will look into the issues we have raised and send a full response within 28 days.
They obviously didn’t read the last letter too closely. Will spend tonight preparing my documents for moneyclaim.
Will let you all know of anything that happens.
Stuart
Hi all
Just checked Her majesty's court service website and the claim details are there.
14 days to go!
stuart
The following information relates to your claim:
Claim Description Punitive bank charges
Claim Number 6QZ31173
Status of this Claim Issued
Your claim request has been accepted. The Defendant has 14 days from the date they are served with the claim, to reply.
Hi all
just a quick update - received confirmation letter from money claim on Friday 19th that the time limit for A&L expires on June 4th. However I also received another letter from A&L on Friday basically along the lines … we’ve investigated, there’s nothing wrong with our charges or how we’ve handled the account etc etc but here’s £50 back as a gesture of goodwill. which was nice. I haven’t bothered to respond - just biding time now for the money claim deadline to run down.
Best and good luck to all
Received notice on may 25th that acknowledgement of my claim against A&L has been filed. so 28 days to see if they file a defence. i assume that this is yet more delaying tactics but i'm getting my court documentation prepared in case they do want to go to court.
Just to let you all know - our postman delivered a cheque for £370 today from Alliance and Leicester for full repayment of charges, court costs and interest.
Thanks to everyone who has been in touch over the last few weeks to offer encouragement, advice and support. I'll be filling in the survey and making my donation (in online Amazon vouchers??) later tonight.
The Amazon voucher appeal is now closed, but donations can be accepted using the button at the top of the forum.
Opinions given herein are made informally by myself as a lay-person in good faith based on personal experience. For legal advice you must always consult a registered and insured lawyer.
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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.
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preliminary approach email sent
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Originally Posted by Stuart Shields
