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 like Smile banking, and have always found them helpfull ... But they would be, they have taken loads of my money!!!
So I have asked nicely in a "Secure Message" if they can send me a list of chrages on my account in the last 6 years. (Only had acc for about 3 years though)
First message sent Tue 30th January, will let you know what the response is...
Keep up the good efforts all...
(n.b. We are saving as baby is due on May 15th - this will help )
Hi there,
I've just been successful against Smile - £2568.50 - althought it's not in my account yet damn them!
When I asked for back copies of my statements they asked me for £10 for each one which would have been thousands. Don't let them do that to you. If you send a Data Protection Act letter the whole lot will cost you £10, and they even sent that back to me saying the information was provided free!
Like you I'd be happy to stay with Smile as it's convenient all being online. All the banks are at it with charges so I don't think it would benefit me much to go elsewhere, plus all the hassle of changing standing orders etc...
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy. My daughter's 16 months now so it seems a long time ago. I'm tell everyone to have an epidural. I did and I felt so in control and relaxed. They told me I could go home 3 hours after giving birth!
We are currently re-planning our finances due to expecting a baby in May, and our money adviser recommended that we discuss reclaiming "Unfair" bank charges in line with reports from Which.co.uk and the OFT.
While I am very happy with my bank account with Smile, he has advised that I may be entitled to reclaim the charges from the last 6 years.
As I feel this would be a sizeable amount, and this would go along way to helping sort out our finaces, could you please advise your stance on this issue, and if you have a policy or proceedure in place to reclaim these charges?
He said that I should request a copy of my statements for the last 6 years (for which £10 may be charged) and work out the total charges & fees.
Are you able to provide this figure up-front, or do I need to write to you to request this information?
Thank you for your assistance on this issue.
With kind regards
Boba Fett
Their response in 3 days was:-
Mr Boba Fett,
You have two options. We can provide you with a Subject access request, this is a copy of all information we hold on you. This can take upto 40 days to provide and costs £10.00.
The second option is a print out off all charges applied to your account, this is free and I can personaly provide you with this information within a week.
Please reply to this message with your choice and confirmation of your full address.
Regards
Chris
This is a very polite response, and of course I only need a print out of charges, and this is what I requested...
Latest secure message from Smile, received today 05/02/07
Hello Mr Fett
The print out has been sent to you today. Please be aware the £6.00, £7.00 and £10.00 charges in the Fees column around the 1st of the month relate to smilemore subscription tariffs. Also the £2.00 Visa charges under the Commission column do not constitute an unauthorised charge.
Many thanks
Dorothy
Looking forward to counting through these charges!
Charges letter received... added all up comes to around £1300.
I have sent my first letter "Asking for refund" via secure message.
Dear Dorothy,
Thank you for sending the summary of charges on my account.
Omitting charges as specified, the total amount taken from my account in "Penalty" charges is £1,304. (Please see second secure message for Breakdown)
I have been advised that unless these "Penalty" charges represent the true cost incurred by yourselves, they are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent consumer regulations.
Unless you are prepared to give a full breakdown showing how you arrived at this rate for charges, I would like to ask for a full refund of said "Penalty" charges into my account.
I have been advised to give you 14 days to respond. If I do not receive your response within this time, I will write again to explore how the matter can be resolved.
With kind regards
Boba Fett
p.s. I have not asked for any interest at all at this stage!
Got the standard smile response today, (12th Feb) which is as follows:-
Hello Bobb Fett
This is just to say I'll be looking into your complaint and I'll get back to you as soon as I can with a full response. Please be aware this may take upto 4 weeks in line with the Financial Services Authority regulations, although we aim to respond much faster.
Thanks again
Chris Hopkins
PS - For full details of our complaints procedures, go to Redirecting to Smile Production Site, click on 'Talk to us' and then click on 'Complaints' on the right hand side.
4 weeks - PAH! Anyway, they have had 5 says since my Prelim post, so 9 days before lba.
I hope they pay up, as I said I like Smile, and don't want to have to go through the court motions... Unlike Barclays, where I am prepared to go the whole way & screw every last penny from them!!! :grin: :grin:
Will post in 9 days if I dont hear before then!
P.S. All communication so far has been by Secrure Message, except print out of charges which was posted. So there has been no costs so far, not even the £10 SAR fee. Would recommend this at the early stages, as I hate snail mail!!!
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.
The tariff is constant, but has gone up over the years. It used to be quite cost effective at £6/month, but £10/month is quite high but it does include travel insurance, green flag Breakdown Cover & £200 int free overdraft.
Still waiting for their resonse, (or cleared funds )
Right I see. I suppose it depends if it is cost effective for you, it's worth having, but if you didn't have a car, travel anywhere, or use the overdraft it would be a bit of a waste.
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.
Tick tock tick tock... seems like I am checking my secure messages every day now, awaiting the payment!!!
did receive a "we are looking into you complaint, so you should hear from us shortly" message, about a week ago. By my reckoning they have about 3 days to pay up before I start an MCOL.
p.s. ALL OF MY COMMUNICATION WAS DONE THRU SECURE MESSAGES. NO LETTERS WERE SENT, AND I NEVER THREATENED THEM WITH COURT EVEN AFTER 14 DAYS AFTER PRELIM. ALL I SAID WAS "I WOULD HAVE TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION" GOOD LUCK TO ALL OTHER "SMILE'RS"
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.
Boba Fett v Smile - ROUND 1 ***WON***
... But they would be, they have taken loads of my money!!!
. (Only had acc for about 3 years though)
)
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