Scottish/English law

ROCKY'S MUM · 18th May 2007, 14:08

Hi, i have just joined this group. i have already sent away to my Building Society asking for details of all charges and have been promised this any day now (if i had a pound for every time someone said this.. anyway). once i get this information i can then get the ball rolling as i reckon the charges come to over £2000, however i was wondering, is there a difference between Scottish and English law with regards to this matter ( i am in Scotland) ?

rory32 · 18th May 2007, 14:13

Yes there is a big difference in English and Scots Law. In an English court this would be a small claims. In Scotland it would be an ordinary cause claim. You do not want to take out an ordinary cause action so I would advise that you use the FOS. It is free for you to use, but they charge the bank £400 for each complaint they investigate.

rory32 · 18th May 2007, 14:15

Just a thought - is your total for the charges before or after interest? If it is after interest and your total for the actual charges is on or below £1500 you can use summary cause, which is very similar to a small claims procedure.

ROCKY'S MUM · 18th May 2007, 14:19

£2000 before interest. What is FOS. Also thought Scotland also had small claims court?

rory32 · 18th May 2007, 14:29

Scotlands small claims court is for claims up to £750, in England it is for claims up to £5K.
FOS is Financial Ombudsman Service. If you wish to read more about their complaints procedure the link is here our complaints procedure and how to complain

ROCKY'S MUM · 18th May 2007, 16:05

do you know how successful FOS are and how long things take? also if i didn't use this way and went to small claims court, could i raise several small claims (3 to add up to £2000) or is this too costly?

rory32 · 18th May 2007, 16:11

No, you can no longer raise several small claims actions - this would be considered an abuse of procedure.

The FOS have been 100% successful in claiming back charges. However they do specify that you must allow the bank the opportunity to resolve the complaint before involving them - 8 weeks or a definate NO letter. After that you can involve the FOS.
With regards to how long does this take, the answer really is there is no answer as the FOS deal with complaints on a case by case basis. The answer would be the same if you asked me how long does it take to get a court date for a hearing.

ROCKY'S MUM · 20th May 2007, 20:19

My letter from the bank detailing all the charges arrived on Saturday so i will send off my polite request for the refund and keep hassling them. thanks for the advise Rory 32.

rory32 · 20th May 2007, 20:22

Anytime rocky's mum

Good luck with your claim.

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