austen v woolwich

[austenpowers]

I've had a bank account with the woolwich for a number of years with a large o/d balance. I used to pay a fortune in unpaid charges, but one day decided it couldn't go on and sought some help. I stopped using the woolwich account and went to my local CAB for some guidance, and I was put on a repayment plan with all my creditors arranged through the CAB. After 2 and 1/2 years the original balance of £2000 is now down to £900, and during that time there have been no interest or fees charged to my account. However I dread to think how much the charges in the last 6 years would amount to. My question is, if I was to pursue reclaiming these charges, would the woolwich be within their rights to charge interest on the amount I have owed them in the last 2 and a half years, and could perhaps end up being worse off?

[closey]

I woul;dn't have thought so, but I think this could be a question to take back to the CAB.

[austenpowers]

I've received my list of charges back from the woolwich. I'm now going to make a table of charges but have a question which I can't seem to find an answer to anywhere. During the 6 years there have been some charges refunded, should I still list those particular charges and refunds as well in the table? Obviously I would show they were refunded and not include them in the final total, but should they be listed?

[Michael Browne]

I don't really see any need to, after all Woolwich know what they've refunded and what they haven't. I'd just list the charges you are claiming.

[solidstan1]

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[solidstan1]

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[austenpowers]

Thanks for the replies. I have now listed the charges and am shocked to find the total is £1857.00. Not that astronomical maybe, but you have to bear in mind this account has not been used for more than 3 years other than to make small monthly repayments to clear the od. What really makes my blood boil, is that I have been struggling to repay the £1800 od (now stands at £900) which wouldn't have even existed if they had not charged me unfairly in the first place.
Ah well, I'm going to prepare my Prelimary Repayment letter and see what response that draws.

Does anyone know whether I should use the Jackson Road address (where my list of charges came from) or the Barclays E14 address where I initially sent my Data Protection Act request ?

[austenpowers]

I would like to clarify a point regarding interest. I have read through the FAQs and the step by step guidelines but I am still unsure. Do I ask for £1857 charges plus 8% interest from the date they were charged? The main reason for the doubt is it clearly says on the link to the interest calculator not to charge interest until filing a claim otherwise the bank will know you don't know what you are doing. Yet in the Prelimary Request it is clearly set up for charges plus interest.

Please could someone clarify?

[Michael Browne]

Don't worry your not the first to be confused

You do not add 8% interest until you file a claim at court/moneyclaim

The interest referred to in the prelim letter is interest that has been charged on the penalties

When you go overdrawn the bank will charge you interest, perfectly lawfully.

However if part of your overdraft is made up of penalty fees, they are also charging you interest on these too and it is this interest which you are entitled to claim back, but it's sometimes tricky to separate out from the total interest figure.

Vampiress has a spreadsheet, (the 2nd one) in the bank templates library, which attempts to calculate this

It's quite complex and unless your claim is large often doesn't amount to that much, so for simplicity's sake, some people don't bother

Hope that makes things a bit clearer, the most important thing is no 8% until court.

[austenpowers]

Prelimary request for repayment sent Special Delivery yesterday asking for my £1857 back plus £243.04 in overdraft interest. Delivered this morning to Clacton. Now lets wait for the standard reply...

[austenpowers]

...standard reply received on saturday explaining they have taken full responsibility for fully investigating the issues raised, blah, blah, blah... and they aim to resolve this matter by 28 July 2006. (why do they always ignore the 14 day deadline??...) Will be sending my LBA on 13th July.....

[austenpowers]

Preparing my LBA today and was wondering whether it was correct to address the letter to the person who responded to my Prelim letter (in this case Michelle Wallis) ? Will be sending special delivery, not sure whether to include a name or not, i.e. -

Michelle Wallis
Sales and Service Manager
Woolwich Openplan Centre
Jackson House
Jackson Road
Clacton on sea
CO15 1WH

Looking back my list of charges came from Juliet Hayes, Case Manager, so I'm a little unsure who to use. Or whether to just address it to the Woolwich. Any suggestions?

[Michael Browne]

If she replied to your prelim, Ms Wallis will be fine.

[austenpowers]

On another subject, I am starting to have doubts over my interest calculations. As the account was always overdrawn I calculated the interest from the date the charge was made on the account until the date interest was stopped on the account (December 2003). If the calculations were wrong, would this affect my claim at all? And could I now just drop the interest claim and just stick to the charges which there is absolutely no disputing? Want to make sure I get everything right.

[Michael Browne]

From your previous posts £243 interest on £1857 seems ok.

They may not be precisely accurate, but I have yet to see any postings where the banks have agreed to settle the charges, but have queried the interest calculations and refused to pay these. Probably because they would have to step into court to do so and they don't want to do this.

I'd go ahead as you are. But it's your choice.

[austenpowers]

Thanks Michael. Will leave it as it is I think.

[austenpowers]

LBA received by Woolwich yesterday morning, so I await a response. As I am away from the computer next week I thought I would be organised and start completing my moneyclaim form this afternoon and have a few questions.

1/ I notice there are a number of suggested wordings on this site for the particulars of claim, am I right in thinking the exact wording is not too important as long as it contains all the relevant facts?

2/ Do I need to find out the exact date the account opened as I have absolutely no idea.

3/ This bit is going to sound silly, here is an extract from one of the examples I've tracked down -

The claimant has held a current account with the defendant

Is that what I actually write, or do I put my name where it says claimant, and the Woolwich where it says the defendant's name?

thanks in advance

[Michael Browne]

Originally Posted by austenpowers

1/ I notice there are a number of suggested wordings on this site for the particulars of claim, am I right in thinking the exact wording is not too important as long as it contains all the relevant facts? Correct

2/ Do I need to find out the exact date the account opened as I have absolutely no idea. Month? Year? as near as you can

3/ This bit is going to sound silly, here is an extract from one of the examples I've tracked down -

The claimant has held a current account with the defendant

Is that what I actually write, Yes

Below is an example of POC

Claimant has account (A/C No) with Defendant from (Date a/c opened)conducted on their standard terms and conditions. Claimant is claiming the return of (£0.00 = amount claimed) taken by Defendant in charges over (X) years. The Defendant's charges are a disproportionate penalty and therefore unenforceable as they are contrary to common law. They are also invalid under the Unfair Contracts Terms Act 1977 s.4 and under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.Para.8 and sch.2.1.e.
In the event that the charges are not a penalty they are unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15. Defendant has declined justification of charges despite repeated requests. Claimant claims interest under Sec.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8% a year from(Date of 1st charge) to (Date of filing claim) of (£0.00 =8% spreadsheet calculation) and also interest at same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of (£0.00p = Amount claimed x 0.022).