Hi, I've recently had late payment charges on 2 LTSB credit cards.

This pushed one of the cards over the limit incurring another £12 on top of that.

When I made the next payment I did not include the late payment charges they'd added on to the minimum payments, so they added further charges.

These cards were originally an accucard and an Easy card both of which LTSB bought out.

I have noticed that the interest rates have crept up to much higher than when the cards were taken out also and when I received the last replacement card it stated

"for details of the interest rate please refer to your original agreement.

I'm therefore thinking it's time to challenge them for agreements.

I've been reading up on the latest CCA info as I'm a bit rusty and things have moved on since I last did this.

I'd really appreciate any advice, because it looks a bit confusing nowadays.

Adding late payment charges onto the minimum payment really annoys me.

How do they expect someone who has struggled to make the basic payment be able to pay all their add ons?

Does anyone know please whether adding late payment charges onto minimum payments has been successfully challenged?

I'm thinking of sending a standard CCA request letter with an added bit challenging the charges.

Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

longtime no see........

just reclaim the charges + int at their purchase rate

simples

dx

Hi dx, Great to hear from you.

Longtime indeed.

The other thing we've had contact about is still ongoing but waiting in limbo, so nothing can be said unfortunately.

About these charges which have piled up and made the minimum payments enormous.

I didn't pay the last one at all,

because I knew that by just paying the normal minimum,

they would still add their extra charges on,

which I have no intention of paying / can't pay.

Should I make a minimum payment albeit late,

or withold it for now,

send off a CCA,

SAR and tell them I am claiming back my charges?

i would certainly pay 'something' even if £1

until you know the agreement is un-en or not.

it would not hurt to write

stating you are in fin hardship

and are starting a claim for the return of all unlawful charges + assoc int charged

if you know this will clear the bal, then wind them up about that too.

dx

Thanks again dx,

Right I've done an SAR and an initial complaint letter and am off to the post with them now.

They'll go recorded delivery.

Also while I'm at it I'll make some token payments.

I'll keep you updated about the results.

Today two letters have arrived. One is from LTSB Customer Relations and is the standard "sorry you have had cause to complain letter" and the second is something I haven't come across before. It's from "power 2contact" regarding LTSB credit card and says...

IMPORTANT NOTICE

LLOYDS TSB has engaged power 2 contact Ltd to act on it's behalf in relation to accounts such as yours where it has lost contact with accountholders. Power2contact Ltd is a specialist customer contact company with many years experience of getting in touch with customers and putting them back in contact with the bank.

We at power 2contact Ltd understand how easy it is to lse contact and we want to work with you to help rebuild your relationship with LLOYDS TSB.

LLOYDS TSB records indicate that, despite a number of attempts, they have not been able to establish contact with you. They request that you get in touch by calling them on 0845 600 6392 immediately.

If you fail to contact LLOYDS TSB within 3 working days of the date of this letter, we will instruct one of our Contact Managers to visit you at the above address to discuss and hopefully resolve the matter with you.

Yours Sincerely,

K. Hillyer

Now it's nonsense saying that they have lost touch with me as I have written to them and have the evidence of a reply, but what they don't have is my telephone number and I'm not about to give it to them.

I shall reply to power2contact and point out that there is no loss of contact taking place,that I only intend to communicate in writing with LTSB and that I do not give them permission to visit me.Has anyone else come across this crew from Crewe?

They've been around since 2003, part of Credit Solutions, work for al the major banks, creditcards and utilities:

http://www.creditsolutions.co.uk/power2contact.html

Several CAG threads here:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=power2contact:+site:consumeractiongroup.co.uk&hl=en&cr=countryUK|countryGB&client=firefox-a&hs=nF&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&tbs=ctr:countryUK|countryGB&ei=rHusTOeXBcicOpm1lDY&start=0&sa=N

They request that you get in touch by calling them on 0845 600 6392 immediately.

lloyds tsb auto route no , if you call this number you will indeed be transfered to thier call center somewhere in india !

ignore them!

P2P are just chasers.

NEVER EVER phone a DCA nor talk on the phone about your debts to a DCA

dx

I arrived home yesterday afternoon to find a hand-delivered envelope pushed through the door addressed to "The Occupier".

Inside was a postcard from Power2Connect demanding that the occupier phone 07980913028 within the next 24 hours to avoid further action

.What a cheek!!

I've also had a letter from LTSB about my complaint from a Mark Sexton of customer services.

This is what it says......

Thankyou for getting in touch with us. I'm sorry you're unhappy about your account charges.

Because of the Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) statement of 5th April 2006, you believe certain charges we have made to your account are unlawful. You would therefore like them refunded.

Most of our credit card services are completely free and your card provides a convenient method of payment. We do, however, make a charge if you pay us late, go over your agreed limit, or if we have to tell you that a payment hasn't been made. All these matters cause us extra cost.

We tell you about these charges on your monthly statement.

Details can also be found on our website or by contacting our branch staff or telephone helpline. Your statement also shows the minimum payment required, the payment date and the credit limit, so you should find it easy to stick to the terms and conditions you have agreed to.

As you may be aware, the OFT's view is that a charge of £12 is fair and reasonable.

I've reviewed our records and can see that we've only applied charges of £12 to your account. Because of this we are not in a position to offer you a refund.

The OFT's statement is their view of the principles they think credit card issuers should follow and we believe our charging policy is fair. Ultimately only a court can decide whether a term is unfair in legal terms.

I'm sorry we don't feel able to agree to your complaint but if you have any new information that you feel may lead me to reconsider my decision please let me know.

If my response doesn't fully explain my decision, please come back to me. If we're unable to resolve any ongoing concerns you'll be able to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service for help.

As long as you are happy with the way I've dealt with your complaint, there's no need for you to reply to my letter. If I haven't heard from you within eight weeks from the date of this letter I will close my file.

Yours Sincerely,

Mark Sexton

I think I've got a rough idea of what to say in reply along the lines of the fact that I am awaiting a breakdown of how they arrive at a charge of £12 and cannot agree that their charges are fair until I have that information.

I also have no evidence that I have agreed to their conditions until I have a copy of the signed excecuted agreement between us.

Also that it pushes a person further into debt to have extra caharges added onto the minimum payment which is not in the interests of either party.

I've just spoken to my next door neighbour and discovered that the snoop from power2connect went to her house grilling her about me.

He wanted to know did I work, was I married and who else lives in the house.

It wouldn't surprise me if she told him everything he wanted to know.

She said he had a bullying manner and wasn't "a nice man".

Finding this out has made me even more furious now.

The OFT just said that they would not investigate charges of £12 or less, not that £12 was fair or reasonable.

Did your neighbour say what the not nice man told her - why he was asking the questions?

It sounds as though LTSB's left hand doesn't know what it's right hand is doing - or the difference between the elbow & their general behaviour

Hi 2Grumpy, I didn't think to ask her what if anything he told her. I was too busy being annoyed with his cheek. That's a good question though, thanks, I'll have to find out.

:-DWell I seem to have a result.

Aletter has arrived from a Suzanne Glew, Customer Relations, Brighton saying........

Thankyou for getting in touch with us. I'm sorry you are unhappy about your account charges.

Although we haven't changed our opinion about our charging policy, as a gesture of goodwill I'm willing to refund your charges. I will aslo add net interest at an annual gross rate of 8%, so the total amount we're paying is £167...

This is our final offer. We'll use the refund to reduce any outstanding credit card balance that you've got with us and you'll see this as an adjustment on your next statement.

I have passed on your concerns about Power2Contact and the issues you have had with your minimum payments onto our Hove Customer Relations Centre as they are the best people to help you.

I hope you understand my reasons for declining your complaint. However if you remain unhappy please treat this letter as our final response. etc etc.........

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

they are refunding their charges but declining my complaint.... whatever....

I've also had a wholly unapologetic reply from P2C in which they claim they have every right to come visit me and it's up to LTSB whether they stop or not.

I'm waiting for the results of my SAR to see if they come up with any sort of agreement.

One thing I don't understand is what is the legal basis for these charges?

I've never agreed to be subject to them and surely you can't have a one-sided contract or can you?

Presumably as the letter doesn't agree to stop applying penalty charges in the future there'll be new ones forthcoming as I only paid a token amount this month again, pending the arrival of the SAR so I can assess the situation properly.

Onwards and upwards

I've now received a stack of documents in response to my SAR.

What they haven't sent are any of the following....

"Details of any charges added to the account; specifically, the date they were/it was levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial breakdown of how the charge was/charges were calculated, and what the charge covers/charges cover.

"Details of any charges added to the account; specifically, the date they were/it was levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial breakdown of how the charge was/charges were calculated, and what the charge covers/charges cover."

I've alsoreceived the latest statement which shows the refund as promised, but then they've added new charges of £24, £12 of which is for being over the limit, when the statement itself says there is £10 available to spend.

The SAR accompanying letter begins

"I write in response to your request for a copy of your consumer credit agreement under S 78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974."

Well of course I didn't ask for it under S 78 but as part of my SAR.

It goes on to say... " There is no requirement under the CCA to provide a copy of the original signed agreement. We are endeavouring to locate the copy of your signed agreement but please be assured we would not have opened a credit card account without having sight of an agreement...":violin:

I never entered into any agreement with LTSB because the card was originally an Easycard.

I'm going to give this some thought now and decide what to do about it.

Today a default notice has arrived, so not sure what to do about that. Any suggestions would be welcome.

if the DN includes any of the late/over fees in its quoted arrears figure

then its invalid.

dx

I'll check that out, thanks, dx.

Hi,

Out of the blue today I received a Claim Form from Lowells.

A year ago they sent me a Letter of Claim to which I responded by making a CCA request.

The CCA request was completely ignored by them and nothing was heard from them till today when the claim arrived.

Theses are the Particulars:

1)The defendant entered into a Consumer Credit Act 1974 regulated aggreement with Lloyds (CreditCard) under account reference xxxxxxxxxx (The Agreement)

2) The Defendant failed to maintain the required payments and a default notice was served and not complied with.

3) The Agreement was later assigned to the Claimant on 17/06/2015 and notice given to the defendant.

4)Despite repeated requests for payment the sum of £2, xxx.xx remains due and outstanding.

5.And the Claimant claims

a) The said sum of £2, xxx.xx

b)interest pursuant to S.69 County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue, accruing at a daily rate of £0.469, limited to one year being £1xx.15

c) Costs

I suspect this debt may be statute barred or about to be and they are not correct about the original company being LLoyds as it would have been some other company. I don't recognise the sum claimed either.

So far my plan is to send a CPR 31.4 Request, but I'm pretty rusty on this kind of thing and would appreciate any additional suggestions.

For instance I don't know whether I should do anything at this stage regarding the statute barred possibility.

I have got a copy of my CCA request from last year together with the proof of posting if it's of any use for my defence btw.

Thanks in advance for advice with this.

It's the first time I've ever been confronted by a court claim,

so it was a bit of a shock initially and now I just want to hit back hard.

Pop up onto mcol website and acknowledge the claim

Tick defend all

Leave jurisdiction unticked

Correct to send a cpr 31:14 to whimever the solicitors are for lowell, coukd be lowell solicitors?

Also send a very brief covering letter including a copy of the cca request letter you sent last year, reminding them that they have yet to comply with it.

Thats it for now, note your defence filing date, 33 days from date of issue which is day 1 in the count and do not miss filing your defence on time.

Nearer the time we can look at what defence to use.

A bit more info regarding the debt would be useful, do you know whom it was with if not directly with lloyds?

When did you last make a payment towards it?

Does the account show in your credit files anywhere?

Thankyou for the speedy reply, Martin. I'll do all those things and keep you informed.

In the 31.4 letter I've asked for the following:

1)The agreement

2: The Default Notice

3: Notice of Assignment

4: Copies of the repeated requests for payment as referred to in the particulars.

5: Statement of Account

Is that about right at this stage?

It would have been with Easymoney or Accucard.

Payment was last made in 2010/11. I can't be sure exactly and I don't know about the credit files because I've never looked. I don't use credit nowadays so don't actually need to keep a check of that sort of thing.

Not too sure about point 4 in cpr request but rest is ok.

Give us as much info as you can about the debt itself please.

I think the credit card agreement would date from around 2001 ish, but I don't remember any more, other than the original company sold the business to Lloyds and after a year or two I was in a bad way financially and eventually stopped paying. I believe I actually did a CCA request back then and only stopped paying when nothing was forthcoming.

hello you back again

is it 8yrs already...

I've merged you old thread

if you didn't/haven't paid since last thread

twill be statute barred

no need for any letters

have a read of this thread now and update us..

dx

Hello dx, good to catch up with you again.

Doesn't time fly?

I'd actually forgotten about this old thread and it's been really helpful reading it again.

Thanks for that.

I seem to recall limping on with payments for a few months after this thread till the CCA wasn't forthcoming, so it is probably right on the cusp of statute barred if not actually over it.

Maybe that's why they've come out of the woodwork now.