Hi - I recently succeeded in claiming back charges from IF, but that account had already been closed. I'm in the preliminary stages of approaching Barclays (Data Protection Act request sent 35 days ago) but still have the account, with a pretty hefty overdraft on it. I know that once I'm "in dispute" with them about the charges they will probably not close the account at that point, but are they likely to do so after settling the claim? I actually quite like Barclays! I have opened a new A+L account just in case. Thanks, Mel.

You can see the timeline in my signature - came home to a cheque for just over £3000!! I had the standard Halifax letter about not being cost-effective to defend, and interestingly it said that I should have just cited Halifax PLC, rather than "Halifax PLC as Intelligent Finance" as I had stated in the papers. I think she was just desperate to score a point! Thanks to the site and all who have contributed - we'll be making a donation when the cheque has cleared. Mel. P.S. I've just noticed that the cheque - drawn on Intelligent Finance's account - was dated 15th June, while the letter from Halifax's Litigation Solicitor was dated 20th. I'm not quite sure what this means, but thought it was interesting!

You can see the timeline in my signature - came home to a cheque for just over £3000!! I had the standard Halifax letter about not being cost-effective to defend, and interestingly it said that I should have just cited Halifax PLC, rather than "Halifax PLC as Intelligent Finance" as I had stated in the papers. I think she was just desperate to score a point! Thanks to the site and all who have contributed - we'll be making a donation when the cheque has cleared. Mel. P.S. I've just noticed that the cheque - drawn on Intelligent Finance's account - was dated 15th June, while the letter from Halifax's Litigation Solicitor was dated 20th. I'm not quite sure what this means, but thought it was interesting!

Well, I've got to the Court stage and they've acknowledged with intention to file a defence - so I hope you're right!! Well done, though! Mel.

Gosh, well done - they refused my refund request so I've filed Court papers - should have a response by 25th June. Mel.

Well, I've had a reply to the first letter - finally. Unsurprisingly it was to the effect that the charges were correct as stated in the T+Cs and would not be refunded "on this occasion" (interesting phrase, I thought!). However, I had already sent the Letter Before Action as they had not replied within the period requested, so we'll see what happens next. I really hope they cave in as we need the money yesterday! Mel.

My husband and I had a joint current account and mortgage, which is now closed. I requested the details of charges and manual interventions citing DPA and enclosing the cheque; I got a phone call a couple of days later saying charges don't come under DPA and why did I want them. I said I was having a general look at finances and the woman said they could send a summary for no charge; also that they don't keep records of manual interventions! I got the summary (and the cheque back) and sent the first letter asking for repayment of the charges, plus any amount of interest I had paid due to interest caused by charges putting me over my OD limit. I gave them 14 days. This morning I got a letter saying they were sorry I was unhappy, and that my letter has been passed to something like "a complaints investigator" (sorry, left the letter at work!). I was going to send the letter before action on 2nd May - should I still do so, do you think, or wait on their next response? Mel.