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OK I think I am going to issue the claim with contactual interestand see what happens! This was the account that created all my financial problems in the first place. So it is definitely payback time! If anyone has any advice about claiming a high amount of interest in relation to their charges it would be very welcome.

Thanks Steven I used Mindzai's spreadsheet. That would seem about right then, as you say it quadruples it over 6 years. My main concern before I start my claim is that the interest will be deemed too high. I have been trying to find a thread where someone has successfully claimed this much interest on their claim and would be grateful if anyone can give me a link? Ta

Well after a few successful claims with the banks I thought I would now request my charges from an old store card I held from 1999. I contacted Ikano who sent me a badly typed word document with charges from 2001. So I requested the earlier charges by sending a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) - COMPLETE Data Protection Act DISCLOSURE and also stated if they did not have this data then I wish to see a certificate of destruction. They have now sent me a very shoddy looking Spreadsheet with charges from May 01 and a letter that states any details prior to this have been destroyed. This really isn't good enough as I specifically asked to see a proper document that legally shows they have been destroyed. I will however begin my claim and I am going to claim for compounded contractual interest at the rate they were charging me which was 2.21% per month. However when I entered it onto the Excel SS, The interest amounted to 4 times more than the charges!! This seems like an awful lot but I checked it and it is correct. Shall I go ahead and start my claim or will the court think this is too much? Any input will be appreciated.

Does this also apply to Store Cards? Had a store card from Aug 1999 til 2001 and sent SAR but they only sent list of charges from 2001. 40 days is up on saturday so I phoned them today regarding the charges pre-6 years and the woman I spoke to Laughed at me and said they are not obliged to give me anything other than 6 years and started quoting the Information Commisoner and said that I should read the Data Protection Act! She was very rude and I am even more determined to try and claim for ALL the charges. ...but unsure of what to send them now... any suggestions?

Hi everyone. Recieved a letter or should I say package, from C1 yesterday. Basically they have said what they said before, that they will defend the claim on the basis that they have paid the correct amount blah blah blah. They also included copies of all my statments where they have highlighted the amount of interest charged on each statement. The interest I calculated was compounded and goes back 6 years. Yes it may be alot more than they actually took at the time but I believe it is the correct amount owed to me. Not to mention the fact that they have left me with a poor credit rating which has had a number of negative effects on me; obtaining credit, etc and made my life quite difficult. I actually think it is a small price for them to pay considering all the damage they have caused. By levying such high fees, making it difficult for me to keep up with payments, and to this day making it impossible for me to get credit anywhere, which has in turn left me considerably more out of pocket than the interest i am claiming. So my question now is.... If C1 went to court with this would they still have to disclose their costs and if so wouldn't this prevent them from going?? Or would they merely be able to defend the level of interest alone as I have not heard of any bank doing this before? Also do you think my argument would stand well in Court and that my claim for interest is reasonable considering the facts?

You made some valid points there Sarah. Good to get both sides of the argument so that if I were to go to court I would be fully prepared! Sent above reply to C1 on friday so will let you know as soon as I hear back from them. fingers crossed! x

Cheers Rouge, hope I've made the right decision. Heres the letter I am going to send. Does it sound ok to you? RESPONSE TO SETTLEMENT OFFER Dear Miss Wilson County Court Claim number ********. I refer to your letter dated 30th January 2007 in response to the court claim I have issued against Capital Once Bank (Europe) Plc for a total sum of £1344.56. Your offer to settle does not include the £744.56 I am claiming in contractual interest. I believe I am entitled to claim this and upon this basis if you are not willing to pay this then I do intend to proceed to a court hearing without delay. However, I am willing to settle this matter on the basis that you refund the charges you have taken in the sum of £480.00, contractual interest of £744.56 and the court fee of £120.00, making a total sum of £1344.56. As you have sent me a cheque for £906.78 this leaves a balance due of £437.78. I will not cash the cheque until I have received the remaining amount. Once I receive this cheque I will notify the Court of the settlement to avoid taking up Court time. I trust this clarifies my position. Yours faithfully Kathrynlf

Its been a really interesting debate, thanks for all the posts. Finally though I have made the decision to continue for the whole amount. Its out of a matter of principle now and I don't think I could rest if I didn't at least try to make a stand for what I feel is right and fair. So... I am writing a letter to reject their offer and inform them I am continuing with my claim. I used the most recent one on my statements which was 20.45% APR.

Well, well, well would you believe it, Abbey sent me me a settlement letter today for the FULL amount woo hoo! However, since starting this claim I noticed I missed off a couple of charges on my claim. Is now the time to ask for these and can I reject this offer if they do not refund them aswell? I am actually quite suprised as I was expecting them to settle closer to my court date on 17th March. Certainly not complaining though! HUGE thanks to all the MOD's and everyone else for all your help and a donation going the CAG's way as soon as I get my money! x

Thanks milly, I want to pursue the contractual interest but looks like I am fighting a losing battle. What do you think? Has anyone else received a defence like this?? Any advice will be greatly received. This is their defence that I received from the court this morning: Capital One Bank (Europe) plc received the claim for the total sum of £1344.56, which is in connection with the default fees and interest we have charged to Miss Kathrynlf’s account. Capital One deny the fees are unlawful and they are detailed in Miss Kathrynlf’s terms and conditions and in her customer welcome pack (er, right). Our fees are based on the costs we incur when a customer breaks their contract by making a late payment, failing to make a payment or goes over their credit limit. The fees are only levied when a customer breaches their contract in this way and can be avoided if payments are maintained and the account kept within the credit limit. Capital One has acted in accordance with the terms of Miss Kathrynlf’s credit agreement throughout this matter. Also, after reviewing her request for £744.56 to cover the interest, we can confirm that these calculations are incorrect. All default fees charged to any account are always charged at the purchase interest rate. The total amount of purchase interest we have ever charged to Miss Kathrynlf’s account since it was opened in June 2000 is £80.45. This amount includes the interest on all of the purchases and only a very small portion of this figure has been charged on the default fees. On the basis of the above, we cannot agree to the proposal of refunding the sum of £744.56 to cover the interest. (what about mutuality & reciprocricy? They have had MY money for 6 years!) Along with the above, we have also refunded the default fees totalling to £480.00, as requested and the court fee of £120. Miss Kathrynlf has requested £226.33 interest, which she is claiming under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984. Therefore, we have also refunded this amount back to the account today. (They haven’t refunded any monies yet & acc is closed) However, we have today refunded on a no admission of liability basis, the total amount of interest charged to Miss Kathrynlf’s account to the sum of £80.56. This will cover the interest we have charged on the fees. It also means that Miss Kathrynlf has held an account with us since June 2000 without having to pay interest for any of her purchases. This brings the total amount that we have refunded to £906.78. These refunds have been made purely as a matter of goodwill, on a no admission of liability basis and in full and final settlement of claim number ********. As Miss Kathrynlf’s account is settled, we have arranged to send her a cheque for the above amount. Capital One will now defend the claim on the basis that the correct amount has been paid in full. (REALLY??? Can they do that?)

I had submitted my claim in the county court against Capital One. That was about 3 weeks ago and they have replied with this offer. I would like to know the likelihood of getting contractual interest refunded and also about the cots for time spent writing letters etc.

I have received an offer from Capital One to refund all my charges of £480 plus £226.33 in County Court Interest but not the contractual interest which I calculated to be £744.56. They stated that this figure is wrong yet I deem it to be correct. I know its a bit high but the account is from 6 years ago and I used the correct spreadsheet so it should be right. Should I continue to claim for contractual interest and what are my chances of getting it? Also I wanted to claim my costs for letters etc. How would I go about negotiating this as there is no direct telephone number on the letter. Thanks

Thanks so much for all your encouragement and help. It really is nice to know so many people are here to help you. Oh bugger. My laptop doesn't want to let me open the Competition Commissioners Report! I shall have to do without a quote. Will try and put something in before tomorrow. Lets hope it does the trick eh?

Made some chages myself as re-read it and it didnt make sense. As for the competition commissioner's report I am not sure which one I should have read. Thanks for all your help. 1. Please find attached a schedule of charges which gives details of each item in respect of which a refund is sought. 2. The Claimant considers a proper charge should be a true reflection of the actual costs to the defendant in respect of any breaches of contract on the part of the Claimant. The Defendant should therefore provide to the Claimant and the Court an accurate assessment of their costs actually incurred. The Claimant has never been the subject of debt recovery action, or been pursued for payment of debt, by the Defendant. In addition, the Defendant has never been required to undertake any work other than sending automated letters to the Claimant with regard to Unpaid Items, Unarranged Overdrafts and Referral Charges. The recent report regarding bank charges on the money programme, and competition commissioner’s report stated that a proper charge would be directly proportional to the costs. It is the Claimant's belief that this would be in the region of £1.50 but in the absence of information from the Defendant (which has been requested from them) the Claimant is unable to make an accurate assessment of what would be a proper charge. A standard disclosure regarding a breakdown of charges will allow the Claimant to enter the correct "proper charge" figure.