This all looks good to me Jules. I hope it works!

Thanks Jules Sounds good to me and it certainly cannot harm. How do I subscribe to your thread ?

I think my next step is to submit an N1 form to my local county court. Do I need to print the official version and fill this in manually ? I have already copied from the templates Library onto word so that I can fill it in and print if this is ok? I`m a bit lost as to how to move forward now (Yes I am a bit thick!!)

Thanks Jules, There is no doubt that I will be continueing with my claim, just not sure how to go about it. As you can see they have not offered me anything and dont look as if they intend to!

I recieved £250 GOGW some time ago but stated then that I would be pursueing further. Here is the letter - "Thank you for your letter dated 16th March 2007,about your bank charges.I am sorry you feel these charges are unlawful.Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you. Having carried out a further investigation ,we do not believe the charges are unlawful and therefore cannot agree to refund them. The unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 say that we must explain our charges in plain language and that we have to act in good faith,which,according to the office of fair trading, means dealing fairly and openly with customers. I therefore reviewed the literatureand information you recieved when you opened your account,including the terms and conditions.This explains that charges will be applied if you do not keep to the terms of the account. Because of this,I believe we have been fair and open in telling you about them.The charges were correct because you did not have enough money in your account to cover payments requested from it.When I looked at the history for your account I found that unfortunately this was not the first time this has happened. I can see we have refunded charges in the past as a gesture of goodwill.I am sorry that because of this I cannot agree to cancel these charges. Our records indicate that you have now recieved the requested statements.Please contact me on 0845 600 6014 if this is not the case. I am confident that I have been fair and have taken into account all the points you made in your letter,but if you have any additional points that you would like to discuss please call 0845 600 6014.I have enclosed a leaflet about the financial Ombudsman Service,in case you are not happy with my investigation or decision.If so, you should contact them within six months of the date of this letter, enclosing a copy of it,as they would need it for their investigation. I hope we can work together to help you avoid charges in the future.Little things can help, like checking your account balance as often as possible and looking at the dates of direct debits to make sure they are taken shortly after money is paid in.In addition we might be able to help by providing an overdraft facility to give you more flexibility.This could help to keep your costs down as there are no charges unless you exceed your overdraft limit.So if you would like to talk to someone about the options available please call our telephone banking centre on 08459 724 724. Alternatively if you think you might need longer-term help to manage your bank account please call 0845 603 9035 and we`ll be happy to help. Yours Sincerely Richard Evans Senior Customer relations manager"

I just recieved the letter telling me that all charges against me are legal this morning. What would be my next step? Thanks

I first went to this site to see the difference between bandings - UpMyStreet - For Where You Live Then went to Valuation Office Agency - homepage- check your banding, this gave me a list of all the bandings for every property in my street. I then questioned my councils valuation office. It took about a month and they sent me a letter telling me I had been banded incorrectly and they would be refunding all overpayments by cheque. I asked them to put it directly into my account which they did. The banding was only from B to A but hey its worth a few quid!! and for very little work.

Hi there, I thought I should let someone know that I just received £1500 back from the council I had a look at the bandings of my neighbours and realised that there were only 2 in the whole street that were in my banding.Me and a much larger property further up the street. I rang the valuation office who looked into it. They then sent me a reply this morning telling me I had been incorrectly banded and that I would be refunded any overpayments made since I moved in (10 years ago) :D :D :D Yahoo!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Louis, your right I was not sure how to work it out however the letter is on its way to Abbey as we speak. I feel sure that I will get further opportunity to include the O/D interest again unless of corse they agree to just send me the full amount requested. To be fair I would be happy with that! Jules has your letter been recieved yet?

Here is the letter I sent today:- Pam Speed PO BOX 1109 Bradford BD1 5ZJ 10/05/07 Request for repayment of charges Dear Sir/Madam, ACCOUNT NUMBER:(see Im learning!) My request I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges which you have levied from my account over the last 6 years. I now understand that the regime of fees which you have been applying to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent consumer regulations. If you say that they are not, then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put by as a result of my breaches, in order to reassure me that your penalties really do reflect your costs. Additionally, it has now been confirmed that your particularly high level of penalties are considered to be unfair per se by the OFT who reported on the 5th April 2006 and are therefore presumed to be unlawful in the absence of specific proof to the contrary. Your responsibilities I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law. I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary. I consider that your repeated representations that your charges are fair and reasonable are deceptive and that they have deceived me into agreeing to pay them. Your concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now. What I require I calculate that you have taken £2244.50. I enclose a schedule of the charges which I am claiming with this letter My targets to resolve this matter I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets. I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment. If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments. After that, there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline. I was not sure about the O/D interest so have not included that (yet)

No problem Louis.

No O/D interest added

Thanks Louis, yes it is just the 8%. I used the template. Can you tell me which letter I can use now to request payment?

It was a great help thanks! I am now ready for the next stage which is asking them for the dosh I believe. The total amount comes to £2244.50 but with the interest £2792.89 Do you have a copy of your letter or did you use one from the template library ? Did you ask for the interest ? (You can tell Im excited now)

Well Jules that did the trick!! microfiche statements arrived this morning 10th May. I have just worked out that they owe me over £2k