Hi again ims Ok, I will take things slowly, first things first: cancel PPI. Next I will ask my workmate to send the SAR to their bank(s) to get all info as regards their loan(s) and bank accounts. I will type up & print letters for them, I did them for myself a few years back. I just know they've been creamed of hundreds of pounds in penalty charges as well. Then I should be back for further advice as regards the way to go about reclaiming PPI & bank charges under hardship rules. Thanks for your help so far!

Hi ims, Thanks for your reply. I don't think they have much in way of bank statements as I have been repeatedly asked them in the past. I asked her to get all and any piece of paper they have at home and bring them to me to translate but have only managed this single sheet ! They are extremely difficult to help as they seem afraid of going against the bank (their situation is precarious etc). The idea of a branch visit is to get hold of any outstanding and past loans as well as their T&Cs as I have had confused answers. Does that mean I would be tipping their hand? I will type up a letter now as you suggest, requesting the PPI cancellation. And will request a receipt.

Hi, Chatting with a Portuguese compatriot at work, I discovered that she had a large personal loan and ppi with Barclays and possibly another bank. (I was actually asking them about overdraft & penalty charges and the like which they also have had, many times over) I have helped her and her husband when translating was required for other matters but I struggle to get coherent information out of them. Their English is almost non-existent even after 16 years in the country. Their literacy is low in Portuguese never-mind attempting in another language. I'm aghast & appalled they were sold PPI at all as they clearly have no idea what it is. I intend to go with her husband this afternoon to a Barclays branch to stop any existing payments that include the PPI. I have struggled to get any paperwork off them but did get hold of a single A4 Barclays page that contained the following: Cash loan £15 000; Single PPI premium £ 3 846.01; Instalment is £ 362.88 of which £ 288.83 is repayment of loan and £ 74.05 the PPI. Term: 72 months (6 years) Interest rate: 11.43% Start date: Don't know Total Interest costs: Cash Loan: £5 795.76 Premium Loan:£1 485.59 Total: £26 127.36 (including principle) A shocking £11 127.36 is interest (£5 795.76) and PPI (£5 331.60) for a 6 year loan My query is: What do I ask for when I get to the bank? I will be translating... I read a paragraph dealing with early repayment and obligations including settling the PPI early. Do I cancel the PPI portion? What information should I request? Loan agreement T and Cs for sure since they don't seem to have it. Other perhaps pertinent info: The husband, in whose name the loan is, suffers from diabetes and works as a hotel porter and/or kitchen staff (so I think is a permanent employee) and is now 60. I want to help these poor folks (and yes, I'd say they'd qualify for hardship and likely exempt from court fees?) but I'm worried that I'm out of my depth. Many thanks in advance.

Hiya, please move my ArohemQ vs. MBNA thread to the **WON** section. Received full settlement after sending 2nd letter rejecting 1st offer. Without resorting to court actions, 8% statutory interest paid anyway! :o Amount was : £380 plus £131.44%.

SUCCESS ! 04/03/07 1st Letter sent. 19/03/07 MBNA acknowledged receipt. 05/04/07 MBNA Goodwill gesture, offer of £160. Sends along a cheque too. 20/04/07 Rejected offer, sent 2nd Letter. Do not cash cheque. 30/05/07 2nd MBNA Goodwill gesture, additional £351.44! FULL SETTLEMENT plus 8% STATUTORY INTEREST! There is a descrepancy of pennies in the final amount...67p meh, I'll let them have it . I've cashed in 1st cheque and await the arrival of the 2nd. Note it took them 40 days after my 2nd rejection to come back with the final settlement offer. ...this is without going to court.

Hiya, please move my ArohemQ vs. Halifax thread to the **WON** section. Received full settlement without resorting to court actions. No interest paid. Amount was small: £165.

Received 2nd offer from Amex dated 18th May: They are offering to pay back part of the default charges (the difference between amount charged and their current default charge of £ 8)8 ). They are also willing to pay statutory interest on the difference. Contrary to what I've been informed here in other threads, this bank seems to be willing to stump up statutory interest, if only in partial settlement, without being obliged to by the court. Amount offered (and already put into my Amex account): £179.17 £135 = difference £44.17 = statutory interest @8% Am still seeking: £120 (£8 * 15 default charges) plus statutory interest. Going to reject this offer. *sigh* Now I have to create a spreadsheet which takes into account partial payment of statutory interest paid on part of the claim

Received settlement cheque yesterdayfor £165 No interest but full settlement of all default charges levied. My new account current with Halifax, opened in March of this year, remains unaffected.

Aha! Thx Livelylad!

Hmm, thx Michael. It would seem I started off my claims incorrectly [if I wanted to also claim back some sort of interest]. :-|

I have just discovered this thread: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/79524-key-arguments-against-compound.html As well as Photoman's thread & reading Bong's other threads. And now understanding more about "consequential loss" which I cannot claim... So I guess more reading follows;-)

I have read about it here or at least a great deal of it (there are two major threads I read with plenty of opinions!). I blame Bong's thread! I was actually researching how best to proceed with MCOL and read her thread first. Did I understand it? Erm, I believe I have but I can stand being corrected! The idea behind charging CI is "mutuality and reciprocity... There was unjust enrichment and I was deprived of monies I could have invested elsewhere but they did so instead. Which rate I apply to claw back what I was deprived of and to remove their gain depends on me i.e. whether it was unlawful & therefore I charge an 'unauthorised rate' or simply charge the same rate as the authorised rate. The reason I had requested s69 in my claims from the start was in the belief that the law provided me with a statutory rate to reclaim my "lost opportunities". I had not thought of (nor seen in other websites) the idea of unjust enrichment as debated here nor of mutuality & reciprocity in my T&Cs. I had always wanted to charge some sort of interest and I went for s69. The idea was that I could get this interest rate if I went to court therefore I was going to request it. If this is incorrect in the prelim stage then I would like to try for CI and s69 as the alternative when finally going through the county courts. Have any others requested s69 before a county court claim was lodged and succeeded in obtaining it?

Hi Sea-sidelady, thx for your reply. Yes, indeed I have won ! I've been wondering how on earth I can continue seeing as I now understand I could not have requested s69 from the start. I've been trying to find out if I can change in midstream & request CI instead. It had galled me that they took the cash for their own profit while I had lost out on any potential earnings that money could have generated hence charging s69. But apparently I couldn't/shouldn't have. I imagine legally I may be at a disadvantage as Halifax have offered full settlement as per my initial request. And I guess £60 in interest is small potatoes. I'd like to think it isn't greed urging me on. It's the principle, I tell ya!

Hmm, yes, so I understand now which is why, after discovering the CI threads, I had been hoping to change over to requesting contractual interest mid stream(see my Barclays & Barclaycard threads). Previously my argument to the banks had been that since they had charged me interest on the penalty charges, and since they had unlawfully deprived me of my money, I was going to charge statutory interest. Almost all the banks that have replied to me so far have stated that I can only claim the statutory interest via the courts. I have replied I'm prepared to do so etc. I've reading up on the ideas of charging CI instead. It's a pity I didn't find this site sooner. Other sites seem to advise charging s69 straight off if one is going to charge interest - which is the route I took. Meanwhile I rang up Amex after being unable to find a T&C doccie on-line explaining interest rates. My regular % rate is 9.9 and cash advances is 25.9%. The person I spoke with seemed confused by my question as regards unauthorised borrowing interest rates. She simply explained Amex's new charging system sine 2006. Meh, I'll try again later.

Thx for the quick reply! Ohoh. Can I send a new set stating I now wish to pursue contractual interest? Or has my contractual boat sailed? :-| I mustn't be greedy thou'...