Hi Onamission, Congratulations on your win! I had just written back to Abbey re their goodwill gesture saying I would accept as a part payment but was still pursuing the balance via the FOS when the announcement was made about the test case. I had told Abbey in the letter that I was still willing to negotiate until the FOS took over my case. I had the form filled in and was copying letters etc when the announcement was made. I havent heard back from Abbey and I guess I cant pass it to the FOS now but will continue to pursue my claim once the situation is clearer. Take care and once again, well done! June

Just a quick update! I went online today to check my Abbey balance and they have refunded 13 x £30 charges and 5 x £35 charges totalling £565 of the goodwill gesture they wrote to me about on 13th July. I am going to pursue the balance of the charges via the FO. I've updated my spreadsheet to include further charges incurred in June and will deduct their goodwill gesture from the total. I'll keep you informed of any further progress. Good luck all. June

Hi Onamission Thanks for your reply. I looked at the FO site and found the form and it looks quite simple to fill in. I've decided to try this route first as having followed a lot of threads on here I'm not sure I am up to the court battle as I have been off work with stress reaction for the past few months. I'll being following your thread with interest- good luck! Hi Buoy11 It sounds as though the FO really got Abbey into gear in your case! Did you get a refund of just your charges or was the interest included too? I just wondered if it was a case of if you don't ask, you don't get or whether the FO disregard the interest. Take care both! June

Hi Onamission, I've been trying to decide which way to go too. It sounds like the Financial Ombudsman route is much easier than the court and does not involve any fees. What did you send to the FO? Was it a letter with a summary of charges attached or did you send anything else? Did the Financial Ombudsman give any indication of how long Abbey have to reply to them? Good luck and I'll be watching this space! June

Hi Lula Many thanks for your speedy reply - you are much quicker than Abbey I used a spreadsheet from another site for my original figures but I note that there is a better one on this site so I am about to transfer the information over to that. I feel as though I am over the first hurdle in that Abbey have actually acknowledged my "complaint" now and their part payment will make life a little easier this month. I have also received a new cheque book after ringing to see if there was a problem. I normally receive a new one before the old one runs out, but not this time! Thanks again and take care June

Firstly, thank you to Reka and Deedee1310 for their warm welcomes to CAG in Reka's thread! I am sure before long I will need help with my claim and know where to come! I have followed the CAG guide to reclaiming bank charges of £3641.50 plus £850.09 interest, totalling £4491.59 (as at 24th May 2007) from Abbey. I have today received a letter dated 13th July 2007 from Susan Anderson (Senior Customer Resolution Manager) saying she is HAPPY (really???) to refund £693, which includes cancellation of charges yet to be debited from my account, as a gesture of goodwill. The account will be updated within the next 10 working days. I incurred additional charges in June which I intend to add to my claim as they fall within the 6 year time frame. Abbey were going to deduct another £80 in July which I assume are the charges they are cancelling. I am going to use one of the template letters on the site to accept the goodwill gesture as a part payment but informing them that I am still going to pursue the balance of my claim. My question now is do I go through the FOS which I know is now an alternative to the court action or will I get a better response from Abbey if I start the court action? I can use £120 of their goodwill gesture for the fees! Any help/advice very welcome to collect the rest of MY money from Abbey! Many thanks June

Hi Sam and thanks for the warm welcome. As soon as I commence the court action I'll start a thread because I know I will need support from the "Lurrrvly members" on this site. My middle son is getting married in September so it would be great if Abbey released the money they have kindly been "saving up" for me by then, as it would make the special day even more special :o) Take care

Congratulations - looks like your son will get his birthday treats soon! I've been following your case on this site and in the Manchester Evening News with great interest as I am with Abbey too. They've had their 4 weeks and wrote saying it would be another 4 weeks but I intend to start court action as soon as I have the £120 available but I am off work with stress at the moment. I've incurred another £400 in charges since I sent my list of charges to them and although I ran out of cheques last week my new cheque book has not yet arrived - I wonder why? I was widowed 10 years ago and left financially very insecure. I went into my Abbey branch at the time and explained that on paper I could manage but in reality I might need some help in the future. They seemed very sympathetic at that time but I have incurred thousands of pounds of charges since then. It's great to see you win Sam - good luck to you and your son.