I didn't want to go to court, because I thought it would be too much aggro. But now I'm motivated! I sent off my LBA a couple of months ago. I've been waiting for the FO to come back to me. I probably wont be able to do much for a few days, but how do I start the process after the LBA? There must be a "simple" guide in this forum somewhere? Thanks for your support. Pete

There were two car loans. I paid nearly £300 in charges for missed/late payments. Pete

Hi Steven, I didn't make myself very clear. Sorry about that. Why did GE Money suggest that I go down the Financial Ombudsman route with my complaint (obviously they didn't want me to go to court), when they probably knew that my case would not be considered by the FO....because of the timescale. Thanks for your reply. Pete

The Financial Ombudsman has informed me that they only began to deal with my type of complaint (car loans) on 6th April 2007. As my last charges were dated April 2006, they cannot help me...disappointing! In an earlier posting I asked if anyone knew why GE Money seemed so keen for me to refer my complaint to the FO. Now I think I know why! Hope you find this info useful. Also, the FO advised that the Financial & Leasing Association, Imperial House, London, may be able to assist with my complaint. Anybody heard of them...or have an idea if they might be able to help? Pete

Hi Slick, Yes, I should have posted to the Barclays main forum, as I want to reclaim bank charges! Thanks. Pete

I've been waiting for the new banking code to come onto force ,tomorrow, 1.3.08, before I start to reclaim my charges from Barclays. I was led to believe that Barclays would be less likely to close the accounts of customers who complain after 1/3/08. However, I've just read through the document and I can't see any reference to banks volunteering not to take retaliatory action (or even to words that suggest this). I may have missed something (there are 60 pages)! Can anybody advise please. Pete

Well done Alphageek! I've been following your exploits ever since you gave me some advice in the recent past! I've had a standard letter back from GE today in response to my LBA. It basically says now that we've reached deadlock, I may wish to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman. They said this last time! It seems an attractive option in terms of trying to keep things simple, less expensive and less time consuming (from what I know about the process), especially when I see what you've had to do over a long period. However, I can't help feeling that GE want me to go to the Financial Ombudsman. I know that GE always give up when they get taken to court. Do you have any idea how successful claimants are when using the Financial Ombudsman? Any advice would be very welcome. Regards. Pete

Thanks for the reply. I have the LBA ready to send! One page of the Hire Agreement did include a list of the additional charges that you agree to pay in the event of a parking fine, for example. It does show the £47 charge. Although it clearly shows £47, that doesn't make it ok! As with the banks (who also itemise their charges) the charges shouldn't be punitive, and should reflect the cost of the admin. They did send me a letter, which outlined what they have to do to pass on my details to the council. I did ask them for their costs to do the admin, but they didn't supply them. Shall I send the LBA? If I keep them busy, they really will have £47 admin costs!!! Regards. Pete

I parked a hire car in a restricted street. The parking ticket was taken off the screen by a 3rd party. Because I didn't see the ticket (and didn't respond to it), the car hire company was asked for driver's details. They charged me £47 for their admin (put it on my credit card before even telling me!). I've asked for the £47 back, and also asked for their full costs incurred.....they refused. I now have an LBA in a stamped envelope ready for posting. Just read through some threads on this forum. Before I post it, I'd really appreciate any advice/comments. I know it's not much in the scheme of things, but I really didn't like them taking my money without asking first!! Pete

Oops! I forgot to mention one thing. When GE Money replied, and said no, they suggested that I should contact the FO if I wanted to. They obviously wouldn't suggest that for my benefit, I think. Any thoughts? Regards. Pete

Thanks very much for your help. I'll send them an LBA. I'm sure I'll be asking you for advice again! I'm trying to learn the ropes with GE Money, so that I have a better idea before I tackle Barclays! Regards. Pete

I've asked for my charges back and GE Money refused. Alphageek kindly advised me that I should now probably write an LBA letter. I've looked at the LBA template. My letter wasn't headed LBA and I didn't ask for a copy of my Terms and Conditions. However, my last sentence did state that I would begin a claim if GE didn't pay the full amount. Should I now write a "proper" LBA letter? Also, I've read about making a claim through the Financial Ombudsman, instead of through the courts. Apart from taking longer, is there any real disadvantage of making a claim through the Ombudsman? Aren't claims all being put "on hold" anyway, pending the results of the test case?

Thanks for such a quick reply! I'm new to all this. I've found the N1 template, is that my next step? I've also looked at all your postings.. How do I look at the thread you mentioned? You mean the similar threads below? Regards. Pete

I've asked for my default fees back (£250). Of course, they refused to return them on the usual grounds of me agreeing to their Terms and Conditions etc. But they also said the following: "The Office of Fair Trading's recent publication of it's findings into default fee charges only applied to banks and credit cards and did not apply to auto finanace. Our view remains that we are entitled to charge these fees". Did the OFT really exempt auto finance? Does anyone know exactly what the ruling was? Logically, if GE Money can charge me £30 (the same as a bank), then why are they so different from the banks? I'd be very grateful for any advice. Regards. Pete