This topic was closed on 10 March 2019. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

This topic was closed on 10 March 2019. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

This topic was closed on 10 March 2019. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

This topic was closed on 09 March 2019. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

Ebuyer's prices are indeed cheap - I have trade accounts with many IT firms and you can not get cheaper prices unless you go to dabs who have a lot better service in my opinion. Let us not forget that cheap prices should not mean bad customer service and that all normal rights should apply. Take the laptop bag for instance. In my RMA request I stated: 'Dear sirs, please send me a replacement for this bag. I do not agree with your restocking order as this item's carrying strap has broken and under my statutory rights I should be eligible for a replacement or refund due to the fault being present at the time of manufacture.' Ebuyer replied after 2 days with, 'Your RMA request has been declined - please check your RMA notes for more details' I logged in to the account and there were not any further details at all. This is the sort of run around they play with their customers to put them off. I am now going to contact Targus, the bag's manufacturer, and see if they will replace.

re the Router. Do you not think it unreasonable for them to send it back and say there is nothing wrong with it? (i have borrowed one that works and makes my router work and tested both power supplies with a voltage meter) and then expect me to send it back with the router with the possibility of the same thing happening? Would you consider it right to have to send a computer back with its monitor if only the monitor was faulty? This is their stance. The laptop bag was definitely a manufacturing fault. I would expect it to last more than 8 months. Their re-stocking fee is a cover all policy for any return over a certain time limit (but still under 12 months)

More Ebuyer problems. First, I bought a router from them about 8 months ago. the power supply stopped working. I sent it back to them using their returns service (I paid fopr postage). They sent me an enote saying they could find no fault. They then sent me the item back saying they do not supply spares and can only replace the router AND the power supply together. This is unacceptable as the PS is definitely faulty and I do not want to be without my router as it means no internet and no way of contacting eBuyer should things go wrong! It has got to the point where I have told them I would take them to court so will issue a claim soon. my latest problem with them. A laptop bag I bought has a faulty strap - they want to charge me a 35% re-stocking fee to replace this - is that legal?? it is under 12 months old (8 months to be exact) can anyone help??

I have used confused.com before which is a web bot that retrieves multiple online insurance quotes by entering one set of details. I used them to buy car insurance. Having moved in January 2006 I used confused.com again in October 2006 to get insurance with Budget Insurance for my wife, the main driver, and myself. We were stopped by police in December because a nearside brake light bulb had blown and they informed us we had no insurance - we were surprised by this as the money had gone out of my account. The following day I rang Budget and it transpired thay had our address wrong which I thought might have confused the police. Throughout the day it gradually transpired that they had on file half of our new address and half of our old address (so totally ficticious as we are in another county now!) and that not only had they recently cancelled our insurance but had charged me around £90.00 for the privelage. They had sent four letters to the ficticious address before cancelling the insurance but had used standard post and had not bothered to try and telephone or email me (bearing in mind that this was an internet transaction) They even suggested that email and telephone were not secure methods of communication! They also admitted that the four letters, which amounted to about £80.00 of the cancellation charge, were automated letters. I decided to write a letter asking for the money back and pointing out that the address was not valid and that they seemed more keen to cancel our policy than to contact us to see why we had not responded to their letters. I quoted the relevant laws that we use for our bank claims in relation to charges being proportional to their actual cost. I also mentioned that I would give them 14 days to reply and that if they did not they would receive a letter before action giving them 14 days before I made a claim against them. Before I sent the letter I rang to check the exact amounts they had charged and was told that I had actually been charged too much (around £40.00) due to an error. I received a letter recently and it was clear they had not read my letter properly as I had mentioned the error with the charges yet they still decided to say they were refunding me £40 as a gesture...I have now sent a letter before action, thanking them for the downpayment of £40 and asking them to pay me the rest within 14 days. I beleive the address error has happened somewhere in the backend of either confused.com's website or budgets website as I definitely entered the correct address - why would I enter a non-existent one???? Will post when I receive a reply.

Hi, First direct paid in full but just before they settled 2 more charges let slip - about £60. Now they want to close the account and for me to pay off the overdraft. I had already sent a standard letter asking for the charge to be reversed before they sent me the closing letter. I did plan to close th account anyway but was waiting for the charges to be refunded. I never signed any agreement and stated that I would pursue them for fees in the future even if they paid up. Do I: a. pay the overdraft off to £0.00 plud the small amount of interest for this month (£7.00 odd) and send them a letter stating I will not pay the overdraft fees they are trying to charge me and reminding them of the letter I have already sent regarding OFT etc. b. pay the overdraft off to £0.00 plud the small amount of interest for this month (£7.00 odd) and also the amount in overdraft fees and then try to reclaim the fees as per usual? Okto

Hi All - have a few claims in progress with First Direct but it relates to this as its a subsidary. Sent this letter to them after reading this thread: Previously you have informed me that you do not hold any records regarding my account statements further back than six years. Please tell me when and by which method my statements were destroyed. Please also send me the evidence of this. Please also confirm if you have any of my transactional records dating from the opening of my account on 31st August 1994 to June 2000. You can contact your records retrieval department for this and ask them to check their microfiche records. I will give you 40 days to comply with this request and would like to collect the records from my local branch in Rye East Sussex. received this today: Thank for your letter dated 18 August 2006 requesting information about your accounts' transactions and statements. Transactional data are stored as copy statements on first directs systems for a six year period, after which time the data are subject to a secure, automated destruction programme. Under the Data Protection Act you are only entitled to be provided with copy statements that fall within the scope of the Data Protection Act. I believe these were provided to you in June this year, however should you require further copies please let me know. I trust I have clarified the bank's position. However, should you remain dissatisfied, you may write to Robert Kernaghan, Customer Relations Manager, in line with our complaints procedure. If we do not hear from you within the next eight weeks, we will consider this matter resolved. Complaints we cannot resolve can, ultimately, be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service' further details of which can be found in the enclosed 'Listening to your comments' leaflet. Yours sincerely Linda Young Manager, Data Security This seems very evasive and does not mention anything about evidence of the destruction and neatly avoids mentioning microfiches. will keep you posted

The pint is this: the first time round they just asked me to return the power supply and said they would replace it - then, after sending it, they asked for the case as well - AND said that it would need repairing - not replacing as they originally said. We all know computers are modular and if they had good customer service they would just send me one of their power supplies out. To top it, when I bought a replacement power supply from them THAT went wrong as well and I had to return this for a replacement. They take ages to reply to you and then go round in circles.

Very interesting reading - I will have to get back to my wifes claim and see if we can dig up more records.

Dear Sirs, I would like to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act. I would like you to provide me with the following information in regard to your investigations into unfair credit card charges and unfair bank charges. 1. When did your investigation into unfair credit card charges start. 2. Can you provide me with a list of credit card companies contacted during the investigation and dates that they were a. contacted regarding the investigation and b. contacted with the information stating that their charges were unfair. 3 & 4. The same as 1 & 2 but in relation to bank charges. 5. What prompted these investigations into credit card charges and bank charges 6. Copies of the credit card companies and banks replies to your assertion that their charges were unfair. 7. Copies of any evidence the credit card companies or banks provided in regards to their actual costs in the charges that they levy e.g. a breakdown of the actual cost to a bank of someone going overdrawn by 10 pence and being charged £38.00 as a result.

anyone else?

Hi Spiceskull - I am trying a similar thing here regarding 6 years plus estimated charges but have been shouted down by a few in the forum for trying. Can I contact you regarding your case?

We dont expect to have to keep the matter confidential.

We have received a defence with a notice of transfer od proceedings and also an allocation questionnaire. The defence states: 1. The Claimant's account is governed by the Defendant's personal conditions. 2. Pursuant to the Defendant’s terms and conditions the Defendant is entitled to make a charge for its services as set out in the Defendant's price list. 3. It is denied that the fees charged for the services provided amount to a penalty or liquidated damages clause. The fees are an agreed price for a service provided by the Claimant. They HAVE actually offered us a full refund but we declined it on the basis that they required our confidentiality and suggested that they come to an arrangement regarding the fees they charged us prior to the 6 year limitation in respect of our confidentiality. Firstly: should we complete this form and if so what would be the best way to counter their defence. Secondly: Their offer stated wiythout prejudice at the top of it. I believe this means I can not refer to it in this questionnaire - does it mean they are not allowed to say that they have offered us a refund as well? Thirdly, should we just accept the refund. All help appreciated

Yes - you have nothing to lose. If you had had suspicions that things were illegal you would have kept all your old statements.

Could you have a look in my thread in the general section of thebank action group regarding statements? Again - I only want to charge what we are entitled to. I don't think I will be going down the stress route.....

I am merely trying to find out the state of play in regards to what we can and can not claim. For instance - I believe I SHOULD legally be entitled to the 8% but as it is, in this case, just on the small amount of £205, I have decided to accept the order and be happy with it. You will see I have posted regarding my wifes problems - I think a payment for stress etc should be paid as it led to her losing her house. We are now in a position where unfortunately the housing market has exploded so rapidly that we will never own a property unless we are extremely lucky. However, I am hardly likely to claim such an amount if it is unlikely we would receive it. I believe banks and large financial organisations, although they are providing a service to make themselves money like any business, prey on the weak and ignorant - neither of which we are - so should be made to pay for the damage they cause. We are not trying to claim anything we do not deserve and think this a great site which we will donate to upon receipt of our monies. I would ask you please be a little gentler with newbies trying to find their way in the maze!

Me and my wife are claiming from First Direct - My claim has been settled for £205 My wifes charges from 2000 - 2006 are £1024 but previous to that (she had the account from '94 onwards) she would have had consideably higher charges. The bank informed us both that they only keep records for 6 years. 1. Setting aside the possibilities of claims over 6 years being successful - do you think it would be fair to extrapolate the charges back at a steady rate - that is - if the charges were around £1000 for 2000 - 2006 they would have been around £1000 for 1994 - 2000. 2. Is it possible under the DPA to request details of where and how the statements are held and the date at which old statements were destroyed. 3. Could the banks be telling us they keep them for 6 years but really be keeping them somewhere?

Received my wife's statements today and going back to April 2000 there is a total of £1024 charges. The worst of it is, the 2 years before this there would have been masses more as she had to sell her property due to debt problems caused by credit card companies, First Direct and others. Is there any way we can force them to get earlier statements - they claim they only keep records for 6 years but they have supplied us with account notes going back to 1994. I would like to add a charge for interest and all the stress it caused her in the past - can I justifiably do that before court action?

I see - well it seems from the faq and most of the other posts on this forum that you are unlikely to be able to claim back further than 6 years and you are saying 10. However, if the amount is under 5000 and within the realms of the small claim court then I guess they may still want to pay that just to stay out of court. My wife is a little upset about the 6 year rule as she had a house repossessed, not by First Direct, but one of the main contributing factors was literally thousands of pounds worth of charges levied by First Direct.This all happened shortly before we met and before 2000. I think her claimm now is going to total to around £800.00 but wonder if its worth trying the 10 years - thing is, they wont give statements for over 6 years as they state they do not hold the records.

hey guys - I just wanted to know if there was any way to extract any more from our friends - I guess from your reponses I can see that the answer is no. I suppose I expected more of a fight. Roll on the wife's claim!!

I'm greedy like First Direct!