Yep - got a letter this morning from the Halifax basically saying that they wanted to defend, but due to the costs involved, they won't be taking it further and will settle in full (including interest and the court fee). They did still say that 'without liability', and that its up to me to handle my account in a responsible manner! Now I have to write to the court apparently to say its been settled! RESULT! Shame less can be said of England this afternoon....

Cheers guys, I'll donate now! Keep to your timescales people, its worth it! Seems they are happy to pay up once it gets to the court stage! PS. - cheers for changing the title of my thread to 'settled'!

Cheers guys, I've checked and there are 2 payments, working it out I reckon that you are right - one for the amount, then another payment for interest and court fee! Brillant! Wonder when I'll actually hear from the bank or their solicitors? Does anyone know if I need to do anything on Moneyclaim, as mine still states that the claim has been acknowledged, nothing about winning? Thanks again, I shall definatly recommend this site to others! I'll also try and attempt to advise people who have questions, now that I have been through the process myself!

Hello all, I am bursting with excitement as I think I've won!!!! Just loggeed on to my internet banking and low and behold - nearly £1000 is sitting in my account! Amazing! Obviously I am assuming I have won, as I've heard nothing from the Halifax since submitting my claim, despite getting the Court Acknowledgement letter saying that they intend to defend! Does anyone know when I am likely to hear from the Halifax or their Solicitors then? I am no longer in my overdraft for the first time ever, and it feels good! Won't last though, as this is going straight back on my credit card. Still, I am so pleased! Thank you all for your support and helpful advice! I shall fill in the survey when I next get a moment! UP YOURS HALIFAX! WHOOOOOOOO! PS. I couldn't figure out how to change the title of this thread to: I'VE WON so apologies if it isn't clear!

Cheers guys, guess its just a waiting game now! Lets hope I win!

I got the letter from the court today stating that Halifax intend to defend their case. Arghhh! I'm getting scared now! If I don't receive a letter from their solicitors with a settlement amount (eg. I win), does this mean I will actually have to go to court? I don't feel confident to stand up and state all the legal stuff, I don't understand it well enough!

Right guys, just to keep you all updated - my money claim online has now been acknowledged, and apparently the bank have 28 days to reply. Is this the usual progress for nearly a week after filing a claim?

So sorry if I caused an argument : ( I am very grateful for any advice and you have all been very helpfull!

OK cheers everyone! The covering letter has been printed and the list of charges is in the envelope ready to send to the court. Now I guess we just have to wait.......... I hope they don't want to defend, I don't feel confident enough to go to court or anything!

Sorry I didn't mean my thread to cause a heated debate, lol! As everyone seems to be agreeing about sending the list of charges, what does everyone think of this covering letter to the court? I'll send it with the charges. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Re: CLAIM REF: 6******** Dear Sir/Madam, I recently submitted a claim on the Money Claim Online website, claim reference number: 6********. The claim is regarding unfair bank charges which I would like to be refunded. I enclose 2 copies of the list of bank charges. Should the defendant choose to defend, and requires a breakdown of the charges, then you will be able to provide them. I also enclose a copy of my online claim for your reference. I look forward to hearing from you soon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sound ok?

It seems everyone has gone about it a bit differently, but I'll just send the list to the court in case they ask for them anyway, that way its done and hopefully it will all be fine!

OK great, I shall pop 2 copies of my spreadsheet in the post to the Northhampton address! Thanks again everyone!

Many thanks, that was really helpfull! Much appreciated! I've had a chance to navigate around the court services site now, and have viewed and printed my claim off the pdf doc. I didn't originally send a list of the charges when I wrote to my bank, I just sent the letter. So I will only send them into the court if they ask, or should I do it anyway? Cheers again, this is all very nerve racking!

*Bump*

Thanks guys, I've just submitted my Money Claim Online forms and paid the court fee, so fingers crossed I'll get a good outcome! Will keep you all posted! One more question though: Ok, but how do I know the address of the court to send the list of charges to? All I got at the end of the Moneyclaim form was a reference number!

Thanks again guys. I did manage to fit the particulars of claim within the limits, but the paragraphs were not separated as shown above. When you say 'prune the details', do you mean its too 'wordy', I mean I admit, all the stuff about Acts and Paragraph numbers baffles me, but I get the gist of what I am trying to say. Hmmm, guess I'm just very nervous about pressing SUBMIT until I'm positive all the details are correct! :o Can someone please confirm that my 'particulars of claim' are ok and I am ready to submit the money claim form!!! Put me out of my misery please! Many thanks!

He's also been signing my unpaid direct dedit letters for about 3 years now, the Dereham branch in Norfolk!

Many thanks for your help with the interest - I've done the calculation and have worked out the daily rate! As the 14 days are now up, and I've heard nothing from the Halifax since my Letter Before Action, I would like to go ahead with the moneyclaim form. Before I hit submit, please can I have anyone's opinions or advice on my 'particulars of claim' which are detailed in my previous post above! Any comments and suggestions are welcome, many thanks in advance!

Thanks for the advice, I won't get time to go to the court in person unfortunately! So I guess I'll have to stick to the Moneyclaim route! I'm think I'm going to list Halifax's address on the Moneyclaim forms as the Leeds Customer Relations address, as per my LBA. I am having trouble wording my 'particulars of claim' on the form, would anyone mind reading the following and giving me any tips or advice? I used the suggested template but found it hard to understand, and to fit the text into the allowed amount of space! Thanks in advance! Particulars of claim: I have held an account with the defendant bank dated 2000,and conducted on their standard terms and conditions. I am claiming return of money taken by the defendant in way of charges over the last 6 years and interest they have levied on the charges. The bank's charges are disproportionate penalty, therefore unenforceable as they are contrary to common law. Further, as a disproportionate penalty they are invalid under the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977 s.4 and under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Para.8 and sch.2(1)(e). In the event that the charges are not a penalty then they are unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15. I have repeatedly asked the bank to justify charges but have declined to do so. The claimant claims interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year from 1.1.2003 to 17.04.2006 of £112.43 and also interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of 0.31. I am unsure as to how the daily figure of interest (0.31) has been calculated? I did the interest up to the last charge which was £112.43, but how do I know the daily rate since then is 0.31? Does the rest sound ok? Thanks in advance!

Hi folks, another quick question! I am preparing my moneyclaim forms ready for the next step providing Halifax don't offer me a full refund before the 14 days is up! I was just wondering, what official address do I use for Halifax - do I use the address of where my prelim letter got sent to (Local branch), or do I use the address I sent the LBA too (The Leeds Customer Relations address). Also, I didn't do a DPA as I have kept all my statements and letters so sorted out how much I was owed myself. If I do have to go the moneyclaim court route, will I need to submit all the 'evidence' in the form of statements? I am confused as to how you demonstrate the amount owed, I mean, you could have just made up a figure! Any advice would be great, cheers!

Yeah its pretty much the same apart from the opening paragraph which I added to say I had already had an acknowledgement from my local branch! Thank god for templates though, I would never have known where to start otherwise! Thanks for all the advice! My LBA has now been posted, will keep you up to date with any news!

Hello again! Right, I've drafted my LBA and its ready to go, I just wanted people's opinions on my letter before I actually send it: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Halifax Plc Customer Relations PO BOX 548 Leeds LS1 1WU May 29, 2006 Request for repayment of charges LETTER BEFORE ACTION Dear Sir/Madam, ACCOUNT NUMBER: ********* I recently wrote to my local branch (copy enclosed dated May 15th, 2006) to request a refund for all the unreasonable charges you have levied on my account. I received a standard reply (copy enclosed dated May 23rd 2006) informing me that my complaint has been forwarded to the Customer Relations department to deal with. I was expecting to resolve this matter with the local branch, but I am seemingly forced to take matters further and write to you in order to proceed swiftly with my request. 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. 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 calculate that you have taken £**** in the last 3 years. I require repayment in full of this money. If you do not comply fully within 14 days then I shall begin a claim against you for the full amount, plus interest, plus my costs and without further notice. Furthermore, I shall submit a Consumer Credit Act 1974 complaint to the OFT upon the basis that you have failed to comply with the OFT's direction of 5 April 2006 and are therefore not a 'fit and proper person' to hold a consumer credit licence under the 1974 Act. If you do not understand what this means then seek advice from your legal department. Yours faithfully ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Is there anything I need to change before popping it in the post tomorrow? Bear in mind my Prelim letter went to my local branch, and the reply said it had been refered to Customer Relations. As it stands I was going to send this direct to Customer Relations, but should I also send a copy to my local branch? Your help would be appreciated, many thanks in advance!

I thought it would be a good idea to open another account in case they close mine! I'll do it next week! While we are on the subject then, which bank can someone recommend me other than the Halifax? They are seemingly all as bad as each other, lol!

Thats what I thought, thanks again for the advice. I won't demand the interest back yet, but I will state that if my claim was not concluded and went to court THEY WOULD have to pay me the interest! I still can't decide whether to bother opening another current account or not! I guess I'm just scared in case they shut mine as I've compained! Has anyone actually had their account closed due to moaning about these charges? Cheers guys, I'll let you know how I get on!

Thank you both for your speedy replies! I have clicked on the scales! I shall send the LBA to the Leeds Customer Relations address on Monday! I wasn't keen on calling the manager for a chat as I'm not especially confident when talking and prefer to correspond through letters! My only other question is, when I send the LBA, do I include how much interest is owed due to the charges? My first prelimenary letter did not include the interest, just the amount in charges, as this is what I was advised from reading the forums. Also, does anyone advise opening another current account with a rival bank incase the Halifax does choose to close my account? It's my only one so I would be in a muddle if they did that! Cheers!