Nationwide were very on the ball - all statements received in a binded folder with copies of letters / interventions etc!! Quite disappointed as we had a number of charges refunded when we were closing the account, apparently!! but still £89.50 which we were going to leave but then decided WHY so Prelim sent 30/8!!!!

Well as I did the initial letters for the in-laws I presumed they would keep on top of the timescales and come back but it was only when I got some good news from HSBC myself I decided to ask them what had happened .. My sister-in-law got the standard 'Microfiche' letter so I am now going to send Alans letter to them chasing the remainder of the statements so watch out Abbey .. the McC's are coming!!!!! The mother-in-law is a different story!!!!!!!!

Wow! When I recommended the in-laws to have a go at reclaiming their money I did not realise what a nightmare Abbey are - after reading some of the horror stories on here. Anyway first of all we sent off the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request), cheque was cashed on 3/7 BUT!!! me being me put the incorrect address on top of the letter so Abbey replied advising that the address needed to be verified as it did not match their records but in the meantime they were dealing with her request and thanking her for the £10 fee (nothing mentioned about microfiche). Reply was sent apologising providing proof that the address they had was correct blah blah blah and that we expected statements still to be received within the original time scale BUT surprise surprise they did not arrive ... any of them so the follow up was sent on Thursday 24/8 giving them the 7 days to respond BUT still nothing SO... She has now managed to dig out a few, and I use a few lightly, statements but even these add up to about £700.00. Should we a) use the N1 form and go about with the estimated charge and non-compliance of the DPA or b) issue prelim letter requesting money but using a higher estimate to get them thinking (alternative argument?) I personally presume a) as we have threatened court by sending the follow up DPA letter so as not to go back on our word. I could go mad at myself and not reviewing the Abbey site before sending off the second letter but eh .. what a nightmare Abbey are, at least I do not bank with them!! and then there is the sister-in-law!!!!! How fab is this site....

Got a response to the LBA today, usual sorry but no... The next step is MCOL but I believe from reading other threads I should wait 14 days from when they received the LBA, even though it obviously only took a couple of days to send the standard reject letter!!!! I did not actually give them the full 14 days in between my inital approach and LBA so should I in effect given them 28 days from my first letter to filing the MCOL - if that makes sense!!

Well got the standard letter advising charges stand blah blah blah so going to send my LBA off on Monday - for BOTH accounts!!!

A & L do seem to be a nightmare and I agree Marion, the internet banking is hopeless. We got a letter today to say they had bounced a cheque. I had checked the internet banking and it showed £20.00 available even when the cheque had been taken out but then even though additional money was deposited the next day they bounced it! When I spoke to somebody today they said the DD's / SO's are processed overnight so they take the balance at the close of the previous working day. I am at the LBA stage as received the standard letter but can not wait to get away from them. Have to say the only positive is you can deposit / withdraw money at the PO because our nearest branch is miles away but still, can not wait to clear my o/d and get out!!! Will monitor your progress. Good Luck!

Thanks Michael ... AGAIN!!!!

After receiving the joint account statements today there are 2 months where we have been charged £25.00 and this is showing Monthly Unauth O/D fee. After reading through the interest and charges details it shows A&L will charge £5.00 for auth OD and then £25 for unauth OD. I understand that £5.00 can not be claimed but how about £25 as surely this is a penalty charge??

Thanks very much for all your help. All done, MCOL filed. Sent my PM to a mod so fingers crossed it all goes swimmingly. Watch this space!!!!!!! ............. You should get a donation Michael too. Thanks again.

Thanks Michael (plus the info on MCOL). Last silly question. I presume the final part on MCOL - amount claimed is the full amount - charges (+8%) + interest (+8%). In my case the £1,116 etc etc.

I am just at this stage now and just want to confirm the amounts I am entering are correct. I am claiming £664.50 charges - +8% spreadsheet shows total of £879.69 then £195.26 interest charges - +8% interest shows total of £236.58. Total claim with 8% £1,116.27. Do I enter the interest charges first then the total charges?? Sorry for being a thicko. Have read through a few threads but still getting in a tizzy!!!

Got a letter today as follows ' HSBC's interest rates are well publicised in respect of both authorised and unauthorised overdrafts. You have asked us to refund overdraft interest on your account. It is, of course, a condition of your borrowing from us that you will pay interest at the agreed rates on that borrowing. As such we will not be refunding the interest that has been applied to your debt'. Has anybody else had the same problem? Any advice gratefully received. Will def go ahead and file on MCOL but worried about losing what they have offered.....

Finally got my statements yesterday and have sat and gone through them this evening and have to say a bit disappointed!! Total claiming £392.11 (£365.50 charges / £26.61 interest). Letter 1 will go off tomorrow! and then still waiting for all the joint account statements to come through which I know should be a bit more exciting!! HSBC - £859.76 - Offer of £664.50 28/7/6 A&L CURRENT - £392.11. Letter sent 7/8/6 A&L JOINT - DATA REQUESTED 7/7/6 NATIONWIDE - DATA REQUESTED

Well after numerous attempts of speaking to different people I never managed to speak to Mr Langdale. The number on the HSBC website takes you through to Scotland and surprisingly nobody (well about 5 people, when I eventually gave up) could put me in touch with the Quality Team. The only way of getting in touch was by sending in a letter or them sending an e-mail on my behalf and I would receive a call in 5 working days - still waiting! Apparently even the staff from HSBC are unable to get hold of Leeds, they also have to write as they have no contact numbers - ??????!!!!!!!! (yes, rubbish I know) So Mr Langdale should now be in possession of my final letter advising that if I do not receive a full refund by the end of business on Tuesday I will go ahead with court proceedings so I wait with bated breath......

Apologies my misunderstanding. I have used the spreadsheet for mine so this has calculated automatically. Apologies williamb and robokop.

I am going to call Col! tomorrow and try and get this sorted. I am wee bit scared of them bombarding me with bank jargon and published charges etc... For all you experts out there can you just confirm that basically the interest charges I am trying to reclaim (as all entered on the spreadsheet) is purely related to the excessive charges and had they not charged these to me I would not have had to pay this interest etc etc. With them admitting liability (know they will deny) to the charges how can they deny refunding me the interest??? Am I right!????

To be honest not sure where you stand if you have not already asked for yor interest back. I would just send a letter asking for the additional £59.00 (mine was an additional £64 and they have now said they will refund this so keep going!). The additional interest is an additional 8% on top of the charges you have claimed so in your case an additional £43.00 - would say you can not then add the interest charges on to your claim when you get to the MCOL stage but may be wrong - any other opinions???

Hi there, this is the one I used ... 'Thank-you for your letter dated 11th July and I acknowledge your offer of £600.00. I accept this amount as a partial settlement only, and as per the attached breakdown will be pursuing the remainder of £259.76 as stipulated by my original timetable. 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 a claim under ss.7 and 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998 plus my costs and without further notice.' To be honest I made a mess of my interest charges so when I sent my first LBA I requested more interest than I should. I was advised to amend the interest when I done my follow up letter but as this was less was a bonus for HSBC!!! A lot of people have not bothered with the interest as you have to work with the spreadsheet and is based on account balance / charges incurred etc. The spreadsheet is great though and does work it all out for you. HSBC have replied to me but completely ignored my request for my interest charges, on both letters, anyway. Personally I would probably just stick to your initial request for the refund of your charges. Bear in mind once you get to MCOL stage you can add the additional 8%!!!

Thanks for the advice Michael - will do just that!! Fingers crossed.

Hi, I had exactly the same thing. My actual request was for £664 + £195 interest. They offered me £600.00 so I sent the next letter accepting partial settlement. 14 days on I have now received an offer for the £664.00 so keep going - they have used their full 14 days though with me so hang on in. I would address your letters to whoever you have received your first offer from and then yes use the Leeds address on the MCOL - if it gets this far! Good Luck.

Received a letter today from Mr Langdale offering me my full £664.50 charges BUT there is no mention of the interest I am claiming - what should I do? I am now at the MCOL stage so do I go ahead and do this which incidentally would mean my total claim would go from approx. 859 to 1114 with the 8% interest or should I just accept the £664 charges and forget about the interest charges???

I have just done my letter to send off to Nationwide re a joint account my husband and I held about 4 years ago. I know we had charges as that was the reason for us closing it! So my SAR will be going tomorrow requesting the account details, sure they will stall and ask for further details even though I feel I have put everything on apart from our inside leg measurements! Have already sent off to HSBC and A&L but no settlements made as yet - fingers crossed tho!!!

Would you happen to have a copy of a letter I can send, HSBC have offered me £600 but claiming £860.00 so want to do the same but can not find a template letter. Maybe blind!!!!! Many thanks.

After reviewing my interest charges it amounted tp £195.00 so not too far off - total claiming £859.76 but due to my printer being kaput I could not print off my LBA. ANYWAY!! I have today received a letter offering me £600.00, seems the usual standard letter blah blah "if your claim for a refund proceeded to Court, we believe we would successfully resist any legal challenge in relation to these fees. However we are mindful of the time and irrecoverable legal costs that it may incur and HSBC is prepared to make a payment to you representing the charges applied in full and final settlement of this matter. If you are not satisfied with the bank's response you have the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service" To be completely honest I am not too sure the best step to take next as there are letters mentioned for part settlement and then I have just read a post re banks maybe starting to go as far as court now!! HELP!!!! HSBC - £859.76 - Offer of £600 12/7/6 A&L CURRENT - DATA REQUESTED 27/6/6 A&L JOINT - DATA REQUESTED 7/7/6 I

Yes I do so these interest charges are bloomin wrong. Just found the spreadsheet and going to go through it now and see what the interest charges are on my penalties. Buggar!! Would you start again, my initial letter was not addressed to anybody specific or should I simply send my LBA with an amended amount!! Thought I was on the ball, read through all the stuff for days before I prepared everything too. Appreciate your help.