Letter has been delivered today according to Post Office Track & Trace. We wait

Great thanks for advice Will update as and when

Hi Thanks for your reply. So I guess I need to be sure what type of agreement is it is and the only way to do that is to CCA to get the agreement. Certainly it wasn't a credit card but it was a credit agreement. Does this make a difference? If it comes back and it says that it is a credit agreement regulated under the 1974 Act, does this make a difference? Also, there was PPI taken monthly on the account. How do I go about finding out the legitimacy of the PPI charges please? Thanks again

Hi Back again after digging around my statements. Between the dates of July 2000 and February 2009 I have identified 45 Admin Fees of £15 each plus a returned cheque fee of £20 and the default fee of £50 which was applied to the account when they issued a default notice. I feel I should be able to reclaim all of these plus restitutionary interest but does the default fee fall into the category of a charge that can be reclaimed. Although I haven't got anything concrete or an answer to a previous post yet, I assume that as a default notice was issued under the CCA 1974 this is a credit agreement. Even if it is not, am I right in thinking that I should still be able to reclaim these charges plus the interest mentioned. I am prepared to go all the way with them if need be but need some guidance please. Would I be wise to CCA them to get a copy of the agreement or has anyone heard of the the HFC current account plus product? Finally, CapQuest are currently attempting to collect the balance on this account so if it is necessary to get the copy of the agreement, should I send CapQuest the CCA request or send it directly to HFC? Thanks in advance

Hi dx Thank you for your advice. I have amended the wording and the letter has now gone recorded delivery. And so the games begin! Just noticed some of your other posts....Wow, you do stay up late trying to help people. When I win this there will certainly be a donation made to the site. I'll keep the thread updated as to progress. Thanks again

Hi dx Sorry, misunderstood. You didn't mean the "Shocked" line did you. You said last three lines which is the bit about default in the credit file, the bit about full breakdown and the bit about court action. Just leave it that they have 14 days to comply? have I got this right please. ims

Hi dx Thanks so much for coming back to me. OK, I will remove the "I am shocked" line. Thanks I have calculated the compound interest using an average of their rate per their statements which comes out at 1.89% per month. For example, the earliest charge was for £18 in March 2001. The compound interest calculates out at £180 to date. The second one is for £18 in April 2001 and the CI calculates out at £170. One of the last ones was for £12 in April 2008 and the CI on that one to date is £23. So I have claculated the compound interest for each individual charge and then just added them together. There are 57 charges on the account between March 2001 and April 2008. Started off at £18, then went up to £20 each and then went down to £12 each. So we are talking CI from some of these charges going back 10 years or so. Lowells want about the £2,300 mark which can easily be cleared with the claim I am intending to put in. Having read other threads, it seems that it is Cap 1 who must refund me, not Lowell (despite the sale of the debt). I can then sort out the payment of what I legitimately owe them. It is this "Sold" bit that confuses me. If Cap 1 have sold the debt will it be the new owner (Lowell) who deal with collection or will they somehow get it back to Cap 1? Thanks for your help dx...really appreciate it ims

Hi again While waiting for some advice on my previous post, another thought crossed my mind. Up until now I have ignored the Lowell letters but as the debt has been sold to them, would it be wise for me to CCA Lowell? I ask this because if an enforceable credit agreement cannot be produced then i assume the account should just be closed and no claim for refund of charges etc. by me would be effective. If, however, they have an enforceable agreement, then my claim can be put in. Maybe I'm thinking about this too hard but I'd really like some help with the route to take bearing in mind the debt has been sold to Lowell. Thank you

Hi Preliminary Letter ready to go...here is the text. I propose sending this recorded delivery. Is this wording correct for a preliminary request? Thank you Oh, and do I send my SOC with a preliminary letter? Capital One Bank (Europe) plc Trent House Station Street Nottingham NG2 3HX 4 April 2011 Dear Sirs, CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I consider that the regime of fees which you have been applying to my account in relation to late fees and over limit charges, 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 £895.00 plus £3,919.74 which you have charged me in interest for the sums which you have taken. Total £4,814.74. Additionally, you have entered a default notice against my credit record. This default occurred merely in respect of unlawful charges levied by you, or was the result of impecuniosity caused directly by the taking by you of penalty charges which you had applied unlawfully to my account. In addition to full payment of the sum mentioned above, I require that you remove the default entry from the register. Please note that mere correction or amendment to the entry will not be acceptable. I give you 14 days to comply, or else provide me with a full breakdown of your costs in addressing any breach on my behalf, which demonstrate clearly that your charges are in proportion to your actual costs. Failure to do so will result in me issuing a county court claim for recovery of the charges plus interest and costs. Yours faithfully,

Excellent....thank you dx

Hi I think I'm about ready to send off my initial request letter. However, there is just one question before I do. The account was defaulted in March 2008 and since then there haven't been any further charges or interest added to the account. For my compund interest, do I stop calculation at the date it was defaulted or do I run the compund interest right up to now. I understand that the 8% simple interest will run until the date of settlement if appropriate but what about the restitutional compound interest please? Thank you

Thank you Still_surviving. I think what I shall do is play with the CI rate to get to just under the £5k mark which would show that I am not being unreasonable in my requests. This would stand me in good stead should court action be the route I have to go. I have read a goddly amount about Cap1 and agree that they will almost certainly baulk at every turn but I'm ready for that. Never Give Up is frame of mind to have I think. I'm off to get my request letter done and will keep the forum posted as to progress. Regards ims

Yep, got that dx. Thank you. Formula works in Excel so I guess it is all OK. Just seemed a big figure to me. Has anyone got thoughts on how to go to court with a claim over £5k please? Cap 1 claim to have sold the debt and Lowell claim to have bought it. Which one should I send my refund request letter to and do I go straight in for the charges plus compound + 8% or just go for the charges plus compound at this stage? Many thanks

Hi again I've had an interesting evening going through the old statements and have found a total of £895 between 3/1/01 and 2/4/08. They are described respectively as "Overlimit Fees" and "Late Payment Fees". I'd like to go for the compund interest route and then the 8%. I just hope I've got the compund interest correct with the spreadsheet. the total compund interest comes out to £3,893. The simple interest comes out to £428. The way I worked the compund interest is to take the average of the purchase rate (which comes out to 1.9% per month) and apply that using a formula taken from Microsoft's website to calculate the compund interest to date. I don't know if there is a maths guru here but by way of example, the first charge was on 3/1/01 for £18. 122 months have elapsed and the monthly average rate is 1.9%. I get the answer that the compund interest on that £18 is £178. This would be the interest for some 10 years. Is anyone willing just to check this for me please? So, if it is confirmed that my compound interest calculation is correct then my total claim could be £895 + £3,893 compound + £428 Simple = £5216. This is, I believe, above the limit for small claims. If this is the case, do I just put it to Capital One for the charges plus compound which total to £4,788 and if necessary take action on that sum with an application to the court that if I get judgement I want the simple added on as well. What court route do I take if I have to claim the £5k odd right from the off? Thanks in advance

Hi dx Thanks for that. There was no PPI charged. In the last couple of mins I had a brainwave as to where all the old statements were and I've found them!!!! Going back to the start.....October 2000! I'm going to have an intersting evening going through them on a spreadsheet to get all the charges listed and Compund Interest at their purchase rate. Do I calculate the interest up to the date of default notice? since then no further charges have been added or do I calculate the interst up to now (say 31st March 2011)? As my claim may go back further than 6 years, will I certainly have to put this through court or might they settle prior to court action? Can't wait to get going on this! Thanks

Hi dx Thanks for the heads up. I didn't see the Cap1 forum but I'll have a look there now. Apologies if this thread is in the wrong place....maybe a Mod can move it to the correct place if need be. Thanks

Hi All I wonder of I might get some help please. I had a credit card with Capital One and a S87(1) CCA 1974 was issued in March 2008. I have the letter here. I paid a couple of ad hoc payments around that time so I am not suggesting that the debt is time barred at all. I am not trying to get out of what I owe....I just want to make sure I am paying the right amount. Anyhow, I got a letter from Lowell Portfolio in February this year saying that they had purchased my debt from Capital One and in the same envelope was the letter from Cap One saying that they had sold to Lowell. Then I get some letters from Lowell Financil, the last one in Mid March saying that I could pay 75% in F & F if I did it in one go OR I could pay 85% in F & F if I did 3 paymentsOR I could do a monthly direct debit of a fairly small amount until the debt is cleared. I haven't responded to any of these letters by the way. I was wondering why they should make an offer like this if they are sure of the debt. Are they just being kind? (think not). Would they not chase for the whole amount? Anyway, I have gone back through the Cap One statements that I have and there are charges on there which I feel I may be able to claim back. Particularly they are described as "Overlimit fees" of £12 each and "Late Payment Fees" also of £12 each. If, as I have read, I might claim these type of fees back, then my balance will reduce and I can then sort out paying the balance. I was hoping for some advice as to whether these charges qualify to be the subject of a claim. If they are, do I get in touch with the new owner of the debt (Lowell) or do I go back to Capital One? As I say, I don't want to try and evade the debt, I just want to make sure I am paying the right amount. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi Thank you for your reply citizenB. Their Current Account Plus product was, from memory, one of these accounts that you could use either as a bank account or a loan account. They gave you a credit limit and you could, if you wish, use that amount of credit. Unlike a bank overdraft, this account gave you a minimum monthly repayment should you use the overdraft facility so was operated like a credit card as far as I can see. They sent a monthly statement showing the transactions on the account and the minimum payment to be paid. While you were in the black, no Insurance premiums are put on the account. I don't have the priginal agreement or application unfortunately. I guess the account was set up under the CCA regs in force at that time becuase the default notice was issued under the CCA 1974. Does this information help? Thanks

Hi all I have received help elsewhere on the forum for mortgage matters and, having read through a lot of the threads here, I would like to start a process to get my charges etc back from HFC Bank. I am starting to get my finances back on an even keel and I wonder of I could get some advice on the following scenario please. I took out an HFC Current Account Plus in 1988 and all ran very well until I hit my downturn in about 2006/2007. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I got into arrears etc. etc. HFC issued a defaul notice under S87(1) CCA 1974 in Feb 2009 ( I have the document). Since then I have made sporadic payments and have been threatened by the likes of CapQuest and HL Legal for doorstep visits and further action. Thisd I can handle at the moment (but will come back for advice iof they get too heavy). I have many of my statements (but not all) and they stopped when the default was issued. On the statements I can see things like Admin Fee £15 (presumable for either being over limit or late with payment, Protection premiums (Appears to be a percentage of the balance outstanding) and a Default Fee of £50 at the time when they sent the default notice. My questions are 1 Are the £15 Admin Fees lawful (there are a fair few of them)? 2 What about the £50 default fee? 3 The insurance appears to be PPI. How do establish whether I can claim this back given that the agreement was back in 1988? I am not sure how to establish whether it was mis-sold...I certainly didn't ask for it or want it. 4 Any ideas as to how far back I can go with the cliam, if indeed I do have a valid claim? Subject to advice on the above I will SAR them to get the complete set of statements and other stuff and get to work. Thanks in advance

Hi Just got back from the court. The Judge accepted our proposals and has set the amount to be paid at an instalment + the extra we suggested on a monthly basis. They said a review in 3 months but if all is going well then no attendance will be required. Our home is now safe on this basis.....what a relief!!! Thank you so much for the support we have recieved through this forum and a HUGE THANK YOU to Ell-enn who has been an absolute star in guiding me through this process....I am SO grateful to you for giving up your time to help. I am going to stay with this forum so that I can share my experiences with others which may in some small way help to make the process less stressful for them. Now that I can relax a bit, I'm off to investigate the charges on the account and see of I can get those back such as failed direct debit fees, admin charges at £40 a time etc. etc. Thank you so much once again Best to all and Never Give Up!

Hi Thanks Ell-enn I am going to make the payment first thing by Debit Card and I will get the name of the person I speak to and the transaction number so I can present this to the court. I don't have the account sort code and number to be able to do it online. If this case goes against me, is there any course of appeal I can take? I'm so nervous now that this is imminent and I am so worried that the Judge will side with the lender and we will lose our home. Thanks

Hi I know there are others who need help but if I could just have a quick answer to my posts 29 & 30 I'll feel a lot more prepared for my hearing in the morning. Many thanks

Hi I am no expert on this but it may help to get some detailed help if you can just give a bit more detail. You will get some great advice and support here. You say that this is a secured loan and the mortgage payments have been A1. Do we take it that the HFC loan is a second charge on the property and not the main mortgage? If this is the case then the main mortgage company would surely have been advised and posssibly have had to agree to a second charge? Roughly what percentage is the HFC loan to the outstanding mortgage? As the main mortgage is the first charge on the property and has been paid on an A1 basis, I would guess it is not so simple for HFC to get you out. Others will be able to give more detailed advice but perhaps the answers to the above points may give a better understanding. All the best

Hi all Further to my post no 29 ( i'd still like some advice on that if I can please), I have been preparing for the hearing tomorrow and have dug out some statements. I had mentioned previously that the arrears had peaked at a higher figure than is being used as the basis for the eviction and I have a mortgage statement covering a period of 7 months from 2010 where it clearly shows the arrears balance has reduced by some £2,950. Is it appropriate to mention this and show it to the Judge to confirm that I do take this matter seriously and have indeed been able to reduce the arrears in the past and that there is now printed evidence to prove it? Thank you

Hi Been to the court office this morning and got a date for a hearing on 31st March. I asked of there was free legal advice available and the lady said no. I'll ask again when I turn up for the hearing. What is the process for these hearings please? Is it in open court or is it just with the Judge? Is it only me or will the other side attend? Thank you for any advice on how to proceed through this hearing. Regards