Hello All, I would like to ask Abbey to look at my application again but to take into account that whilst all charges were taken i was suffering hardship. I have had a look at the templates library but the letter there seems to be a little out of date now and i havent the faintest idea how to put it all in writing. I still have all copies of my statements and know the full ammount i would like to be refunded. Is there another template for hardship claims somewhere on this site? I orginally filed a case against them and have recently received a letter from them explaining that their charges are not unfair and did not make any offer of payment but since reading through this site, i am now aware that i could have applied for hardship application the whole time! Many Thanks

Hello all, I have previously had a case on hold with abbey regarding their unlawful bank charges but they seem to have won their case and it seemed at the time that that was the end of it all but since, i have read on this site that you can claim if at the time you were in hardship. I didnt realise this and whilst alot of my charges were being applied to my account i had lost my job and was receiving benefits. I also had to declare myself bankrupt back in 2007 due to financial difficulties. I was also helping my parents re-claim their chrges. My mother is disabled and my dad is her carer. they were and have been receiving benefits for several years. My question is, what is the best way to try and claim through the hardship process? Shall i contact my bank directly and explain? Is there a template available or shall i send my own personal letter explaining the situation or have i left it all to late due to them now winning their case?

Hello, I have already tried every approach to retrieve my unfair bank charges from 'abbey' but with no joy and am no in the court case waiting que as my case has been put on hold like all other bank charges claims. My question is, Since filing my case with the courts, i have become unemployed. Christmas is going to be a real struggle and i am behind with most of my household bills and rent. Now that i am receving benefits, can i write to abbey again explain my situation and put through a hardship application even though i have already taken them to court? If they do make me an offer do i have to accept it? If i do accept the offer but it is not the full ammount, can i still claim for the remaining ammount? If any of this was to happen, what would happen to my pending court case? I have been searching this site and have found many answers but all with different opinions. Please can someone just explain simply what you think is best for me to do. Do i sit it out and wait for the final hearing or do i reclaim via the hardship process? Thanks for your time all

Brilliant. Thank you so much for your reply. I will take all that i need and start the court process first thing Monday morning Becky

Hi all, Sorry if my query is already answered somewhere on this site, but i have been searching for the past hour and cannot seem to find the information i require. I am currently in the process of comnpleteing the EX160a form for an excemption in the court fees due to me receiving beniefits and would find it hard financially to pay the court fees. One of the questions asked on the excemption form is: ' What is the title or number of the form you need the court to issue?' Do i input a 'N1' form? Also Do i send off the excemption fee form and wait for a reply from the courts before i send proof of me receiving benefits and the summary of charges or do i enclose my proof & summary with the excemption form? Lastly Once the courts have received my excemption form do i THEN send them my summary of charges INCLUDING the intrest or include the intrest now, if i am to send them my summary of charges along with the excemtion fee form? I am sorry for all my questions, but i have come this far and its now all getting a little confusing and scary. Any info would be much appreciated Becky x

Thank you for moving my post to the abbey file, i didnt realise id posted it so many times in so many different places! Each time id posted my query, i was looking in the new threads but could not see my query listed so thought id done something wrong & therefore posted it again. Sorry if i sound i bit dim, but does this mean i can claim BOTH the unauthorised overdraft fee AND the Paid Item fee? Both are seperate charges made on the account they are not the same charge, but two different charges being applied to my parents account. One charge for paying the item then the other due to the account going overdrawn due to the paid item being paid. Thanks all for your patience, i assure you that this is the only time and place i will post this query Aand await replies.

i all. I am currently in the process of trying to help my parents reclaim all the unlawful bank charges applied to their account. We sent the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) Letter with the £10 fee which the accepted BUT they have only sent them a summary of charges for 5 years and full bankstatements for the past year. I sent Abbey a letter explaining that the summary of charges was unacceptable and again requested full statements for the past 6 years and not just summaries. My parents received another letter about 1 week later but only to receive a duplicate letter of the one they first received which had enclosed a summary of 5 years and informed them that 1 years full bank statements would be received shortly. I am now planning on sending them another letter explaining their mistake and to AGAIN ask for FULL statements for the 6 years as i had orginally requested. Today they have received the 1 years fulls bank statements as they promised but i have noticed on the statements that not only are there charges but also: They have charged my parents £20 for an 'unauthorised overdraft' but on the same day they also charges £30 for a 'Paid Item Fee' So i assume that a direct debit tried to be taken from their account but there was not eneough money in there so abbey paid for the direct debit then charged them £30 to do so which then resulted in their account going overdrawn which then resulted in the £20 unauthorised overdraft fee being applied so in all, my parents have been being chagred £50 for abbey to pay for a direct debit rather then just refusing it and then notifying them in writing that the direct debit had been refused!! My query is can my parents reclaim any of these charges? Either the unauthorised overdraft fee or/and the Paid Item Fee'? It seems that this is their was out of charging you for a refused direct debit and are chargeing you for the direct debit being paid as well as an overdraft fee but the account would never have been overdrawnif they had merely refused the direct debit in the first place as my bank Barclays do. Any info on this matter would gratefully appreciated as i am now unsure what they can actually reclaim ....

hi all. I am currently in the process of trying to help my parents reclaim all the unlawful bank charges applied to their account. We sent the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) Letter with the £10 fee which the accepted BUT they have only sent them a summary of charges for 5 years and full bankstatements for the past year. I sent Abbey a letter explaining that the summary of charges was unacceptable and again requested full statements for the past 6 years and not just summaries. My parents received another letter about 1 week later but only to receive a duplicate letter of the one they first received which had enclosed a summary of 5 years and informed them that 1 years full bank statements would be received shortly. I am now planning on sending them another letter explaining their mistake and to AGAIN ask for FULL statements for the 6 years as i had orginally requested. Today they have received the 1 years fulls bank statements as they promised but i have noticed on the statements that not only are there charges but also: They have charged my parents £20 for an 'unauthorised overdraft' but on the same day they also charges £30 for a 'Paid Item Fee' So i assume that a direct debit tried to be taken from their account but there was not eneough money in there so abbey paid for the direct debit then charged them £30 to do so which then resulted in their account going overdrawn which then resulted in the £20 unauthorised overdraft fee being applied so in all, my parents have been being chagred £50 for abbey to pay for a direct debit rather then just refusing it and then notifying them in writing that the direct debit had been refused!! My query is can my parents reclaim any of these charges? Either the unauthorised overdraft fee or/and the Paid Item Fee'? It seems that this is their was out of charging you for a refused direct debit and are chargeing you for the direct debit being paid as well as an overdraft fee but the account would never have been overdrawnif they had merely refused the direct debit in the first place as my bank Barclays do. Any info on this matter would gratefully appreciated as i am now unsure what they can actually reclaim ....

Hi All, I heard something on the radio the other day but i only caught the last two minuets of it and was wondering if anyone has any further info please?? I heard something about if anyone had taken out a bank loan prior to 2006 then a charge was automatically applied to the bank loan without the customer being aware and that this charge can now be reclaimed. Anyone heared anything about this??? I took out a £7000 bank loan in 2005 but i was unaware of any charge being automatically applied to the loan.

Hi all. I am currently in the process of trying to help my parents reclaim all the unlawful bank charges applied to their account. We sent the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) Letter with the £10 fee which the accepted BUT they have only sent them a summary of charges for 5 years and full bankstatements for the past year. I sent Abbey a letter explaining that the summary of charges was unacceptable and again requested full statements for the past 6 years and not just summaries. My parents received another letter about 1 week later but only to receive a duplicate letter of the one they first received which had enclosed a summary of 5 years and informed them that 1 years full bank statements would be received shortly. I am now planning on sending them another letter explaining their mistake and to AGAIN ask for FULL statements for the 6 years as i had orginally requested. Today they have received the 1 years fulls bank statements as they promised but i have noticed on the statements that not only are there charges but also: They have charged my parents £20 for an 'unauthorised overdraft' but on the same day they also charges £30 for a 'Paid Item Fee' So i assume that a direct debit tried to be taken from their account but there was not eneough money in there so abbey paid for the direct debit then charged them £30 to do so which then resulted in their account going overdrawn which then resulted in the £20 unauthorised overdraft fee being applied so in all, my parents have been being chagred £50 for abbey to pay for a direct debit rather then just refusing it and then notifying them in writing that the direct debit had been refused!! My query is can my parents reclaim any of these charges? Either the unauthorised overdraft fee or/and the Paid Item Fee'? It seems that this is their was out of charging you for a refused direct debit and are chargeing you for the direct debit being paid as well as an overdraft fee but the account would never have been overdrawnif they had merely refused the direct debit in the first place as my bank Barclays do. Any info on this matter would gratefully appreciated as i am now unsure what they can actually reclaim ....

Hi all. I am currently in the process of trying to help my parents reclaim all the unlawful bank charges applied to their account. We sent the SAR Letter with the £10 fee which the accepted BUT they have only sent them a summary of charges for 5 years and full bankstatements for the past year. I sent Abbey a letter explaining that the summary of charges was unacceptable and again requested full statements for the past 6 years and not just summaries. My parents received another letter about 1 week later but only to receive a duplicate letter of the one they first received which had enclosed a summary of 5 years and informed them that 1 years full bank statements would be received shortly. I am now planning on sending them another letter explaining their mistake and to AGAIN ask for FULL statements for the 6 years as i had orginally requested. Today they have received the 1 years fulls bank statements as they promised but i have noticed on the statements that not only are there charges but also: They have charged my parents £20 for an 'unauthorised overdraft' but on the same day they also charges £30 for a 'Paid Item Fee' So i assume that a direct debit tried to be taken from their account but there was not eneough money in there so abbey paid for the direct debit then charged them £30 to do so which then resulted in their account going overdrawn which then resulted in the £20 unauthorised overdraft fee being applied so in all, my parents have been being chagred £50 for abbey to pay for a direct debit rather then just refusing it and then notifying them in writing that the direct debit had been refused!! My query is can my parents reclaim any of these charges? Either the unauthorised overdraft fee or/and the Paid Item Fee'? It seems that this is their was out of charging you for a refused direct debit and are chargeing you for the direct debit being paid as well as an overdraft fee but the account would never have been overdrawnif they had merely refused the direct debit in the first place as my bank Barclays do. Any info on this matter would gratefully appreciated as i am now unsure what they can actually reclaim ....

Hi everyone. My mother is disabled and receives dla and my father receives a carer's allowence. I have just discovered on this site that due to them receiving benefits they may be entitled to a discount on both their gas and electric bills. Does anyone know if there is also a water rate reduction available for people who are disabled and receive benefits please? Becky

Hi, thank you for your reply. My expected delivery date is 7th of Febuary 2009. I will take a look at the maternity allowence website and see if i can gather any more information. I have previously asked at the jobcentre but they wernt much help and i seem to have gathered alot more information off this brilliant website than any other. Becky

Hello, I would be very grateful of any information anyone can forward me please on the following matter: I was employed for 4yrs by a company who are working on behalf of and are funded by the Welsh Assembly Government. On the 14th of May 2008 i left the job due to being victimised by my manager but then 2 days after leaving, i discovered i was 2 weeks pregnant! I am now struggling to find another job due to me being pregnant and many employers not wanting to take on someone pregnant due to having to pay maternity leave when i get closer to having the baby and am therefore currently employed. If only i had found out i was pregnant 2 days earlier i would have stuck out the job and would have been entitled to maternity leave and paid leave for all appointments in the meantime but as it is now, i am struggling to make ends meet. I left my employment on the 14th of May and discovered i was pregnant on the 16th of May! I was actually pregnant whilst i was employed by this company but at the time i didnt know and was actually 2/3 weeks pregnant when i left. I suspect i am going to be told what i have already suspected, but thought i may be wrong and thought id pop my question on here hoping someone may tell me some good news. Even though i have now left the company i worked for but was pregnant prior to leaving and only left due to being victimised (Nothing to do with my pregnancy) would i still be able to claim or even a small portion of maternity leave pay now even though i have left? I worked as a full time employee for 4yrs doing 48hrs + per week working 12hr shifts.

Hi all, I would be very gratefull of any info anyone can offer me regarding the following; 1a. Already had all statements so sent 'Request for refund of charges' letter 1b. Received reply from Alliance and Leicester informing me that they are currently involved in legal proceedings with the OFT and will not offer a refund at this time. 2a. Replied with the LBA letter 2b. Received a letter in responce to my LBA letter offering me a partial refund of £220 as a full & final settlement. 3a. Replied & declined the offer of £220 as a full & final settlement but offered to accept the ammount BUT ONLY as a partial refund but informed them i will still persue for the remainder owed. Informed them that if they do not refund all my charges asked for £765, they will receive no further correspondance from me after this letter and i will proceed with court action. Since these letters i have received nothing further from Alliance & Leicester. I did not proceed with court action as i threated in my last correspondance as a few days later i received notification that another case with Abbey had been stayed and i would have to wait for the outcome so i decided to save my money i had kept for court fees and wait for the outcome before contacting alliance & leicester again. All of these letters were sent back in August 2007 & i am now wondering, would it be worth sending them another letter now and give them another chance to settle without court action or should i just wait for the outcome between the banks and the OFT and contact them again then?? I am unsure if i should just leave it as it is for now or give them another chance? I have the same problem with Abbey but i have already proceeded with court action and have a case against them but the case has been stayed and i am now awaiting the outcome. Should i also give Abbey another chance to settle or just wait and see what decision is made when the case is over? Sorry for the length of this post but i am unsure of what to do next. :? Any info would be grately appreciated Kind Regards Becky

Hi, both my Abbey & Monument claims have been stayed as instructed by the courts. I didn't attend court on the orginal court date due to my claim being stayed. What shall i do now? I cannot aply for the stay to be lifted as my court date was for the 21st August 2007 which has now passed. Do i wait for the courts to contact me? (They orginally sent me a letter aprox 5 days before my court date informing me the claim has been stayed) Will the courts contact me? Many Thanks x

Hi just thought i'd let you know, i recently wrote to Studio cataloge requesting all my chrges to be refunded. I already had all my statements so just photocopied them and sent them off. Withhin 7 days i recieved a letter and a full refund was given to me

Me Again, Sorry i forgot to include, that yes it is Healthy Direct . Becky

Thank you very much for your quick responce, i will do all that you have said and keep you updated. Many Many Thanks Becky

Hi all I am acting on behalf of my gran, back last year she ordered a number of items out of a 'Healthy Living Direct' Cataloge. The policy was that before they would dispatch your order you had to make the payment in full, which she did. They have taken the money from her account but she has never received the goods. What can she do? Please help She has contacted them several time via phone but just keeps geting palmed off every time. She has asked them to send her out a copy of their paperwork they have with her signiture on which would prove that she signed for the items which they obviously cannot do and keep ignoring her calls. I feel that my gran is being taken advantage of because of her age and am not prepared to stand for it. Any help would be gratefully appreciated Many Thanks Becky

Hi, i started work this evening at 18:00 and came straight to this web site as it is now time to set up court action for several companies. It is now 02:40 and i still have no clue!!! Please help Im lost, a: How do i calculate the intrest? b: Do i have to claim the intrest? c: do i have to notify abbey etc.. of the change of ammount that i am appling for as it now includes the intrest? d: Do i just go onto the moneyclaim web site and set up the court date there? if so, do i have to send out any other letters to anyone i.e the courts or abbey? c: Once completed the form on moneyclaim is there any thing eles that i need to do? I have sent many letters asking for repayment and have only received goodwill gestures, i sent them another letter summerising what i wanted refunded minusing their repayments of goodwill gestures that i accepted with the new total and explained that they can expect a letter in a few days from the courts with a date to attend. I have followed all the steps but now have gotten lost. Is there much point in me asking for the intrest to be refunded? Would it look better in court if i was only to ask for what i am owed without the intrest? Any info would be gratefully appreciated Becky x ========================================================== a. There are a variety of different spreadsheets on the template forums, Simply fill in the dates and amounts of charges and it automatically calculates the interest. The county court allows you to claim 8% from the date of the charge. There is a large movement towards claiming the Contractural rate of interest which can be up to 30%. There are lots of threads on this and will need some research on your part before you go down this line b. No you dont but why wouldnt you they have had your money !!! c. No the Court automatically add the interest you have included on your claim form when they send it to the bank d. No its all done for you. A court date will only be set for your local court when the bank have notified their intention to defend and both parties have completed the allocation questionaire which will be sent to your by the court e. Keep logging on to the web site it gives you an update if the bank have replied. If the judgement button is available 28 days after the service date you can apply for a judgement on line.

Thanks both for replying, i am going to print out you replies and show them to my feind so that he can answer the questions asked. I do know that his parent did not go as guarantour. Thanks both i will let you know how it turns out Becky

I have had my account with Studio cataloge since 2001. I have noticed the charges made to my account but never realy thought about it until a while ago when i noticed someone eles thread on here regarding PPI. Since then i made several phone calls to cancel the PPI scheme but nothing was done. In the end i send them a letter recorded delivery stating that i wanted it cancelled. It has since been cancelled. After reading for a while on here, i decided to send them another letter asking for whatever eveidence they had of me asking to be part of the payment protection scheme whether it be my signiture or a copy of the phone call where i agreed. They have now sent me a letter informing me that when i started my account with them it stated on the terms and conditions that if i did not want to be a part of the scheme then i had 28 days to cancel as it was an optional scehem which could have been cancelled and that all premiums charged to my account were shown on my monthly statements and as i did not write to them within 28 days the scheme was left to run and i had been paying payment protection all this time 2001 - 2006 which i never ask for in the beginning. The obviously have no proof of me agreeing to the PPI and the terms and conditions was not one that had to be signed and returned. They have stated that they will NOT enter into further correspondance in relation to this matter! Do you think i will be able to retreive this money paid as i have checked the terms and conditions (A new copy which they sent me NOT one for 2001) and it does state that i have 28 days to cancel, but i never signed nothing. What should i do? Many Thanks Becky

I have started this thread on behalf of a freind as he does not have access to a computer. He has moved into his house about 3 months ago, but he had the keys given to him about 4 months ago but did not move in until a month after as there was no electric and the landlord was going to arrange for the meter to get fixed. He didnt mind as he had asked if he could repaint the living room and slowly get all his furniture moved in. He explained to the landlord that he was going to repaint and move his stuff in and the landlord only gave him a back door key as the landlord explained that the front was to be kept for the electricians who would need to gain access to get the electricity up and running. He has paid all his rent up to date up till now but only from the actual date he moved in (3 months rent). The landlord has now stated that as he had the keys for four months, he wants 4 months rent, even though he had not moved in entirely and did not even have a front door key and no electric. Does he have to pay from the month he had the back door key, or should his tennancy start from when he actually moved in? He didnt move in prior to this as there was no electric but was not to bothered as he was allowed the back door key to redecorate the living area in the daytime when there was enough light to do so. Surely the landlord cannot allow someone to move in with no electric and cannot demand money for the month that he only had the backdoor key but not moved in? Also the landlord has since contacted his parent and has dicussed the problem with her over the phone as my freind could not be reached on the day as he was in work. The landlord discussed matters that had nothing to do with anyone other than the land lord and my freind in question. Surely this is not allowed and all information held should be kept confidential even if it was his mum? Any help would be appreciated so that i can pass it on to him, he is getting really worried now and is not sure what to do. I have told him of this web site and explained that i will start a thread to try and get him some help which he is most grateful. Thanks for taking the time to read this thread and look forward to your replies Becky

Me Again!! I realy would appreciate anyones help regarding the following: I have recieved a letter from MBNA explaining that they will refund me £150 to my account on the basis that it is a final settlement. even though i have asked for £275 to be refunded. They have stated that the offer is one of goodwill, and They expect me to honour the revised terms of agreement with them. If i do not do so, they will have no alternative but to cancel my card and to formally terminate my credit agreement!!! (They have now lowered their charges to £12) What should i do???? I want to persue them for the remainder of the money, but do not want to end up with a default on my account as i still have a balance of £3000 on my credit card with them Please help x