The only bank/building society I've heard of actually closing someone's is Alliance & Leicester. Halifax haven't closed my account even after repaying £2800! Our Cardcash account is still open but we now have Co-op cashminder account as our main account - basically because their charges are £19.50 for an unpaid item and they don't charge for going overdrawn (though neither of these has happened!). There are lots of basic bank accounts available - I think there's a list somewhere on here but can't remember where. It's really easy to move but depends if you want to and what you want from your bank (overdraft/debit card/internet access).

Firstly apologies for not updating anything in a while - returned to work after maternity leave and to be honest haven't had much time for anything other than that/sleeping/sorting children etc. Anyway, claim was settled in full with interest & court charges - why they don't just pay to start with I'll never know! Vonnie32, we used the Dunfermline address for all correspondence upto the court claim - and the only reason we changed it at that point was the court told us as we live in England it had to serve papers on an address in England/Wales. As you live in Scotland, I would assume you'd have to serve papers on a Scottish address anyway - though check with the court first (obviously!). The wording we used was: 1. The Claimant has a credit card account number 1234567 with the Defendant which was opened in May 2000 2. Since this time, the Defendant has applied charges in respect of purported breaches of contract. 3. A list of charges will be supplied separately. 4. The Claimant contends that: a) The charges applied to the Account are punitive in nature; are not a genuine pre-estimate of cost incurred by the Defendant and exceed any alleged actual loss to the Defendant. b) The contractual provision that permits the Defendant to levy such charges is unenforceable by virtue of the Unfair Contract Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and common law. 5. Accordingly the Claimant claims: a) the return of the amounts applied in respect of charges in the sum of £XXXX and any interest charged thereon; b) Court costs; c) Interest pursuant to section 69 County Courts Act as set out on the list of charges, and interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment, at a daily rate of £0.31 The details in red you obviously need to change to your own circumstances. Hope this helps & good luck

After weeks of telling my mum about this site etc, she's finally decided to do something about her charges - spurred on by the fact HSBC are closing her local branch and the next nearest branch to her and have decided to open a "merged" branch in the middle of a business park/industrial estate Anyway, as she's a bit of a technophobe, I said I sort out the letters and stuff for her - hence I'm starting a thread for her! She dug out her bank statements (she thought she had them all) but some where missing, so we did a DPA/SAR letter and she took it into her branch yesterday along with £10 fee (which I made sure she got a receipt for). After reading other threads where people have said they get a truck load of paper and suddenly become unpopular with their postie, it's a good job she lives in a rural location as her postie has a van Will keep you posted and she has said she'll be making a donation when she gets her money back!

Just an update! Lodged hubby's claim at local court yesterday, so just waiting for Notice of Issue. Glad we did it that way (at least once) as it took the mystery of these places away! It was really easy, and staff really helpful - especially as we had a slight problem with the form. We'd sent all correspondence to Dunfermline address, but because it's in Scotland we couldn't use that address for the court claim - it must be an address in England or Wales. They said it was absolutely fine to change the form and put Trinity Road (as that's their Registered address), which we did. Just waiting now

Well it took a little while to get things sorted for court claim form - 6 week school hols are a really great idea but eventually got there! Took both our and hubby's claim to local court - it wasn't scary at all and staff were really helpful (we had to change defendants address on hubby's claim against Halifax Visa - address for service has to be in England/Wales). Now have to wait for Notice of Issue and response from Halifax! Congrats Nona on your settlement - did you have to wait long?

Apologies if you've already figured this out - I think a later posting says you continued with GAP insurance. Your car insurance will only pay out the "book" value for its age, condition, etc, (regardless of the value you put on your car) if the car is written off and NOT what's left owing on your finance agreement - GAP insurance covers the difference between car insurance pay out and whats outstanding on finance. In my opinion, this is useful but can be bought much more cheaply elsewhere - not through the dealer/finance company! As I said, apologies if you already know this - but I only read this today and thought it should be made clear. This thread made interesting reading though - when I got past the to-ing and fro-ing about the "other" site We've had an interesting "experience" YCC so will have a look for other threads on this for advice!

My hubby received a reply last Saturday to say they're sorry he's not happy and someone will be dealing with his complaint! So he's now filling in his court claim as today was the deadline for LBA. Can anyone tell me if he should put the Dunfermline as the Defendant's address or Trinity Road, Halifax? On their letters it has Dunfermline at the top, but printed at the bottom is "Registered Office: Trinity Road....". Any comments or advice greatly appreciated

Not 8% interest no - that's added/included when you fill in your claim for court

Hi Gruffle Gaw Your "sort of" at the prelim letter stage I think! You need to write back to them accepting £165 as a partial settlement, but telling them that you will be persuing a claim for a refund of the full amount - see prelim letter in library section. You might be best including some of the wording from the template, particularly the bits about "what you require" and "targets to resolve the matter". I think it's quite important to be able to show that you've given the bank sufficient notice and time to resolve this if it gets to the court stage. You'll also need to send a schedule of the charges you're claiming (see spreadsheet also in Library section). Good luck (though you won't need it!) and keep us posted!

Starting a new thread on behalf of hubby! As he had all his credit card statements, he sent his prelim letter to Dunfermline address on 20 July claiming £650 - which is just a bit less than what he owed and had he not received these charges his account would've probably soon have been paid off with our monthly payments! While we were on hols, he received a reply (dated 26 July - which I thought was quite quick!) but was a bit surprised by it. They are refusing to refund any charges stating that the new fee structure (£12 instead of previous £25) comes into effect on 1 Aug but until then existing T&Cs apply. I assume the reduction to £12 is in light of OFTs report As it happens we have now paid off his credit card - but are continuing to claim his charges and his LBA goes in the post tomorrow. Just 1 question, can he still claim through English courts or (because HCS are based in Dunfermline) does he have to go through Scottish court system? It doesn't appear to make a difference as it's still under £750 limit for Scottish courts, just wondered for when he submits a claim to court - it looks likely to go that far based on their current response!

Just an update - it's been a while but been to sunny Devon on hols and now a little behind on the 14 day time limit (I hope that doesn't matter too much)! I received another letter from Halifax with an increased offer of £926 and reiterating they are keen to resolve our concerns - not keen enough refund all charges and stop it going to court though! So it would seem I get to have a little trip to the local county court this week - lovely I decided to go to the court and do it in person in the hope it takes some of my anxiety (or is it fear) away! My husband also received a response to his prelim letter while we were away - but I'll start another thread on that as I was a little surprised by their response. Nona, hope your claim is on track and going well

If the statement say "charges as notified" i think it's ok to put that on the schedule - but I stand to be corrected For your info, unpaid items are currently £39, prior to that £35 and if i remember rightly, prior to that £30 per item (no more than 3 on anyone day - so kind of them). Overdraft charges are currently £28 - sorry I can't remember what they were before that - as far as I remember though, they've always been lower than unpaid items. Hope this helps! Good luck MrsR

Just about to complete my LBA - just a quick question (I hope!) I read in someone' elses thread (sorry can't remember which 1 now) that you can update the amount you're claiming at each stage - I understand you can increase you're claim to cover recent charges at the court stage, but can I add in charges made between prelim letter and LBA? I've recieved 2 more in the 2 weeks since I sent my prelim letter! Thanks for everyone's help - this is a really great site PS hubby has done prelim letter to Halifax Card Services to claim back £650 so will be making donation when we receive that back as well !

If it helps (!), the wording on my acceptance form (still blank cos I'm only accepting as partial refund) says - I assume it's a standard form: Full and Final Settlement Acceptance our names & address "I/We confirm that I/we accept a total amount of £xxx in full and final settlement of my/our complaint." There's tick box for payment either by cheque or direct into your account (you need to quote roll number/account and sort code. Space for signatures, names and date. then, "NB Both parties must sign if applicable" at the bottom HBOS Use Only and details for Halifax to complete (authorised by, request date, etc). Hope this helps MrsR

Hi Nona From what I've read in other's threads and FAQs, I don't think you need to mention about not waiting 4 weeks, etc - anyone, please let me know if I'm wrong! I think the LBA template (obviously adjusted for your own circumstances) is fine as it is. I'm going to include a bit in mine that says I accept offer of £xxx in partial settlement, but I still expect refund of remaining charges and if that's not forthcoming, then I'll be going to small claims court. Good luck with your claim, keep us posted Mrs R

This update's a bit late - kids I received a letter from Claire McBride, Review Manager, on Saturday saying they are allowed to make these charges, etc, to cover their costs, etc etc etc, and as goodwill gesture offering me £310 in full and final settlement - thanks but I want all my money please! The letter also had the following paragraph: "You have requested information on how we calculate our costs for dealing with these transactions. (unpaid DD) Please note that we are not obliged under the Data Protection Act to supply this information, and as it is commercially sensitive, I regret to inform you that I am unable to comply with your request." I've seen the bit about "not obliged to keep/record this information" in other threads, but never where DPA has been quoted before. Does it mean the same thing? That if they can't/won't give me this information, it's not justifiable? I'll be doing LBA on Friday to say thanks for the offer, I'll accept £310 as partial refund but will still be going to court for the rest if you don't pay! Any comments/advice greatly appreciated

Thanks Michael - it's not 1 of my particular hobbies so I won't bother :grin:

I received standard reply letter on Tuesday - "we're sorry you're not happy...." etc etc, and they'll get back to me within 4 weeks! Obviously, I won't wait that long but do I need to write to them telling them this or just wait till 14 days is up then send LBA? I'm sure this has been raised in other threads (so apologies for asking same question again), but I couldn't find it or remember what the answer was Any advice greatly appreciated

I did look at this account, but you don't get a debit card with the basic bank account version - I did find the page for this account (on their website) a bit confusing! But thanks anyway gemmabe! MrsR

I sent my request for transactions letter the other day - hopefully won't take too long !! In the meantime, I realised I had my statements and charge letters back to April 05 'cos I use paper-free banking, so I decided to send prelim letter for this period now (to get the ball rolling - £2375 ), and will claim upto end March 05 when I get copy statements back - not sure if I can have more than 1 claim running at once but I'm happy to do it 1 at a time! On the parachute account front - I've looked around at basic bank accounts, and the only 2 I found that allow you a debit card are NatWest Step (Solo) and Co-op Cashminder (visa electron). I've opted for Co-op as their unpaid item charges are only £19.50 and I can still do all my internet banking (with NatWest Step you can't pay bills online). Their site also says they don't charge you for being overdrawn (Halifax charge me £28 + interest). I did check this with Co-op, the conversation went like this: MrsR - "you're unpaid item charge is £19.50" Co-op- "that's right" MrsR - "what's your charge for being overdrawn?" Co-op - "well you can't have an overdraft with this account" MrsR - "I know, and to be honest I don't want one. But for example, if my balance is £10 and I have DD to pay for £20, obviously it won't be paid and you'll charge me £19.50" Co-op - "that's correct" MrsR - "but £19.50 charge will make me overdrawn by £9.50 - what will the charge be for that?" Co-op - "we wouldn't charge you for that" !!! I double checked this with the lady on the phone and she said they definately wouldn't charge. Can this be true?! Does anyone else have experience of this? Any comments/advice greatly appreciated What a great site this is - so glad I found it! And will definately be making donation when I get MY money back :grin:

Hi Cornucopia The only basic bank accounts I've found so far that give you a debit card are NatWest Step and Co-op Cashminder - I've opened Co-op cashminder as their unpaid item charges are £19.50 per item! Good luck with claims:) MrsR

Will have a look round then Thanks for help

Hi brindle Halifax used to give you a month or so before the charge hit your account - last banking day of the month following returned DD. They did change it quite a while back though - their letters now say 3 or 4 days following date of notification. This was on the basis that, by the time the end of the following month arrived you'd have forgotten about the charge and also about having enough funds to cover it ! Well done on your claim:) MrsR

I've just read enough is enough thread - and am totally inspired now! Yesterday I was charged unpaid DD fee as my account was overdrawn. The reason? Halifax unauthorised OD fee from previous month - classic!! I've checked my online statements back to April 05 and was horrified to discover I've paid £2258 in charges during that time - I was shocked as to how quickly they add up. So now it's time to start the ball rolling - my data protection letter is done and will be in tomorrow's post! Just 1 question - there's a lot of advice about setting up a new bank account, is there any particular banks/accounts you can suggest? Will keep you posted! Thanks for the website

After reading FAQs and other's experiences, I'm now inspired to tackle Halifax over my unlawful bank charges. I find them particularly hard to swallow as I use paper-free banking - so it doesn't even cost them the paper and postage Thanks for the website - here's hoping for success