hi this is happening to me - they offered a settlement, I accepted and 8 weeks later nothing. I have had to go to court and am claiming every penny plus 17% interest. If they pay up it will have cost them a few hundred more. Well done on beating the bank. Hope to be joining you very soon. caz

hi I wouldn't advise you to accept a settlement - not even as partial payment as Halifax still haven't paid mine and I had to start a court claim after they ignored my letters and emails. Goo luck caz

Hi I don't know for sure but I would write to them first, then use the address you get on their response letter. You should get a few in the course of things refusing to pay you a penny. Good luck caz

hi Can you open another account and arrange to have wages etc paid into? Also if you have benefits going into your account which you need to live on your need to inform your bank as they shouldn't touch money needed for food, rent etc. Its probably a good idea to have a back up account anyway and if you can get even a basic account you know you have money to pay rent, buy food and have any direct debits come out of to ensure you don't get in to more debt because of your bank. If you can't open another account visit your local CAB to see if you can get the bank to freeze the charges as you need to be able to get cash to pay necessitites. And then you can focus on reclaiming your charges. good luck caz

hi I had to submit a small claim against halifax and after they told me they would defend it they paid the full amount plus costs and interest. The second claim I decided to accept their settlement which they never paid. They mixed it up with the court payment and although I wrote and emailed and explained their error I have had to go back to court (I'm claiming the full amount plus interest though - its been 8 weeks since they offered the settlement and I gave them a deadline which they ignored). Therefore in my experience you will probably have to go to the court stage but after that they pay quickly. caz

hi Was your accountant a member of any professional group? If so you should contact them and make a complaint at the very least. If you don't know I would investigate the regulatory body and make a complaint. Also speak to someone at the tax office and see if they can tell you exactly what has happened, what you owe exactly and if they can give you any advice. You may also be able to work out a payment plan with them - from what I have heard as long as you are straight with them the tax office are ok to deal with. good luck caz

hi I am now chasing up my new £90 charge and trying to get my settlement. I have written to Halifax telling them if they do not give me my money in 7 days I am going to court. Question is this: If they claim they do not have my signed form stating I would accept the settlement can I go ahead and claim in court for the full amount? Can I go ahead and claim for the full amount anyway (its nearly 25 working days) due to the inconvienience? I only settled to stop the hassle of having to go to court but it looks like I'm going anyway! thanks caz

the good news is that the bank decided to pay out my court claim plus costs and interest... and they offered me a settlement for my second claim which I decided to accept. They paid the court claim within 5 working days. The bad news is I am still waiting for the cash from my second claim (the settlement). Its been 15 working days. And the bank have given me a £90 charge!

hi I have served my claim at my local court as it is way too much hassle to have to go to England if they don't settle soon. I broke my claim up so I am under the £750 limit. I also send my second claim second letter so the bank knows I am serious and I can take the second one to court as soon as the first one is resolved. I have until November for the bank to decide to pay me or defend... caz

re: the end of free banking From what I have been reading its NOT us reclaiming our penalty charges which is a drop in the ocean for banks making billions each year BUT the new bankrupcy laws causing this. The problem is the number of people defaulting on loans/mortgages etc is steadily increasing and the number of bankrupcies has increased quite a lot too. And while part of the responsibility lies with us the banks need to take responsibility for their ever increasing lax policies when it comes to credit cards/loans etc which have allowed individuals to have 20 cards at at time! I will not give up my free banking because the banks have been so focused on profit making. Besides as long as one bank/building society has free banking they all will or lose customers. over> caz

Have had no response so putting in my small court claim tomorrow (should have been wed but I work wed and thurs night). Currently trying to ensure I have all the relevant info to hand. Am petrified but I am going to get my money. caz

hi I am about to take to take my claim to the small court stage (its dumfries I will be using). Did you use the template to fill out the forms (did you need to use any other wording). At least I know Dumfries sheriff courts have seen this type of action before. Did you need to bring any evidence to the sheriff? Thanks Caz

hi My statements came through eventually after I had sent my first letter using a years worth of statements. When I went through them I noticed that 2003 was a very short year - it lasted a few days! The statements jump from 31/1/03 to 31/1/04. I have been in touch with Halifax but still waiting... I recieved an offer of good will of £188, my first claim is £620 so i rejected this and sent my second letter. I will need to get prepared to pu a court claim in very soon. I am fed up waiting for 2003's statements so I have averaged out my charges and estimated what these should be and prepared the first letter for this claim. I will make sure that I don't have both claims heading for court at the same time. Caz

Have decided to try and chase up Halifax for my statements, not expecting much success though. I have about a years worth of statements online so I am printing them off as I type and will tally the charges up. If they are reasonable I will start my claim (not want to do 5 claims if two will do) as I am tired of waiting and want to get the ball rolling. caz

thanks, I know that I may not get to the court stage but if I end up anywhere close like Manolo I will sleep better if I have the evidence ready. caz

Hi thanks for that. I am now looking for evidence to support my claim that the bank charges are penalties incase I do get to be the first person to take my claim to court (and win obviously). I wll go through the Govan Law site with a fine toothcomb and go through the rest of this site (read all the scottish forum stuff) As for my claim I am STILL waiting for the statements from my bank. caz

Hi Manolo (and everyone) I have really enjoyed reading about your progress and found it really useful. I'm looking forward to hearing how you are progressing. What are you using for evidence to support your claim that the bank charges are penality charges? I have read the evidence provided earlier in the thread and I was wondering if you or anyone else was using any other cases etc? I am nowhere near this stage but trying to prepare. thanks caz

Hi Everyone I have started to make a claim against the Halifax, just waiting for my statements to come through. They are dragging their heels though while the Clydesdale (Im helping my mum with her claim) who have been very difficult with a lot of others on this site have already given us the statements with the miniumum of fuss! I need to check the terms and conditions of my account to see if it is under english law or not. It would be nice if it was as I could claim everything at once but it would be more convienient to claim here as the sheffifs court is pretty handy should it get that far. My plan of action is to ask for the whole amount in my letters then split it up at the court stage if necessary. My only query is interest. I know that this only goes on at the court stage - am I right in thinking that if I was charged say £30 on 1/1/04 then I would add the 8% interest from this date until the claim date as this represents the interest I would have made had the bank not taken the money? Will let you know how I get on. cheers caz