Hi, This is the letter so far. I have basically used exactly the same letter as the template which I assume most people did? If not let me know and I will draft something myself: Abbey National House 2 Triton Square Regent's Place London NW1 3AN Dear Sir/Madam, Current Account number: MY NUMBER! I have held the above mentioned current account with your bank for over 5 years. During this time I have incurred charges for exceeding my overdraft limit due to cheques being cleared at unfortunate times, unauthorized overdraft fees, direct debits and standing orders being dishonoured (and in some cases honoured) due to insufficient funds. It is my opinion, and that of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), that these charges are punitive in nature, not a genuine pre-estimate of cost and not intended to re-reimburse your losses for a breach of contract occurring. Further to the 1999 Consumer Credit Regulations quoted by the OFT, there are numerous cases in law that prove that punitive charges in contracts are unenforceable at English law. Murray v Leisureplay (2004) Dunlop Tyre Company v New Garage and Motor Co. (1915) Bridge v Campbell Discount Co. Ltd. (1962) Additionally your charges are a direct breach of the Unfair Contracts Terms Act 1977 which require that contract terms be reasonable. I do not believe these charges are reasonable as outlined in the aforementioned Act. Accordingly I request that you return to me ALL charges made on this account in the last 5 years by way of personal cheque within 7 days of receipt of this letter. If you choose not to do so, I will start proceedings for recovery in the County Courts, as I believe that legally I am entitled to this money back. By doing so, you will be liable for my court costs and for an extra 8% APR as permitted under the County Courts Act (1984). Alternatively if you decide NOT to accept my suggestion for settlement of this issue, I wish to make a formal request under the Data Protection Act for a complete and exhaustive list of all charges made on this account over the last 5 years. As you are no doubt aware, you are afforded 40 days to comply or else request an extension from the Information Commissioner. If you are of any doubt that this information is covered by the Act, then I draw your attention to the case of Durant v FSA 2003 where the Court held that bank statement information is indeed personal information for the purposes of the DPA. In any event, this information is requested with a view to prospective legal action on my part and therefore would be covered under the same Act. Please treat this letter as my formal DPA request. Yours faithfully, ME!. Edit: Noticed the re-reimburse on the letter. Has been modified on the original.

Hi, This is the letter so far. I have basically used exactly the same letter as the template which I assume most people did? If not let me know and I will draft something myself: Abbey National House 2 Triton Square Regent's Place London NW1 3AN Dear Sir/Madam, Current Account number: MY NUMBER! I have held the above mentioned current account with your bank for over 5 years. During this time I have incurred charges for exceeding my overdraft limit due to cheques being cleared at unfortunate times, unauthorized overdraft fees, direct debits and standing orders being dishonoured (and in some cases honoured) due to insufficient funds. It is my opinion, and that of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), that these charges are punitive in nature, not a genuine pre-estimate of cost and not intended to re-reimburse your losses for a breach of contract occurring. Further to the 1999 Consumer Credit Regulations quoted by the OFT, there are numerous cases in law that prove that punitive charges in contracts are unenforceable at English law. Murray v Leisureplay (2004) Dunlop Tyre Company v New Garage and Motor Co. (1915) Bridge v Campbell Discount Co. Ltd. (1962) Additionally your charges are a direct breach of the Unfair Contracts Terms Act 1977 which require that contract terms be reasonable. I do not believe these charges are reasonable as outlined in the aforementioned Act. Accordingly I request that you return to me ALL charges made on this account in the last 5 years by way of personal cheque within 7 days of receipt of this letter. If you choose not to do so, I will start proceedings for recovery in the County Courts, as I believe that legally I am entitled to this money back. By doing so, you will be liable for my court costs and for an extra 8% APR as permitted under the County Courts Act (1984). Alternatively if you decide NOT to accept my suggestion for settlement of this issue, I wish to make a formal request under the Data Protection Act for a complete and exhaustive list of all charges made on this account over the last 5 years. As you are no doubt aware, you are afforded 40 days to comply or else request an extension from the Information Commissioner. If you are of any doubt that this information is covered by the Act, then I draw your attention to the case of Durant v FSA 2003 where the Court held that bank statement information is indeed personal information for the purposes of the DPA. In any event, this information is requested with a view to prospective legal action on my part and therefore would be covered under the same Act. Please treat this letter as my formal DPA request. Yours faithfully, ME!. Edit: Noticed the re-reimburse on the letter. Has been modified on the original.

In the letter I lifted from this site it says about 8% so it would be £388, plus whatever was charged in the missing months, plus the 8% quoted. I don't know exactly how much was charged in those months but it was a significant amount if I remember that period correctly.

In the letter I lifted from this site it says about 8% so it would be £388, plus whatever was charged in the missing months, plus the 8% quoted. I don't know exactly how much was charged in those months but it was a significant amount if I remember that period correctly.

I am just preparing my case against Abbey thanks for the advice, Stephen has also agreed to give me some help in this matter so I feel better prepared. I am sorting out my Lloyds bank account today as I expect (correct me please if I am wrong) that Abbey will close my account during these proceedings? Already this has cost many hours of my time I like your style with charging for your time, although if everything proceeds at a reasonable pace I am happy with my money from the charges back (so far I've worked it out to be £388 and that is with an 18 month gap in my statements which I shredded in shame at the time.) Cheers again for posting your story. Lee.

I am just preparing my case against Abbey thanks for the advice, Stephen has also agreed to give me some help in this matter so I feel better prepared. I am sorting out my Lloyds bank account today as I expect (correct me please if I am wrong) that Abbey will close my account during these proceedings? Already this has cost many hours of my time I like your style with charging for your time, although if everything proceeds at a reasonable pace I am happy with my money from the charges back (so far I've worked it out to be £388 and that is with an 18 month gap in my statements which I shredded in shame at the time.) Cheers again for posting your story. Lee.