Hi all, I'm asking this on behalf of my elderly mother; Several years ago my (now deceased) father had a contract with 'wannadoo' internet for a £18 per month (which is now massively expensive for the 2MB internet-only service). Now, my father died back in 2006 and my mother has continued to this day to pay £18 per month as the payments were set up to come out of her bank. Having recently discovered this I have encouraged my mum to cancel the service and go with a much, much cheaper plan. The problem; 'Wannadoo' now comes under Orange. My Mum has phoned and written to Orange coutless times and - despite the money coming from HER bank - they are refusing to terminate the contract as the 'account holder' was my deceased father. My mother took the death of my father very badly and often gets tearful whilst discussing anything that involved him (such as things like this!). My mum has been obviously distressed during these countless telephone conversations yet Orange state that she cannot terminate the contract / stop paying for the service as she isn't the account holder (yet she is the person who pays it???). The ONLY way to terminate the contract (that she isn't bound by?) is to send in the my dad's death certificate!! - This is something that neither I nor my mother is prepared to do - IMO this is private and sensitive to both my mother and I and has sod all to do with an internet provider!.. Is this really the only way? Does anyone know where my mother stands legally? The call handlers have also refused to let my mother talk to a manager! Any help would be greatly appreciated! Cheers, Sam

Hi Tilly, Have you had much luck with them the 2nd time round? Sam

Hi Pete, Thank you for your reply I expect that Halifax will close my account this time round but I'm not too bothered about that (I have other accounts) as long as it doesn't affect my credit rating. What do I put with regard to the 'you have 14 days to comply' type lines in my letters to them? Cheers, Sam

Hi, Sorry to 'hijack' your thread here but I'm in exactly the same boat although I went over my agreed limit by only a few quid. £63 I'll be charged for this! I've claimed from them in the past and I want to know if I should do it again. What's happening about the test case? Sam

Hi, I have previously reclaimed my money from the Halifax back in 2006. However, I accepted their 'offer' as I (at the time) did not have the confidence to battle them. I have since had more charges added to my account and wito reclaim those too. I am still shaking with rage as I've had a £35 and £28 'fee' for going £2.35 over my agreed overdraft limit!!! I'm not too sure what's happening with regard to reclaiming at the moment. What's happening with the test case? Can we still get our money back? Regards, Sam

Hi All, We had to rush our 2yr old Son to A&E yesterday evening for severe breathing difficulties. We arrived around 7pm and parked (without incident) in one of the 'free' spaces outside the doors. After he was transfered to a kids ward I left them at around 3am to return home for some provisions. I returned around 3.40am and had to park in the EMPTY Maternity (Pay and Display) car park.. as I had no money other than notes (and with nowhere to break them) and more pressing matters on my mind I simply locked up and went. After a sleepless night I went out to get some nappies only to find a lovely yellow sticker with a '£40 Charge Notice' paper inside it. I voiced my objection to the mini-Hitler type loner but it fell on deaf ears. He simply gave me a number to call to appeal. The fine is 'only' £15 if paid within 14 days but as we frequently PAY to use the Maternity car park (my partner is expecting) I hate the thought of giving this Gestapo-like bunch anymore for a one-off 'violation'. We tried the phone number but was told to write to them... I don't like the idea of this as (despite them being able to get our address from the DVLA) it gives them our name / address etc. What would be the best course of action? Simply wait? Are there any loop-holes? The car is in my partner's name but I was the one who parked it 'illegally'. I feel as though our reasons will be ignored and we would simply have given them our details for free should we write a letter. The P&D signs are not lit-up at night if that counts for anything? I hate to sound like a penny-pincher but this really gets my back up. Any help would be greatly appreciated. [email protected] if you'd rather email me. Many thanks, Sam (sorry for any typos but I have not slept for nearly two days now)

Hi, I have previously claimed from Halifax for the repayment of charges and accepted a 'good will' gesture from them as full and final settlement. I have since incurred a £39 'fee' and have sent them a letter asking for it back. This is the reply I have... blah blah "Our records show that you have previously raised concerns over the same account and charges applied thereto. We made an offer of a goodwill gesture which you accepted. I can confirm that the documents from the time would confirm to you that this offer was made in full and final settlement and all future charges will stand We will not therefore look to refund any charges now or in the future unless as a result of Halifax error. Your file will now be closed." Do I still have a case? What should I do? Can I still legally claim back? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Sam

Thank you for such a quick reply. I wont bother with the interest - too complicated for me The commision charges were £10 or £20 a time - I think its some charge that they add on themselves. Prelim will be sent tomorrow. Thank you very much for your help. Sam

Hi, I have had all my statements back from Smile and have added up £1328 of charges so far. There were quite a few 'Commision' charges but I do not know what these are... should I add them too? Also, I am about to send my prelim letter, it says XXXX amount plus XXXX in interest etc... so do I add 8% of the 1328 to the total? Help very much appreciated as I want to try and get this letter off tomorrow. Many thanks, Sam

Thank you very much for the quick response. It does worry me a little when they start to mention what they are / are not obliged to do. Now, this is going make me sound really daft but what on earth is 'manual intervention' anyway? Cheers, Sam

Right, I sent the letter off concerning the data protection SAR a week or so ago and have only just received a reply... "Thank you for your letter equesting specific information on your acount with us. I can confirm that copies of duplicate statements have been ordered and will be sent under a seperate cover. With regards to your request for information relating to manual intervention on your account, HBOS plc is under no statutory obligation to record this information and therefore, I am unable to assist you further with your request" yaddayaddayadda... {links to websires} etc Now, does this sound correct for a response off them?

Hi All, I'm full of rage at the moment from receiving a £30 fine for going £1.12 over my agreed limit. I'm actually pressing my keyboard keys quite hard in anger. Anyway, I'm well pleased to hear about this site and I am due to send my Data Protection letter first thing tomorrow by recorded post. I'll keep you all informed of my progress (or maybe lack of it) as it happens. Finally, good luck to anyone else battling the banks at the moment. Power to the people Sam a.k.a 'Puncture'