Ok, so I waited for the response to my initial request for repayment, and got the bog standard "we will investigate", so after the 14 days I sent my LBA. Because it fell neatly into my pay cycle, I opted to give them 14 working days (not that I told Abbey that), and one week 7 days before the deadline I got the following response from Mike Bennett, Senior Customer Resolution Manager. Dear Mr Beaker_smiles, Thank you for your letter dated 14th August 2006, about your bank charges. Having Carried out a full investigation, I can assure you that the charges do not contravene those regulations and therefore I cannot agree to refund all of them. However, as a gesture of goodwill, I am happy to offer a refund of £685, for the period January to Septeber 2006. The regulations say that we must explain our charges in plain language and that we have to act in good faith, which, according to the Office of Fair Trading, means dealing fairly and openly with customers. I therfore reviewed the literature and information you received when you opened your account, including the terms and conditions. This explains that charges will be applied if you do not keep to the terms of the account. Because of this, I believe we have been fair and open in telling you about them. The charges were correct, because you did not have enough money in your account to cover payments from it. When I looked at your account I found that, unfortunately, this was not the first time this has happened. We can, as you asked, supply you with details of all the charges on your account over the last six years. Please accept my apologies but I cannot see that we have recieved the previous request you mention in your letter. If you would like us to do this, please contact our Telephone Banking Centre on 08459 724724 or visit one of our branches. There is a fee of £10 per account, to cover the cost of producing this information. He then goes on about my right to contact the ombudsman, and how the Telephone Banking Centre will help if I have any further "needs". My intended response is posted below.

I'll be posting more about this in my thread in the next day or two, but as the response to my LBA I have a letter from Mike Bennett - Senior Customer Resolution Manager - who writes "We can, as you asked, supply you with details of all the charges on your account over the last six years. Please accept my apologies but I cannot see that we have received the previous request you mention in your letter. If you would like us to do this, please contact our Telephone Banking Centre on 08459 724724 or visit one of our branches. There is a fee of £10 per account, to cover the cost of producing the information." I will be responding, especially as I shall claim it all back in the small claims court, as there is no mention of microfiche or relevant filing systems. In fact Mr Bennett makes it sound quite easy. Perhaps if I pry hard enough I can expose a chink in their armour, especially as my SAR was sent back in April, and the delightful Sheena Small has told me that it is on microfiche, and therefore not relevant.

I was wondering if anybody had tried to take Talk Talk to court to reclaim the charges incurred whilst waiting for "free" broadband. I am still waiting to know if they managed to use my MAC code to transfer me as it expired on the 7th July, but they haven't bothered to contact me to update me on the situation, and they are impossible to get through to. As I have not received the service that I wanted, ie free broadband, and yet I still have to pay their ridiculous charge for international calls which I have no use for, surely they have either misled me with false advertising, or they are in breach of contract. It's a shame they have been so shabby about all of this, because when I only used them for my phone calls they were all right.

Another good line of arguement, especially as they are claiming performance issues as the reason for dismissal, is that your daughter received a bonus for her work. If she was underperforming why did she get it?

I think people tend to focus on the black and white of speeding. There are grey areas. However, most of us are aware that there is a trigger speed for cameras, which is usually 4 or 5 miles over the posted speed limit. If you don't want to get flashed, slow down. It's not as if enough hasn't been done for us drivers, they are now luminous yellow, and have signs warning us that they are coming up. As for illegal drivers, I know the council I work for frequently team up with the DVLA and sweep through whole estates checking cars for tax, insurance and MOT. The last sweep several days ago netted over 200 cars for removal. However, before you all attack me for being pro-camera, I will agree it's not the speed that kills, it's bad driving. I do think the dependance on camera's is over the top, but it's a reality of life, so we all have to deal with it. The case of the parents being caught at night on a main road does seem very unfair, especially if there was nobody working on the road at that time, but if it was clearly signposted as 40 through the roadworks, it does have to get chalked up to bad luck.

Hi Emsiewill, welcome to the forum. Definately deduct the £250 they have already paid. You have accepted it as a part settlement. As for the two accounts.............I'm no expert but I would treat them seperately. You can reclaim your costs for bringing the cases, and if shABBEY choose to combine them you will still be well under the £5000 small claims threshold, but as they are seperate accounts I would expect them to treat them seperately.

My understanding is .......... Add the £30 court costs for your DPA action to your overall claim, as you have incurred the cost as part of your claim. If you are going to chase the £50 for damages and distress then make sure you can proove it. If you don't have physical evidence (letters from doctors etc) it could be hard to proove so let it go. I don't have any legal knowledge, so this is really speculation on my part. It would probably be worthwhile sending a pm to a moderator with a link to your thread so they can have a look at it. I know the moderators are very busy, so sometimes you do need to draw their attention if questions aren't being answered.

Hi Jorge, Welcome to the CAG and good luck. The address to send your SAR to at Abbey is: Data Protection Manager Data Protection Team Regulatory Compliance Abbey House 210 Grafton Gate East Milton Keynes MK9 1AN

The £12 limit is (if I've got this right) a guideline for the credit card companies, above which it is unfair to charge. It doesn't yet apply to banks. What all the letters in the library are set up to say is "You've charged a grossly dissproportionate amount of money, please demonstrate to me why your charge is so high or give it back." As the banks don't want to tell anybody how much it really costs them they will give it back (but they will try every trick in the book to make you give up before they do). So if they charged you £25, ask for £25 back. As the others have said, so long as your total claim is less than £5000 it will go through the small claims track of a court, and you can claim all your expenses back. But do make sure you read the notes, FAQ's and as many threads as possible. If you make a mistake, it adds extra time and effort to what is already a long and drawn out process.

You can add the overdraft interest, but the 8% only gets added if you take it to court.

Hi LIP, You've been busy while I was away. I hope everything starts to speed up now you've filed your ammendment.

............ Oh, and I didn't bother with an N1 (don't have enough money). If Abbey want to dispute my claim, let them provide the paperwork. I don't mind revising down if I have to, and it highlights their unhelpful attitude.

Right, I'm back. I've been in my new job for eight weeks, and I've got myself settled so I am ready to pick up where I left off. Sent my prelim letter asking for £1400 that I can discern from the 14 months of statements they have sent me, and £3400 as an estimate for the rest of the time. Also turned my lack of movement into a complaint against them, suggesting that I had been waiting for further response from Ms. Small in Data Compliance (well they said that even though I wasn't entitled to my own bank statements they would try and post them to me and it would take time. Surely 8 weeks is sufficient time.) I sent the letter last Monday, so the deadline is Tuesday 29th. If I don't hear anything then onto the LBA, and then court.

I know I'm claiming more than I think is necessary, but only because the bank won't comply with my DPA, so I've had to estimate 5 years of my claim. If they were that worried then they would have complied with my DPA (although if they give me the records to accurately adjust my claim I will.)

The part 8 form is at: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n208_1000.pdf claimants notes: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n208a_0499.pdf defendants notes: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n208c_1202.pdf At the start of the claimants notes, you have the option of choosing which court you are going to use to serve the claim. If you look at the link in my first post - regarding the application of law -, it does say that the claim can be multi-tracked, dependant on the amount/issue ( Part 26.6, Part 27 and part 28 ). With clear precedants such as Durant Vs FSA and Smith Vs Lloyds TSB, so long as I submit my request letters and Abbeys denials, it would appear quite clear cut and simple, and could go on the small claims track. The fast tracking of part 8's appears to be linked more to complicated personal injury claims and medical records rather than a simple DPA request.

I hope you kept the envelope. Was it sent second class? I know the only letter they have sent me was 2nd class, but when I show it to a judge (as no doubt I will at some point) it would be worth mentioning that I was using first class recorded, and that they cared so little they used 2nd class (which by definition at the post office is only dealt with as an afterthought once all the first class post has been sorted).

Like a lot of people who bank with Abbey, I've reached the point where I need to go to Court to get my Subject Access Request dealt with. The Question I have is should I send it on the N1 claim form as a Part 7, or should I send it as Part 8. Reading the High Court definition of proceedings at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1998/19983132.htm and the Part 8 claimant notes (form 208a on the courts website) it would seem to suggest that I can opt to send my claim to the County Court under Part 8, and still keep it in the small claims track. The main difference seems to be that under Part 8 I don't claim damages (but most people are only looking at £20 tops for letters posted and an hour or two of time), although I seem to be able to put a stronger case. I just ask for the documents I'm after, quote the rulings of Durant Vs FSA and Smith Vs Lloyds, and unless Abbey can come up with a suitable precedent that superceeds mine, I win, as there is no other defence permitted. The only option Abbey have is a part 20 counterclaim, but as all I'm asking for is documents what can this amount to? I have to send them the copies of the bank statements back! lol. Advice please. Thanks

Agreed, it was a generalisation. However when you are dealing with the large companies such as the banks and mobile phone companies, your conversations are being recorded. Either that or the people I talk to at all of the above all have very good memories. Utility companies, councils, they all have a unique insight into my life ................................ or they are recording my conversations. Now I'm just starting to sound paranoid ................. although the milkman always knows how many pints to leave. ROFL

Yes, but what if when I finally get my statements I discover I can only claim a smaller amount. Not that I think there would be that much difference, but why not save the hassle of two trips to court, and just bang in a claim a little shy of £5000.

Now I've just filled in the N1 forms for Abbey's DPA non-compliance, but before I hand them in I was wondering. If I have been charged £1500 for the last year (which I can proove) do I need to actually need to start litigation for the missing statements? If I can proove that I have tried to obtain them, why not just submit a claim for £4950 (to keep it under the small claims limit) and stuff Abbey if that amount is wrong. This would appear to be a win-win scenario, or could Abbey magically produce my missing statements and say "Well actually we only make it £2500 in total" just to pee on my bonfire?

I have said this in another post but ............ I have worked for a call centre, and when they say your call MIGHT be recorded for information or training purposes, your call IS being recorded. Most of these systems store the sound file on hard disk, so I would have thought they would be covered by the DPA ....... but don't quote me on that.

Hi LIP, Thanks for your post, I'll be off to the court today to pick up my N1 form, and hope the cost won't be too high. With a bit of luck I can get the N1 back to the court tomorrow and get the LBA to Abbey today. As you say, we must remain strong, because it is turning into a drag. I can see what they were on about, with regard to shABBEY dragging their feet.

Well, the 7 days expired today, and do you think I received anything from shABBEY? NOPE!! Oh well, off to the court tomorrow to get an N1 form. Does anybody know how much it will cost to lodge a DPA section 7 claim on an N1 form? I have seen varying amounts bandied about, the lowest being £30 - but that was thought to be the incorrect fee.

You can find templates for all the letters mentioned here in the library.

I don't think the microfiche arguement, as put by oddfellow, would hold water. As LLoyds v Smith concluded, microfiche is considered relevant if it has recently been processed from a computer. Surely if it is covered by the statute of limitations then it cannot be argued to be an old system which is hard to use.