This topic was closed on 03/07/19. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

As i still bank with them they've deposited it straight into my account... and i've promptly moved it into another account elsewhere... just incase lol. Cheers, Leigh

Oh my god, had a letter from the Halifax this morning stating that although they intended to defend my action against them, due to commercial reasons they have decided to settle... commercial reasons my @rse, they know when they're beaten!!! A massive thank you to all at the CAG, as without them i would never have gotten anywhere near getting these charges back! Good luck to everyone still in the thick of things, hang tight and you'll get what's yours. Cheers, Leigh

Cool, i had a confirmation from the court today which said the claim would be considered served on 11/06/06, which gives Halifax until 25/06/06 to respond. No doubt they'll delay as long as possible but i'm happy to play the game if that's what's required. Good luck to you and everyone els going through the same. Cheers, Leigh

Hi, The claim itself is for £1,566.48, plus £149.88 interest and £120 costs, totalling £1836.36. The interest though could realistically be completely different on a claim of similar value, depending on the age and value of the specific amounts. You can download a 60 day trial version of Microsoft Office Standard Edition from the Microsoft website, which should enable you to use the Excel version of the interest calculator. Click here: http://www.microsoft.com/office/editions/prodinfo/standardtrial.mspx Microsoft also have an 'Excel Viewer' available to download, but it only allows you to open, view and print Excel files, but will mean you can still access the files you create with the trial version after the trial has expired. You can download it here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C8378BF4-996C-4569-B547-75EDBD03AAF0&displaylang=en. Hope this helps, Leigh

Finally had a response to my LBA, a rather insulting 'full and final settlement' offer of £273... I called to reject this amount and was immediately offered £535. Again like many other people on this site, i've got absolutely no idea how they arrive at these figures. I told them that like their initial offer, this too was not sufficient, unless it was an interim offer and the balance would be paid within 7 days. To this I was told that this was their FINAL offer. I remained polite throughout and ended the call by stating I would be putting in a court claim today... which I've just done!!! Including interest and costs, i'm claiming £1836.36 so fingers crossed! To be honest, as I clicked the submit button on the money claim website I felt really sick, no idea why but hey. I felt a little better however when i paid the court fees with my Halifax Visa Debit card he-he! Wish me luck, Leigh.

Hi everyone, As i've had no further response to my initial request, I sent my LBA on 18/05/2006. If i get nothing before the 14 day deadline expires, i'll be issuing my Money Claim on Monday June 5th... Watch this space! Cheers, Leigh

Had a letter today in response to my initial request. Seems to be the standard letter most people are getting: "Understand you're unhappy with charges... We're keen to deal with concerns... Customer relationship manager will investigate... Here's a leaflet..." Oh well, LBA will be going off on Thursday of next week... Cheers, Leigh

'Investors Account Report' arrived today. At 1st look, they've taken £1566.48 since i opened the account in Aug 2003. Going to go through it again to make sure i haven't missed anything and send my request for repayment ASAP. Fingers crossed!!! Cheers, Leigh

Brilliant bookworm, an inspiration to all of us! Cheers, Leigh

Yes i agree, definitely trying to buy more time... which if the charges were legitimate, you'd think they wouldn't need to bother doing! Good luck with your claim scarlet. Cheers, Leigh

Received a second letter today from the the Halifax, which i can only assume is an attempt to buy more time, or to avoid having to provide any information. Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the above account. We can provide the information requested but to do so, there is a £5 statement charge. However, if you wish to continue with the Data Protection Act disclosure request, please advise us of this and we will refund you with £5.00 (as £10.00 received from you.) No action will be taken until we receive this . Please note that the majority of transactions on your account are automated and all application of charges is automated. The only manual intervention around charges would be when a refund is made . Therefore, if you require any further information please contact us. Yours sincerely Nicola Cormack Customer Services I called the call centre and was put on hold for at least 10 minutes, but finally managed to convey the fact that i still want to proceed with the DPA disclosure as i beleive that this way, i controll when they send the info to me, rather than them dragging their heels over a simple statement request. I have also sent them a written confirmation of this and faxed it so there's little chance that they can claim they haven't received my reply. I've also reitterated that i also want details of any manual intervention relating to the bouncing of direct debits and not just the application of charges. Here's the letter i've sent to them in case anyone wants to use it: Dear Sir/Madam With reference to your recent letter dated 6th April 2006 and my telephone conversation today with your call centre representative, Deborah Griffin. Please note that I wish to continue with my Data Protection Act Disclosure request for disclosure of all activity on the above account since it was opened in 2003. Please also note that I require details relating to manual intervention leading to, or resulting in charges being applied to my account and not simply the application of the charges themselves. Specifically I require details of manual intervention required as a direct result of you having to refuse a direct debit payment from my account due to insufficient funds being available. If there are no records of such manual intervention then please state this as part of your response. May I respectfully remind you that the deadline for this information to be provided is still 40 days from my original letter of March 27th 2006 and failure to provide the requested information within the timescales set out in the legislation will result in this matter being referred to the Information Commissioner without further warning. Yours faithfully Cheers, Leigh

Thanks for the clarification Dave. Cheers, Leigh.

What are the 'OFT findings' and how do/will they effect future claims? Cheers, Leigh.

Had a reply from the Halifax (Trinity Road address) in response to my DPA, just a confirmation of receipt really, but thats better than nothing, however its interesting that it pertains to come from a "Data Protection Consultant": Thank you for your letter requesting a complete list of transactions and charges on the above account. I am currently processing your request and a copy of the information will be supplied to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, if you have any queries regarding your request, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely Julie O'Donnell Data Protection Consultant Retail Business Risk I'll keep this thread updated with my progress. Cheers, Leigh.

Google works by "crawling" a document and indexing its content. Suggesting that GK once appeard on the page when it was crawled, but since then he has been removed and the page hasn't been crawled by google since. Cheers, Leigh

Hi everyone, Firstly, a massive thank you to those who've put this website together and provided such vital information to us all. Ok, my DPA has gone, 1st class recorded delivery to the 'Customer Relations' address detailed in the Halifax Contact Details thread. My initial rough calculations suggest they've taken around £600 from me in the past few years in charges, of which many were as a direct result of them charging me in the first place... Anyhow, its very early days so i'm not going to get too excited (better get my best suit to the cleaners incase I need to put in a court appearance) although its encouraging to read some of the other threads where people are obviously having some success. I'll make sure i keep this thread upto date with my progress, bye for now. Cheers, Leigh.