Hi beautiful day As you sent DPA SAR then they have a legal obligation to comply with this or you can take action to get the information you have requested. I would suggest starting again. Make an official SAR DPA immediately. If you dont have the correct amount to be claimed you could be under estimating and not get back wehat you are entitled to. You could also over estimate which will cause many problems along the way, which may conclude in you not getting anything. I understand this is frustrating, but please remember this is not a get rich quick solution...it takes time and energy. We are here to help and advise but it is your responsibilty ultimately. Good luck

HI Mango and welcome I am sure they will send the remaining statements. However I would contact them and tell them you requested 6 years (or however many you did) and that they have XX days in which to comply with the DPA SAR you sent on XX. Dont let them delay you, they will try all they can to do this. Also have a look at the LTSB forum http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/lloyds-bank/ You may see this is a delaying tactic. You will also find info on contacts in the abnk there and will no doubt be pointed in the right direction as to who you can contact in order to get the rest sent asap! Dont forget to start your own thread if you havent already...you can post as many questions on there as you need Good luck

Hi Jakebear. I think this is a delay tactic. They have cashed your payment and must hold information on your accounts by law. Write to them (or email) and ask them what ID they need in order to remedy this situation. Quick question in response to yours....are the accounts current? or are they closed? If they are current then they must send you some form of statment each month / quarter so they already have enough details on file in order to satisfy their query. If they are closed they still have to keep records for a number of years. And as long as you have sent a correct DPA SAR (from here) then they have 40 days in order to comply with it or you can begin legal action in order to get the information from them. Have a look on the HSBO forum, this may be a tactic others have over come. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/halifax-bank-bank-scotland/ Hope this helps

Hi Mandy and welcome No this wont make any difference to your claim as many people now are claiming further back than 6 years. They wont even turn up in court to defend so I would not worry about it too much. As a newbie, have a read of the FAQS (link below) and print them out for your convinience. These really help when your having an "unsure what you have done" moment which we all suffer from at times lol Also have a look at the forum for your bank. In there you will find lots of people who have started or completed their claim. you will get lots of advice from their stories. Start your own thread too....you can post questions on there which will be answered for you. Dont forget to pop into the chat room, this is great if you need a little bit of advice in a hurry. Good luck

Hi Nice Girl By counter claiming this will not stop the hearing, only making a realsitic offer to clear the arrears which Platform accept will do that. However be aware, once they set a hearing date they normally go through with it. Quick question: 1. Are the solicitors feees for the hearing you are about to attend? If so then you can apply to the court on the day for the fees for the hearing not to be added to the security as this along with the monthly charges they add (take evidence of this to the court) will increase the arrears. If you have tried to make an arrangement to clear them and this has been refused then take evidence of this too. The Judge wont be impressed if they have ignored a reasonable offer and will be more likely to not add the sols fee. When you are at court raise the issue of the charges. If you have monthly / quarterly statements which show the charges then take them. Explain to the Judge you beleive the charges to be unlawful as they are penalties. You will need to do some research into this. Have a look at this forum for more info http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/mortgage-companies/ Here is an example of the argument: You: I believe the charges applied to my mortgage each month are unlawful in accordance with the: OFT Report Analysis of Unfair Terms Group 5 Financial penalties 5.1 It is unfair to impose disproportionate sanctions for a breach of contract. A requirement to pay more in compensation for a breach than a reasonable pre-estimate of the loss caused to the supplier is one kind of excessive penalty. Such a requirement will, in any case, normally be void as a penalty under English common law. and Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regs 1999: Schedule 2 1 of those regulations include (e) Requiring any consumer who fails to fulfil his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation; I believe the charges applied according to Clause XX of the contract are excessive in relation to the actual loss incurred by the Defendant. The charges are disproportionate in value. They do not show a genuine, fair and reasonable pre estimate which is required by the regulations, FSA and OFT and therefore the terms are unenforceable according to UTCCR’s and English common law I think if you said this, the very least that would happen is the judge would adjourn for the mortgage co to write to you and demonstrate why the charges are set, and another hearing date would be arranged. What could happen is the Judge may make an order for the charges not to be added and the ones already applied to the account to be taken off. It is worth a try. Hope this helps

Go get em!! Dont stop till you have exhausted all the banks that charged you...if nothign else it will be good summer then lol

Are the second set of statements a full history of all the charges you are claiming? If not then i would suggest you send a further SAR for those that are missing. I would still write to the "solicitors" and tell them you are not satisfied, get them off the case. You have the resources...ask the bank, you have the knowledge...ask us, you have the time.....do all work on the claim at the weekend. There you can do it!!

congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow all that good luck in one week...you must be on a high!! Hope you have got yourself something nice from the money or are in the process of treating yourself. Can i remind you to take the survey if you have not already done so. Also as you are aware this site needs some form of support....if you could donate a little it will go a long long way and will be around to help others in their quest for justice Well done again and go on and treat yourself, you deserve it!

HI and welcome First of all, have you signed a contact for these "solicitors" to do the work? If not then you are within your right to tell the court you are now dealing with it yourself and that you will be sending the AQ and the fee within the time noted on the letter you will receive. If you have signed something to say they are working on this for you, then write to them and tell them you no longer want them to work on your case. My concern is that even though these "solicitors" are working for you, you have done the work. You have completed the AQ..which they should have completed had they actually been solicitors. As you are already receiving the paperwork directly from banks and then sending it on then they have no direct access to your account. You would have had to sign a declaration to say you give authority for them to go into your accounts. So just write a letter, send it recorded delivery so you have proof they have received it and tell them to bog off. Tell them you are disatisfied with their conduct, they have not compkleted the work as you had been lead to believe and that you will be delaing with it yourself.

Hi Storm and welcome to CAG. There are many who think the same as you and most of them are on this site!! Have a look over this thread. It is for mortgages. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/mortgage-companies/ You will see on there some are in the proces of reclaiming ERC and one or two have applied t have it reduced. There are some templates in the top section of that thread, have a read through them and see if any are suitable for your need. The basis of asking for it to be reduced is that they do not lose that amount of mney on you redeeming the loan, however it is very difficult and we have had some cases where the claimant has lost. So plese please read everything thoroughly before you start. Post on the mortgages thread for any questions you have, it will be beneficial if you can let us know who the mortgage is with, term of the loan, how early you are repaying it. Hope this helps

HI Sammy and welcome You seem to be pretty advanced on your claim, so well done first of all. Secondly here is the link for Abbey, have a look on there. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/abbey-bank/ You wills ee most cases are defended (and not just Abbey either). Have a read over the faqs (see link below) You really need to get on top of what the proces is. The banks see a chink in the armour and they will hold out for as long as they can. Make sure your claim is water tight by reading all notes throughly. Start a link in the abbey thread too...you will get loads of advice from others dealing with the same bank, you will also find contacts for abbey and solicitors in there. Hope this helps

Hello and welcome to CAG! There are a few things which are a must for you to do: Read the faqs http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faq.php Print them out for future reference, believe me you will need them. Start a thread in the relevant bank forum. You will find the banks sections by following this link http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/ Read the threads in your banks forum, this will give you an ideal insight into what you are taking on. A few things to remember: This is your money, it took years for the banks to collect it, so don’t be disheartened to find it takes more than a few weeks to get it back! Ask any questions you feel you need, but please remember someone may have already asked the question, so try searching for the answer first. Its your money, your responsibility, your job to get it refunded. We are here to support, guide and assist. If you are approached by anyone offering to do this for a fee, tell them NO and report them to admin / mod. You can do it, we all had to start somewhere and have been successful. You don’t need to lose up to half your money getting it back and you don’t need to have a degree in law!! A few things you might want to consider: This site is run by good people who offer their time and advice freely, however it costs them money to run it. One way you can help is by getting a CAG email address. Find out more here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/buy_email.php You are a newbie, and as you are reading this, chances are another newbie is signing up. So give a little back and support others when you feel ready to. You can do this by keeping your thread updated so others can read, and maybe offering advice to those who are at the stage you have already completed If you would like to donate to the site once you have been successful, then it would be extremely appreciated, especially by those who we haven’t helped yet….because by donating you are helping to keep the site free. Use our links to go to other sites; we currently have links to amazon, u-switch and a general search engine. This really helps. Thank you for joining CAG, and good luck.

Hi Freezer and welcome to CAG Here is a link for the llyods tsb forum in this site. There are lots of people already claiming (as you cna imagine) and you will get lots of specific answers in there. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/lloyds-bank/ L/T have been known to try most tricks in the book, including tkaing their time to send statements, well in excess of the 40 days. So if you read the threads in that forum you will get a good idea of what they will try. Also start your own thread there, it will be a good point of reference for you and you will get lots of advice from your questions on there. Good luck, although I'm sure you wont need it!! Mrsfoot

Peed'orf That sounds like it has it covered. The only thing i would add is the actual act and section you are relying on in order to get your dads money back (s14 supply of goods and services act) If you add this into the letter then you are giving a valid reason why you think the money should be refunded. If they refuse you then have some Act to fall back on and they will have to answer to rather than "i want my money back" "no you cant" syndrome. Good luck

PPMan Yes I would send SAR requesting the individual charges as this will be easier. On occasion claims have been delayed due to the spreadsheet not showing the correct information, the particualrs of claim not being detailed enough, so I suggest you get as much info as you can at this stage in order to help the claim proceed more smoothly Mrsfoot

HI John All of the charges above are not penalty charges. They cannot be claimed. However you can ask the litigation fee to be explained and broken down, if it gets to the court stage. It may be best that you re do the spreadsheet and remove these and send a copy to the court and B&B. There is a definitive line on what can be claimed. Remember if it was a charge that was added through a breach as a penalty (similar to getting a parking fine) then it can be included in your attempt to reclaim. If it was a fee for work they or some other company they employed completed then usually you cant claim that back. Hope this helps Mrsfoot

Hi PPMan Here is the templates you need. The mortgage charges are different in the fact they have different cases to support them. I think it was Zoot who has written the templates and they do cover what you need to cover. Hope this helps http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/mortgage-companies/71276-mortgage-charge-templates-prelim.html

Jackie I am sorry to hear about your conclusion. It seems a trifle unfair that they left the one piece of evidence that you could have used in order to end this claim to the end. However the one good thing to come out of this is you had no costs to bear. This would have stuck in your throat when you paid it so think of it as a blessing. I know it will be hard at the min to do that, but in time im sure you can use your experience for other matters. Take care and good luck with any other lcaims you have going Mrsfoot

HI Nigel Yes this is a fob off letter. I have a friend who claimed successfully from GMAC. They will continue with their fob off letters, however please be aware they they are very willing to go the whole hog. She had to concede the ERC charge and only claimed back late fees, however once their Sols go onto the case (Eversheds) it was over within weeks. Send you LBA to the adddress supplied and let them deal with it. They will almost vertainly pass it over to Eversheds to deal with, and from there you can quite easily negotiate a payment as she said they were quite helpful. Her contact there was Gareth Vowels, but obviously you wont need that till it has been passed to them. In time i will get his email address and number for ease

I have had a think about LTV fees for a while. I have came up with the following: As it is at "their discretion" that they are not refundable They are not a penalty, therefore they are not contrary to UTCCR. It is a fee we agree to pay in order to get a higher mortgage for the property than would normally be allowed in that situation. I doubt this post will be the news you wanted, and of course it is only my view and based on some research into this field. However i will keep an eye on this thread as any body else with any news on this may shed further light.

Shameful I know but going to bump this up!!

Well done steve, this is great news. I do think a lot more claims will be settled pretty quickly now especially with the Judges now clamping down on banks sending in defences for claims they have no intention of attending court for. Well done again and dont forget to complete the survey and if we have helped, even in itsy bitsy teeny way maybe donating a little of your good luck to help keep the site open. Oh and dont forget, spend it on something spectacular!!

Jackie The test of reseasonable is going to be done via the 2 parties stating what they think is a reasonable charge for the work completed for each activity, giving a reason and evidence if available (on my part). This will (on my part) take into account who has done the work, what their title was at the time, wages and the length of time working. A good example of this was given by the judge for both parties to use......if a letter is written from the solicitors it can be almost certainly assumed that it wont have been written by a solicitor. In fact it would have been completed, if at all, by an assistant solicitor. So a reasonable charge for a letter would be approx 10% of that persons hourly wage giving a figure of around £15. So i am completing an analysis of what i feel is reasonable for a charge, after all there were breaches and we expect to pay a "reasonable" fee. It will be very interesting to see what reasons the Defence give for a charge of £100 for 1 letter!

Thanks guys, was feeling a litle mad with self over the penalty charges part of the claim but now i have had time to sit and think i really believe this is the right way forward

OK update ready Went and was a prepared as i could be. Met the clerk of the Judge who was extrememly nice. Anyhow when his honour came in he was very straight forward. The defence has combined the bundles....which meant my skeleton argument was out of context.. and no page ref was accurate! Luckily I had noticed this before the hearing and had prepared a further argument and printed one for each party and his honour. He made no bones about telling both parties that litigation is not a game. He then turned his attention to me and asked why i thought the charges were a penalty. After starting the initial blurb he stopped me and said he had seen enough of "our old friends dunlop et al" and he had thoroughly read the case and felt these charges were not penalties. He said we had agreed to them and therefore they ewre not in terrorem. He said they had not been sent with a tarrif rather the contract had been signed with perfectly logical terms in them. HH asked me did i expect to pay reasonable charges for not paying my mortgage on time..yes i replied, that was exactly what i expected to pay, but these charges werre not reasonable i argued. Exactly HH said. HH then stated about the cost of this case, mentioning that if it was to continue it could run into thousands of pounds which did i realise i would have to pay if i lost. He then said that did the defence realise that if i won they would be footing their own costs. He went into great detail about this subject and Defence asked for it to be then placed into multi track where it belonged. HH then called a short adjournment for both sides to consider this. When he came back in both me and OH had decided to continue, al;ong the track of Defence breaching their own contract. There are a few reasons for this which has to remain confidential for a while (sorry). HH was relieved at this and we got the feeling he would have dismissed the claim on the basis of penalty charges. He said it was more the mortgage company had breached their own contract by charging unreasonable charges. He then turned to the Defence and asked where this analysis is. They told HH it was not relative to Swift Ad rather it was Swift 1st as it was sent to FSA when Swift 1st registered. I then said if i had been allowed inspection of this at the begginning this case may not have been here if it shows no profit is made. HH then mentioned the cost of some letters....and worked them out to be worth about £15 using 10% of an assistant solicitor (if that was the case). HH then asked the Defence to use best endevours to get this report to me, which they agreed, within 14 days. This report must remain confidential. If it is not HH said and i quote "there had best be a very good reason why not" The next 20 mins were spent organising the next date which is July. Defence then asked the case to be transferred to multi track. I quoted relevant CPR and the facts from the previous hearing....to which HH then said it was to stay in fast track. I have a few plans which must stay quiet for a few weeks, but as soon as i can let you know i will. I am extremely disapointed in the fact it was not concluded, however it could have been worse and been thrown out on the penalty basis. I have taken advice on this matter and it may have been a mistake for me to do this, but at the time i had no other option as I had to agree totally with the Judge. However mistake over, there is now a very good chance for this to go to a next step, which of course will be revealed in due course. So top and bottom 1. Case now based on breach of contract on Defendants side 2. I will be claiming the difference between the cost charged and the actual reasonable cost for each single item 3. Its been adjourned for defence to send analysis, for me to read and digest then report my next step and for Defence to do a response to my next step. 4. The judge said it may be an idea for the next hearing not to actually happen, hinting at an out of court settlement for both sides. I have to say it was an experience sitting in front of such a nice Judge, and really felt he was as helpful as he could have been....and extremely funny on top of his professionalism.