OK time for my update . in response to my 7 day letter i had a grovelling letter from Mr Whalley explaining in detail the reason for the delay but still giving no specific date. the letter was sufficiently explanatory for me to allow them extra time.

 

i have now received a letter from the office of the info commissioner about my complaint, and they say they have asked barclays to comply within 28 days. so clock is ticking again . after 28 days are out (another 3 weeks) i will give another 7 day letter and then proceed to court, with more justification , i feel , having given them every chance.

Had the same letter last week after issuing them a 7 day final warning letter and issuing a complaint to the Information Commissioner. BUT, also amongst that same days post were my statements!! I don't honestly think the right hand knows what the left hand is doing there.

Have now sent of my first 14 day letter asking for my money back.

Hello all.

Looks like there may be a few in the same boat as me.

I sent of my S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) form to MBNA and have today received a letter back from them with a list of charges.

The letter states that they have deducted £645.00 from my account balance as a gesture of goodwill, without me even asking. Having looked through the charges they actually total £1231.

At the moment the account is on an agreement where I pay a set amount a month and they charge me no fees or interest. I am worried that if I attack them for the rest of my money back then they may say "up yours" we are are closing your account and want all the money back straightaway!

If they gave me back the total amount, the debt would be significantly reduced to a size where they could charge me interest if they wished and I would still be able to clear it off pretty quickly.

Help!

Also can anyone give me a link to a spreadsheet or similar which will help me calculate contractual interest. The more I can get this down the better!

The Subject Access Guide which is available for download from the Information Commissioners website states:-

 

WHAT CAN I DO IF THE DATA CONTROLLER DOES NOT COMPLY WITH MY SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST?

If the data controller fails to respond to your request within 40 days, or fails to respond

to your satisfaction, and you have sent all the information required to the data controller to enable him to deal with your request, including the fee, you should send

the data controller a reminder by recorded delivery, keeping a copy of your letter.

If you still do not receive a reply fairly quickly or if you think that the information you

receive is wrong or incomplete you may:

• ask the Commissioner to carry out an assessment as to whether it is likely or

unlikely that the data controller is processing your personal data in compliance with the terms of the Act;

• pursue the matter yourself through the court. For information as to how to do

this please refer to the leaflet called “Taking a case to court”.

An assessment will inform you as to whether the matters that concern you are likely to involve a breach of the Act and may help you in making a decision as to whether to take legal action against a data controller under the Act. However, an assessment from the Commissioner is not necessary to take a case to court.

WHAT ORDERS CAN THE COURT MAKE?

If a court is satisfied that a data controller has failed to comply with a subject access

request contrary to the provisions of the Act, the court may order him to comply with

such a request. The court also has the power to award compensation. Please refer to the leaflet called “Claiming compensation”.

 

Therefore you should be able to get an order from the court ordering Barclaycard to comply with your S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) and you may also be awarded compensation for the delay.

 

The above documents can be found here:-

 

Subject Access - A Guide for Data Subjects -

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/subject_access_-_guide_for_data_subjects.pdf

 

Taking a Case to Court -

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/taking_a_case_to_court.pdf

 

Claiming Compensation -

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/claiming_compensation.pdf

Having read the leaflets, do I then send in my N1 form for a SAR request claiming Unliquidated damages?

I really only want the information!! Or should I just file for a Part 8 procedure??

Barclays / Barclaycard are getting themselves into a real mess here.

 

The information commissioner has recently found against barclays. This was concerning the disclosure of their microfiche files (containing details of charges and statements) which they used to try and claim weren't covered by the data protection act and so didnt have to disclose to the customer - "we don't have to tell you what we've charged you".

 

Pretty blatant and disgusting witholding of information - which they have now been told they have to disclose, thankfully.

 

However our case deals with just a more straightforward delay in getting a response - they have not replied within the 40 day timetable and whether they have issued a "holding" letter or not, they are bound by this statutory timetable and are in breach. A court should therefore rule in your favour. Barclays ( a company with a trillion pounds of assets) errrm, resourcing, i.e their failure to put men on the ground to help with these claims, is not our issue - it is abundantly clear they are just stalling for time , hoping a few more people get bored and decide its not worth claiming. Just as with the microfiche debacle .

 

Their story is that they are snowed under (probbably from the backlog of microfiche file requests which they now have to dig out) and so cant comply with the rules. Sorry, barclaycard, this isn't good enough and i'll see you in court. ( and i want my info NOW!)

Fair enough

How long have you been waiting altogether?

They are currently on 45 days with me, that's the 40 day period gone and 5 days of the 7 day LBA.

Brilliant information.

Thank you.

Have there been other cases of the courts awarding these damages or have Barclaycard ever defended any cases for failure to comply to a DPA?

I've got mine ready to send off tomorrow or Thursday seems like some of us are at the same stage.

 

I am claiming for my time spent issuing letters and swotting up on how to make a claim and charging them £350 + court costs. And of course i want my statements. the costs are based on an hourly rate of £75, which is what a lawyer would charge (at least).

 

I can't claim for any charges at the mo as they haven't given me any statements from which to work, and they refuse to discuss the matter with me - what a friendly bank!

I'm in exactly the same position. No idea what they owe me!!

Could you give me a link to the template or something similar on how I should fill out the court claim?

Thank you for that, Dave.

 

I'll delete the CCA bit and leave that fun for another day, when I'm ready to seriously start playing with them.

Hello.

Barclaycard now have 2 days left to comply with my 7 day LBA before I issue a court order like yourself.

How do I go about doing this????

Also how do I quantify the damages and how much to claim?

Well only 4 days after them receiving my claim I too got the letter about the OFT back. They also quote a case in Northern Ireland which is totally irrelevant as we will be in the English courts!

What should my next move be people??

Should I just wait until the 14 days up and file my claim with the County Court or do it now as it looks like they think that's that?

Just posting this for my own information and to keep any one informed who may be going through the same process.

DPA letter sent

Statements received

14 day letter received by Citicards 26-01-06.

Awaiting their next move.

Received a letter today, will update later when I get home to read it

Thanks Jimmy, letter going in the post any minute.

Besides, the better documented their delays are, the more pressure the Information Commissioners Office can put them under to comply... So that they can't use the staffing levels to delay forever... So yes, I'd say complain to the Information Commissioners Office anyway.

I have had the same letter too. I can't do anything until I get the statements as this account has been dead for a couple of years now.

Can anyone point me to a template letter I need to send to the information commissioner please?

Just to let everyone know. Halifax seem to be willing to settle up most cases over the telephone. I called them back saying I would settle for £1000 against charges of £1164, refusing the offer of £607 they made me.

They agreed virtually straight away, gave me a case number and told me to ammend the offer letter and return it . Money in my account within 7/10 days.

RESULT.

Off to get MBNA, Barclaycard and Citibank now!

Thanks once again for the advice and inspiration this forum has given me.

Thanks for your response I have just called the Halifax and they have told me that they have levied charged of £1164 on my account over the last six years.

Now I know this info I will turn down the offer and persue the rest as advised.

Thanks for the help.

I posted my first letter to the Halifax on the 13th December claiming for £800. This was an estimated amount based on the 20 months statements I had got.

They have called me today and offered me £607 as a "goodwill gesture".

In the letter I sent I asked them to give me the details of the amount they did owe me if they disagreed with the £800 I was claiming.

My question is Can I now go back to them and say thanks for the offer but how much do you actually owe me??

Any help appreciated.

And thanks to everyone on here for the inspiration they have given me.