Hi guys Thanks for the good advice.....I have realised infact that the 14 days are up quite soon....I shall have a good read at the weekend and try to find out whether I can actually put my business a/c claim and current a/c one together (though kept separate - if that makes sense) and put them both under once claim - I figure that it would be cheaper and less messy - not sure whether I can - my business a/c is around 1600 and my current a/c around 3200 (I asked for 18.9% interest) so this is under 5k.......If I can, I think I shall write to them regarding the business a/c to give them another 14 days and at the same time post an LBA on my current a/c (and attach the prelim letter and figures to it - I sent the prelim after all and as far as they know, I do not know they did not receive it and the prelim letter is pointless anyway as they just send out a standard letter.....I shall send both to Colmore Row and also a duplicate of the current a/c one to Gresham street...This way, both will be dealt with on the same timescale if that makes sense....... Photoman, good luck again - I am sure that things will come through for you - you seem as though you are not going to take any nonsense from them - I shall catch up with your thread at the weekend. Reddeath - I am so rooting for you too......There is no way you are going to lose......and you are a brave man (getting all dramatic again!) - I am not sure whether photoman is going for 29.8% too......Oh, good luck to you both. Thanks again...I would not have the courage to do this at all without you chaps. All the best.

Thank you Barty and Redeath.

PS Photoman - I have no idea where your claim is at right now......but hope all is going well and good luck.

Thanks guys I do apologise but I did not realise that anybody had replied for some strange reason and so posted for help elsewhere. It seems the major opinion is to just disregard the letter and go ahead....I think now that you have said Photoman that you received the same letter I shall do that. Many thanks. Reddeath hi, Thank you for your help......I would agree that it seems only right to write again etc giving them a further 14 days - and somehow it seems only right to do things amicably etc etc......however, now that I know MBNA did the same thing to me and did not get back hoping that I would forget about the whole thing - which is what I shall do - I simply cannot be bothered for a couple of hundred pounds.....I can see this is a tactic to stall things....It does seem `not right` in principle to just disregard their letter (what if they actually ARE investigating it) and go ahead....a judge would look at every case individually and I am not complying to their wishes etc. But it does seem that just going ahead and sticking to the 14 days that I told them is the right thing to do.......I hope your claim is coming along - I know that you stalled them - I must catch up when I have time - how are things with capital one? Certainly I will give them another 14 days if I don`t get my court claim stuff together in time.......I don`t know where to start with that = I have not even thought about it as so busy lately.......Anyway, I am so glad you chaps are here......Thank you. All the best

Many thanks to everybody for your help - much appreciated. Butterfly Collector, I had already had a response from my prelim letter and this was the response to my LBA.....Thanks for info about just sending in LBA on my current account.....despite them not receiving the prelim (it definitely was not signed for...I think that I shall send the LBA to Colmore Row where everything seems to be dealt with and replied to. There is a little part of me that looks at the letter from them saying they will respond within 4 weeks and it doesn`t seem right to just go ahead....However, I will agree babylovejjmc (some of these names!! - I saw a very good one on the site `diddled` and the penny didn`t drop at first!)....I do know what you mean about it being a `load of bull` - I know this is an entirely different bank but I asked MBNA for my statements, they paid my £10 cheque into my actual account with them, said they would respond by the 22nd March and haven`t - and you know, I just don`t have the inclination to bother with it now - which is, I suspect what they hoped for....good luck with your claim - 8 months is a long time and I hope it is sorted out for you very soon. Barty, thank you - so, I just disregard the letter and go ahead with the court claim......(seems a bit wrong to go against what they have asked - to give them 4 weeks - is this usual???) andyway I shall try to get over it and just do the deed.... Thank you again.. Best wishes

I do have a thread elsewhere on which I have posted but thought a new thread might be seen more clearly and I would get some help. Basically I sent my LBA on an old business a/c last week and a day later they replied saying they were sorry that I had a complaint etc etc...... They expect their enquiries to be completed within the next four weeks and if there is a delay they will let me know......They have enclosed a copy of their `voicing your concerns` letter. Obviously I have said in my LBA that I shall start legal proceedings if they have not responded positively within 14 days. Should I actually now wait the four weeks for their response or do I go ahead with legal action. I feel that I should wait but I would be grateful to hear from anybody as to whether this is their usual response - is this delaying tactics or are they genuinely looking into things. I would be most grateful for any advise please. Also I sent my prelim letter on my current a/c at the same time as my LBA on my business one....but it would appear they have not received the letter....I sent the business one which they have received and are dealing with to Colmore Row and the unreceived one to Gresham street......As time just seems to be marching on and on in this whole process (most of that being down to my own indecision and hesitation in claiming to be honest) I wonder whether I should just send the original prelim letter dated 14 days previously along with my list of figures and attach them to an LBA and send it to Colmore Row (as though I am just assuming they did not respond to my prelim)...I personally don`t think it matters too much as they pay little heed to the prelim anyway and just send out standard blurb......I just want to reduce the time scale on all of this........ THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU....ANYONE! Best wishes.....

I would be really grateful if somebody could help and adivse me please. I sent my LBA regarding my business account which was received by them on 19 March. Today, dated 21st March I received a reply....It basically says they are sorry to learn that I have cause to complain etc etc and they are carrying out enquiries and that I should receive a respose from them within the next 4 weeks - if they think there will be a delay in responding they will contact me to let me know when I should receive a response in full - and they have enclosed a copy of `voicing your concerns`..........Should I still go ahead legally when the 14 days has expired?? Also, I sent my prelim letter on my current a/c to them on 15th March - I sent this one to Gresham street (I sent the business a/c letters to Colmore Row) I sent it `signed for`and on tracking it, it would appear that it has not been received yet.......I feel that time is marching on and I do not want to send another prelim (this time I will send it to Colmore Row) shall I just send my LBA and attach it to the original prelim letter and figures etc.....I don`t see that it will make much difference to be honest - I do not want this to drag on forever..... Many thanks indeed.....

Hi Reddeath Obviously I cannot comment - leave that to the people who know what they are talking about like Gary, etc. It does make sense on a practical level however to stall by giving them another 14 days......I hope you come through with Capital One quickly now to fund this for you. Good luck and best wishes.

Hi Reddeath Just catching up - am I glad it is a day off tomorrow.......Just to continue to wish you luck......keep us posted as to how things are going...

Hi Reddeath No, don`t sue the sherrif! Hope you get this settled soon so that you have lots of cash to sue LTSB. In actual fact, this £12 charge your credit card company talks of.......It had occurred to me that, eventually the banks are going to be given a realistic and fair charge to use (I would imagine)....and on that basis I think we should go for it now with reclaiming before the banks are in a position of offering us settlements minus their new charges...Just a thought. I decided to go for my charges with MBNA and they paid the £10 I sent them for my statements into my actual account with them!!!! Why was it £16 to send a £1 signed for letter???I think they all just make it up as they go along. Even with LTSB - they were charging me £60 a go for going over my limit until people started reclaiming charges and then dropped it to £30. Anyway good luck Reddeath - I must catch up with your LTSB thread but I shall resist posting and just read because you know how I like to ramble on and on and on.....and half the time where all of this is concerned I don`t quite know what I am talking about. All the very best!

Oh bless! Thank you! Infact, I spoke to a lady today who is a small business manager for Barclays and I mentioned bank charges. I told her that I had started my claim for a closed business account but was very hesitant about starting the claim for my current account incase they closed it etc.... She told me to just go for it because apparently Barclays policy is not to close accounts because they do not want the publicity. Obviously she does not work for LTSB but just as Gary said she felt it would be highly unlikely indeed they would close it etc....So I am going to send that off next week as well. (I have not looked at any Barclays threads but she said they were mainly throwing offers at claimants for a portion of their claim). I know that I am precious little help to anybody else here but I am very grateful that you are here to help (dramatics again Guido!). Thank you again. Best wishes to everybody.

OOPS! - Sorry - silly me! Sorry for messing up your thread Reddeath - from now on I shall just read and say nothing. Good luck.

Reddeath They offered you £12!!!??? The behaviour of these banks is appalling - The more I read the more amazed I become. It is all so underhand and insulting. Good luck - hope you get it all back and all works out.

Hi guys Just reading this thread......MBNA paid my £10 cheque sent for my statements into my actual MBNA credit card account reducing the balance by £10!!!!! I have no idea what they are doing - I was simply sent a letter saying they would respond to my `complaint` by 22nd March!!??? Good luck to everyone.

Hi guys Just a quickie to say that you were all right. I sent in the ammended letter with contractual interest added and today I received a replica of the letter I received initially - I shall wait several more days and send in my LBA. Best wishes.....Take care all.

Thanks guys...this is a copy of the letter I sent - I am no good at cutting a pasting etc so am copying the letter and there may be lots of mistakes. I am currently claiming from LTSB and that is what I am mostly concerned with - however, I just thought that I would claim back my charges from MBNA feeling there would only be several hundred in charges...... I have held the above credit card account with you during the last 6 years. During this time I incurred charges for late payments and for exceeding my credit limit due to disporportionately high penalty charges. It is my opinion, and that of the Office of Fair Trading, that these charges are punitive in nature, not a genuine pre-estimate of cost and not intended to reimburse your losses for a breach of contract occurring. Futher to the 1999 Consumer Credit Regulations quoted by the OFT, there are numerous cases in law that prove that punitive charges in contracts are unenfrceable at English Law. Murray V Leisure play (2004) Dunlop Tyre Company V New Garage and Motor Company (1915) Bridge and Campbell Discount comany Ltd (1962) Further to these cases, I also believe these charges to be a direct breach of the Unfair Contracts Terms Act 1977 which require that contract terms are reasonable. I do not believe these charges are reasonable as outlined int he aforementioned Act. With this in mind, I respectfully request that you return to me ALL charges made on this account in the last six years, plus a corresponding amount in consideration of the contractual interest charged by you on these charges withing 14 days of receipt of this letter by way of a personal cheque. Further to this, if you decide NOT to accept my offer of settlement of this issue I would like to make a formal request under the Data Protection Act for a complete and exhaustive list of all charges made on this account over the last sic years. As you are no doubt aware, you are afforded forty days (as of today) to comply with this request or you must request an extension from the Information Commissioner. If you are in any doubt that this information is covered by the Act, may I respectfully draw your attention to the case of Durant V FSA (2003) where the judge ruled that bank statement information is indeed personal information and thus covered. In any event this information is requested with a view to prospective legal action on my part and therefore would be covered under the same Act. I enclose my cheque for £10 in payment of the appropriate fee as stipulated by the Act. Once my statements are received I shall write to you with actual amount that I request repayment of giving you 14 days to comply. If you choose not to do so, I will send you another letter with a further 14 days in which to reflect after which I will start proceedings for recovery in the county courts, as I believe that legally I am entitled to this money back. By doing so you will be liable for my court costs and for an extra 8% APR as allowed by the County Courts Act (1984). Should you wish to discuss this matter with me further, prior to acquiescing to my request, then please do so in writing as I would prefer all correspondence between us to be in writing for my records. Thank you for your attention in this matter. Yours very respectfully and lovingly (only joking!) They received this letter on 23 February and have said they will respond by 22 March and they paid the £10 cheque I sent them into my account on 28th Feb.......... Have I messed up somewhere? Any thoughts or help greatly appreciated.

Senior service hi Thank you very much for your message. The £10 cheque has indeed gone through my bank account today. Could you or anybody tell me what I should do now please....as obviously they have no intention of sending me my statements. The letter they sent me said they would respond to my complaint by 22 March. Also, surely it is unlawful of them not to comply to my request for statements... Many thanks.

I wrote to MBNA asking that they refund all charges over the last 6 years - I used an excellent letter that somebody who had won with MBNA showed me.....I enclosed a £10 cheque for my last 6 years of statements. This morning whilst checking all of my account balances etc I noticed that £10 had been credited on 28th Feb which confused me because I actually paid £40 into that account on the 1st March. This morning there was a brief letter from MBNA simply thanking me for my letter and saying they are currently investigating my complaint and will provide me with a full response by 22nd March...They encolsed a standard sheet with this - entitled, `Our commitment to you` with the address of the financial ombudsman and their customer satisfaction department...... The £10 credited to my account has been bugging me and I thought that perhaps it was just a small good will gesture from them.....however, having checked my bank account online there does not seem to have been £10 paid out unless it simply does not show yet.......I suspect that it will indeed show up as a debit in my bank account soon which implies that MBNA have used the £10 I sent them for my statements as a payment off my balance. I am slightly confused....has anybody any idea why they have done this please.... Many thanks.

Oh Elsinore, congratulations and well done - I have just read your thread. Congratulations also on the birth of your granddaughter.

Thanks Gary I have chilled and will continue with things.

Good heavens Guido Thought I would read your threads......that was absolutely amazing! Now I know where your bravado has come from!! A piece of cake. A walk in the park.....how hard was that! Huge congrats

Gary hi Thank you for the thread....They were absolutely heartless in that case....Also it has given me seriously cold feet. I did close the business a/c three years ago when I stopped trading but I do have a current a/c with them - my claim on that one is slightly larger but I have not sent it in yet - am still sitting on it....I thought that I had managed to obtain a loan from a different bank to clear my authorised overdraft with LTSB but it was declined at the last minute because they felt that I had far too many other financial commitments (which is very true) - apparently my credit rating is fine......But despite having closed the a/c and having a sweetheart of a business bank manager who still sends me a christmas card with a kiss on it! I don`t think I can go through with this now.....I am fearful that I might end up in a real pickle if it all goes wrong. You would not have thought they would make them close their current a/c because of a claim on their business a/c would you.. Also - Gary, what confuses me - and I don`t know whether you might know the answer. Why do they treat everybody so differently? Notlam for instance won his claim with LTSB and he had an authorised overdraft facility which they allowed him to keep - he swiftly withdrew his pay out (or rather `payback`) from his a/c and he said they were even helpful and courteous.....he even claimed contractual interest and compensation....To allay my fears he said, `Why would they treat you any differently and how good would it make them look if you went to the papers about them behaving in a retaliatory manner`.....It did help give me some courage to put in my claim (being a `lovie` again Guido and all theatrically dramatic) but having read that thread I don`t think I can go through with this now and might just let it drop. Gary - do you actually know why they treat customers differently - some sailing through with uncomplicated claims with no come back and others not? Anyway - sorry to ramble. Thanks again for pointing that thread out. Best wishes

....

Thanks guys I am so glad that you are here. Guido! - such drama!!!! Thank you Nevos - thank you. Elsinore - so pleased that you are about to get your money back. Thanks for your help. Best wishes to all.

I posted my prelim letter on 9th February for my business a/c only just asking for my charges back. As you know I have been unable to make my mind up about asking for contractual interest (authorised 18.9%) mainly because I sort of like my bank (sorry guys!) and also out of fear of them being retaliatory.....This morning I posted a new prelim letter `with` contractual interest added to the claim. I started the letter by saying that it had been an oversight on my part and was an ammendment to my original letter and this time I used the business letter from here. However....on arriving home from work there is a letter from LTSB in response to the original letter. It is dated 15th Feb so they responded fairly quickly. I also have to say that it is a `nice` letter - I am sure that it is just a standard letter......she explains they are completely open and honest about any charged for services before we take them on etc etc - explaining that it is easy to keep abreast of my balance and I could always ask for a temporary OD etc to cover any possible problems etc etc. It says that I mention the new guidelines from the OFT on `credit card defaults` (I didn`t mention `credit cards` at all) and she says they do not agree with the OFT`s thinking on this and they are still talking it through with them. She says the important point is that the guidelines are about `default` charges that people pay when they break an agreement with us. The fees we charge for dealing with your request to go over your agreed overdraft limit are not default charges because you haven`t broken your agreement. They are our prices for the service we provide. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help etc etc etc and if we cannot come to an agreed solution after this I will help you refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service for independent advice.......If she has not heard from me by 12/4/07 she will close my file though she is happy to re-open it if I should come back at any point. I don`t know whether this is helpful for people claiming on a business a/c The address of the reply was... Customer Service Recovery Centre (Debbie Gilbert - Team Manager) Charlton Place Andover Hampshire SP10 1RE I sent mine to Colmore Row (I live in London/Kent). It was a nice letter from them....but then, I am a soft touch which is why doing this is so difficult for me.....(I need to get my head around the fact that this lady is just doing a job that she is paid to do and it is not her personally that I have a dispute with and this ultimately does not affect her in any way). I have sent the other letter now....should I just do nothing - wait 14 days from when I know they have received it and then send the LBA?.. Many thanks.