mebuck v Halifax ***SETTLED IN FULL***

[mebuck]

Hi,

 

Just had a response, and I don't think I'm explaining myself very well

I’ve been charged a great deal of interest for going over my overdraft (usually apportioned to the penalty charges they’ve levied against me).

 

I need a way to estimate the interest attributed to those penalties when I’ve gone over my limit. At the moment, it thinks the limit is 0; I need to set it to whatever my overdraft was at the time...

 

WifeandI on my post claims there is a new version of the xls file that allows you to do this, but I can’t find it anywhere.

 

Can someone please help?

 

 

 

Many thanks.

[thewifeandI]

See this post

[mebuck]

OK cool, so correct me if I'm wrong:

 

You recon I should just bang in a preliminary request for the charges and all the interest debited from my account?

 

As the banks can only estimate the interest proportioned to the penalties and they don't want to contest it in court, I've got nothing to loose?

[thewifeandI]

Get the relevant advanced spreadsheet from Vamp, enter the interest debited from your account as per the instructions in sheet 1 and it will calculate the proportion for you.

[mebuck]

OK. I shall await a response to my email!

[mebuck]

Hi,

 

I've PMd Vampiress, and emailed the address for spreadsheet enquires, but heard nothing.

 

I know there must be loads of requests and I'm sorry for nagging - but is there another part of the forum I can go to in order to draw attention to this issue?

 

Many thanks,

[thewifeandI]

Find the spreadsheet thread in General

[mebuck]

Hi,

 

I've heard nothing back from anyone and I'm itching to send this request off.

 

I've taken a look at the forumlas on the spreadsheet and attempted to cook the figures so it includes my overdraft - but got nowhere really.

 

I want to get it sent off asap; if the interest on the penalties is simply an estimate does anyone strongly recommend against simply totalling the interest and leaving it for them to contest?

 

Hope someone can help - sorry if I'm being a moaning mini - just can't wait to get the cash back!

[mebuck]

Brilliant!

 

Got complex spreadsheet, boosted interest, proceeding with Prelim. Req.

 

[mebuck]

Absolutely fantastic - the complex spreadsheet Vamps provided me, as suspected, boosted my estimated interest from around 40 to 180 :)well pleased. Thank you very much!

 

I've now dispatched my Preliminary Request and started my countdown timer for the LBA. Within my Preliminary Request, I also stated that I wanted my £10 Data Protection Act fee back - I'm within my rights aren't I?

 

On another note (and when I proceed, I'll post new topics about this), I have obtained a Credit Report from Experian which details all my previous lenders - thinking what I'm thinking?

 

In brief here is the list:

• GE Capitol Bank Ltd - A store card with notoriously high interest rates.
  
• HFC Bank PLC - A hire purchase agreement that charged me a large amount of interest on "late payments" when I finally paid the account off.
  
• Egg Banking PLC - A credit card
  
• Halifax VISA - Another credit card
  
• Barclaycard - Yet another credit card
  
• Halifax PLC - My current account (PR letter already sent)
  
• Egg Banking PLC - A large loan.

(One thing is a Provident VISA card I remember having... but it's not listed).

 

I've paid all of these companies off now, but they've all been opened and closed in the last 6 years.

 

I'm certain that during this time they've each charged me quite a few penalties and extra interest. Can I run relatively the same procedure and get my money back? Would the nature/type of any of those accounts prevent me from doing so?

 

Also, on my credit report, Orange and Vodaphone have appeared. I'm pretty sure they've penalised me at some point - can I chase them up as well?

 

Look forward to your advice.

[thewifeandI]

All of them if they've charged excessive penalties!

 

Not high interest rates though.

[mebuck]

The Halifax never replied to my Preliminary Request or my Letter Before Action. So today I submitted my claim to her majestys court service.

 

2 questions:

 

1) I am claiming penalties, interest on penalties, 8% interest on both, £120 in court fees and a £10 DPA fee. There was not enough room to give a shedual of the charges.. I presume someone will request full details if they need them:confused:

 

2) When is the 8% interest applied? Am I entitled to 8% on the amount I am claiming now.. eg. If the bank wants to settle early, can I refuse and make them pay the full amount (including 8%?) or am I only entitled to 8% after a judgement has been made.

[jonni2bad]

You can send a schedule of charges off to the court and defendant as soon as you like... just quote the claim ref number in the correspondence.

 

Now you've submitted you claim, you are entitled to every penny (i.e. with full interest etc) so no need to settle for less.

[mebuck]

OK...

 

The Halifax has sent me a letter saying they'll refund all the money they owe. They've included an interest calculation that actually estimates more than I did!:o HOWEVER, they have not included any of the 8% court interest that should be added to the tab (or even mentioned it)! :o

 

Am I within my rights to reply quoting their higher estimation and adding 8% ontop of them all?

 

Please advise!:grin:

[mebuck]

Let me clarify:

 

I filed the court claim for £1,760.25 (all inclusive).

 

Halifax have got back to me and said that they recon the base amount they owe (simply for the penalties and interest debited + costs) is £1,674.66.

 

I think I'm entitled to reply, adding 8% ontop of the penalties and interest debited (which they've forgotten!), making the sum (including costs etc) £1,914.06. Which is higher than the court claim.

 

Can I do this?

[jonni2bad]

Firstly, congratulations.

 

If they haven't paid you the section 69 interest then claim it.

 

I will amend your thread title once you have the full amount back.

[mebuck]

OK, just to confirm.. (I'm worried I'll stuff up the claim)

 

Because their penalties and interest estimate is higher than mine, once I reply, add ing the 8%.. the amount I want is higher than the original court claim amount.

 

I can do that right?

[jonni2bad]

They want to settle out of court, don't they?

 

Phone them and say that they have failed to add the section 69 interest....

[mebuck]

They show u nothing but contempt on the phone though

 

I think I'll write back, basically saying thanks for your accurate figures. I'm adding 8% to them - take it or leave it!

 

Interestingly, they weren't happy with my £188 interest debited estimate, and wanted to give me ALL the interest that had been debited in the past 6 years! Pretty illogical, but then when you consider that they've "forgotten" to add 8% on top of everything, this may be a short settlement tactic.

[mebuck]

I have responded with the following letter:

 

Dear ,

 

Thank you kindly for your letter dated 8th September 2006. Your letter indicated a more accurate calculation on both the penalties levied against me and the interest debited attributed to those charges.

 

It would appear however, you have neglected to include the 8% interest, which I am entitled when calculating the settlement figure. I draw your attention to the particulars of my claim where it clearly states that I will be claiming interest (under Section 69 of the County Court Act 1984) on the amounts owed.

 

Taking into account 8% interest on all the debited monies and based on the figures in your last correspondence; I can now provide a new calculation.

 

I require the immediate refund of:

 

Total Penalty Charges:

£1,235.50 +

8% Interest:

£205.80 +

Estimated Interest Debited:

£319.15 +

8% Interest:

£23.61 +

Data Protection Act Request Fee (30/06/06):

£10.00 +

8% Interest:

£0.16 +

County Court Fee:

£120.00

 

 

Full Amount = £1,914.22

 

Attached is a schedule of the Penalty Charges and Interest Debited you provided in your previous correspondence, including the 8% interest.

 

I will settle for nothing less than the full amount stated above. If you choose not to refund this amount, I will contest my calculation in court.

 

Please confirm within 7 days that you are willing to settle the claim upon these terms.

 

Yours Sincerely,

[dayglo]

just a minor point - you can't really 'contest' your own calculation in court. to contest it means you disagree with it and wish to show it is not true! I would say 'present' in court - although actually the whole sentence isn't really needed

[mebuck]

Good call!

 

I'm pretty sure they'll fold their cards. They've stated how much they believe I've been charged, all I did was add the 8%.

 

Watch this space!

[dayglo]

no worries - good luck

[mebuck]

Hi,

 

I haven't heard back from the Halifax since my reply requesting they add 8% court interest. So I decided to ring them!

 

Apparently a letter was sent out to me today (a woman read it out to me over the phone) saying that I am entitled to x y z, but again not even mentioning the 8% interest.

 

The letter ends by saying something like "please agree to this and we'll reimburse your account.."

 

It seems like a tactic to get away with not having to pay the 8% interest. I'll of course wait for the letter to arrive tomorrow, then I can see exactly how its worded. But if it again doesn't mention the 8% - are they trying to give me the run around?

[thewifeandI]

They did similar to me on my second claim - I'm pursuing the difference having accepted the part settlement with s69.