Please Help!!!! - Monument card

[princeayo]

Good morning all,

 

I need a bit of advice about this card. The card has stopped for about 2-3 years my credit limit was £250 but due to charges an all I am now owing about £780. I have reuested for the the statements and made a claim for £552.00 and a further interest of £109.05.

 

I got a letter back from them which basically I do not understand what it means, please see as follows:

 

After 3 paragraphs of confirming my requests they said:

 

I can confirm that we are prepared to review late payment and overlimit fees that have been applied to your account prior to the OFT investigations into charges. I can further confirm that this equates to late payment and overlimit fees in the total sum of £552.00 that have been applied to your account which have not previously been refunded.

 

In addition and further to the OFTinvestigation into default charges, our default charges have been decreased to an amount of £12.00 each. We are therefore not prepared not prepared to review any default charges that have applied to your account at this rate.

 

Under the T & Cs of thsat account which you agreed to be bound when applying for Monument VISA card; a late payment fee is applicable if you do not make at least your minimum payment by the payment due date and an overlimit fee is applicable if you exceed you agreed credit limit at any time. Further to this interest is applied to any outstanding balance on your account at the contractual rate each month.

 

5 paragraphs later

 

However, putting this issue aside, as a gesture of goodwill on this occasion only, I am prepared to refubd £276.00 which represents half of the total sum of the charges that I have agreed to review. I hope you will agree this is a fair and reasonable offer. If you would like to accept ......

 

In addition, I can conform that Monument will not be accomodating your request for refund of the respective interest charges that have been accrued on the aforementioned fees.

 

These are the points I need help:

1. What do they mean by the 1st 2 paragraphs
   
2. I do not want the half because if I accept it I will still be in their debt and they could do whatever they wish with my account
   
3. I asked for the interest because they too charge me interest on my outstanding balance which has included these charges
   
4. I have paid over £500 on this account already, could I claim this back?
   
5. Do you think I have a chance of claiming the whole £552 (and pushing it a bit - the interest)?
   
6. Should I still be paying the standing order of £25/month or should I stop it?
   
7. What should be my next step?

I would really appreciate your help with this.

 

Many thanks all.

[ukaviator]

The charge even at £12 is unlawful, they can only charge the amount it has actually cost them, non paying Direct Debits etc. As the banks won't tell anyone what the actual cost to them is, below £2 is probably the real figure, you have to claim all of the charge.

 

You should go to he next stage now and demand all of your charges back.

I am assuming you have gone back 6 years on your claim?

 

You should still make payments to your account as normal.

 

If this is a credit card then you can still claim back your charges, as they are under different terms. The OFT case in January is for bank charges not credit cards. They should be made aware of this in your correspondance, otherwise the bank will keep trying to fob you off. .

[HONESTKNOB]

Send them the template letter on rejecting offers in the templates library. Send the letter before action if you haven't already done that. I'm currently usig the Ombudsman for claims on Barclaycard and Capital One and they are both being looked at. Just remember, you're in the driving seat, not them. They are hoping you'll take the pathetic offer and go away.

[Clare185]

It looks like they have a habit of doing this. My husband had a Monument credit card with a limit of £250 but he had spent £280. We moved house in Oct 2004 and informed them we had moved and promptly forgot about them as he didn't hear from them until over 2 years later. The letter we get from them was that the debt was for £752 and that they were selling the debt on. We are just going to start the process of claiming this back. I don't know the legalities of this but surely there must be a limit as to how much in charges they can actually add on?

[Castlebest]

There is no limit to the charges they add on and as UK Aviator said, until they prove how much it actually costs them the whole of the charge is unlawful.

 

Have a look at the PPC insurance too, did you ask for it? was it explained to you? would it have been any use to you?

 

It's worth doing both an S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) and a CCA section 78 request with Monument to find out exactly what documents you signed and what they just added on.

 

good luck

 

pete

[princeayo]

Monument has sent back to me a 'Final response' that they will not pay back the full amount but if i want the half I should write them within 6 months. they also put a Financial Ombudsman service leaflet in the letter.

 

Now it is certain that I am taking it further but I do not know if I should take it to the court or the ombudsman.

 

Which one would be the best way forward from here?

 

Thank you

[Castlebest]

From Richard Heaysman by any chance

 

I have just got a court date for my claim against them so either route is open to you

 

pete

[papadak]

The charge even at £12 is unlawful, they can only charge the amount it has actually cost them, non paying Direct Debits etc. As the banks won't tell anyone what the actual cost to them is, below £2 is probably the real figure, you have to claim all of the charge.

 

You should go to he next stage now and demand all of your charges back.

I am assuming you have gone back 6 years on your claim?

 

You should still make payments to your account as normal.

 

If this is a credit card then you can still claim back your charges, as they are under different terms. The OFT case in January is for bank charges not credit cards. They should be made aware of this in your correspondance, otherwise the bank will keep trying to fob you off. .

 

Hi,

 

I am having a hard time getting even a reply out of Monument. I have RD my letters and the RM website does not comfirm receipt at Crawley c/o Barclaycard. I even called them and was promised a call back - that didn't happen .... HELP!!!

[papadak]

Monument has sent back to me a 'Final response' that they will not pay back the full amount but if i want the half I should write them within 6 months. they also put a Financial Ombudsman service leaflet in the letter.

 

Now it is certain that I am taking it further but I do not know if I should take it to the court or the ombudsman.

 

Which one would be the best way forward from here?

 

Thank you

 

Who did you speak to at Monument?

[princeayo]

Hi All,

Update

 

I have taken Monument to the moneyclaim court. I got a letter from moneyclaim that they have served monument and that monument has filled the 'acknowledgement of service' form. a copy of this was attached. on the form monument ticked the 'I intend to defend all of this claim' box.

 

Friends, is this good news all bad news? I am scared to death, don't want to go to court. Any advice would help now.

 

Thanks

[HONESTKNOB]

All perfectly standard stuff Mate.

I tend to use the Ombudsman for credit cards, it's slower but it's free.

Capital One have just settled this morning.

Just stick at it and you will get your money back. More chance of hell freezing over than them having to defend in court and risk losing.

[princeayo]

Thanks honestknob

[princeayo]

HI Everyone,

 

It has finally happened. Monument has decided to defend the case in court. I have dreaded this, but it now came to it. They defended it with 14 points, so full that I cannot type all here.

 

Something about 'Terms' which I accepted when I opened the account, they also denied the charges constitute penalty charges or that they are in breach of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 or the Unfair Contracts Terms Act 1997. They wrote a lot of stuff.

 

NOw I need help. what am i to do now. I did not want to go to court could someone advise please??????