RBS Student OD been paying Robbersway £70PCM now Apex threatening court!

[minichedda]

the above letter? DCA have no SAR

[minichedda]

also (sorry for multiple posts guys) should I put that I now DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT jobby at the top???

[davefirewalker]

eeeeek I have done S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) to RBS - what do i write to DCA now???

 

Thats OK...send curlys letter......without the sar bit in

 

ACCOUNT IN DISPUTE

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Your ref:

 

 

Thank you for your letter of **DATE**, the contents of which are noted.

 

 

I am disputing the total value of these debts with **BANK** due to unlawful and unreasonable charges. As such, therefore, I consider this account to be in dispute and no further action shall be taken until this matter is resolved.

As per OFT guidelines Section 2.8k "not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt."

 

This process may take some time, due to the Office of Fair Trading's test case, but I will try to expedite this issue as a matter of urgency.

 

I am still waiting for RBS to comply with my SAR, and until that time, I would hope that you would follow the OFT guidelines

 

As you mow realise that this debt is most definetly in dispute I'm sure that you will now cease any collection efforts until we have come to a resolution or all reasonable avenues have been exhausted.

 

I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you would prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets.

 

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

 

I look forward to hearing from you in writing.

 

Yours faithfully

---------------------

Something like that

 

rgds

 

Dave

[minichedda]

thanks dave, your a great help. Will send it tomorrow. And keep everyone up to date!

[minichedda]

hiya sorry been away on a conference jut got back and checked my mail.... RBS have sent my statements (that was quick!).

 

Last week I sent 3 letters to BCW/Apex (they still cant decide who they are...read on). One for asking them to write to me if they wish to correspond (no telephone calls or visits to my home against my repeated requests), one confirming that this silly £70 was paid back in dec, and one reminding them that the account is in dispute and they should not chase me (ie curlyben's letter as mentioned before).

Now.......

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re:RBS a/c XXXXXXXX

Amout now due: £21xx.xx

Apex Ref: xxxxxx

 

We have been instructed by BCW Group PLC to write to you concerning your now seriously overdue account with them.

 

Unless you contact our instructing agents APEX Credit Management Ltd on 0871 xxxxxx quoting the Apex reference number within 72 hours with a repayment proposal, we will advise our clients to issue a claim for recovery in the county court.

 

You must note that in this event the sum for which they sue will include solicitors cost, court fees and interest which will add significantly to your debt.

 

We have been specifically requested to point out that should our clients obtain judgement against you this may be registered at both the County Court Judgments Registry and the main credit reference agecies. This could seriously affect your ability to obtain credit in the future for up to six years.

 

Please note that we are instructed not to enter into correspondence with you on this account but to refer it back to Apex Credit Management LTD, 11 Elm court, xxxxxxxxxx

 

Yours Faithfully

 

Geoffrey Parker Bourne

 

They use lots of bold lettering.

 

So, even after sending CB's letter , instead of them chasing me they have asked their solicitor mates down the road to do it!

 

Am feeling really anxious about it all. I have missed the 72 hours anyway (as I said, I've been away) and the letter was dated the 21st January.

 

Whats the next step? Am very worried that I'm just getting myself into hot water and don't know what to do.

 

Thanks

 

x x x

[Allwood]

I had to laugh when I saw the solicitors name GPB I bet there is only one solicitors name on it adrian m organ, I got the same letter from them, so I sent them a CCA and never hear a dick bird since then. Again I never signed the letter and sent it by special delivery to make sure that they got it.

 

This is one of their scare tackies so send the a CCA and let them deal with it.:-|

[minichedda]

thanks allwood

 

Dave said no CCA as it is a student overdraft that RBS slapped charges on for and then passed it to BCW. The parnters names are Adrian M Ogran and Simon AC Newbold.

[Hopeful1]

Ha Ha! Join the GPB fanclub! You will note lots of 'maybe', 'if' and 'possibly' in their letter.

 

Write back to tell them the account is in dispute. Tell them you have proof that all payments are up to date and that you are in dispute with RBS over the additional charges.

 

Do you have the bank statement showing the payment you made? I would scrub out any info i didn't want them to see and send a copy.

 

I only pay 1 debt collector now and i pay by postal order as it's only £20 per month. That way i have a receipt as proof when they question whether i've paid or not (which is often )

[Allwood]

It seems GPB have recruited another solicitors to make it into a practice

[minichedda]

should I put something like 'it's interesting how you are able to correspond with me with a letter to pressure me into making payment arrangements but seem to be shy about entering into correspondence with me and referring it back to Apex....'

 

[minichedda]

just been thinking of my reply letter to the solicitors telling them to butt out...

 

if it is against OFT guidance to persue me for a debt when it is dispute, and that I have informed them that the account is in dispute on at least 2 occasions, does that not make it illegal to pass my details to a third party (ie the solicitors)?

 

2.6i disclosing or threatening to disclose details of the debtor to third parties when legally not entitled to do so

 

???????

[minichedda]

oh my god....

 

i just finished totting up my RBS charges... are you ready?

 

CHARGES: £2235

INTEREST: £563

TOTAL: £2798

 

That's flipping staggering! It's disgusting and now that I know how much of my money they have taken/trying to pinch fom me I am sooooo angry!

 

I worked out that the total credit to my account since being passed over to the DCA is £1495.88 over a period of 15 months!

 

so lets:

Amount the DCA say I owe is £2172, and I have paid £1495. That leaves £677. Actually since they got the Dec payment it's actually £607.

 

Okay...

 

WITH CHARGES: I am owed £1628

WITH CHARGES PLUS INTEREST: I am owed £2191

 

Have I worked that out correctly?

 

 

Also, have been reading on s10 data protection act. I had been defualted due to unlawful charges by the bank. Do you think I should send a letter about s.10 of The Data Protection Act 1998.

 

cheers

[Allwood]

i would just send them a copy of the letter that you wrote to BCW for their attention and wait and see what they will do next.:-|

[Hopeful1]

Mini have you filled out a spreadsheet with all the charges so that you can post it to the bank? This way you have formally set the ball rolling. Even though the banks won't deal with it, it will be in a queue.

[Hopeful1]

Keep your responses simple for the time being. At the minute, the dispute, if i've read this correctly, is that they are claiming you did not make your last payment. Clarify you have with a copy of your statement and then state the debt is in dispute as it is made up of bank charges. Write that you are communicating with RBS over this matter. Feel free to throw in any relevant legislation!!

 

It's probably best to wait until you have all this sorted before dealing with the default and other issues.

[minichedda]

Hiya

 

Was up til 4am (sad I know!) calculating charges on the spreadsheet/going through statements.

 

At first I was just counting all the extra amounts of interest added to my account since every charge put me further and further into my overdraft. Then I remembered the spreadsheet and used that - now what about the other interest charges made to my account? Am sooo tempted to send this off but I need to know exacly what I'm doing or I'll look like a right numpty!

 

The dispute is: RBS put a horrendous amount of charges on my account, sometimes £105 PER DAY!

 

To keep a quiet life, when RBS passed my a/c over to Buchanan Crap and Wells, I just started paying it off bit by bit. Now I've come to realise that I shouldn't be paying so much! However, my last payment WAS late Dec 07. Since these guys have changed over to Apex they are claiming they did not receive payment. I wrote to them stating that I can provide them proof, but the bank would charge me for the service so if they are willing to cover that cost they can have the proof. They didn't get back to me on that one....

 

And I was not sure exactly why I was paying so much.... that was until I received my bank statements the other day!

 

So... my question is what do I do now? I have the speadsheet with all charges plus interest, but what about the other interest I have been charged for being so much overdrawn? These are about £30 charges at a time! I know that I should send the LBA letter, just not sure about the interest thing.

 

Please advise

[minichedda]

Hiya me again

 

Just got this letter form Halifax re my SAR ( I got my template letter form the library here)..

 

am really confused! Sorry long letter please be patient..

 

Dear Mr Chedda (I am a miss and they bloody well know it!)

 

Further to your letter of 13th January 2008, I am pleased to enclose the charge information you requested. I hope this has provided you with the details you require.

 

We assume your request is to enable you to reconcile your unarranged overdraft bank charges and feel we should make you aware of our current policy on handling complaints from customers about unarranged overdraft charges.

 

We believe our charges are fair, transparent and lawful. However, the bank (along with a number of other banks) have now become involved in legal proceedings with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in relation to unarranged overdraft bank charges which we believe will resolve the legal issues regarding the fairess and legality of your unarranged overdraft bank charges.

 

Until the determination of the legal issues in the above proceedings, we have asked the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to suspend the normal timetable for dealing with unarranged overdraft bank charges complaints, and the FSA has agreed to this request subject to conditions that protect your rights.

 

If you do decide to register a complaint, please be advised that we will be unable to respond in full to your complaint, but we (together with the FSA and OFT) think that it is necessary to resolve the key legal issues before we decide how we respond to any complaints.

 

Obviously exactly what will happen next will depend on the courts. We do not know how long the case will take - we have promised to proceed as quickly as possible but inevitably given the importance of the issues being considered this may take many months to finally resolve.

 

Should you decide to refer your case to the FOS, you should be aware that we have asked the FOS not to proceed with any other case they are hearing until the test case is resolved. The FOS has indicated as a general proposition they will not proceed with cases which rely on the legal issues being considered in the test case.

 

Similarly, you should be aware that if you choose to issue a claim to the courts, the bank will apply to the court for an order to stay your action until the resolution of the bank's proceedings with the OFT.

 

The FSA requires us to ensure that any unarranged overdraft bank charge complaint will not be adversely affected by the delay in dealing with it.

 

You can check the latest position on our website Halifax Online Banking - UK Banks, Finance, Personal, Telephone & Internet Banking.

 

In relation to your request for information about manual intervention on your account(s). As we are not required to record this intervention I am afraid I am unable to assist you further with this request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Data Subject Access Request Team

 

Bloomin long winded letter.

 

Can anyone translate? Also I only asked them for statements, and I want full statements not a list of charges! What now? Is this woman politely asking me to shove off until after the test case?!

[davefirewalker]

Hi Minichedda

 

firstly you can claim all the major charges

 

these are usually in the region of £20 - £40

 

if you have a " special" account, with special priveledges on it and they normally charge a standard fee per month, you CANNOT claim that back

 

you can claim .......

 

over limit

dd refusal

returned cheque

referal charge

card misuse

 

I might have missed a few but you get the picture

 

As for the letter, they are saying that they think their charges are fair, but if you do put in a claim they will have it stayed until the end of the OFT case. have a read of the FAQ's to see if your claim is likely to be stayed.

 

rgds

 

Dave

[minichedda]

Thanks Dave - As Halifax have not dealt with my request (I wanted all statements not just a list of bank charges) do you think I can ask them again and still within the 40 day time limit?

 

To be honest I think my claims with RBS and Halifax will both be stayed but I suppose I can at least get the claim in.

 

Cheers

[Hopeful1]

Mini, as far as i am aware, you can still request all the info under a SAR regardless of the test case and they should stick to the timescales. We already know you won't get the money back yet.

 

For all they know, you may have other reasons for requesting the info.

 

I would write and tell them this!!

[davefirewalker]

Yeah an SAR request has nothing to do with the test case, if you asked for it all and they only sent you charges stuff they have not complied. write to them and tell them youre still waiting...and the clock is ticking for a complaint to the ico

 

rgds

 

Dave

[minichedda]

thanks chaps, letter has been sent today. I wrote on the end of it

 

'Please do not assume the purpose of why I am requesting this data, as in your last standard letter of response. Accordingly, I have to tell you that you have not yet complied with your obligations under the Data Protection Act...'

 

 

ha ha ha. you are all stars!

[Mia Scarlett]

Hi - I am also in dispute with the lovely Apex people - does anyone have an email address or a name of someone at the company by any chance?

 

thanks

Mia

[minichedda]

Hiya chaps & chapesses.

 

Sorry I have been away for a while. I had a lovely letter from RBS saying they acknowledge my complaint, a lot of blah about the test case, and that they will deal with it when the results of the case come through.

 

Ok, fine. But they have IGNORED my request for them to remove the default. What now?

[minichedda]

Hi all,

 

not been on for ages as things had gone quiet ( see http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/126576-buchanan-clark-wells-now-3.html for background info).

 

Bascially the story is: student overdaft with RBS + lots of charges = DCA (BCW) on my back for twice the amount of my original overdraft.

 

Now then, I'd put my claim into RBS and informed BWC (now Apex???!!) that the claim had been put in and as a result they could not chase me for the debt until the case had been reviewed.

 

That was at the back end of Jan 08. I recieved a letter yesterday (after a few months of everything going very quiet and DCA not receiveing a penny out of me) form a company called Robinson, Way and Company ltd. This is what it says (dated 23/04/08)

 

Dear Mini

 

FORMAL DEMAND FOR PAYMENT

 

Our client has authorised us to recover the full amount you owe, shown above (interestingly last time I looked it was no where near £2102). This is a formal notice of intended court action. We may take action unless YOU PAY THE FULL AMOUNT YOU OWE WITHIN 10 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS LETTER.

 

If court action is taken and a court considers your failure to pay to be due to your refusal or neglect to pay, an order for repayment may be made. If you fail to pay in accordance with a court payment order the following may occur:

 

A process of enforcement by court officers

An order for deductions from your earnings

An unpaid court order may make it difficult for you to obtain credit in the future

 

This problem account will not go away or be forgotton - it makes sense to pay now. Call now to pay using your credit or debit card - or see the payment insructions overleaf.

 

Yours Faithfully

Collections Manager

 

After BCW/Apex tried chasing me for this they passed it on to their solicitors - nothing a letter from could couldn't sort out (well it shut them up for a while) - now this new agency who I've never heard of!

 

Advice please on the next step???

 

Thanks

 

Mini x