binkhus v Yorkshire Bank - Offer of full settlement

[binkhus]

hi i sent off my letter to yorkshire bank requesting my refund, and got a phone call from the manager this morning.

he said that although he was sympathetic and i had obviously seen on tv about the bank charges ect when i sighned for my account about 3 months ago i was aware of the cost of bank charges ect.

he also said that because my account is only a basic account i dont get charged for a lot of this such as over draft facilitys (because i havent got one!) and the charges that i do get charged may seem excessive but they have overheads and staff to pay because of interactions such as his phone call to me.

i told him that i would get in touch with my legal advisors on line (thats you guys) and get back to him.

he is sending me out a leaflet with all the charges on , what do i do now?

[dan-rides-bikes]

continue as planned to your timetable, its just a stalling technique, if they call back, tell them not to call you again and if they have anything to say please put it in writing

[turt77]

First thing I would do is stop talking to the manager over the telephone. Make sure you only communicate via letter, to make sure you can keep an accurate record of everything that you could present in court if needed.

 

Did you send the prelim approach letter from the templates on this site? If you did, you need to wait 14 days from the date they received it and then send your letter before action.

[JMio]

Both replies perfectly correct - it's another stalling tactic, don't let them rattle you.

 

You're giving them a perfectly reasonable timetable to refund all of the money that was unlawfully taken from your account.

 

Stick to it!

[binkhus]

thanx

it was a bit of a shock when he rang! i will wait 14 days and send off the next letter.

emma

[binkhus]

hi

bank manager got my lba and rang again today saying that the charges are not unlawfull and its my responsibility to keep my account in order ect. he also said that if i wanted to take things further , which he would not suggest, i have to firstly go through the financial ombudsmans service. he said the website im getting my info from is very wrong and that when i sighned up for my account i knew about the charges and agreed to them and entered into a contract with them.

he was quiet angry on the fone and it all sounded right what he was saying , help someone give me some advise!!

emma

[Guest Lueeze]

NO DONT LISTEN TO HIM HE IS TALKING POO!!!!

 

You sound like you have not reasearched much on this site, do so and you will be reassured you are doing the right thing.

[binkhus]

i know that the charges are wrong but he just made me sound like a silly little girl for trying to get them back!

should i contact the ombudsman and wait for a reply or should i file a claim now?

help please

[Guest Lueeze]

What stage are you at?

 

Ignore the Ombudsman they are as useless as a chocolate tea pot!

 

Also igonre ANYTHING the bank say UNLESS its to offer you a full refund.

 

Reasearch reasearch reasearch, then you will be 100% confident you are right in reclaiming them.... xxx

[binkhus]

hi

i sent the lba and he replied via phone call and said he would put it in writting too.

thanx emma

[Guest Lueeze]

Well claim now then if the 14 days are past since the LBA was sent.

 

Please make sure you know EXACTLY what you are doing before filling though as you cannot back once you have.

 

Good Luck

[HUGH FRANKLIN]

I guess this a YB tactic since our branch manager told my wife that we should do the same!

Our branch (now Coventry since our local one was closed in February) are playing a most peculiar game. Originaly they were claiming in excess of £200 in fees relating to a rent account which was used by our tenant to pay his rent in cash over the counter. Due to a missunderstanding, 2 direct debits attempted to come out obviously without any funds being in it. I complained in writing asking them to cancel all of these charges writing them off against their percieved savings from branch closure. Initialy they refused, untill I replied withdrawing my offer and requesting copies of 2 account's statements over 6 years. They then reviewed their earlier decision and offerd to cancel the charges from the rent account provided I accepted within a short timeframe.

Obviously I didn't reply instead, having calculated the total charges in excess of £5000. requested a full refund. Having awaited a reply over 2 weeks, my wife rang to be told that they considered that I had accepted their offer so I should take it up with the ombudsman.

Did you go down that avenue?

[turt77]

To binkus and anybody else.

 

DO NOT ENTER INTO PHONE CONVERSATIONS!!!!

 

Refuse to discuss things over the phone. Refuse meetings at the branch. Insist that everything be put in writing. That way they are accountable for everything they say!

[caro]

Turt is spot on. DO NOT GET INTO PHONE CONVERSATIONS.

 

If you are phoned just ask them to put any comments they may have in writing so that you can consider your response. They are trying to put you off. They want you to do things their way.

 

Read the FAQ's, follow the step by step instructions, stick to your timetable. Understand that you are now taking back control of your own finances, but the banks don't like it. Yorkshire/Clydesdale use every scare tactic they can think of, but the bottom line is that their actions in charging are unlawful, which is why they don't want court action.

[binkhus]

i started my econd claim against lloyds bank £684.25! just got the letter back saying no! they say its a fee for services that are detailed before i sighned up for the account, but then go on to say they dont charge you if its the first time you have been naughty in 12 months.... that sounds like a penalty to me?

they also said they dont agree with theofts thinking and are still talking it through with them.... ha ha ha im quiet looking forward to court now. can i use this letter as evidence of penalty charges?

thanx emma

[caro]

I don't agree I am afraid, as they are calling it a fee for a service, but will let you off that service fee if you are usually good. They have not admitted to it being a penalty I don't think.

[binkhus]

but they arer only penalising the naughty ones surely if it is a standard fee everyone would have to pay it regardless of how you usually manage your account?

[caro]

It depends what service they say it is for. If they claim bouncing cheques, allowing people over there authorised overdraft limits, charging for not paying out direct debits or standing orders to be a service, then those who manage their accounts better than us naughty people will not receive this "service" so won't get charged for it. If you receive the service you will be charged. They call it a service to avoid calling it a penalty, although we both know that is what it is.

 

If, for example, you wanted the bank to provide you with a bankers draft, you might have to pay for that service. You would not expect other people who didn't want a bankers draft to have to pay for it. That would be a genuine service, so you could not say that the bank were penalising you because everyone else did not pay for it. They didn't pay because they did not get that service. The bank might say to you though, that if it is the first time that you have had a bankers draft in 12 months we won't charge you for that service. They would still have provided a service for which they could legitimately charge you. It would not make charging for the service a penalty.

 

I hope that makes sense.

[binkhus]

sorry i didnt make my self clear, my banks letter said that if you used one of these "services" and it was your first slip up in 12 months they usually wont charge you for this "service" because you have only been naughty the once.

if it was a true service and not a penalty wouldnt every one have to pay for it every time they use it?

i just thought this letter could be usefull? what do you think?

[caro]

I am not an expert, but I am not convinced by your reasoning. I would not like to say which of us is right, but you have the benefit of seeing the whole letter in context, so are in a better position to judge.

[binkhus]

no your probely right, i dont know much about this sort of stuff it just seemed that it should work that way logically. its a good job my whole case doesnt depend on that piece solely lol. thanx for the advise, you never know lloyds may not take it to the court stage.

[binkhus]

got letter today- they want to settle in full out of court!!!!

[binkhus]

sorry i havent kept you all in the loop but iv been really busy.

i went into court to file my claims against yorkshire bank and lloyds tsb and they have untill the 29th to reply.

got home from college today there is a letter from yorkshire bank- they want to settle in full out of court!!!!

one down one to go!

[koberoy]

Congratulations binkhus :D

I hope i get a similar response.

[judi24]

Congtratulations. If only it was always this straight forward!