Your MP

[Enron]

Gonna send a letter off to Steve Webb MP on Monday.... will be interesting to see his response.

[angeljen]

Should I send a follow up letter...?

[Vital Spark]

Hmmm, I wonder, if, in Scotland, Margo MacDoncald and oh what's the tan one in the news for claims about his sexual exploits: (can see his face, how could I forget this name?) would be prepared to lead something in the Scottish parliament and maybe shame some Westminster MPs into following suit?

 

I believe both referred to above are more ready to stand up and be counted while acting in the interest of their constituents than are they able to be pushed into towing the Party line by their fellow Party members. That old Scottish tenacity, which can be invaluable at times like this.

 

I'm telling you, Party Politics prohibit democracy.

 

Let's get party politics abolished. I'll start the thread if someone can tell me how to start a thread on here. I sent a mail to the webmaster wo replied directign me on how to do it but I am still lost.

[JonCris]

Should I send a follow up letter...?

 

Yes ask him how allowing the banks to continue to act unlawfully benefits the consumer & he shouldn't forget the electorate.

 

Tell him that if he does consider its OK then perhaps his opinion should be made available to a wider public on this & other websites so we can all take comfort in knowing he as a pillar of the establishment who like some of his colleagues sanctions such activity.

[Vital Spark]

Here here!

[reidnet]

Follow up letter to My MP..

See what response this one gets

Mr Jim McGovern

House of Commons,

Westminster,

London. SW1A 0AA

 

 

 

Dear Jim,

Thank you for your letter dated 5th October 2006 regarding Penalty charges issued by high street banks.

Many members including the Administrators of the Consumer Action Group have already written directly to Alistair Darling regarding this matter, to date no one has had any reply from Mr Darling.

The Consumer Action Group have in the region of 80,000 members and this number is rising daily, By December it is estimated that the membership will be in the region of 100,000. I myself am in direct contact with the Administrators of this website on an almost daily basis.

I also understand that Mohammed Sarwar MP has begun a campaign against bank charges in association with the trades union Unison and that The Consumer Action Group will be involved in it too. Mohammed Sarwar MP has written directly to Gordon Brown on this matter. We have not seen any response to this letter as yet.

The Consumer Action Group now has over 80,000 registered users. The Consumer Action Group are holding a rally outside the offices of the office of fair trading on the first of December 2006 at two o'clock in the afternoon. BBC television news have already expressed an interest in coming along to this rally. I intent to be present at that rally if at all possible. It would be good to see some of our MP’s attend this rally and offer their support.

CONSUMER ACTION GROUP & PENALTY CHARGES FANCY DRESS RALLY

When: 1 December 2006 at 2.00pm

Where: Gather outside the OFT offices in Salisbury Square EC4 (nearest Network Rail Stations Blackfriars and City Thameslink).

 

Click here for map

The Consumer Action Group (www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk) and Penalty Charges (www.penaltycharges.co.uk) will be holding a peaceful protest against unfair and unlawful bank charges at 2.00pm on 1 December 2006 outside the Office of Fair Trading in London.

 

The Government and OFT have repeatedly been asked to take action against banks and credit card providers who are unlawfully penalising their customers. So far they have failed to do so.

For years the banks have been levying penalty charges at levels that, for many, create a vicious spiral of debt and poverty. These charges have the biggest impact on the poorest members of society some of whom see their benefit payments swallowed up by bank charges. Even worse, it is now apparent that these charges are set at levels that are clearly unlawful.

The Consumer Action Group and Penalty Charges campaign were set up to help people fight back and recover these unlawful charges from their banks. So far 84,000 people have registered with the two websites and thousands of them have recovered millions of pounds in charges.

The objective of both sites is to demand that the banks respect the rule of law and, if they fail to do so, for the Government and OFT to intervene to compel them. To help reach their objectives, they will be holding this rally to get the OFT to take action against the banks' unlawful activities.

In order to demonstrate to the Government how serious the situation is, the rally will have the theme of 'A Christmas Carol' and members are asked to attend dressed as beggars - Bob Cratchitt, Tiny Tim, and generally poor people in rags - down and out people, to ensure the Office of Fair Trading understand the somber message that their failure to deal with this issue is leaving hundreds of thousands of people in poverty at Christmas and throughout the year. Members are also asked to wear masks to symbolise the hidden nature of unlawful bank charges.

It is also now becoming more common for the courts to be applying stays to these claims until the results of a test case have been announced. As you are well aware this is playing right into the banks hands as they will always settle claims right at the last minute. It is really about time that the banks are made to stand up in court and account for their actions.

Some cases are now being transferred away from the Small claims track to the the mercantile court in London

The prospect of taking on a huge financial institution with a team of specilist lawyers is daunting in the extreme, however, I must stress that I believe in the justice of these cases and so have little choice but to bear the burden which could place myself and my family under huge financial and emotional distress. I would like to make my feelings clear at this time that the burden of any cost should ultimately be borne by the Office of Fair Trading, who have both the power and the resources needed to bring the necessary test case against the banks.

Ian Reid

[angeljen]

Yes ask him how allowing the banks to continue to act unlawfully benefits the consumer & he shouldn't forget the electorate.

 

Tell him that if he does consider its OK then perhaps his opinion should be made available to a wider public on this & other websites so we can all take comfort in knowing he as a pillar of the establishment who like some of his colleagues sanctions such activity.

 

Would someone give me a hand with this? As a 22-year-old who has never had an interest in politics, until now, I have no idea what the word electorate means!

Just a couple more paragraphs (and a bit of explaination with regards to political stuff) would be a MASSIVE help.

[reidnet]

the body of enfranchised citizens: those qualified to vote

 

Hope this Helps

 

Ian

[angeljen]

So,

 

Electorate = Consituents (who are eligable to vote)?

 

I feel stupid.

[reidnet]

No problem we all have mental blocks at times, though mine are normally only when Im awake..lol

[angeljen]

Yes ask him how allowing the banks to continue to act unlawfully benefits the consumer & he shouldn't forget the electorate.

 

Tell him that if he does consider its OK then perhaps his opinion should be made available to a wider public on this & other websites so we can all take comfort in knowing he as a pillar of the establishment who like some of his colleagues sanctions such activity.

 

Do I send this letter to MY MP, Alan Meale or to Ian McCartney :idea:

[reidnet]

I would send to them both..The more the merrier..lol

[tigger26]

I wrote my letter to my MP, Derek Wyatt on 21st September & I have just received his reply today.

Many thanks for your letter of 21 September regards this important issue. My apologies for the delay in responding but it arrived whilst I was at the Party Conference and, in the interim, I have been trying to secure an up-to-date profile for you regarding these charges.

To that end, I have rung WHICH? - to establish whether progress is being made with their campaign, and with the matter in general. I am still waiting for the relevant person to call me back.

Clearly, I share your concerns and those of the Consumer Action Group regarding bank and credit card charges. It is good to learn of Mr. Sawar MP's efforts, and I would be very happy if the CAG would like to know of my support.

In the meantime, and because I was not fully up to speed with the current state of play, I asked our specialist Library for a briefing. I enclose a copy herewith, and trust it will be of assistance to you. I am taken aback to learn that the OFT failed to act on the relevant deadline. I have therefore tables a Parliamentary Question asking when the OFT recommendations will come into effect. As soon as I have the answer to hand, I will of course be in touch.

He has attached Standard Note ref: SN/BT/3941 updated 26/6/2006 by Timothy Edmonds, Business & transport section. This document is 9 pages long, includes Bookworm's court bundle:D , BAG's legal argument & website, OFT announcement, Banks' response & Parliamentary activity. Also attached is Minister Presses 'Go' on Consumer Credit Act 2006 dated 25/5/2006 ref: P/2006/134.

[angeljen]

Derek Wyatt MP

 

I like the sound of him. Sounds like he is a good MP who gets the job done, unlike mine who just passes the letter on to anyone he can think of. I think the only personal letter I got from my MP was a 'with compliments' slip!!!

 

Where do I have to move to to get a good MP like Derek Wyatt MP?

[tigger26]

Where do I have to move to to get a good MP like Derek Wyatt MP?

 

The lovely borough of Swale :o in Kent, Jen - where - surprisingly it's a lovely sunny day - unlike yesterday with torrential rain.

[reidnet]

Reply to my Second letter to My Mp

 

Penalty Charges issued by high street banks

 

Thank you for your further email to me about this issue. I am impressed by the level of support the campaign has been able to generate. Mohammad Sarwar MP is a close colleague of mine and I will be talking to him to see if there is any way I can help in forwarding the campaign here in Westminster.

 

Since I last wrote to you I have been trying to pursue this issue in Parliament hoping that this would bring about a quicker answer than a simple letter. In response to a Parliamentry question I laid down on Monday I recieved this response from Ian McCartney, the minister of state in the department of trade and industry.

 

"The OFT have been looking at the question on penalty charges in respect of credit cards and have stated that they believe such charges had been generally set at a significantly higher level than was considered fair and set a £12 threshold for OFT intervension unless there were exceptional business factors.

 

The OFT is of the view that the broad principles do read across to the retail banking area and has decided to undertake further work on application of these principles to bank current accounts. This fact-finding excercise is expected to take place between three to six months, at which stage the OFT will consider whether a further detailed investigation of the fairness of individual bank charges is needed."

 

Whilst this process can be a slow one the fact that the OFT are planning to undertake a full investigation into bank charges can only be a good thing. This is especially the case when they have already expressed the belief that their ruling on credit cards can be read across to bank accounts.

 

I still await a response from Alistair Darling and will get back to you once I have recieved that response or if any other progress is made.

 

I hope that the above is of use to you. If there is anything else I can help you with please do not hesitate to get in contact with me.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

Jim McGovern MP

Dundee West

[JonCris]

Great! but someone has got to point out to these MP's that these charges are already unlawful & there is no need for endless enquiries allowing the OFT to drag its feet. We need the OFT to do it's job now!

[meagain]

Precisely. The OFT launching another investigation is not a good thing. UTCCR requires them to take action, or otherwise properly justify not taking action. The OFT getting off its backside and dishing out the long-overdue punishment would be a good thing.

[tigger26]

It appears my MP, Derek Wyatt, has honoured his promise;

Bank Charges: 12 Oct 2006: Written answers (TheyWorkForYou.com)

[bathgatebuyer]

I also wrote to my MP and pointed out the personal impact bank charges had on my life when I was looking after my Dad as he was dying, and trying to cope with the 5 months out of work which followed. I stressed the 'unlawfullness' of these and advised him of the contact details for this website in case any other poor sod constituent has to experience these.

[meagain]

It appears my MP, Derek Wyatt, has honoured his promise;

 

... and, just like his namesake with Heather, this Mr. McCartney fobbed him off with the usual rubbish.

[Steven1964]

Still no reply from Alistair Darling, been waiting since August, I think another letter stating my unhappiness and if he doesn't pull his finger out I will not be voting for him, or do you think a letter to the local paper would be better.

[elsinore]

What about a letter to AD with a copy to your local paper? Make sure he knows that you have sent the copy!

 

Elsinore

[meagain]

What about a letter to AD with a copy to your local paper? Make sure he knows that you have sent the copy!

 

Indeed. I always find that leaving instructions for the publishers (usually around the point where you cc: the paper at the bottom) is often effective.

[girltuesday]

I wrote to my MP on 27th October, and received a response on 31st (quick work!)

 

Dear Girltuesday

 

Thank you for your letter of 27th October and I am sorry to learn that you have been caught up in this rather sharp banking practice. I am fairly familiar with the problem because I have been working with BBC journalists on this issue.

 

My personal view is that, although banks should be entitled to charge a penalty if someone breaches an agreed overdraft limit, I think that the fee charged should simply reflect the cost of the administration of that situation. I do not believe that the banks should charge punitive fees and I believe that it is illegal for them to do so though no one seems to be enforcing the law. As you have found out from your own experience, the banks are seeking to avoid a legal definition of what they can charge by caving in to avoid court action.

 

I am currently seeking to track down the legal basis for the belief that banks by law are only allowed to charge administrative costs for breaches of bank overdraft agreements.

 

If it is correct that it is illegal, then I will certainly be pursuing this further with the Treasury because it does seem odd that they might be breaching the law with impunity,

 

Nonewithstanding that, I also believe that somthing has to be done to make the system that the banks are operating fairer and more reasonable so that they are not simply using this as a money making scheme at the expense of people who, by definition, will be affected financially.

 

I am grateful to you for raising this subject.

 

Simon Burns MP