Received £650’ish in refunds???

[Mike12421]

Hello all, my fella and I have both just sent off our LBA's, however there is now a twist.

I took myself along to the bank this morning to withdraw some money, and what did I find...an extra £650'ish in "Unauthorised Charges" refunded to my account. What’s going on? The money was refunded in to my account on the 18th of this month. It's still no where near the £2500 that I want back, but its a nice start.

One other thing through, as the money was refunded to my account on the 18th, and I sent my LBA yesterday (22nd) still asking for the full amount, does that throw any spanners in the works?

 

Thanks again.

 

Joanne.

[Pinstriping UK]

Hi, same thing happened to me this week, but I have already sent the LBA before it happened so will need to vary the charges on the next claim form...

be interested to see how this compromises our situation or not. I got about £650 too and my claim is also for about £3k.

 

It gets more confusing dont it?

[Mike12421]

I'm over the moon to finally see some money from them. How can they now not give me the rest, as this OBVIOUSLY shows that SHABBY are in the wrong, as who would hand over £650 if they where in the right???

 

BRING IT ON!!!

[srfrench]

Did you get a letter from Abbey informing you they had put the £650'ish into your account as a Goodwill Gesture or otherwise?

 

If not you may be able to keep the money as it's their mistake!

[joanne.hunt]

Husband and I have had the same thing - both had refunds of approx £500 each last week after sending the. I have had another £65 credited today and my husband has had another £110 credited today. We are going to send them a letter to state we are deducting the money from the total but court proceedings will still go ahead on 31st August - our threads are Wayne versus Abbey & Joanne versus Abbey. (You will probably get some more next week!!

[Glenn UK]

Did you get a letter from Abbey informing you they had put the £650'ish into your account as a Goodwill Gesture or otherwise?

 

If not you may be able to keep the money as it's their mistake!

 

Im pretty certain if its a mistake you cannot keep the money.

 

FWIW they dont make mistykaes like this in my exprience.

 

JMHO

 

Glenn

[philread1]

Hello All

 

Yes, I have received £1730 on the 14th day they had to reply to my Prelim letter!!!! Don't know what this tactic is trying to do, but there must be some reason why they are dishing out these refunds!

 

Anyway, It makes no difference to me, 'Goodwill Gesture' or not! Onward & Upward!!!

Phil:)

[Mike12421]

Thanks everyone, I'm still pushing on with the support of you lot and this site.

Another quick question though, re what Joanne.Hunt said. Deducting money off what I am claiming, where do I take it off, e.g. the earlier charges or the later ones, as I'm just thinking of the interest I will be applying at the next stage (court).

Could I just play stupid about the refund, and push on with the full amount, as I have not received any letter from them stating that they where going to do this, (does anybody know where we stand legally with this?)

 

Thanks again for all the advice, my next course of action lies in your hands.

 

Joanne.

[srfrench]

P{lead insanity lol.

 

Seriously, if they haven't informed you, ignore but don't spend it.

Don't inform them of the mistake.

 

If and when you win for the full amount they may try and take it back by deducting it from your account or by knocking it off the amount won. See what happens, but if they haven't informed you, say you hadn't noticed it!!

[hagenuk]

"Playing stupid" is playing into their hands, don't do it.

 

They know what they have paid you and will be able to produce proof.

 

If you have been paid money that is not yours or you deny that you have money that they can show has been paid to you then it does not look good for you should this reach court.

[philread1]

Hello All

 

I don't think it is a matter of playing stupid, if shABBEY are giving out these refunds, 1. You would have thought they would tell you about it and 2. Also what the refunds are for.

 

The amount of these refunds is no 'Goodwill Gesture', and I agree with srfrench that you should carry on claiming the full amount until they have explained what this money is for.

 

We are all being as accurate and meticulous as we can be, in all that we do in getting our correspondence over to them, yet they can't seem to be bothered to recipricate the same back to us! The reason for this is obvious, because they know what they have been doing all along has been wrong, they are trying to back track and know that they have'nt got a leg to stand on!!!

 

Phil:)

[kia]

Hiya i also

[kia]

sorry stupid computer i was going to say i also got £650 ish but also this morning a letter with it check that the refund is the right amount as mine is wrong another delaying tactic by the shabby

[rrfcfan]

Hi, I have also received £622 pounds from Abbey yesterday with the same letter. I'm claiming £3026 + interest.

 

Are they recalculating each transaction - £12 and then refunding?

 

It is not made clear what the refund is?

 

Sample of Letter received on this thread

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/abbey-bank/18848-hi-there-yet-another.html

 

What does any one else think??

[Mike12421]

I think its another stall tactic, to sway some people to drop the claim, and be happy with £650. There in for a shock.

 

Also looking at the letter from the above link;

"I understand you are unhappy with my decision, and as a result I have reinvestigated your concerns further. I can assure you our charges are not unlawful and therefore I cannot agree to refund all of them. However, as a gesture of goodwill, I am pleased to confirm I have credited £622 to your account, and cancelled charges of £40 that were due to debit your account."

 

I find the bit of "gesture of goodwill" very interesting, as this states exactly that, not a refund.

 

Well, I'll keep there goodwill gesture, but I want my money back!

[Lula]

all I have got is another £65 worth of charges!!!!

[hagenuk]

They don't like you do they?

[Mike12421]

Well I don't think I'll be invited to the Abbey Christmas bash.

[joanne.hunt]

We are going to keep takinf and spending the refunds as it is OUR money and then alter the final figure at court stage. We have had 2 lots of refunds now but not yet had confirmation in writing about the second lot..

[philread1]

Hello Everyone

 

What if you are claiming for an account that is closed, how can they give you a refund in that scenario?

 

Phil

[Lula]

They don't like you do they?

 

After 20 years as a customer this is the crap I get LOL still, I will get it all back

[Lula]

Hello Everyone

 

What if you are claiming for an account that is closed, how can they give you a refund in that scenario?

 

Phil

 

Phil, it has no bearing if the account is closed or not, they can just transfer the money to the account of your choosing or send you a cheque

[Mike12421]

I think if it gets to the court stage, I'll ask for a cheque, and then take it in to Shabbey, and pay it in to my second account (which is clear).

 

Might even take my camera along, and start a "Surprised Abbey Employee" thread

[joanne.hunt]

Just got confirmation in writing today about second lot of charges refunded. They originally gave me back £455 last week and then I had another £65 yesterday. They said that their letter was issued with a mistake and they apologise for the error. Really strange how they made a mistake with mine and my husbands. I think they are trying to see how little thay can pay before we drop the case. Ahhhhh never mind court proceedings start 31/8

[Mike12421]

Hello all, I have just received the following letter today;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25 August 2006

 

Dear ***** *****

 

Thank you for your letter dated 31 July 2006, about your bank charges. I am sorry that you feel these contravene the Unfair Terms in Consumer Regulations 1999.

 

Having carried out a full investigation, I can assure you the charges do not contravene those regulations and therefore I cannot agree to refund all of them. However, as a gesture of goodwill, I am happy to refund £615.00 of charges that have already debited your account and £110.00 of charges that were due to debit in August 2006, making a total of £725.00.

 

The regulations say that we must explain our charges in plain language and that we have to act in good faith, which, according to the Office of Fair Trading, means dealing fairly and openly with customers.

 

I therefore reviewed the literature and information you received when you opened the account, including the terms and conditions. This explains that charges will be applied if you do not keep to the terms and conditions. This explains that charges will be applied if you do not keep to the terms of the account. Because of this, I believe we have been fair and open in telling you about them. The charges were correct, because you did not have enough money in your account to cover payments requested from it. When I looked at the history for your account I found that, unfortunately, this was not the first time this has happened.

 

We can, as you asked, supply you with details of all charges on your account over the last six years, If you would like us to do this, please contact our Telephone Banking Centre on 08459 724 724 or visit one of our branches. There is a fee of £10 per account, to cover the cost of producing this information.

 

I am confident that I have been fair and have taken into account all the points you made in your letter, but if you have any additional points that you would like to discuss with me, please call me on 0845 600 6014 I have enclosed a leaflet about the Financial Ombudsman Service, in case you are not happy with our investigation or decision. If so, you should contact them within six months of the date of this letter enclosing a copy of it, as they would need this for their investigation.

 

I hope we can work together to help you avoid charges in the future. Little things can help, like checking your account balance as often as possible and looking at the dates of direct debits to make sure they are taken shortly after money is paid in. In addition, we might be able to help by increasing your overdraft facility to give you more flexibility. This could help to keep your costs down, as there are no charges and you only pay interest if you use the facility. So, if you would like to talk to someone about the options available, please call our Telephone Banking Centre on 08459 724 724. Alternatively, if you think you might need longer-term financial help or advice please call 0845 603 9035 and we'll be happy to help.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Mr Philip Blaver

Customer Resolutions Manager

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have read in other threads that as THEY have stated that the above amount is a "Goodwill Gesture" then this is not taken off the money claimed.

Tomorrow is the day that I proceed with my MCOL.

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks Joanne.