Consequential loss due to LTSB putting wrong info on credit records

[oscarthe dog]

Hi, first post but i have spent a long while trawling through the site.

 

LTSB, my wife has a loan with them, payments made every month but just discovered these were taken by the bank not by DD as LTSB messed up setting one up. We were never informed, onlycame to light by accident after 21 months of the loan. payments taken within LTSB T&C's. However, in the last 4 months we have been refused credit elsewhere, refused loans, CC's, new bank accounts and the only negative entry anywhere on our records is 11 missed or late payments in 21 months on this loan.

 

We have so far had £1k compensation following various arguments related to this, the credit rating is supposed to be being put right but we will see.

 

My question is, do i have a claim for consequential loss as we had to take out a loan which is in the form of a charge on the house, interest rates higher, just because we look like bad payers? If so what can we expect the outcome to be when i write to LTSB? What effect could it have for the future?

 

We have a record of perfect payments with LTSB over the last 20 plus years for loans and CC's.

 

Many thanks,

 

Mick.

[oscarthe dog]

OK, not a subject anyone has experience of i assume. I have now written to LTSB, couldnt send it recorded as it is going to a PO box adressed to Customer Care , Colmore Row Birmingham. Anyone got a good address i can resend this to but by registered post?

Just been trawling back through all the correspondence i received from them, interestingly i have an admission that its their fault in one of them, could just seal the deal.

I have asked them to return us to where were were prior to their errors and then to offer compensation for stress etc. How likely are we to win do you think!!

I will update the thread as things occur, or not.

As an aside, ive just had another £30 compensation from them following receipt of the previous compensation cheque, which i paid in, when i chased when it would clear i was given wrong information, again, kicked up on the phone and without being asked i was given this.

Amazing how LTSB can spend its customers money isnt it!!

 

Mick

[landy_alert]

OK, not a subject anyone has experience of i assume. I have now written to LTSB, couldnt send it recorded as it is going to a PO box adressed to Customer Care , Colmore Row Birmingham. Anyone got a good address i can resend this to but by registered post?

Just been trawling back through all the correspondence i received from them, interestingly i have an admission that its their fault in one of them, could just seal the deal.

I have asked them to return us to where were were prior to their errors and then to offer compensation for stress etc. How likely are we to win do you think!!

I will update the thread as things occur, or not.

As an aside, ive just had another £30 compensation from them following receipt of the previous compensation cheque, which i paid in, when i chased when it would clear i was given wrong information, again, kicked up on the phone and without being asked i was given this.

Amazing how LTSB can spend its customers money isnt it!!

 

Mick

 

Hi Mick,

 

Very sorry to hear of the terrible problems you've experienced with LTSB - they really are the pits

 

Sorry you haven't had any replies so far - as you say consequential loss appears to be an area that not many are familiar with. You could try sending your letter to Richard Cox, Manager at -

 

Executive and Media Complaints

Customer Relations

Brindleyplace Service Centre

Two Brindleyplace

Birmingham

B1 2AB

 

On the positive side you seem to have some good ammunition for your consequential loss claim as well as the fact they have already refunded you a certain amount which in itself is an admission of guilt!

 

Good Luck and do please keep us posted as to how you get on.

 

Landy x

[MrShed]

IMHO you are very much entitled to the consequential loss back. Your problem is quantifying and proving such loss.

 

What figure are you looking for in total?

[oscarthe dog]

LandyAndy, thanks for the address, if i get no response i will try that one.

 

MrShed, starting high with the claim so ive got more wriggle room. How does writing off a £9k loan sound? Not expecting them to TBH but who knows!! Then refinancing the second mortgage to a personal loan. Actually, i want us to be where we were before their errors so who can put a cost on too many searches on a credit file, refusals of CC's, loans and equivalent bank accounts plus some compo, which really is secondary. The end result is that we want to move to the Lake District in the next 12/24 months, we wont get a mortgage at sensible rates if at all at the moment due to this and i need it put right. Its their errors, they should correct it, and then be willing to compensate us for the fact that we will probably have to change our plans due to their inefficiency.

 

Thanks,

 

Mick

[landy_alert]

Hi Mick,

 

I forgot to say it might also be worth sending a copy (or an email) to the LTSB CEO at their head office - 25 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7HN. Email - [email protected]

 

Landy_alert x

[2Grumpy]

This doesn't sound like inefficiency, more like negligence - I think that's worth more

[oscarthe dog]

Right, letter sent, email follow up to Mr Daniels also sent with a request for him to ensure my issues are given due consideration, not LTSB's usual fob off.

I will wait to see whatthe result is.

Thanks for all the ideas and advice, very much appreciated,

 

Mick

[oscarthe dog]

Hi all, update is thats ive had no response from LTSB, but its only been a week.

 

Quick question, Landy Andy, somehow i missed that address you posted ^^ up there, i sent my letter to a PO box in Colmore Row, Customer Realtions. Should i resend to that address you posted?

Is there an address for complaints where i can send registered post? Just planning ahead and i dont want to lose based on LTSB saying they didnt get the letters.

 

Also emailed Mr Daniels, got no response at all, not even an acknowledgement. Not sure if that means the email address no longer works or he just doesnt bother responding.

 

Thanks,

 

Mick.

[oscarthe dog]

Ive had a response from LTSB within a week, almost!!

 

They wrote a very nice letter refusing all the issues i had raised, refused to do what i asked and almost, but not quite, accused me of lying.

For a change i was able to phone the person who had written the letter, very nice lady, who allowed me to expand on some issues and offer evidence of one department telling lies to her. I also ramped up what i want, as i have decided i want to be exactly where we were prior to them screwing up the credit rating.

She agreed to look at it again and also to take it a step higher as i evidenced some porky telling. So no further forward but i did tell her that i am more than willing to take this to whichever power can make a full and final decision on LTSB's errors, or if ive got it wrong. Be that FOS, county court or whoever.

Update as and when.

 

Mick

[oscarthe dog]

Had a thought. It looks as though one particular department at LTSB is lying. As i have no intention of dropping this is it worth my while to SAR them? Thinking it may be good information for a county court case later. If so can i cover a joint current account, a loan account and a credit card all in one SAR or do i need to do a seperate one for each account and a seperate one in my wifes name?

If its a good idea can anyone point me to a template in the library, cant see what im after in there at the moment, please?

Due to this i am also planning to reclaim charges on the joint account along with charges on 2 credit cards, however we are not in hardship or struggling financialy (well no worse than anyone else). We have had late payment charges on the CC's, overdraft charges on the account but nothing too serious, is it worth the hassle for us in our circumstances do you think? Am i best off starting these claims now so everything runs together or should i wait?

Is there a definitive instruction book for reclaiming these charges?

 

Thanks again, realise the original subject is not an area of expertise for many people,

 

Mick

Edited October 31, 2010 by oscarthe dog
added a bit!

[2Grumpy]

Had a thought. It looks as though one particular department at LTSB is lying. As i have no intention of dropping this is it worth my while to SAR them? Thinking it may be good information for a county court case later. If so can i cover a joint current account, a loan account and a credit card all in one SAR or do i need to do a seperate one for each account and a seperate one in my wifes name?

If its a good idea can anyone point me to a template in the library, cant see what im after in there at the moment, please?

Due to this i am also planning to reclaim charges on the joint account along with charges on 2 credit cards, however we are not in hardship or struggling financialy (well no worse than anyone else). We have had late payment charges on the CC's, overdraft charges on the account but nothing too serious, is it worth the hassle for us in our circumstances do you think? Am i best off starting these claims now so everything runs together or should i wait?

Is there a definitive instruction book for reclaiming these charges?

 

Thanks again, realise the original subject is not an area of expertise for many people,

 

Mick

 

You should definitely SAR them. Apart from anything else it gives LTSB a heads-up that you are getting ready to take action & it will put you in a stronger position.

 

Get your oh to co-sign requests for joint accounts so that they have no excuse to keep anything back

 

You will need to send separate requests for any organisation with a different data controller. List all account numbers on the request and ask them to confirm that they will be providing info on all accounts - or give them a ring to save time

 

I would use the template on the ICO's website rather than the CAG template because the CAG template is asking for transaction details whilst you want everything. (Have a look at both and adapt, but always saying including so as to avoid them saying "you only wanted xxx") You might want to add "including logs and recordings of telephone calls".

 

Remember to do CCA requests for the loans & credit cards separately (and at the same time) in case they try to claim that they are not in relevant filing systems.

 

As part of putting you back to where you should be, they should be refunding charges & interest on those charges. For anything else start a reclaim. (definitely for credit cards where it is still simple). There are recent success stories with LTSB credit cards

 

Remember the case law for this area - BG v fergurson? - where the disadvantaged person got loads of money in similar circumstances, although further down the line (they had lost the purchase I think) - but this will probably take some time & you will probably incur further losses.

 

If they want to settle, when assessing compensation required, include (and maybe itemise) research time, time taken on the phone, phone charges etc as well as the cost of SARS.

 

If they try to settle no the main issue by putting money into your account or the loan, thank them for the partial refund & you will be pursuing your claim for compensation

[oscarthe dog]

Thank you very much for the reply. Loads of info there, just what i was after. I will get on it and update you, again, thanks very much.

 

I am surfing through CAG most days at the moment, to say i am at the bottom of a steep learning curve would be an understatement. Then a reply like this comes along and everything suddenly becomes clearer.

 

Mick.

[oscarthe dog]

Small victory, i think. Had a call today to tell me that the incorrect information on the credit record is being changed and put right, should take around 1 month.

I will wait until this has been done and see what the changes are, but, to me this is a obvious abmission of their errors and adds strength to my compensation claim, do you all agree??

I am taking copies of the credit file as it is at the moment and then i have the evidence to hand, anything else i should be doing? Not done the SAR yet but that will be done in the next week.

 

thanks,

 

Mick

[2Grumpy]

I would either get them to confirm that in writing or write to them confirming what they have agreed to do

 

That way you have some sort of paper trail of them agreeing that it was wrong

 

I don't understand why it will take a month - should be minutes

 

I would also make sure that you have a copy of the incorrect data and be pressing for a reasonable amount of compensation, not just relief that it's over.

[postggj]

takes a month to update your credit file

poppycock

 

banks have a direct link with the cra and can do it at source

(HAD THAT CONFIRMED BY HBOS)

or at very least can send a fax to the cra to ammend your credit record

if the data is inacurate then they have a legal obligation to rectify

 

get every thing in writing

[oscarthe dog]

Hi, yep, asked for confirmation in writing as i dont trust phone calls. Whether it arrives is another matter. I wasnt aware it can be done in minutes so i will write to them and ask the question why it will take so long. At least then i will have a paper trail of what they have agreed to.

I am still persuing the compensation/return us to where we were claim, i have no intention of letting it go as their error really has affected us. I also intend reclaiming all charges from them. One problem i have encountered is opening another bank account. Seems we are unable to get one at the same level as the LTSB one, due i think to these entries. I have opened a new account but not with my bank of choice and not the account i wanted so thats been added into the mix.

 

Thanks for the continuing support and advice, it really is much appreciated.

 

Mick

[oscarthe dog]

Well what a surprise. Just been online to check my Credit Expert entry and LTSB have put the changes on the wifes loan account. It now suddenly shows no late or missing payments, as it should have done all along. Very pleased as i now feel more confident as they have admitted their errors by making these changes.

Juat wanted to let you all know.

I will sit back for a week or two now to see what they offer, if anything, and if not a new letter will be sent. Off work next week to wean our new puppies so plenty of time to do the SAR etc.

 

Thanks again for all the help,

 

Mick.

[oscarthe dog]

Having thought about it i decided to write again, as i now have evidence of their guilt and errors which i have highlighted in my letter. I have now asked them to deal with my demands forthwith and that i want them to facilitate us returning to where we were prior to their errors.

Also sent the SAR today listing all accounts, CC's and loan accounts back to when we first started doing business with them. I have a feeling one loan may have had PPI on it but it was back in 1990 ish, can i reclaim this if it did have do you think?

 

Thanks,

 

Mick

[oscarthe dog]

No reponse from LTSB yet, no response to my SAR either. However some strange things have happened so would welcome any comments regarding this.

A couple of days ago i checked the credit records again and the loan that started all this problem suddenly has £1000 less owing than previously. The loan that we took out at a higher interest rate when LTSB refused us due to the wrong records was showing, now its disappeared from the credit record. I have demanded LTSB to refinace this loan at better/standard rates. As an aside my postman has recently put my letters through neighbours letterboxes.

 

I am wondering if i have missed a letter from LTSB agreeing to my demands. Is this likely this quickly or could this be an error or glitch on the credit records again do you think?

 

Thanks,

 

Mick

Edited November 21, 2010 by oscarthe dog

[oscarthe dog]

Had a reply from them. They were directed to reply following my email to Eric Daniels. They explain that the bank has done nothing wrong but the errors they made?? have made no difference to my position!! As they have done nothing wrong i was offered £500 compensation.

 

So why offer compo if they have done no wrong?

They mention a CC problem which is totally seperate to this and being dealt with seperately. Why do they mention it?

They also mention my mortgage which is with C&G, under data protection should they be looking at my mortgage without my permission?

 

I am now replying, refusing their derisory offer, asking the questions about data protection, suggesting that when they respond to my SAR i hope notes of looking at my private data have been included, reiterating my demands that they return us to where we were prior to their errors and advising that i am now taking the case to the FOS as they will not admit liability. Is this the right move at this stage? If i took them to county court what would be the basis for me to do that?

Just making sure that i'm going the right way and making the right decisions here.

 

Thanks,

 

Mick.

[slick132]

Hi Oscar,

 

Looking in after your Reported Post.

 

Mr Shed said early on page 1 that you need to quantify the losses you have incurred and I entirely agree.

 

Until you do this, you cannot say if the £1,000 + £30 compensation paid is reasonable.

 

Two cases you could read up on:-

 

1. Kpohraror v HSBC - business gent's reputation damaged by returned cheque.

 

2. Richard Durkin v DSG Retail and HFC Bank - consequential loss suffered after defaults posted on CRA files. I believe this is, or was, the subject of appeal this summer and I'm not sure if this has been concluded.

 

8)

[oscarthe dog]

Sorry for the delay replying. I have started to read those cases you mention, i am sure i qill have questions so i will be back with them.

 

Thanks,

 

Mick