Wicky Versus the Halifax ***SETTLED IN FULL***

[Wicky]

Great site I have been perusing different bits of it and seeing how other people are doing it. Using the spreadsheet was a breeze, especially as I had my Bank statements from the last 2.5 years when I joined the Halifax. Only took me half an hour to tot up the charges:)

As I have finally got around to adding up the charges from the bank, I know I should have done it sooner as it adds up to £785 of my money that they have. With the 8% that I can add on the court forms(see I have read the FAQ) it comes to £867.84:eek:.

Now that I see how easy that was I think I will use the advanced spreadsheet and change the interest to contractual/reciprocal interest.

[Wicky]

Well I'm sending off the prelim letter today, and see how it goes. Just one thing I am concerned about though is that I know there will be some more charges before the end of the month and also cunningly they charge for the unauthorised overdraft at the end of next month. I suppose I can add these later.

[Wicky]

Has Anyone else received this, I got a letter from my branch saying that the letter has been forwarded to the Customer Relations Department. Do I still wait the 14 days from the original date of the letter? And do I now deal with the "Customer Relations" Department or my branch?

Any help would be much appreciated, as I can't seem to find this information, but I may have missed it.

[corneiliuz]

I recieved a standard letter and leflet from customer relations saying were sorry your unhappy blah blah complaint will be dealt with blah blah. The prelim states youll only respond to "sincere dialogue" and wont respond to standard mail.

[Wicky]

Ah yes I get that, but as they seem to have passed it onto their "Customer Relations"(hah) Department, do I now send letters to them or still to my Branch?

[corneiliuz]

Ive started corresponding with Customer relations as i had a name and reference to use.

[Wicky]

Ooh got a letter today to say that they are willing to offer me £561(where do they get their amounts from?) of the charges in full and final settlement(nice of them) and the usual blah blah. I also got an unpaid DD letter again(well I must add them to claim)

Should I send usual thanks but only in partial payment letter?

And can I include any new charges, up until I make the court claim?

[corneiliuz]

I phoned them and the guy i spoke to said that my offer was based on six months worth of charges. I figured it would be a percentage but apparently not

[tyrellmk3]

Hi, just got a standard letter from the Halifax which I used to work for basically telling me I need to pay £5 for copis of my statement. Do I pay up or tell them I wanted list of charges and not bank statement.

[Wicky]

Tyrell, the £5 fee is normal in a request for any information and is allowable under the data protection act.

They are still adding bank charges onto my account should I send them a letter or phone them and say I am currently in dispute with them over the said bank charges?

Also I have added bank charges that have applied up to the date of the LBA but after the prelim. I understand this is okay up until I take them to court, am I correct?

[Wicky]

I have already asked but should I send a letter asking them to stop adding bank charges to my account? If not I can still add them onto the claim up until the court date can I not?

[Wicky]

Well now the court papers have been sent I guess I just wait and see what happens. What is the usual turn around on these? I have read anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, but still confused.

[sapphire001]

Hi Wicky, I'm at the same stage as you, the court summons went in Tuesday morning. No idea what happens next, from what I've heard they say they're going to defend but then pay up anyway. Good luck, hope you get some news soon.

[Wicky]

I still haven't heard anything should I check with the court that the claim has been processed? I will phone them tomorrow and ask if I haven't heard by the end of the day. I suppose this is the right procedure as other people who put their claim in after me have heard back.

[Wicky]

Well I phoned the court yesterday and was told that Halifax would be defending the claim. I then got a letter this morning where the Halifax is offering me £945 + £100 interest. The only bit they are defending is the £248 interest on top which I have charged under reciprocity.

 

I would like to know peoples opinion as to whether I should accept this, I think I understand the priniciples behind reciprocity but it is quite a lot of money they have offered and including the interest is about the same as I would have got had I not added the 29.8% interest as per their contract

[jonni2bad]

The basis of not accepting would leave you in a position where, should you have to go to court, you would still very likely be awarded the charges and court costs even if the Judge agreed with the bank about the interest rate.... i.e. you don't lose the whole case simply because you lose that one part.

 

Be prepared for a little battle though and make sure you read as much as you can regarding the issue of contractual interest so that you can argue the case in court.

[Wicky]

Thanks I feel more comfortable now, I thought it might be the case and am trying to read as much as possible on contractual interest.

[Wicky]

I am now thoroughly confused. I replied to their letter saying I would accept it as part payment. They immediately paid this into my bank. But they still haven't responded to my letter or put in a proper defence apart from to say they will be disputing the entire claim.

I phoned court and they think it most odd that they have paid some when they say they are disputing the entire amount, and said wait on their defence papers when they come in.

I will wait to see what happens, meanwhile here is some music to listen to "twingly, twing twing twang twingly......"

[Wicky]

Aha,

They have filed their defence and I now need to put in a response. They are arguing that I am not entitled to the contractual interest and they have already paid me 8%. I will put the full defence they have given a bit later. I now need to think of a suitable response.

[Wicky]

Right so their defence is

1. The Defendant is a bank. The claimant has a current account with the Defendant having a roll number D/########-#("The Current Account")

2. The Claimant appears to be claiming for bank charges applied to the current account in the last 6 years(wrong it is only 4 years)

3. The Claimant has provided particulars stating that his claim relates to bank charges incurred on his Current Account but the Particulars fail to specify how much the claimant is the Claimant is claiming in respect of actual charges.(I sent a list of charges from the spreadsheet with the claim) However, these charges were debited to the Current Account in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Current Account ("The Account Conditions"). which the claimant agreed to accept (having no choice in the matter) and by which he is bound (not if it an unfair contract). Under the Account Conditions, the Defendant is entitled to apply charges to the Current Account, inter alia and so far is relevant to the claim for:

(a) each calendar month, when a debit balance on the Current Account exceed any authorised overdraft limit;

(b) refusing to honour payment instructions issued by the Claimant where there are insufficient funds available for withdrawal from the Current Account (after taking into consideration any authorised overdraft limit);

and

© honouring payment instructions issued by the Claimant where the overdraft limit has already been exceeded, or is exceeded as a result of honouring the payment instruction.

4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Defendant has, without admission of liability refunded £1086.84 to the Claimant. The sum represents all the bank charges the Claimant has incurred in the 6 years (I only had the bank account 4 years)prior to the issue of proceedings, being £986, together with interest of £100.44.

5. The remainder of the claim £243.72 relates to interest claimed at 29.8%. It is denied that the Claimant is entitled to claim interest at this rate.(Why not you do. How do I argue this again)

6. On the basis of matters pleaded above, the Defendant denies that it is liable to the Claimant of £243.72 in respect of the balance of the claim or for any other sum.

 

So what I want to know is do I need to argue point 2,3 and 4 in respect of they obviously don't know what they are doing in getting how long I had the account for? In claiming the extra £243.72 as reciprocal, do I just quote the relevant passages for the statutes? I will put a preliminary response up here in the next couple of days, if someone could look it over that would be great.

[Wicky]

Well if any one is interested:confused: I have filled in the allocation questionaire thusly.

The Defendant has paid back the amount of £1086.84. This is erroneously specified as the bank charges in the last 6 years whereas I have only been with the Bank for just over 3 years. The £986 specified is the amount they have charged me in fees. They have also paid £100.44 at I assume 8% interest over that period.

They also claim that I have not specified how much I am claiming in actual charges which is clearly erroneous as I included a Schedule of Claim for Charges when entering my claim form to the court, and has also sent them copies of it prior to entering proceedings.

I am still claiming the £243.72 which is the amount remaining; if they charged me interest for an unauthorised overdraft fee this would be how much more they would charge if not more. Due to the terms of the contract I believe that this is justified under the principle of mutuality and reciprocity and is based on their unauthorised borrowing rate of 29.8%.

I am also claiming at a rate of £0.75031 per day from the day I claimed at the same percentage.

As you can see I think I have applied the principle of mutuality/reciprocity correctly if not can anyone help me argue it correctly if it gets to court, just give me a few pointer I'm sure I can pick up the rest.

[jonni2bad]

Hi

 

To be fair, this sounds like a reply to their defense - is that right? I tnink you might be best to simply put in the amount in dispute (section D?) and also make sure you read this http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/11644-allocation-questionnaires-guide-completion.html so that include the section where we ask for disclosure. If you want to make further reference to the amount outstanding, then put that on a separate note and make reference to "additional information" that you have supplied.

[Wicky]

I kept forgetting to update it as they had paid the amount of charges but were still arguing over the contractual interest. They have now paid on full. So I just need to tell the court.

[sea-sidelady]

Congratulations..................!!!!!!! :d

[jonni2bad]

CONGRATULATIONS

 

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