Re: Home Shopping Direct

[rippedoffagain]

This concerns goods my better half purchased christmas last year, which she claims she never received an invoice for???

 

The total cost inc p & p £19.16, administration charges for late payment 2 @ £12.50.

 

I wouldn't have become involved had I not found this site, but i thought it would be educational for me to see how non banks would deal with the situation!

 

First letter 17th March 2006

 

 

xxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxx

17th March 2006

Home Shopping Direct.

Customer Contact Centre.

23 Hunts Bank,

Manchester.

M3 1AX.

 

Re A/C xxxxxxxx

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Penalty & unfair charges

 

Administration Charges (presumably 2 x £12.50)

 

I am of the view that your charges represent a penalty and are therefore irrecoverable at common law. In the Scottish case of Castaneda and Others v. Clydebank Engineering and Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (1904) 12 SLT 498 the House of Lords held that a contractual party can only recover damages for actual or liquidated losses incurred from a breach of contract. This is also the position in English law: Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor Co Ltd [1915] AC 79.

 

Your charges do not reflect any actual loss.

 

Accordingly, the charges applied to my account are not a reasonable pre-estimate of the companies loss in relation to my account.

 

On a separate note, your charges appear to represent an unfair term of contract which is contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (SI. 1999/2083). My account falls within the ambit of Regulation 5 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 as I am a consumer. Your charges constitute an unfair penalty under reference to paragraph 1(e) of schedule 2 of the said regulations:

 

‘Indicative and non-exhaustive list of terms which may be regarded as unfair - 1. Terms which have the object of effect of - (e) requiring any consumer who fails his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation’.

 

0n 26 July 2005 the OFT stated that 'a charge is likely to be disproportionately high if it is more than a court would be likely to award if the lender sued the cardholder for breach of contract'. Because your charges include a large profit margin, in addition to actual loss, they are irrecoverable as an unfair term in contract. I believe that your charges require me to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.

 

Please refund these charges to my account within the next 7 days

 

Yours faithfully

 

Mrs xxxxxxxxxx

 

1st April 2006 received reply saying "Its in the terms and conditions" etc etc, will not remove admin charges.

 

Second letter 3rd April 2006

 

 

xxxxxxx

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xxxxxxxxxx

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3rd April 2006

 

Mr Garry Murray

Home Shopping Direct.

Customer Contact Centre.

23 Hunts Bank,

Manchester.

M3 1AX.

 

Re A/C xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Dear Mr Murray

 

Thank you for your letter dated 30th March. I note that the cheque value £19.16 in full and final settlement has been presented.

 

However as the two administration charges are in dispute, I would be grateful if you would be kind enough to explain how you calculate these charges. My reason for this enquiry is that you are perfectly entitled to charge your costs involved in my alleged breach of contract re your terms and conditions.

 

As I pointed out in my original letter dated 17th March 2006 I am of the view that your charges represent a penalty and are therefore irrecoverable at common law.

 

I would be perfectly happy to give further consideration to paying your administration charges, if you can provide justification, i.e. how they are calculated.

 

Yours sincerely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

It might be interesting to pay these admin charges "under duress" and then sue for recovery.

[dave]

Nice - this site must be doing it's job properly ;-)

 

Would you have any objection to me moving this thread to the "Consumer Action Group" rather than the Bank Action Group?

[rippedoffagain]

Nice - this site must be doing it's job properly ;-)

 

Would you have any objection to me moving this thread to the "Consumer Action Group" rather than the Bank Action Group?

 

 

Wherever you feel Dave.

[rippedoffagain]

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