Birmingham Midshires ERC ***WON***

[thunderpuss2k]

I'm no legal expert on the DPA, however I think one of two things could be done:

 

1. Phone up the ICO, tell them what has happened and ask for a contact name of who you can write to in order to issue a complaint against this rather serious breach.

 

2. Get in touch with the other person and let them know BM have sent you their personal details. Lay on the DPA, ICO complaint, etc, make sure they're suitably annoyed and angry about this, and step well back to watch the fireworks..

[lickthewallfatboy]

I'm intending to do these things-the question is all about timing.....I don't want to shoot my bolt too quickly and overplay my hand.If I can use this to get what I want,I will.

 

All hinges upon the initial reply I get from BM for my request for repayment.If they want to play clever,2 can play that game!!

[surreyscouse]

now this could be interesting ! You might not prove the correct point here licker (i.e. ERC's are unlawful) but you may well have the upper hand and submit them into refunding the fees subject to keeping quiet.

 

Very different to other cases in that you now have a bit of dirt on these guys. I will watch with interest !

[lickthewallfatboy]

am I really in such a potentially advantageous position?This is getting exciting!£7K would make such a difference to me.I am well on the way to being unsecured debt free with all this.That would put the tin lid on it.

 

I want to screw the cash out of them without it looking like it's blackmail,but I was thinking maybe of doing the above,plus maybe going to the press....???

 

D'ya think that might raise a big enough hornet's nest?

[surreyscouse]

one thing I have learnt from my dealings with MBNA is do not let them call your bluff. If you threaten anything then bloody well make sure you go through with it !

 

I can't see as the press will be that bothered about it to be quite honest, not whilst there are murderers on the sreets anyway, but yes, without blackmailing them you can very easily use this to your advantage.

[lickthewallfatboy]

I'm definitely prepared to go through with anything I threaten.I've had to report Citi cards to trading standards today for continuing harassment phone callsdespite 2 cease and desist letters.

 

£7K is as good in my pocket as it is in BM's!!

 

I'll let you know of any progress!!

[lickthewallfatboy]

just as a matter of interest-I did a spreadsheet calculation of interest on the 2 big penalties,and the total comes to an eye watering £2100 approx......

[big aid]

under normal circumstances i wouldnt see them paying up, but i think that you have an ace in your hand.

when you sign up for a mortgage, the lender can expect to make a sum from your initial tie in term. they still want all of this profit even if you want out early.

my last change of mortgage cost me £1224 to abbey, but this was the amount i recieved in cashback at day 1 so there is not much that i can say...... apart from more power to you... and good luck

 

 

 

 

 

£7k would be nice no matter where it comes from

[lickthewallfatboy]

had a reply letter from Baljit Kaur,at the BM Mortgage contact centre.

 

thank you for you recent correspondence.I'm sorry to hear you're unhappy.

 

At Birmingham Midshires we take customer complaints very seriously and I'll answer you as quickly as possible.I'll contact you no later than 4 weeks from 17 July 2006.I may need this long to carry out a thorough investigation,but I do hope to repsond earlier.

 

I understand your complaint is as follows:

 

you would like us to eview the charges that have been made on your mortgage account.This is in response to your letter dated 15 June 2006 and received by us 17 July 2006.

 

Please contact me if this is not correct.

 

I enclose our leaflet giving details of our Internal Complaints procedure.

 

 

 

 

Obvious points to note-

Attempted delaying tactics-will not be tolerated.

I do not want a review of the charges-I want them repaid.

No mention made of the Data Protection Act breach caused by them sending me someone else's name,address and account number.

 

I'll compose a reply later today....

[lickthewallfatboy]

I have drafted this response........

 

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

 

Dear Mr Kaur

 

Thank you for your letter of 17 July.

 

I would like to reiterate that I have requested a refund of the early repayment penalty of £3250 which you levied when we repaid the mortgage in full after we sold our property in January 2004. We were also charged £2989 (a “switching fee”) when we moved from one mortgage product to another in October 2000,for which we also request repayment.

 

There are also various “Assess fees” for late payments etc dating back to 2000,which when added together with the switching and early redemption fees, amount to a total of £6768.

 

I also wish to remind you of the extremely serious issue I raised concerning the disclosure of another customer’s name, address and account number in the documentation sent to us.This matter can be amicably settled with yourselves on full reimbursement of the disputed penalties,and the offending items of data can be returned to Birmingham Midshires following the successful conclusion of this matter.I am seeking advice as to the most appropriate course of action which may or may not have to be taken,should deadlines pass with no positive response.

 

The 4 week period starting 17 July is of no relevance to me,as I have already given a perfectly reasonable 14 day window of opportunity to amicably resolve this issue.

 

Yours faithfully

[thunderpuss2k]

Wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of that letter - whats the guess that you'll get another template response?

[lickthewallfatboy]

probably,but I'll be getting stuck in as far as possible.This is too big to let go without a fight.

 

If it goes as far as interest,I'm looking at a grand total of around £9500.

 

anyone care to let me use an address in England to launch a claim?

£5K claims at a time would be faster to get sorted than the £2k limit we have over here.....

[barracad]

I also wish to remind you of the extremely serious issue I raised concerning the disclosure of another customer’s name, address and account number in the documentation sent to us.This matter can be amicably settled with yourselves on full reimbursement of the disputed penalties,and the offending items of data can be returned to Birmingham Midshires following the successful conclusion of this matter.I am seeking advice as to the most appropriate course of action which may or may not have to be taken,should deadlines pass with no positive response.

 

You should not withold the information you have received - you are duty bound to return it to them as soon as possible. Put it into an envelope addressed to the owner by name with the number of the account with a full note explaining how you got it and givng our website address. You should mark the envelope strictly private and confidential and give it to the owner's bank with a note asking them to send it to the account owner.

 

Also complain to the Information Commissioner and explain exactly what has happened.

[lickthewallfatboy]

The information was in connection with the sale of his house.He may not even be a BM customer anymore,in which case the document conveniently "disappears" into the ether,BM deny knowing what I'm talking about and I have no proof that it ever happened in the first place.....

 

Back to square one.

 

I'm not telling them that I'm keeping the information-I'm just giving them a timetable for it's return.......or for the appropriate body taking action against them

[Robertxc]

The information was in connection with the sale of his house.He may not even be a BM customer anymore,in which case the document conveniently "disappears" into the ether,BM deny knowing what I'm talking about and I have no proof that it ever happened in the first place.....

 

Back to square one.

 

I'm not telling them that I'm keeping the information-I'm just giving them a timetable for it's return.......or for the appropriate body taking action against them

You need to return or destroy this information imediately. You have absolutely no justification whatsoever for holding on to it. You will never be able to use it as a bargaining chip.

[alanfromderby]

I note that they sent an envelope for you to return the documents.

 

The items you have are the property of BM, and they were sent to you in error. By refusing to return them, and seeking to use them in the way you have suggested, you are potentially leaving yourself open to a charge of theft.

[lickthewallfatboy]

the simplest way around this just seems to be send it to the IC with a covering letter telling them what happened and let them deal with BM for dropping a clanger....

 

then no-one can accuse anyone of anything.

 

If BM can do this with this guys info,they can potentially do it with mine or anyone else's.It's just downright shoddy unprofessionalism on their part.These are the type of people we are supposed to trust with our money and our details?

 

Total joke.

[lickthewallfatboy]

LBA time-tomorrow is the 30th,and as there is no post on a sunday,they should have replied by today.....

[lickthewallfatboy]

LBA way today

[thunderpuss2k]

Excellent stuff.. 4 days from LBA on my redemption fee, 2 on penalty charges (I cut my timeline to 7 days as they've never done me any favours).

[lickthewallfatboy]

letter just received from BM-

 

you will remember i wrote to you on 19 july to let you know I am looking into your complaint about the charges applied to your mortgage account.

 

I had hoped to be able to answer you in full within four weeks of receiving your complaint.I am sorry to let you know that I need more time because I want to throroughly investigate your complaint,in the hope of reaching an agreeable conclusion to this matter .

 

Your concerns are important to us and we take them seriously.I hope you will appreciate that it is not always possible to complete a thorough investigation with this time.I am sorry for any inconvenience this delay may cause you and confirm I will reply within the next 5 days.

 

yours sincerely

 

oh,well.Looks like court again.......

[thunderpuss2k]

I know it was discussed that their DPA screw up was a bargaining chip, but I wonder whether it's making your complaint more complicated? BM have caved in to my penalty charges refund request this morning, but refused the redemption penalty charge refund request (see my thread).

[lickthewallfatboy]

I don't know-it could be positive,it could be negative.It's hard to understand how these poeple think-however-they haven't dismissed me out of hand.....

[lickthewallfatboy]

I was wondering-could I issue a claim for the late payment charges in Northern ireland,and use an address in England to go to moneyclaim in order to go after the ERC and the product swap fee?

[thunderpuss2k]

I was wondering-could I issue a claim for the late payment charges in Northern ireland,and use an address in England to go to moneyclaim in order to go after the ERC and the product swap fee?

 

You could do I suppose. Of course the question might be asked why you're doing that, and your answer is 1. it's two separate cases, and 2. the NI limit forces you to do the ERC/product swap one in England.

 

Remind me, did you put them down in one complaint or two? How long ago did your LBA(s) expire? Sorry, but saves me straining my brain having to find it in the thread