beano2 v halifax **I WON!!*

[beano2]

Well I've been looking at these pages for a couple of weeks wondering how to start a new thread, seems i may have found it. !!! , did post a hello message when i initially signed up and got a couple of replies back but that was as far as i managed to get. So here goes again! Will try to follow up on this thread with my claim so far.

[bearo]

yep you made it, this is the correct forum for you to be using, keep all your posts about this specific claim within this thread, it is much easier then for us to see where you are at should you need advise!

Welcome!

[beano2]

Thanks shaz, will now try to tell the story so far. hopefully this will come up on my thread not yours

[bearo]

Beano this is your thread, when you want to update it just click on reply and you will be fine!!

[beano2]

Thanks again shaz, sorry seems so long between replies, typing not the best,

 

Cheers beano

[beano2]

Bingo!

 

The story so far, A couple of months ago I was stung :o by the halifax for £118 in charges for a minor discretion on my part, this i thought was a little bit disproportionate and decided to give them a call to try to see if they would be willing to discuss removing the charge as it wasn't something i did regularly, they absolutely refused, i felt was a bit harsh so went on the net to see if anyone else had any advice, BINGO, I found myself here.

 

Having read several threads by different people I decided to give it a go myself.

 

So here it is

 

28 june 06 - template letter sent to data controller requesting a complete list of charges or statements, 40 day deadline.

 

8 july 06 - received standard letter as expected from halifax, stating that statments would be sent under seperate cover.

 

Allowed them 40 days from their reply.

 

14 august 06 - phoned them to say that they really were not playing ball with regard to the statements, they said that they will be with me in 14 days, i said no they wont they will be with me in 7 otherwise i would be sending a complaint to the information commissioner. bingo, finally got them.

 

6 september 06 - sent request for repayment of charges with a schedule of charges totaling £430 by recorded delivery, 14 day deadline, I did make the mistake of sending it to the data controller, but as far as I'm concerned they should have some kind of internal communication, therefore, in my eyes no prob.

 

27 september 06 - sent letter before action, recorded delivery straight to halifax plc.

 

29 september 06 - received standard reply stating sorry i'm not happy etc. etc. with a copy of their how to complain leaflet.

 

9 october 06 - received phone call from halifax offering £100 and was told that that was the best they could do, this doesn't even cover the most recent charges, so therefore politely told him to shove it. He then raised the offer to £150 straight away, Again politely refused his offer, he then said he will write to confirm the offer. Like I need confirmation of that.

 

That was yesterday, tommorow is the deadline for them to repay me in full if not then it looks like its off to court, nothing like a good s--t fight.

 

 

Now this is where the problem starts for me, I have been reading with interest other peoples experiences but for all my reading I still haven't quite got my head around the process, do i apply to my local court or do i do a mcol? as I've only just discovered mcol, would much rather see them face to face.

[bearo]

Ok as you know you have two options

 

The first is MCOL, the pros are it is fast and convienent, you simply type in your claim online and pay by debit card and bingo you have your claim submitted. The cons in my opinion are that you then need to post two copies of your schedule of charges to MCOL through snail mail and ask them to attach it to your claim, as you canot attach online. You are also limited to how many characters yu can enter on your particulars of claim on MCOL although Jonni2bad has done an excellent template for this which is in the library.

 

Filinf through county court. Ok this is the old fashioned method and my preferred one for several reasons, the main one is that I am exempt from paying the court fee's due to tax credits, which is a lovely big bonus, yes you get your court fee back but it's nice not having to find it in the first place.

Secondly you go to the templates section again in the library and find the N1 form which is your claim form, type it out, fill in the particulars (again templates available) print 3 copies of this and your schedule out and you can either (a) go to your local county court with it or (b) post it in .

 

There is no real difference in time delay with the two, perhaps the county court is a day slower in fact....

 

Either way at this stage you will not be seeing anyone but the clerk in the court office face to face, it is not until you have a court date set that you may get a prehearing trial ordered by the judge to gather the facts of the case, even then it is unlikely they will turn up - sometimes it can be done over the phone....

 

So up to you whichever way you go really!!

 

Hope that helps!

[beano2]

Once again Shaz, many thanks for your help, I think I'll go for the court method as it this appeals to me, I am also receiving tax credits so hopefully wont have to pay either.

 

regards

Beano:)

[bearo]

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/GetForm.do?court_forms_id=168

 

 

That is the court fee's exemption form, fil it on sign it and bring along a copy of your latest tax credits certificate, they will make a copy of you won't need to make any payment!

[beano2]

Hi all,

been reading with interest some more threads today.

Today I have received a letter confirming an offer made to me the other day on the phone, which I declined over the phone.

 

The letter is almost exactly the same as the one bluecloud received i.e.

 

................................................................................................................

 

CR FF

 

10th October 2006

 

Mr Beano

x

x

x

x

 

 

 

 

Our reference xxxxxxxxx

Roll Number: x/xxxxxxxx-x

 

Dear Mr Beano

 

Thank you for your recent letter and for allowing me the time to discuss your complaint on 9th october 2006.

 

As we discussed like other organisations we incur costs for every transaction made. When we pay an item against an unauthorised overdraft or return an item unpaid, we incur extra costs regardless of the shortfall involved. We believe it is fair to pass these costs on to the accounts affected, as apposed to them being absorbed by other customers.

 

Our charging policy is clearly outlined in the term and conditions that apply to your account. In addition, we are committed to complying with the Banking Code, which sets standards of good banking practice. The terms and conditions of your account state that you must have funds in your account to cover your transactions. We cannot be responsible if you authorise payments against funds that are not available.

 

We are keen to help you avoid any unnecessary charges by providing various ways to keep track of your account. You can do this using telephone banking on 08457 20 30 40, on-line banking (http://www.halifax.co.uk or Bank Of Scotland - Home -) or mini statements at cash machines. You can also contact one of our banking advisers at any of our branches. Ultimately it is your rsponsibility to manage your account.

 

As a gesture or good will I would like to offer to refund £696.00 being six months worth of charges to your account in full and final settlement of your complaint. I must stress that future charge wil stand and we reserve the right to close your accountif you do not manage it correctly. To accept my offer please sign and return the enclosed acceptance form in the pre-paid envelope.

 

I know this won't be the response you were hoping for, to comply with legislation, I would like to let you know that if you remain unhappy you can refer your concerns to the Financial Ombudman Service. They can be contacted by telephone on 0845 080 1800, or by post at:

 

The Financial Ombudsman Service

South Quay Plaza

183 Marsh Wall

London

E14 9SR

 

Email [email protected]

Website http://www.fiancial-ombudsman.org.uk

 

You will find enclosed a leaflet providing full details of the Ombudsman service. If you wish to refer the matter to the Ombudsman you must do so within 6 months of the date of the letter.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

Micheal Davenport

Review Manager

Customer Relations

 

 

...............................................................................................................

 

The letter I sent was the letter before action, the deadline for which is today (11 october), it has arrived on the same day and is a offer of settlement that, as mentioned in my previous post is not anywhere near what they own me.

 

My questions are:-

 

Do I write back to them accepting this as part payment, whilst stating to them that they have over-run their deadline as stated on the the LBA and therefore I will be applying to the court for a date asap even though it might seem that I didn't give them a chance to respond and perhaps clear this up out of court ( I read somewhere that it may look bad in court if i don't give them the opportunity), or do i give them A further 7 days to respond.

 

 

Also has anyone writen or seen a letter or template that can used as a base to make the complaint to the OFT as threatened in my LBA. Dont want to be the one who makes idle threats.

 

 

And just to clarify, is the 8% interest added when I go to court by the court? I haven't calculated the other interest (0.00000022 etc.) as I didn't think it would add up to that much although i am probably wrong! There was a downloadable interest calculator but I couldn't get it to work on the mac. so therefore will let them have that i suppose.

[beano2]

Hi Guys

 

Thought I might run this past you guys before I post it just so as not to shoot myself in the foot by shooting my mouth off.

 

The story behind this letter is the fact that I sent my first letter to the data controller because I forgot to remove his name from the halifax address (copy/paste), therefore I am offering them the opportunity to answer my request with a further 7 days giving them a little Xtra time. I know this is not the usual course but in view of the fact that I may have given them and myself less time than the average i felt it might just sway them a little.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RESPONSE TO SETTLEMENT OFFER.

 

Dear Mr. Davenport

 

With reference to our recent telephone conversation and your letter dated the 9th of October 2006.

 

As stated during the above mentioned telephone conversation and in reply to your letter, I respectfully decline your offer of settlement. I will accept the sum of £150 offered only as part settlement and on the clear understanding that I will pursue recovery of the remainder, with a County Court claim if necessary.

 

I would draw your attention to my previous correspondence (LETTER BEFORE ACTION) dated the 27th of September 2006, in which it was stated that unless you comply fully with my request for a full refund of £430.00, then I will begin action against you (The HALIFAX BANK P.L.C.) in the County Court without further notice.

 

As a gesture of goodwill and with recent correspondence in mind, I am therefore willing to allow you a further 7 days from the date of this letter (12th October 2006) to refund in full the amount as stated above that you have taken from my account in unlawful charges over the last six years.

 

I would like to make the point that in my personal opinion it seems ludicrous that the public purse also has to suffer as a result of the Halifax and other banks imposing unlawful punitive charges upon their customers (often those who can least afford this kind of disruption in their finances) and the banking industries defiance in the face of what seems to be overwhelming evidence against you all. With this in mind, I would rather settle this matter out of court, however, I would also like to point out to you (THE HALIFAX), that the 7 days I have allowed you to respond to this request is the final day to which I am willing to let this fiasco progress and will be applying on that day to the courts with a view to resolving this matter to its final conclusion. I feel that with this letter I have given you ( THE HALIFAX) every opportunity to resolve this matter out of court and therefore I am unwilling to enter into further negotiations and request, once again, that you return to me all charges totalling £430.00 imposed upon this account,

 

I trust this clarifies my position and I look forward to hearing from you.

 

 

Yours sincerely

xxxxxx xxxxxxx

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They have 7 days then it is off to court without delay, it also gives me a little Xtra time to prepare as my mistake (sorry Bankfodder) caught me a bit on the hop and dont want to be the first one thrown out of court!

[bearo]

hang on lol just trying to get all this clear in my head, why are you wishing to give them another 7 days before initating court proceedings?

 

The 0.00022 interest is pretty easy to figure out. it is your charges + 8% interest x 0.00022 that gives you the daily rate of interest you will charge until the matter is settled once you file your court claim, works out at a few pence but think about it, if this were to drag on it could add up (every little helps!!)

[beano2]

Hi Shaz,

 

Sorry for taking so long, been in the shower.

 

The first letter that i sent, the request for repayment went to the data controller, it was a simple mistake (when i sent the letter i cut and pasted the address from my letter to the data controller requesting my statement). therefore didn't actually get a reply, I realize that this may have been just their way of dealing with it by ignoring my first letter. however i felt that i may have sent the letter to the wrong person and that therefore it may not have been looked at and therefore not following the format of a claim.

 

i thought that if I sent them this one in reply to their offer of settlement ( first contact with the halifax from their side) which in turn was in reply to my second letter, the LBA

 

to cut a long story short their offer arrived with me on the day that i was supposed to have gone to the court and wasnt exactly what i thought might happen.

 

timeline

 

1st letter (request for repayment of charges)sent 6/9/06 with 14 day deadline. (sent this one to data controller).

 

No reply

 

2nd letter (letter before action) sent 27/9/06. with 14 day deadline.

 

9/10/06 Recieved telephone call making me an offer (£150) which is not full amount (£430), I refused this and he said he would confirm in writing anyway.

 

11/10/06 Received letter from halifax as per my earlier post with reference to blueclouds letter. i.e. confirming offer made by them.

 

This next letter (the one i last posted on this thread) was a way for me to allow them and myself another 7 days (i.e. the ones i had lost by sending the letter to the wrong person) as it caught me on the hop a little.

 

Perhaps not the best course

 

thanx beano

[beano2]

hi shaz et al, i have removed the reference to 7 days and think i will head in the court tommorrow to get the ball rolling again. the 7 days must have been my kinder side coming through, probably exactly what they want!

 

also finally got my head around the interest, thanks for you patience shaz

 

RESPONSE TO SETTLEMENT OFFER.

 

Dear Mr. Davenport

 

With reference to our recent telephone conversation and your letter dated the 9th of October 2006.

 

As stated during the above mentioned telephone conversation and in reply to your letter, I respectfully decline your offer of settlement. I will accept the sum of £150 offered only as part settlement and on the clear understanding that I will pursue recovery of the remainder. I would draw your attention to my previous correspondence (LETTER BEFORE ACTION) dated the 27th of September 2006, in which it was stated that unless you comply fully with my request for a full refund of £430.00, then I will begin action against you (The HALIFAX BANK P.L.C.) in the County Court without further notice.

 

 

I would like to make the point that in my personal opinion it seems ludicrous that the public purse also has to suffer as a result of the Halifax and other banks imposing unlawful punitive charges upon their customers (often those who can least afford this kind of disruption to their finances) and the banking industries defiance in the face of what seems to be overwhelming evidence against you all. With this in mind, I would have rather settled this matter out of court, however, I would also like to point out to you (THE HALIFAX), that the 14 days I allowed you to respond to my letter before action was the final day to which I am willing to let this fiasco progress and will be applying today to the courts with a view to resolving this matter to its final conclusion. I feel that I have given you (THE HALIFAX) every opportunity to resolve this matter out of court and therefore I am unwilling to enter into further negotiations and request, once again, that you return to me all charges totalling £430.00 imposed upon this account,

 

I trust this clarifies my position and I look forward to hearing from you.

 

 

Yours sincerely

xxxxxx xxxxxxx

[bearo]

Yep forget the 7 days - pah!!! - go for it!!

 

So are you fliling in a county court? If you are ensure you hand over three copies of N1 form in total and three of the schedule of charges to the clerk, double check everything before you hand it over!!

 

Best of luck

 

Sharon

 

Ps; Your letter is fine, and i also think yes they just simply ignored your first letter, the data controller would have passed it on, it is simply not an excuse!! Would they give you 7 extra days to pay them if you told them they your husband or partner didn't pass a letter on to you? I think not!!

 

Keep us informed!

[beano2]

once again many thanks sharon will do. Letter off tomoz and handing docs over to court.

 

sometimes its easy to feel naked and alone in this world, lets hope that we let them know that we are one

 

thanx

[bearo]

np!

 

 

Best of luck!

[beano2]

hi all,

 

have had a few delays over the last few days but finally got it together and delivered the court bundle to county court this morning.

 

Have to wait now, hopefully in the mean time a few more beads of sweat will starting to trickle down their brow.

 

For anyone who is starting out along this path. Although at first it seems like there is a mountain to climb to get to this stage, it does get easier, as bankfodder says read as much as your mind will take, although confusion will prevail for a couple of weeks it does all seem to fall in to place (that said i haven't won yet), thanks to the moderators (shaz in particular) and others that post to the forum, help is always at hand and dont be afraid to ask anything. today i feel that the top of the hill aint so far away

 

 

 

[beano2]

hi all,

just a quick update. Date is set, claim issued 18th October and was deemed to be served on 25th, they have until 8th November to reply.

[beano2]

Claim no. 6TR02297

 

Received a letter from the court today. The defendant has filed an acknowledgement of service on 26th October. The defendant has indicated their intention to defend all of the claim. Hopefully just scare tactics if not, bring it on!

[beano2]

Hi all,

 

Still no letter, however, just checked my account online :o and it seems they have paid up! :grin: Cant wait to read the letter when it arrives. be interested to see what they have to say:-)

 

Will confirm victory when I get confirmation, but its looking good.

 

cheers for now

[beano2]

Just received the letter confirming that they have settled, I have WON!!!

 

Need to say a big THANKYOU for the help received from all concerned, and especially to Shaz.

 

Will be keeping an eye on the forum and try to help others were i can, would be a shame to waste all the knowledge I've gained. I will soon be helping some freinds out who will be joining the forum, i think they were waiting to see how i faired.

 

good luck to all who are fighting this, as I've said earlier in this thread, it seems like a mountain to climb, however the veiw from the top is well worth it.

[pixiepower]

Just wanted to send you a big congratulations, great news. I have read your case and think you did really well. I have just filed an N1 and have made some rookie mistakes, but hopefully will get an outcome as good as yours. Make sure you have a drink tonight on the halifax!

[Hayleytin]

Congratulations!!!!! I am due to take my form to court on tues 7 th Nov. Fingers crossed, could do with the money for xmas!!!!! I am claiming £3654. Well done, bet its a great feeling knowing you made them pay up.

[bearo]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! GREAT NEWS! Enjoy the money! :) I will move your thread to concluded and give you a nice *won* heading