I have 2 current accounts with overdrafts, a credit card and a loan with Lloyds TSB.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Head office for the letter!

[Tartan Barty]

Thanks Brig....yes used Noodle, Equifax and Ezperian.....doesn't appear on Noodle but does on the other 2. Just had to send the reports to the ICO at their request. How do I go about calculating damages? My car broke down and was uneconomical to repair so I got a replacement but due to the default could only get a small loan at 50% APR so have a banger that is costing me a fortune to keep on the road. This has been dragging on for over a year now. They agreed in Nov 11 to remove it, then changed their minds in Jan 12 and the ICO found in my favour in May 12.

[Systemerror]

Send to head office.

 

I suggest that in addition along with it you send an invoice. Has the default made products potentially more expensive for you ie could you have been refused a lower rate mortgage because of this or even a phone contract that would have inconvenienced you etc etc?

 

I had a similar situation where I charged them £25 per day for their incorrect info - I have a thread regarding this.

 

I was very militant - I took an invoice into branch each week until they rectified it. They paid up a considerable sum of money on resolution, (so I was glad to see the back of the problem) but not quite what what I billed them. In hindsight I could have taken them to court and won - Good luck.

[Tartan Barty]

LBA letter sent out lining what is wrong, how it has caused me hassle and what I want. I took your advice Systemerror and charged £25 per day from the date of default......400+ days ago so that should get their attention. Also sent a copy of my ICO letter that says they can't win. Let's wait and see what they come back with.

[Tartan Barty]

Well surprisingly I have heard nothing from Lloyds....not even an acknowledgement!! So want to start drafting up stuff to take my claim to court. Never done this before so can anyone help me with what I need to do to start my claim in Scotland??Any help much appreciated

[Tartan Barty]

I am planning on raising a claim against Lloyds TSB for a breach of the DPA. I have a thread under the Lloyds sub-forum but want some specific advice for the actual claim. The ICO have confirmed that Lloyds have breached the DPA and now I want compensation. I am looking for over £10k damages but not sure if this is realistic (haven't been able to get a mortgage, loan etc). I believe that in Scotland this would be an ordinary cause action? Would I be liable for Lloyds costs if I lost? Also has anyone got a previous DPA breach based action that I could use as a basis for my claim. I'm new to all this so not sure what I'm supposed to be doing! Any help much appreciated.

[Systemerror]

any news?

[andydd]

I dont know much about Scotland but in UK its easiset and chaepest to start a claim online using MCOL, make sure your particulars of claim are well written and make sense, as you mention the actual amount of damages is sometimes hard to quantify but I'd aim to keep it under £5000 (the small claims limit in England, not sure about Scotland).

 

If you wanted to you could follow up the NBA with some Pre-Action Protocol stuff, see here > http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/protocol

 

Andy

[IdaInFife]

What basis had your DPA been breached?

 

You would need to quantify your claim and yes you could be liable for Llyods costs.

[Tartan Barty]

Hi IndaInFife. I had a loan that stayed in collections for years and I paid what I could every month but was gaining interest. They transfered it to their debt section in late 2010 froze interest and then registered a default. I complained that the default should have been registered 6 months after I started making token payments (sometime in 2005). Lloyds agreed but then went back on their word and keep the 2010 default date. I complained to the ICO who upheld my complaint saying they agrred that my data was inaccurate and therefore breached the DPA. They wrote to Lloyds in July last year amd Lloyds agreed to change the default date but roll forward to today and the default is still there. The ICO have sent another letter asking Lloyds to explain themselves but so far silence.During this time I have needed to buy a replacement car as my old one died but couldn't get a loan other than a small sub-prime 1 year one at 50+% APR. I have had another baby and we needed to move house but I couldn't get a mortgage due to the default etc etc so I have send a LBA demanding £25 per day to cover the loss and inconvience. I have no other defaults and 1 late payment on my CRA's so if it hadn't been there I would have gained mainstream credit.Surely I would win if the ICO have said they side with me???

[Tartan Barty]

No news from Lloyds and tbh I've trying to navigate the Scottish legal system and figure what I need to do. Not sure what I should put in the particulars of claim other than they registered a default which the ICO says is unlawful, remove it and pay me some compo! Anyone got a particulars of claim similar? The limits in Scotland appear to be the same but I'm loathed to drop to £5k and let them get away with it. Anyone know how to quantify what you would have paid off a repayment mortgage of £200k in a year? I can prove I'm £900 down in interest on a sub prime car loan. I'm paying £15 more a month on my mobile bill because I can't change whilst that defaults there. Then there is the amount they should compensate me for dragging this out for 18 months after being told by the ICO to remove it.....£5k seems cheap hence why I went for £25 per day which gives just over £10k. If anyone can help with particulars then please let me know

[andydd]

I mention the £5k limit as that is the small claim limit, above that it will be on fast/multi track and to be frank unless you are planning on getting legal representation you would be completely out of your depth and risk (should you lose) legal costs which can easily reach tens of thousands.

 

The fact you are on here asking basic questions does not bode well if you were to be on fast/multi track.

 

You are in similar same situation I was when I sued my landlord for damages for failing to repair my driveway, it was hard to work out what losses or damages I had incurred, I used £10 a day over a long period which came to just over £5k (my mistake as it went on fast track !), but it was setlled out of court. My second claim was for a unspecified amount but this too was settled in mediation so I have not had to argue about amounts in court.

 

You seem to be on the right track though, but you need to decide whether to keep it on small track or take a big risk and go for more than £5k.

 

As suggested above, fire off the pre-action stuff I listed above or start asking them uncomforatable question (why have they not removed default, why have they ignored FOS, etc) questions using CPR 18 > http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part18

 

Andy

[Systemerror]

I started big with my claim but on advice reduced it considerably ( To below the 5k threshold) and then ontop of my losses ( Which in your case you need to work out what their incorrect info has / could have potentially cost you ) I asked for "Damages in the discretion of The Court"........might be a way of leaving the opportunity open to get more than 5k

[Tartan Barty]

Thanks for all the advice.....sounds like I should quantity my losses and then go for damages as Systemerror suggests and keep it under the £5k limit. Still not sure how I would quantify how much money I have lost by not being able to get a mortgage. I can do the sub prime loan etc. Systemerror could you PM me a copy of your particulars so I have a starting point please?

[Guest]

'small claims' in the breakaway republic is 3k. then goes to 5k re 'summary cause' if 3-5k, or 'complicated'. ordinary cause after that. poss costs consequences depending on which?

Edited December 11, 2012 by Ford

[Tartan Barty]

I would have thought this wouldn't be complicated seeing as the ICO have said that the default breaches the DPA. So guess it would be summary cause. Thanks for the info Ford, much appreciated

[Systemerror]

Sorry.... have been away.

 

My particulars relate to a claim for harassment so wont be overly useful to you. In your case it would be for Breach of The Data protection Act 1998 and something along the lines of defamation. You could claim your direct costs...

 

eg: Work out how much more mortgage products are more expensive for you with LLoyds incorrectly entering data on your credit file - monthly payment could be £450 instead of £375 so you could claim £ 900 per year plus interest at 8% or £2.46 per day.

 

Do this for everything - mobile phone contracts, credit card rates etc.

 

Then on top of this claim damages for the distress and anxiety caused to you by their inaction etc.

[Tartan Barty]

I have written a draft of my particulars so I think I'm ok now thanks. I don't have a mortgage as I was waiting to see how long my Job up here would last but as it was confirmed that it was going to last another 5 years I wanted to buy in March this year but couldn't get a mortgage because of the default. I have calculated what I would have paid off a repayment mortgage over the period and used that. I have the value up to just under the £5k threshold and then added damages at the descetion of the Sheriff.Just one important question.....I had an email from the ICO yesterday saying they had written to Lloyds demanding an explanation as to why they hadn't removed the defaults following their investigation. Lloyds have blamed a system error (!) and have said they have now gone. Can I still claim for this????

[andydd]

You could still claim (theoritically) for the period that the 'errors' were on the credit file, the admission of an error by Lloyds will prob go in your favour, it doesnt matter if it was an error by a human or robot if it affected you then you have a case, especially if you informed them.

 

You do though need to show loss.

 

Andy