Newbie's here :0) - claiming for multiple accounts?

[TC-Lover]

Hiya,

 

Newbies here saying hi and asking stupid questions !!

 

Hubby and I have four current a/c's between us with Barclays and have been charged LOADS in the past six years (at one point at least £90 per month for each a/c!!)

 

We are going to phone requesting copies of statements tomorrow (won't tell them why) and I understand we should also send off to the Data Protection people for the info through them, is that right?

 

So, do we need to work out what is owed for each account and send individual letters for each? Or can we lump the amount all together and do it all on one letter?

 

Also, does anyone know on average how long this process takes? From reading the post here I gather Barclays are very slow to refund?

 

Thanks for the help - but stand by for further dozy Q's!!

[bearo]

Hi welcome to CAG!! No question is stupid once you have read the FAQ's and can't find your answer!

 

Firstly, go by the rule of one S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) per person , so if you have a joint account lump it with one of your personal account requests i.e the other joint account holder does not need to send for the same details on the same account, follow this principle right through your claim i.e one of you claims for the joint a/c alongisde your personal account (you can lump claims together as long as they stay under the 5k threshold, otherwise split them!

 

There is no real need to ring and request statements to be perfectly honest, that is in effect what you will be sending your data protection S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) for, the only difference is you are asking for ALL CHARGES relating to your banking histroy with them and whether they see this as a request for statements that is entirely their translation of the request (some banks will ask for as much as £5.00 per sheet of statement if you request "statements" specifically, that is why there is a process in place here to save you all this unnecessaary work!

 

Barclays are indeed one of the slower banks to comply with your request for both charges history and seem to carry this right through to your reclaiming your charges, you will most probably find that you will issue a small claim to get any joy whatsoever, they may offer you a settlement of some silly amount somewhere before issuing court proceedings but there is letters available in the templates section to deal with these offers.

Stick to your timetables, read as much as you can in this forum, especially the longer threads which will give you an insight into what to expect in terms of their responce along the way and also will give you a confidence boost when you need it!!!

 

Any questions, please stick to this thread and someone will answer you!!

[TC-Lover]

Barclays sent the copy bank statements I requested earlier in the week and on our two joint a/c's and my sole a/c they owe us £6740!!

 

Haven't had hubby's yet as he didn't get round to requesting statements as promptly as me , so we have his to add to that too.

 

So - do we have to wait until we have sent a SAR before we can send the first letter to Barclays?

[TC-Lover]

Oooh, also need to ask - does the fact the claim is going to be over £5000 mean it can't be done through the small claims court? Is it now going to cost us a fortune if we have to go as far as court?

[victimnomore]

does the fact the claim is going to be over £5000 mean it can't be done through the small claims court?

Yes, it does. And it's not only more expensive but also a lot more complex to use the alternative tracks.

 

You would be well advised to seperate your claims so that each comes within the £5K limit for the small claims track. If one of your accounts has fees amounting to more than the limit, then you could claim the older £5000 of fees first, then go backl for the rest.

 

And, of course, if you do seperate your claims like that, you don't need to wait to get started.

[TC-Lover]

So, as we have 2 x joint a/c's and a sole a/c each that we are claiming for we should split it to two claims say for one joint a/c and our sole a/c making it come to less than £5000?

[victimnomore]

Yes, exactly.

[TC-Lover]

Just a quick update to say that yesterday I sent my Prelim, so they have until 16th November to reply - here we go!!

[austenpowers]

Good luck TC. You'll probably get a standard "we are investigating your complaint" reply, and "we will get back to you some time in the next seven and a half years", but not to worry and don't let that put you off. As soon as the 14 days is up fire off that LBA and you'll be another step closer to getting back your money.

[TC-Lover]

Sent hubby's Prelim last week (on 8th - his statements took longer than mine to arrive) and we have now both had the "we will get back to you some time in the next seven and a half years" letters.

 

My LBA is due to go off this Thursday......

[TC-Lover]

Just doing the LBA's so I can have them ready to post when due, but am a little confused by:

 

"I calculate that you have taken £XXXXX plus £XXX which you have charged me in overdraft interest for the sum which you have taken. Total £XXXXX."

 

What does it mean by "overdraft interest"? How do I work that out?

 

In my Prelim I said:

 

"I calculate that you have taken £815 from a/c #50545171 plus £3025 from a/c #60228974. Total £3840."

Do I not just put that again?

Sorry to be dozy, maths is not my strong point!!

 

[Spotted Dog]

Just put in the figures from your prelim again. Most people don't put in the overdraft interest figure as it is complex to work out. This interest is what you have been charged in your overdraft for the penalty charges (not the basic overdraft). In most cases it doesn't come to a large amount.

 

When you get to file your court claim you get to add 8% interest which is well worthwhile.

 

Spotty

[TC-Lover]

LBA for my accounts sent on 16th Nov....

[TC-Lover]

I've just filed my claim with MCOL for my half of the charges (we have 2 x joint & 2 x sole and they owe us over £7000 so hubby and I are doing a claim each to keep it under £5000).

 

I was wondering how long after filing my claim do you usually get your court date? (not how long until date but how long is the wait to get the date IYKWIM )

 

Also, how do they let me know, do the court write to me directly? Is the claim automatically filed with your local court?

 

Questions, questions....

[TC-Lover]

OK, hubby got a letter this morning (approx. 7 days after we sent the LBA) offering him £1000 (he's claiming £3260). How do we go about accepting this as an "interim" payment (which I know they will then withdraw)?

 

Is it not a bit odd that hubby has had this letter, yet my LBA deadline was up yesterday and I've heard nothing? (I've now filed with MCOL).

 

Also, the letter with the offer of £1000 has a telephone number to call if we are not happy - is it worth ringing to discuss?

[Spotted Dog]

Go to the templates library - there is a rejection letter in there.

 

My advice is not to ring them. Get it all in writing.

 

Spotty

[TC-Lover]

OK, I filed my claim with MCOL on 29th November and Barclays "accepted" it on 30th November and they have 14 days from that date to reply - so far they haven't, what do I do if they don't reply?

 

Is the 14 days up on the 14th or the 15th December?

[TC-Lover]

Anyone? :?

[TC-Lover]

Barclays "acknowledged" my claim on MCOL yesterday.

 

Does that mean I get the AQ and then the court date or vice versa? :-?

[TC-Lover]

Today I got my AQ with the defence from Barclays attached which is long and involved and full of legalese.

 

Am fretting a bit as it all seems a bit scary now!!

[TANZARELLI]

Today I got my AQ with the defence from Barclays attached which is long and involved and full of legalese.

 

Am fretting a bit as it all seems a bit scary now!!

 

Don't worry its all part of the process. See here you will be able to find a guie to completing the AQ any probs post back:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/welcome-our-forum/53241-cant-find-what-youre.html

[TANZARELLI]

Also in section G add this:

 

"I am respectfully requesting my claim be heard via the small claims

track. This issue is not a complicated one; it is an issue of fact and

not of law. The issue is only whether the money levied by the

defendant in respect of its customer’s contractual breaches exceed

or even reflect their actual costs incurred. I am happy to pay their

actual costs and I am surprised the defendant did not counterclaim

for these, as I would have paid them without argument. However,

the continuing problem is (in common with the hundreds of other

cases currently being brought by other bank customers) that the

banks are refusing to reveal the details of their penalty-charging

regime, and that the charges they apply to accounts for exceeding

overdraft limits and so on are entirely disproportionate to the

actual costs the banks incur. As the banks have a fiduciary duty

towards their customers, they have a duty to deal straightforwardly

and in utmost good faith. Accordingly, I would respectfully ask that

the court in this case, not withstanding allocations to the small

claims track, order standard disclosure. I understand that it is in

the courts discretion to do so. I believe this would bring a rapid

end to this litigation. I have attached the schedule of the charges

I am claiming for to this allocation questionnaire to show a

breakdown of the amounts for the courts perusal.

I believe the case will take no longer than 1 hour".

You will have to write small to fit it in though.

HTH

Tanz

[TC-Lover]

Today I chased the court and was told that the court date for hubby's claim is 26th April :o!! My AQ has not yet been given a date but will be done shortly.

 

I telephoned the litigation department at Barclays and was told that they are contacting people in order of their court dates and therefore we won't be contacted until 2-3 weeks before our court date to see if "we can come to a solution".

 

I asked why they couldn't just discuss it now seeing as I was on the phone and was told they had to follow protocol, blah, blah....

 

For what it's worth I asked for notes to be put on both mine and hubby's file to say I had called.

 

So, nearly another two months to wait ....

[TANZARELLI]

Good laughs!!!

[TC-Lover]

When do we need to send the court bundles off and who to?

 

We've got a court date for 26th April for DH's claim but despite submitting my QA on the same day, and regularly chasing I still haven't got a date!!

 

Interestingly, the letter from the Judge with the date said that "the matter should take no longer than 20 minutes as there is no real chance of success by the defendant" :grin:

 

I called Barclays with the date and they said they are dealing with them in order of the date of the hearing and will "be in touch" 2-3 weeks before.