What should I do?

[michelefauk]

I have a current account with Halifax which is at present £337 o/d. Of this £235 is due to charges. I have received a default letter from them saying that if I do not pay the amount in full they will be taking further action etc etc. I am not sure what to do now, do I write with preliminary letter template asking for my £235 back and what do I say about their or default letter (I have successfully already claimed back my charges on my Cardcash account) or do I word it differently seeing as they have already written to me?

 

Thanks!

[Guest bluecloud]

Write to the bank placing the account "in dispute". The debt cannot be transferred on forcibly recovered until the matter is resolved. You can dispute the account in the preliminary letter. In the meantime, start your claim. All things being equal, the charges should be reclaimed within two months, which, in the eyes of a Court is a reasonable time to resolve the dispute.

 

 

 

Your Address

x

x

x

HBOS plc

Trinity Road

Halifax

HX1 2RG

Date

Dear Sir/Madam

Account number: xxxxxxxx

Roll Number: x/xxxxxxxx-x

I refer to your lated dated xx/xx/xx in which you state your intention to place my account in default.

I dispute the amount you claim is owed on the account. The reasons for my dispute are:

I now understand that the regime of fees which you have been applying to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent consumer regulations. If you say that they are not, then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put by as a result of my breaches, in order to reassure me that your penalties really do reflect your costs.

Additionally, it has now been confirmed that your particularly high level of penalties are considered to be unfair per se by the OFT who reported on the 5th April 2006 and are therefore presumed to be unlawful in the absence of specific proof to the contrary.

Your responsibilities:

I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary.

I consider that your repeated representations that your charges are fair and reasonable are deceptive and that they have deceived me into agreeing to pay them.

Your concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now.

What I require:

I calculate that you have taken £xxx.

I enclose a schedule of the charges which I am claiming with this letter.

My targets to resolve this matter:

I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets.

I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.

After that, there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline.

Yours faithfully,

blah, blah, blah

[michelefauk]

Thank you so much

[michelefauk]

Next installment!

I have sent the letter as advised above off to Halifax re my current account saying the amount is in dispute due to the charges etc. BUT today, have checked my Cardcash account which should have been in credit , only to find the Halifax have helped themselves to £53.00 from this account to transfer to my other account. I understand they can do this (offsetting??) but in the meantime, I had a couple of payments already committed to going out of this account and by them taking 53 quid out, has now caused this account to go overdrawn (surely they could tell on their system before they helped themselves that there were some pending debits waiting to come out?) This account is now also overdrawn, thanks to them, and I am pretty sure they will now turn round and whack a load of charges on this account now too! Also, as it now overdrawn, when my Tax Credit goes in next Tuesday, this will almost all be swallowed up, leaving me no money for food and petrol next week. I phoned Tax Credits people just now to see if they can pay my money into a different account and they said they cant guarantee it will be processed in time for it to take effect. I am so annoyed with Halifax, I know there is very little point in phoning them as they will say they can do this, but has anyone got any suggestions? I am really worried. Thanks

[nigel1804]

Well a man on G.M.T.V yesterday said talk to the bank and they will help you possibly pay the charges back.Personally I think he's talking from his sit-upon.You can try talking to them,personally I'd wait till the end of the month and ask for it back with a prelim letter,I say wait till end of month because thats when they will take out your £28 overdrawn charge.Although you can always update your charges spread sheet right up to going to court.Regards Nigel

[michelefauk]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I will undoubtedly be claiming any charges back, trouble is that doesnt help me next week, with no money and 3 children to feed on fresh air! Grrr I HATE banks, and that guy who said to talk to the banks who will possibly help you with returning back the charges, obviously hasnt spoken to anyone at the Halifax!! I wont even waste time on the phone call to them, I know what they will say, they are within their rights to dip in to your account whenever they like, with no notice, and if it makes you go overdrawn then they will whack a few more pounds on to make you suffer abit more. Money to feed your children and live on? Pah, who needs it!!