Pixiepower vs. Halifax, advice please...

[pixiepower]

Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie posting here but have been reading for a while, and was empowered to make a claim against Halifax for 6 years of charges. Firstly I asked for my statements which they sent within a week (good start!) When I added up the charges they came to £5337!! I wrote my first letter asking for a refund of charges and was sent the first reply saying it had been referred to head office. My husband received a phone call a week later saying they would offer £1300 as a goodwill gesture but they were unauthorised to offer any more, which he refused (good boy and I didn't even have to tell him to do so:D ) The same day I went on holiday (21st October) so was unable to proceed any more. Today I'm afraid I jumped the gun a bit and have filed a N1 claim through the online system for £5000 plus £120 court costs as I want to keep it in small claims and I'm afraid when i read further posts my statement may not have contained as much legal jargon as necessary, nor have I sent them the letter of intent of action. I was doing so well seemingly but may have botched it up now. Will it matter that I haven't sent them a letter of impending action? I made my point in my statement but feel it lacked polish. Should I just relax and wait for a response or have I made a mistake already?

Thanks for any advice given,

Claire

[c_allen]

sorry i don't know but you should prob pm a mod, bump

[pixiepower]

Oh my gosh, I haven't sent the Halifax a schedule of charges either!!!The claim has been issued today so its too late to change anything, do I send them a schedule now? I thought I was so clever doing this, but I think I've made a big mess of it. They are not going to take me seriously now, any advice on how to rectify this or do you think I'm going to be ok?

 

Claire

[beano2]

Hi Pixi,

Dont know to much about the online claim as i delivered mine to the court in person, had a quick look at the online claim site and did notice that you have to sign in, was wondering if you can possibly sign on to it and put it (N1) on hold or cancel it for now.

 

good luck:-)

[finbob]

Im not too sure, though what I think is that the bottom line is that you did send them a pelimenary letter and gave them two weeks from then(anything threatning from them normally states 7 days). They understood what you had asked them and they have not offered you what u asked for. U also stated on it that you intended to take them to court if they do not pay up the full amout which they have already made it clear they do not intend to. They will nearly surely loose i court (which they will do everything to avoid) so they WILL pay up. The only way I think it will effect you is that they will leave it till the last minute to pay up as they can tell your an amateur and are more likely to withdraw the claim.

 

Im sorry i cant help with the questions u ask in that 'whats the PROPER thing to do-send a schedule or not etc'. I dont really think it matters too much.if NO ONE offers you the info to ur questions, much like some of the questions ive asked (no offence to him/her but we all cant be as lucky as BEANO when it comes to getting help)then my advice would be just sit tight and you WILL get it sooner or later.

 

I filed mine yesterday similarly to you so Ill keep u posted n u keep me posted on updates of our claims just for a bit o support.

[pixiepower]

Thanks for your messages. I decided to send a statement of charges with a covering letter on Friday recorded delivery, both to the court to attach to my claim, and to Halifax, detailing the claim number on it, and to why I have decided to take court action. i gave reference to my previous letter and their offer, so hopefully i have pulled it together as much as poss. The court claim will have been deemed served as yesterday (7th November) according to the letter I received from the court. Will let you when I hear anything.

Good luck Finbob;-)

[pixiepower]

Court claim acknowledged on 9th November, now its a waiting game8)

[Hayleytin]

Oooo, my court claim was deemed to be served on the 9th! Good luck with yours, is it me or is the time going really slow now we are waiting for our money!!!!!

[pixiepower]

Yep, time is crawling by! Received letter from court yesterday confirming that Halifax intend to defend, which is what I expected from everybody else's cases, will keep you posted.

[nona]

pixie and hayley,

I don't know how they are working now, but they always say they intend to defend, and in august they were paying the charges about a week later straight into the account without a letter or anyhting. Keep an eye on your accounts. Although i think they may now be sending letters giving you 7 days to accept their offer, but now it will be the full amount.

Good luck anyway

Nona

[pixiepower]

Just an update and any advice you can give me from here.

 

MCOl filed 5 November 2006

Acknowledged 7th November

 

Defence or payout by 5th December 2006

 

I received a letter from Rachel Hinchliffe, the litigation solicitor dealing with the claim, dated 20th November, stating that as I was no longer an account holder on this account (although I was for 9 years) that she would need signed authority from my husband (whose name is still on the account) to proceed with the claim. My husband sent this letter on 24th November and according to Royal Mail it was delivered on 27th November.

I have just tried the phone number on the letter to confirm receipt of my letter and got her personal voicemail, where i have left a message asking that she confirm that letter was received and could she give me an update.

I am getting worried that they will ignore the deadline (next Tuesday). Anybody have any experience with this, did i do the right thing phoning? Think I'm getting a case of the jitters as they are really leaving it to the last minute:sad:

[pixiepower]

Ok, further update. Rachel Hinchliffe phoned me about 2pm to say she had got the letter, it has been forwarded to her collegue and we should get a letter tomorrow or Saturday. she didn't disclose what the contents of the letter will be, so I'm assuming it is an offer letter...I really hope so anyway.

[pixiepower]

This morning, at 8:45am, I received THE letter from the Halifax, stating it was not comercially viable for them to defend in court, so without liability will be paying me back.....

 

£5120.00!!

Now I don't have the money yet so lets be calm until my sticky mitts are actually on it, but it is the outcome I wanted for sure. They say I need to let them know in 7 days and upon acknowledgement will release the funds. I think I will give them a call (its Saturday but I can try) and also draft a letter to see how fast I can get this money now.

 

talk about last minute though, their deadline is Tuesday!

[Michael Browne]

Something along these lines:

 

Date

Dear Whoever

 

Ref: Your Offer of Settlement

Account: xxxxxxxx

Sort Code xx-xx-xx

Claim No: XXXXX in XXXX County Court

 

I acknowledge receipt of your letter date xx/xx/xx and your settlement offer of £XXX

 

I accept your offer as full and final settlement for this claim of bank charges

 

I accept this offer without predjudice and I reserve the right to make any further claims should you apply future charges that may be considered unlawful under common law or in violation of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 or Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

 

I will be willing to withdraw my claim upon receipt of unconditional full settlement of my claim.

 

I am also not prepared to agree to any confidentially clauses you try to impose, unless of course your client wishes to make an offer of due consideration in addition to the amount of £xxxxx, in order to be afforded this privilege by myself.

 

I trust that you will find this arrangement acceptable.

 

Yours Sincerely

[pixiepower]

Thankyou Michael, letter has been filled in and printed:)

[sea-sidelady]

Did it not make any difference that the total was over £5000??

Mine is about the same as yours and i wasnt sure wot to do

[pixiepower]

The £120 over the £5000 is my court cost, so I took a chance as this is rightfully mine too. They didn't seem to mind paying it:grin: