Blemain - Penalty Charges etc - going to Court

[Fielder]

Discussion Thread - for those with mortgage arrears charges, irresponsible lending or other unfair lender conduct - Mortgages and Secured Loans - Consumer Action Group

Dear Bankfodder

Could you please tell me how to begin to claim back overcharges in interest and charges.

I would like to go back to 1990, is this possible in your view?

Many thanks,

Fielder

[Fielder]

I had a loan with Blemain about five years ago.

 

The loan was secured against my property.

 

After two years I remortgaged and repaid the loan.

 

I have checked the paperwork recently and noticed that I was charged £4,681 for collection costs.

 

I have now written twice to Blemain asking for a detailed breakdown of these costs.

 

The reply I had today said, the costs were "as a result of administrative costs applied to the account".

 

I know that!

 

They don't seem to want to give the details of the charges.

 

I don't know what to do now.

 

Shall I write again or what?

Please can anyone help me.

[ims21]

Hi

 

When you say you checked your paperwork, do you mean that you have the statements and you checked them or that you had, for example, a settlement statement and it appears as a lump sum on that?

 

ims

[Fielder]

Hi ims

I wrote to them for an SAR.

 

The first one I received had the collection costs as a lump sum,

 

I e-mailed and asked for a detailed breakdown of the collection costs.

 

They sent me exactly the same letter and did not breakdown the collection costs as I asked them to.

 

I remember at the time the loan was redeemed I questioned the costs on the phone,

but he brushed me off and would not define them.

 

I was so happy to be getting away from them I let it go.

 

Now, I am furious with myself and them and I need some advice as to how to proceed from here.

 

Thanks for replying

[ims21]

Hi

 

From what I can make out, their collection costs relate to the charges applied for letters, telephopne calls and the like, all of which can be claimed back.

 

In my opinion you are entitled to see the breakdown of these costs which should feature somehere on the transaction history as individual amounts.

 

If you didn't get the statements/transaction history (and we know they haven't itemised the charges for you elsewhere) then it sounds like a failed SAR to me and a breach of the DPA.

 

With your SAR, did you get copies of the loan statements/transaction history?

 

ims

[Fielder]

Hi ims

Thanks for answering.

 

They have sent me a Settlement figure Confirmation and a history of the transactions

and with the first letter copies of the original documents, including the signed loan agreement and legal charge plus all the other stuff to do with the loan.

 

The £4,651. has not been itemised on any of the correspondence I have had from them.

[ims21]

Hi

 

Sorry for all the questions....just trying to come up with some ideas.

 

So if this charge isn't explained anywhere and you have been unsuccessful with two ordinary letters, I would go via their formal complaints procedure.

 

Write a letter headed "formal complaint" and in that letter you tell them that you require a formal analysis and explanation as to how this figure is arrived at. You tell them that despite two reasonable request for this information you have been denied a staisfactory explanation. Tell them that a respnse to the effect that they are "as a result of administrative costs applied to the account" is not a satisfactory response and that you now require a full explanation.

 

Tell them that failure to provide this information will result in your taking the matter further.

 

See what they say.

 

You can, if you wish, copy the CEO in on this letter.

 

Regards

 

ims

[Fielder]

Ok, I will do that.

Thanks for your advice and any ideas as to the best that I can expect from this little problem?

I will keep posting any replies

Thanks ims

[ims21]

Ok, I will do that.

Thanks for your advice and any ideas as to the best that I can expect from this little problem?

 

Sorry...battery's gone int he crystal ball at the mo

 

I will keep posting any replies

Thanks ims

 

Seriously though, I just think it's worth trying to get to bottom of it because if it turns out that this charge (or charges) is (or are) unlawful then it would be worth claiming back with interest.

 

ims

[Fielder]

Yes you're right, I will try to claim back the charges.

Another question, I was charged £1,800 for arrangement fees and £670 for a Lenders Arrangment fee, seems a little excessive!!!!

Are these charges reclaimable?

Thanks

 

And I'll get you some new batteries for that crystal ball...

[ims21]

Yes you're right, I will try to claim back the charges.

Another question, I was charged £1,800 for arrangement fees and £670 for a Lenders Arrangment fee, seems a little excessive!!!!

Are these charges reclaimable?

Thanks

 

Personally I don't think you'll get anywhere with these. They were specified on the agreement.

 

And I'll get you some new batteries for that crystal ball...

 

Ta very much

 

ims

[Fielder]

Hi ims,

I have sent the letter to Blemain today, by signed for post.

I didn't put a time scale for their response any ideas as to how long I should expect a reply, or, what is statuatory time limits?

 

Thanks.

[citizenB]

Thread moved to Morgages and Secured loans forum

[42man]

Have you heard anything back from them ? I suggest if they are playing hardball then a complaint to the FOS might be worthwhile.....it seems obvious they are attempting to hide the individual 'charges/penalties.

 

If they continue to do this and you are ready go to court to reclaim the fees then a CPR31.16 might be a way of getting them to show the breakdown of their 'charges'

[citizenB]

I would think 4 weeks an adequate amount of time. I would suggest that you be ready to drop them a letter asking when you can expect to hear from them in response to your letter dated *** .. You can advise that you have proof that the letter was received at their offices on (check date on RM website) and you are surprised not to have received at the very least an acknowledgment from them.

 

That should at least push them to acknowldge your letter.

 

HTH

[Fielder]

I haven't heard from them yet and I sent the last letter on the 14th November. So not quite four weeks.

 

If I CPR31.16 them, is that done through the court? And, if I do it now, then I will not wait for their response to my last Formal Complaint.

If I do Cpr them, I could still write to them. Would that be an acceptable way forward?

 

Many thanks for your help.

[welshperson3]

Phone them and email them

Then get the name of the person dealing with your complaint and get a complaint reference number.

At the moment they are just ignoring you, with the hope that you go away.

Keep in mind that you will get YOUR monies back, but it is not going to be a quick proces, the upside to this is that your going to get 8 % interest (you wont get that in a bank)

If they wont give you a breakdown of how the £4,651,is made up, and they say admin costs, then put a claim in to blemain for the return of £4,651 they will soon start trying to justify and explain their costs.

The quicker you put a claim in to blemain the better,at the moment your only asking them to justify £4,651.

They wont give you your monies back, I know from experience but they may make you a silly offer with the hope that you go away. (They offered me £600 on £4200 worth of charges) it is up to you if you take it but if not then it is off to the FOS.

WP3

[Fielder]

Thanks wp3.

I will do that, is there a template letter in the library do you know?

[welshperson3]

Hi fielder

You have to understand and edit a template letter to suit your needs,

There are plenty of templates on the net, reading a few will help you understand why the charges are unfair and for what reason you can claim them back.

Me or anybody else on these sites telling peoples what to do and them following blindly is a recipe for disaster,

Searching and reading will help you understand what you have to do, and as this claim progresses so will your knowledge of what to do next (most people on here started were you are)

Helping anyone get money out of blamain will give me great pleasure, and it can be done with no financial risk, but it will require a bit of effort. (how many weeks work would it take you to earn £4k.)

Wp3

[Fielder]

Yes you are right, trouble is I feel intimidated by them. Stupid I know!!!!

 

But, I realise that just moaning about them will not get my money back. So onwards and upwards.

Thanks for your boot up the (you know what)!

[welshperson3]

Hi fielder

 

My last post was only meant to help you, when you find out what rules, regulations and laws blemain have broke then your intimidation will turn to anger.

 

When blemain started adding charges to my agreement and then taking myself and my wife to court for possession of our home then you wouldn’t have found anybody more intimidated than us (lots of sleepless nights and tears) now I know what they was doing was wrong, no more sleepless nights and a feeling of empowerment.

 

Now in your position you have nothing to fear from blemain,your agreement has ended. The only costs that you will incur are post and phone call costs.

 

Blemain are a bunch of bullies but you only have to deal with them for a few weeks then the FOS will take over your complaint and you can sit back put your feet up and wait for your monies back.

 

Now I will post up some good reading below and I will help you with template letters, but you must assure me that you understand every point in every letter before you send it. If you don’t understand ask, and I and I’m sure others on this site will try and answer any questions you have.

 

Wp3

 

Hi ims,

I have sent the letter to Blemain today, by signed for post.

I didn't put a time scale for their response any ideas as to how long I should expect a reply, or, what is statuatory time limits?

 

Thanks.

Email them a copy of this letter; phone them with reference to this letter.

 

By doing the above you are getting them to acknowledge that there is a letter and they will then have to deal with it.

 

Do this now as there is a time limit for them to comply with complaints, after the time limit is up then you can complain to the FOS. And that is what you want.

 

Blemain are not going to say ok we done wrong so here is your monies back, but the rules are that you give them a chance to correct any mistakes they make before you complain to the FOS.

 

This explains what you have to do and were you are going with this complaint

 

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/consumer-leaflet.htm

 

complained to your bank, insurance company or finance firm – but still not happy?

 

The ombudsman has official powers to sort out complaints between you and a financial business you're unhappy with.

We look at the facts, ask questions and decide what's fair in each individual case.

If we think the business has treated you fairly, we will tell you why. But if we agree the business has done something wrong, we can order them to put things right.

Our service is free to consumers.

This leaflet tells you more about the ombudsman and how we use our power to sort out financial complaints.

Every year around a million people contact us about financial problems involving:

• banking
  
• insurance
  
• mortgages
  
• credit cards and store cards
  
• loans and credit
  
• pensions
  
• savings and investments
  
• hire purchase and pawnbroking
  
• money transfer
  
• financial advice
  
• stocks, shares, unit trusts and bonds.
  

If you're not sure if we can help with your particular problem, just contact us and ask. Call us on 0300 123 9 123.

If you're worried about the cost of calling us, we'll be happy to phone you back.

 

 

what's the first thing I should do?

 

Before we look into your problem, try first to sort it out yourself with the business you're unhappy with.

If it's difficult for you to do this, or you're not sure about anything, please contact us.

The business has eight weeks to sort out your complaint with you. If after eight weeks you're still not happy, you can ask us to get involved. We will explain what you should do next. Call us on 0300 123 9 123.

 

what happens next?

 

 

If the business has had eight weeks and you're still not happy, you can ask us to get involved.

If we think we can help, we will need some information from you for our complaint form.

We will ask you for:

• some personal details
  
• your account number or policy numbers etc
  
• brief details of what has happened and how you think things could be put right for you.
  

If you phone us, we can fill in some of the information on our complaint form for you.

Or you can download the form off our website. Fill it in and send it to us.

We can adapt the way we communicate with you, depending on your needs.

If you would like information in a different format such as Braille, large print or audiotape – or in a different language – let us know. We will do our best to help.

 

how will the ombudsman sort out my complaint?

 

If your complaint is one we can deal with, we will:

• look at your side of the story
  
• contact the business to get their side of the story
  
• weigh up the facts and
  
• tell you and the business what we think.
  

If we think the business has treated you fairly, we will tell you why.

If we think the business has acted wrongly and you have lost out, we can order them to put things right for you.

We sort out most complaints at this stage. If not, we can review the complaint and tell you our final decision.

You do not have to accept our decision and you are free to go to court instead. But we cannot give you legal advice about any court requirements or restrictions (for example, on time limits).

 

 

how long does it take?

 

We look at each case carefully – and the time it takes varies significantly. It can depend on:

• how complex the case is and
  
• how long it takes us to get the information we need, to get to the bottom of your complaint.
  

This means we can sort out some complaints within just a few months. But some can take over a year.

 

Read here, this is how blemain should deal with your complaint ( but they wont)

 

 

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/QG6.pdf

 

This is who pays the FOS whether you win or lose you wont pay any costs, but not quite the same for blemain.

win or lose blemain have to pay a case fee .

 

 

 

who pays for the ombudsman service?

 

 

The Financial Ombudsman Service is paid for by levies and case fees which businesses covered by the ombudsman have to pay by law. At the time the ombudsman service was set up – and when its remit was extended to cover consumer-credit disputes – parliament decided that consumers should not be charged for bringing a complaint to us.

 

 

 

how much is the case fee?

 

 

The standard case fee (which we charge for the fourth and any subsequent “chargeable” case during the year) is £500. Case fee arrangements are reviewed each year and may be subject to change.

[Fielder]

Just an update to let you know what is happening.

 

I decided to follow advice on here (so wonderful all you lot) and began calling various people,

 

 

I started with Trading Standards, they put me onto the ICO, (complaints about data protection),

 

 

the Independant Legal Advice people (the phone number is 0845 345 4345),

 

 

I was also told if I didn't get any response from these people or Blemain then to call the Ministry of Justice.

 

After an hour on the phone, telling my story again and again, it was the FOS who said they could help me.

 

 

They will write to Blemain ask for a breakdown of the collection costs,

 

 

they also agreed that they could be claimed back. But one step at a time.

 

(I also have a problem with excessive charges with my current mortgage company and they are writing to them too!)

 

I am not sure they ask for me the 8% interest but I can always do that at the conty court after I have the costs back.

I would also like to claim the restitionary interest of 29%.

 

Any ideas whether this is going to be a possibility?

Thanks for all your help,

couldn't have done this without you.

Fielder

[welshperson3]

Hi fielder

 

I will try and explain how the intrest part of this claim works

 

This is a very basic overview, and not exact figures but only an explanation of how it all works.

 

 

5 years ago you got charged £1,000 in charges added to your loan agreement, the loan agreement had a contractual interest rate of 10%

 

 

After adding the charges to the account the loan company will then add interest to the charges from the time they add them to the time you end the agreement.

 

£1,000 charges plus interest after one year on the loan costs the borrower £1100

 

Now you don’t just claim back £1000 in charges, you claim back the charges plus the interest =£1100

 

Now all this happened 5 years ago, so now you claim 8% from the time of the charge to you get paid .

£ 1100 after 5 years at 8% is £1539.47

 

Although your initial charges were only £1,000 you would claim back £1,539

 

 

To go to court for restitionary interest, that would take a braver man than me.

 

Wp3

Edited December 14, 2011 by welshperson3

[Fielder]

Hi Wp3

Happy New Year!

Thanks for your answer, and clearing up my confusion with the interest I can charge them.

I have had a letter from Blemain, following the FOS letter to them and they say that they will give me their response within the eight week timescale.

So, no breakdown or explanantion of the charge. But, hopefully I will get an explanation!

 

I have not given up on the restitutionary charges, (as I have nothing to lose. The loan was repaid years ago) but I will get this sorted first and then think about it.

 

Fielder

[welshperson3]

Hi fielder

 

Happy New Year to you to,

 

Glad to hear the FSO are now involved, and I sure you will get your unfair charges back plus interest,

 

I think you may be confused as in your last post you say “I have not given up on the restitutionary charges”

 

Its restitutionary interest on the charges, that a court has the power to award and its not very often a court awards this.

 

By going thro the FOS you get your charges back, you’ll get the interest they charged you on the charges back, and then you get %8 on top of all that,

 

Wp3