Acenden, Spml, Eurosail, Ge money. Are these all same company?

[cruzhughes]

I've just been online and the fee from between £5000 and £10000 is £410is that right? Can I claim this back off the other party?

[martin2006]

Yes you add it to the total amount you are claiming, look at a blank N1, you will see what i mean.

Total amount = £xxxxxxxx

Court costs = £xxxx

Total claimed = £xxxxxxxx

 

Any further costs incurred can also be added as and when they become due.

Dont forget to factor in s69 interest @8% too although if using mcol i think it works that bit out for you.

[cruzhughes]

The 8% was on the spreadsheet I done. That will be used as evidence won't it?

[cruzhughes]

Have I got anything to worry about with going to court? I've never done anything like this before so I'm concerned about the protocol

[martin2006]

The 8% was on the spreadsheet I done. That will be used as evidence won't it?

 

The 8% on the spreadsheet is the calculation up to the issue of the claimform. From there you include 8% s69 from the date of issue to judgement or earlier settlement

[CosmosBipinnatus]

Have I got anything to worry about with going to court? I've never done anything like this before so I'm concerned about the protocol

 

Litigation is meant to be a last resort, after you have exhausted all other avenues of coming to an agreement (sometimes referred to as Alternative Dispute Resolution). If you go to court without being able to show that you have tried all the other ways, you risk being knocked back by the judge for not having done everything to avoid going to court, and then you will have lost - in which case YOU will have to pay the OTHER SIDE'S COSTS. As Acenden uses both solicitors and barristers, their costs would be astronomical.

 

Only go to court if you are ready to lose.

 

In your place, I would make a formal complaint to the FOS and ask them to make a decision about this.

[CosmosBipinnatus]

Personally i would take the court route, FoS wont be intereted it was FCA back then and if successful will only recover 8% interest max.

Court opens up the option of compound interest and in most cases is much quicker than FoS/FCA

 

I am sorry but this is dangerously misleading. The FCA still exists; its predecessor was the FSA.

 

The FOS will be interested if you make a good case (and, if you are rejected initially by the Assessor, just say his/her decision is not acceptable to you and you wish your complaint to be considered by an ombudsman).

 

The FOS is free. Going to court is NOT QUICKER and if you lose YOU PAY THE OTHER SIDE'S COSTS. I cannot emphasise this strongly enough: If. You. Lose. You. Will. Be. Liable.

 

The compound interest applies, irrespective of how this is dealt with.

[cruzhughes]

I'm confused as I thought I read somewhere on here that it said don't go to the Fos

[CosmosBipinnatus]

I'm confused as I thought I read somewhere on here that it said don't go to the Fos

 

I said that I had not been able to get much sense out of the FOS but I do know someone who has covered a lot of ground - got £'000s in fees and unfair charges refunded - in the past year. And my situation was a bit unusual.

 

You are contemplating STARTING a court claim which means that all the burden of proving your case is on you. The other side only has to find a technicality that you have overlooked, and you will lose your case; and then you will be forced to pay the other side's costs which, I can assure you, will have been massively inflated.

 

As I say, not only is starting a court claim very expensive and indescribably stressful, you could lose "on a technicality" and then have to pay the other side's enormous legal costs.

 

On the other hand, going to the FOS is free, and if then the FOS found for you but the other side did not comply with whatever the FOS told them to do you would have a much stronger case. The courts take a lot of interest in what the FOS decision is.

 

Lastly, you can go to court after going to the FOS. You cannot go to the FOS after you have gone to court or once you have started legal proceedings.

 

Do yourself a favour and go to the FOS. You have nothing to lose by doing that, whereas you could lose everything by going to court. The other thing is that, in my experience, the other side routinely lies to the court.

[cruzhughes]

Ok I'll go there first. Going to have to wait another 5 weeks though as it's 3 weeks since I wrote to Acenden asking for the refund they haven't even acknowledged that letter

[CosmosBipinnatus]

Ok I'll go there first.

 

Makes sense. You've nothing to lose by going to the FOS but do give it your best shot.

 

Going to have to wait another 5 weeks though as it's 3 weeks since I wrote to Acenden asking for the refund they haven't even acknowledged that letter

 

You can prepare your complaint to FOS and have it all ready to submit. Anyway, better to start the New Year with your complaint. Acenden not acknowledging or replying is another "black mark" against them; be sure to note it in your complaint to FOS, if they still have not done so in the next five weeks; courts don't like organisations not responding.

[CosmosBipinnatus]

Ok I'll go there first.

 

In case of interest, on this recent blog entry (my embolding) by Professor David Rosen,

 

If you issue court proceedings without engaging in the CPR Pre-Action protocols, you may well be at risk of having legal costs awarded against you, even if you win. That is because, had you engaged in the process, the matter may have been resolved without further legal cost, timing, and aggravation, and the aim of CPR was ironically to not engage in cases but to settle. This is arguable, and the subject of another blogpost for another time that the CPR achieves what it was supposed to do.

https://litigantsinperson.wordpress.com/2016/11/29/i-received-a-default-judgment-what-do-i-do/

[dx100uk]

re the reported post

that's was never published.

what is it you want

the mortage charges covering letter?

 

 

dx

[cruzhughes]

Letter before action. It's almost a month not heard a pip

[dx100uk]

that link is 2011 probably why its not availiable as it mentions old stuff.

 

 

send martin2006 a pm

he'll know

as he's done it himself of recent

 

 

dx

[mercyblue]

"If you issue court proceedings without engaging in the CPR Pre-Action protocols, you may well be at risk of having legal costs awarded against you, even if you win. That is because, had you engaged in the process, the matter may have been resolved without further legal cost, timing, and aggravation, and the aim of CPR was ironically to not engage in cases but to settle. This is arguable, and the subject of another blogpost for another time that the CPR achieves what it was supposed to do"

 

Well court action should always be the last resort otherwise you are not following cpr 1 i.e the overriding objective.

[cruzhughes]

What are CPR pre action protocols?? I've sent them my spreadsheet and asked to be refunded letter is on here. I've not had a reply it's been 4 weeks. Letter has been signed for. I can't go to fos for another 4 weeks.

[Tired and Weary]

They will drag their heals ,you will just have to wait. I bet the letter was received by someone called `Ester`, who seems to be a `fictional person`, and who signs for everything and who`s signature is different each time.

 

You usually have to wait for Acenden`s final response before going to the FOS unless they dont respond within the alloted timescale..

 

You will probably get a letter saying that they are still investigating and they will reply by such and such date.

Good Luck

[cruzhughes]

I thought I would have received something by now even an acknowledgment

[martin2006]

Letter before action. It's almost a month not heard a pip

 

Your Letter Before Action is almost identical to the original request for repayment letter, other than its headed "Letter Before Action" and you refer to the lack of response from your original request.

 

You dont need to add any more at this stage, just a 14 day deadline

[cruzhughes]

I didn't send a request before that. That letter was my first request for a refund!! Have I messed up???

[martin2006]

No you havent messed anything up, you send a preliminary request along with a spreadsheet then, if you get no response, or a refusal as a response, or anything other than a refund, you send an LBA.

 

I will edit the one i used and post it in a pdf tomorrow as i dont have access to my laptop till then, feel free to use/edit etc as you need to.

[cruzhughes]

Ok thanks!

[martin2006]

Note when using this version that it refers to issuing court action, if you have no intention of doing so, please remove this section and replace with an alternative such as FOS for example

LBA.pdf

[cruzhughes]

Will have a go at that then. Cheers:

 

Request for repayment of charges

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

 

My request

 

I am writing to ask you to refund the charges which you have levied from my account between 17/02/2006 to 04/11/2016 in respect of late payment, arrears management, litigation fees and legal costs to the sum of £3,367.88 and the sum of £3,179.60 representing the contractual rate of interest applied by yourselves in respect of the said charges this totals £6,547.48 (Please find enclosed schedule of charges detailing dates, amounts and interest) and. We now understand that such fees are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent consumer Regulations.

 

In the case of Castaneda and Others v. Clydebank Engineering and Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (1904) 12 SLT 498 the House of Lords held that a contractual party can only recover damages for actual or liquidated losses incurred from a breach of contract as oppose to a charge which represents a penalty. This law was confirmed and upheld in Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor Co Ltd [1915] AC 79. A charge will be held to be a penalty if the sum stipulated for is extravagant and unconscionable in amount in comparison to the greatest loss that could conceivably be proved to have followed from the breach. A penalty clause is void in its entirety and unenforceable.

 

In addition your charges appear to represent an unfair term of contract which is contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (SI. 1999/2083). My account falls within the ambit of Regulation 5 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 as I am the consumer. Your charges constitute an unfair penalty under Schedule 2 of the said Regulations which provide an indicative and non-exhaustive list of terms which may be regarded as unfair. Under paragraph 1(e) of schedule 2 this specifically includes terms which have the object of requiring any consumer who fails his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation. We would vigorously contend that this is the position regarding the fee of £3,367.88 which you deemed fit to apply to my account.

 

I would like to bring your attention to the following statement by The Office of Fair Trading:

 

"A term in a mortgage agreement which requires the borrower to pay more for breaching the contract terms than actual costs and losses caused to the lender by the breach (or a genuine pre-estimate of that) is likely to be regarded as an unfair penalty and to be unenforceable both at common law and (in a consumer mortgage) under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations.

I believe that the charges you have levied of far exceed any true cost to yourself as a result of our breaches and any genuine pre-estimate you could conceivably reach. If you disagree, then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put to as a result of my breaches, in order to reassure us that your charges really do reflect your costs.

 

I really hope that this matter can be resolved amicably and without the need for redress to the courts. Thus I am asking that you refund the charges which have unlawfully been levied on my account. Failure to refund all the money unlawfully taken from us will result in us taking further action. I will give you 14 days to reply accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which we 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. Thus take this letter as 28 days written notice of my intention to issue a court claim should you not comply with my request. 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.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

Thanks This is what I sent originally