itsamomentintime v Abbey ** WON **

[abroadgirl]

wow i see u support the same team as me lol

they will give you alot of nonsence i would go to your local branch dont bother with the head office just either go or phone them up they cannot refuse you infact i have a spare form they sent to me yes its blank if you want you can pm if you would like me to send it to you

pm with your email addy then you can just print it out and fill it in and send it to them with a check or postal order for £10

keep me updated hun

hugs

abg

[ICY]

They always say they destroy all records after 6 years, however i seriously doubt this is in fact the case, as usual the banks are unwilling to be transparent, however now people have starting requesting pre 6 year statments more and more i have a feeling their shredders and incinerators will be working overtime.

 

PS. Nice to see yet another Red

[Robdblynd]

I tried to get statments pre-1997 from Abbey, phoned ICO and got same garbage and am still unable to get them to budge on the 6 year rule, despite the banking code apparently saying they should retain info for 6 years AFTER the account is closed, not just retain it FOR 6 years.

 

Hope you have better luck than me.

[itsamomentintime]

original thread here:

 

http://http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/abbey-cahoot-successes/49228-can-banks-add-unlawful-4.html

 

 

however - i when i tried to withdraw some money via a cashpoint, i was instructed to go to my local branch. when i did this, the teller rang some number, and was given various instructions, one being to retain my card. not only this, but my overdraft and internet access were also withdrawn. all because i exercised my legal right to reclaim unlawful charges.

 

now i am sure that this is against the banking code, so i have sent the following letter yesterday with rec delivery:

 

Dear sir/madam

My debit card was recently taken from me and retained on a visit to my local Abbey branch. Also I have noted that my online access has been suspended, meaning that I have no way of accessing my account and my overdraft facility has been removed.

As a result I would like to complain to you about the way I have been treated. Please provide me with a copy of your complaints procedure.

Regards

 

 

will keep you posted

[Lula]

if you take id into your branch then you can withdraw money from your account, but i would continue with your complaint as this seems to be a retaliatory action

[itsamomentintime]

thanks Lula thats what i thought about them

[johans]

this request, particularly the paragraph about summoning the data controller to court to swear an oath, woke nationwide from their lethargy and i received all my statements back to 1988!

Please supply me with a complete history of all correspondence, transactions and charges relating to my banking history from the inception of the account, whether this be in the form of statements, fiche or other recording method. Also any data that has been archived into any archival system used by your company, including outside companies.

Additionally, where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any member of your staff, or any other person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my banking business with you.

 

If you are unable to supply this data because there has been no such manual intervention, then please be so kind as to confirm this in your response.

 

Should you advise that you do not have this information, then I require you to provide a certificate of destruction signed by your Data Controller, confirming when and how my data was destroyed and confirmation of your policy on data retention! If this confirmation is not supplied and a claim be made in Court, I will seek to summon the data controller to swear on oath that he does not have the information I have requested!

 

I enclose the statutory maximum fee of £10 for Data Protection Act subject access request. You will be aware that you have 40 days in which to comply with my request made under s.7 Data Protection Act 1998.

 

If there is specific information which you require in order to satisfy yourself as to my identity, please let me know by return. However, please note that the above address is the one which you normally use to communicate my private business to me and which you have hitherto found to be acceptable.

I would be happy to collect the Data from my local branch.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

hope it helps

[itsamomentintime]

nice one johans, gotta be worth a try

[kev2b3]

lula may be able to correct me on this if i am wrong, but i thought the banks needed to give notice before they suspending your overdraft and taking the debit card from you.

[Lula]

it is 28 days, they cannot just cancel if they do you need to contact the Banking ombusman and complain

[itsamomentintime]

letter signed for on 11/1/08

[itsamomentintime]

complaints procedure recieved, the following is off to the complaints dept, similar to the first letter but adjusted to suit:

 

Dear sir/madam

 

My debit card was recently taken from me and retained on a visit to my local Abbey branch. Also I have noted that my online access has been suspended, meaning that I have no way of accessing my account and my overdraft facility has been removed.

 

I would like an explanation as to why this has happened, as I believe the Banking Code advises that any change in circumstances requires you to provide me with 30 days notice. Also I would like you to explain to me just how I am supposed to access my bank account, without the aforementioned facilities being available to me.

I consider your actions to be retaliatory, due to my to successful claims against you for bank charges. Please be aware that, if no satisfactory outcome is forthcoming to my complaint, I will not hesitate in reporting your actions to the Office of Fair Trading, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the British Bankers Association.

 

 

Regards

[Guest louis wu]

glad to see you using your timescale, and not theirs:).

 

How typical of Abbey, no doubt they will stall until the eleventh hour, just to inconvenience you.

 

As lula says, take 2 forms of ID into the branch (a bill and a driving licence/passport), and get your money that way.

 

best of luck

 

louis

[HONESTKNOB]

Don't expect a straight answer from the bank regarding the account closure but you will get Around £250 compensation if you take it to the Ombudsman,

Alliance & Leicester closed my account following a claim and told me there was nothing they could do too. I took it up with the Ombudsman and got £250 in no time.

[itsamomentintime]

hello HONESTKNOB

 

its not actually closed, but it might as well be as I cannot access it

[HONESTKNOB]

I see you've already written to the bank, expect the fob off letter back. Demand they give you a final answer in writing. Once you have this then off to the Ombudsman you go. Open a new account with another bank and wait for the compensation cheque to arrive.

[itsamomentintime]

HONESTKNOB you must be psychic - the reply did not address any of the issues i raised, so another letter on its way to them....

[itsamomentintime]

letter on its way:

Dear sir/madam

I am receipt of your response to a complaint that I have raised with Abbey. Unsurprisingly however the letter fails to address the issues that I raised, namely:

• Why has my debit card been retained by my local branch?
  
• Why has my overdraft facility been removed?
  
• Why has my internet access to my account been removed?

Please reply with a satisfactory response within 14 days, and make it your final answer on the matter.

Regards

[itsamomentintime]

letter on its way

[GuidoT]

Try this too.

[itsamomentintime]

thanks GuidoT, following email sent:

 

hello Sheena

 

You come highly recommended as the last resort before a court order!!!

 

I sent £10 to get copies of my statements for account number XXXXXXX, dating back to 1993 but only received 10 months worth of statements.

 

I was wondering if you could possibly send me the full set as I am hoping that having to resort to a court order against Abbey will not be necessary.

 

best wishes

[itsamomentintime]

if the email doesnt work, its off to court.

[itsamomentintime]

can anyone confirm what to do in order to get a court order for statements?

[ICY]

good luck, if they do produce them, others claiming pre 6 years could possibly argue that they have given you yours so they want theirs if you get what i mean, so may make there requests easier.

 

I am sure they will HAVE to keep details longer than 6 years but finding out for certain is going to be difficult.

[itsamomentintime]

just received a bizarre letter from Abbey Customer Operations, but a bit of history first:

 

i have successfully reclaimed charges back from Abbey TWICE:grin: but as a result they cancelled my overdraft, my debit card and my internet banking.

 

somehow my account showed -£4, and was passed to their collections dept. the minus balance resulted in monthly charges for being overdrawn, and until recently the balance was -£1XX.

 

now today i received a letter stating that the balance has been reduced to £0.00 because i have not used my account for 12 months (thats a lie), and because they want me to start using the account again.

 

weird no?