PM Vs Bank of Ireland

[chasbut]

good news folks the consumer council for northern ireland were on radio ulsters talkback (friday 11th august) about these charges & want people to start writing to their banks . they too will send you out forms of letters to send to your bank.their phone number is 028 90672488.they also give you a table of fees that the small claims court will charge sould it get that far:lol: happy hunting folks:-)

[pmcmurrough]

Hi folks,

I started this thread a long time ago and my case against the BOI has been a long and drawn out one. I was originally given a court date in May but the court relisted it for 1 Sept. (this Friday).

So I am preparing for court now. Not taking a solicitor, going to put the case forward myself (probably not a wise move especially as it seems to be the first NI case to actually go to court - please correct me if I am wrong on this)

I will update the forum as soon as the case is heard. Fingers crossed!

 

P

[eratu13]

Fingers crossed for you hope all goes well .I will probably have to go down the same road with the first trust so let us know how you get on,

good Luck

 

eratu13

[Bettyboop]

Good luck McMurrough.

 

Go get 'em!

 

 

Bettyboop

[paddym]

good luck hope all goes well keep us posted !

[lindsay-lou]

Yeah, Best of Luck. Looking forward to hearing how it goes:)

[Doc2527]

Yes good luck,i'll be thinking about you, as I am going for the BOI too.

They recently sent me a threatening letter saying that I was operating my account unsatisfactorily an they wanted their money back from the overdraft I had with them.

[carriexs87]

Thank you for the NI Small Claims links Bankfodder.

In light of the fact that a small claim here in N.Ireland is limited to £2000 and seeing as my charges for the last 12 months alone amount to some £1800 is there any reason why I can't begin by claiming for the charges for the last 12 months then if this is successful claim for the previous 5 years?

 

I'm taking BOI to court at the minute. They have submitted a defence to the court and we have a hearing date of 3rd of October. Have just gathered all my evidence and am about to send it off to the judge - I can almost smell that money - go to www.courtsni.gov.uk and they give you step by step instructions in the online section and inform you of all developments via email. Wish me luck - me nerves is wrecked, and let me know how you get on.

 

Carrie

[razor]

good luck for tomorrow i am waiting for all my statements for the ulster bank then get my claim sorted but i have had £300 worth of charges in the last 3 months

[big aid]

my money is that they don't show or talk on the steps

[besty01]

good luck for tommorow m8

[wdv]

I cant believe this thread ends here?!!!!

[Bru]

Good luck tomorrow...

 

What court are you In, I may be in the area..

 

could drop in give you some moral support

 

Bru

[monstermind]

Good luck tomorrow!!

[lickthewallfatboy]

I'll be very surprised

a)if they show at all

 

and

 

b)if they do show,that they don't settle outside the court

[pmcmurrough]

Update:

The BOI did turn up with full legal team.

The case has been adjourned until 21st Nov in the hope that the OFT's statement (relating specifically to Current Accounts) is published but either way on that date the judge says he will set a date to hear the case. He suggested that we should consider settling outside but the BOI seemed to have no interest in doing so.

Apparently there have been 6 cases in the same court but all have settled outside of court.

[lickthewallfatboy]

that actually surprises me-do you think they were trying to intimidate you, possibly?

 

Did they actually speak to you at all?

 

It doesn't really matter how many legal eagles they pull out-if they can't demonstrate that their charges are a reflection of their true costs,they are on a beaten docket,and they know it.

 

Which court were you in?

[Bru]

Looks like a stalling tactic to me.

 

I probably presume the rest will do the same now...

will be interesting to see.

[pmcmurrough]

Court 4 Small Claims.

 

Did really speak to me. I introduced myself to them at the start but on the way out they said nothing.

[pmcmurrough]

"Didn't" really speak to me....

[Bru]

Just been on phone to OFT..

 

They have NO PLANS to release any statements in the forseeable future regarding Current Accounts.

 

The guy did advise me that the FSA are currently looking at these.

 

The FSA refuse to confirm or deny any such action as they cannot reveal any information which is not already in the public domain.

 

They suggest a freedom of information request might reveal more details.

 

Freedom of Information Team

FSA

25 North Colonnade

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5hs

 

 

 

hope this helps

 

Bru

[monstermind]

Am really surprised by today's turn of events, firstly that BOI turned up and secondly that it was adjourned. I assume BOI's defence asked for the adjournment, or was this the judge's idea?

 

How can BOI have asked for an adjournment pending an OFT announcement, if the OFT state they have no announcement planned?

 

And in any case how would a future announcement affect the law as it stands today in court?

 

In any case, keep going, as LTWFB says, unless they can actually demonstrate in court that their charges reflect actual costs, they don't have a leg to stand on.

[bevcarlyle]

I'm watching this thread with interest as I bank with bank of ireland and have had my fair share of mishaps with my account. I think i've only ever been charged £11 for bouncing a cheque and looking through my statements, its very hard to see what I have been charged for direct debits missing.

 

I had no trouble at all with them in the past until I was selling my house last year and gave up my job to move to edinburgh. The house sale fell through after I had given up my job and although I kept in touch with them and got my overdraft extended etc, they took my switch and chequebook off me, leaving me with a pass card and treated me like ****.

 

I missed some direct debits etc when they wouldnt extend my o/d past £1500 even though they knew I was selling my home and the solicitor had guaranteed them that the profit £40k was being lodged to them.

 

A year on, I still have my pass card, they wont re instate my switch/chequebook and I have just transferred my account to Clydesdale here.

 

isnt it odd that you dont have charges showing up on 365 online banking either. I'm waiting to see what happens with you then i'm going in with my DPA.

 

The law in NI is the same as UK banking law so we have a right to our cash back.

 

PM me if you need to

 

Bev

[flojo1985]

Hi All

OFT has issued a statement today that they are going to investigate current accounts. This might have a knock on affect for all us NI people going to court

Flojo

[Bru]

Not exactly a Statement as such,

 

More a reply to the various agencies who have recently complained.

 

 

"In April, the OFT stated that credit card default charges had been generally set at a significantly higher level than was considered fair and set a £12 threshold for OFT intervention unless there were exceptional business factors. Many card issuers have stated that they do not agree with the OFT's view of the law and that they believe that their default charges were fair but, in view of the reduction in charges across the market, the OFT is satisfied that no further intervention is warranted in this area at this time and that this change has brought about substantial benefits for consumers.

 

The April statement also indicated that the OFT considers that the broad principles in relation to default charges are likely to be relevant to other standard agreements with consumers such as those for bank current accounts. The responses received from the banking industry have generally challenged this belief but the OFT remains of the view that the broad principles do read across to the retail banking area and has decided to undertake further work on the application of these principles to bank current accounts. In the course of this work the OFT will liaise closely with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and hold discussions with the British Bankers' Association (BBA) to ensure that distinctive features of retail banking and the circumstances in which default charges are applied are identified and taken into account. The OFT has also been made aware of concerns about the personal current account market in Northern Ireland by the General Consumer Council (GCC) and will consider its report as part of this exercise. This fact-finding exercise is expected to take between three to six months, at which stage the OFT will consider whether a further detailed investigation of the fairness of individual bank default charges is needed."

 

 

Personally I think it gives us MORE ammunition..

 

It certainly isn't what the Banks would like to have heard.