phoning halifax just before startin cc procedures!!!

[albbyswife]

hello

just been reading a few posts and a few people have phoned up the halifax just before thay apply to the courts for there charges back!!!

 

i have sent my lba letter on the 21st december i got a reply back yesterday the usual letter 'sorry to to hear unhappy with charges ,etc,etc'

 

the 14 days are up on the 5th january and thats when im going to send the n1 form to courts,

 

My question is has any body else tried this procedure of phoning the bank before going to the courts with the n1 for charges ????

 

and if so what do you have to do and say???????? And what was the outcome of the phone call????? did they say they would pay or not!!!!!

 

just wondering if this is what i should do or not!!

[Rooster-UK]

Personally, I wouldn't bother ringing them. If you do, you have no proof of what they say. the chances of them paying up there and then are miniscule. Just stick with the court claim. They'll pay up before it gets to court.

 

Regards, Rooster.

[CLARABUCKET]

hi i called the day before i was due to file the n1 after hearing nothing. he said he would send me an offer that day. Next morning sure enough a letter offering £4,311 (i was claiming £5,711) i called to say thanks for your offer but i was wanting something nearer to my claim, he offered £5,00 there and then and i said no but i was willing to settle for £5,500. he said will call you back. 10 minuites later i had a call with the offer for £5,500. i was really chuffed didnt have to do the court claim and will have my money (or so they tell me ) by the end of the week.

 

Choice is yours, in my case was definatly worth a call and saved me time and worry and was so close to the amount claimed anyway.

good luck claire x

[CLARABUCKET]

sorry forgot to say i recieved the offer in writing the next day and the acceptance form to sign and send back

[albbyswife]

has any body else tried phoning up before going to the court to claim?????

[hillards]

Yep - I'm another one!

 

I was claiming £1,559 originally, seems I added up incorrectly and it was actually £1,551. They offered £775.50 in their first offer letter. Oh, and they wanted to take £174 of that to repay my former overdraft.

 

The day before I was due to file in court I called their Birmingham office, spoke to Phil there. We agreed that they would pay me £1,500 and would not claim the £174 overdraft amount, which came out even better for me.

 

What I do suggest to people wanting to take this route is to call the person who sent your offer letter. That will give their name and direct telephone number, as well as your case reference number.

 

There are quite a few who have done this now, it seems to work although you may not get them to 100% of what you were claiming.

 

If you're the cynical type, and don't think they'll honour or confirm the higher offer, then there's always the longer term route via the courts to fall back on.

[albbyswife]

so , IF, i was to phone how and what would i say not hopeless at starting the conversation

[hillards]

I was going to PM, but perhaps this will help others if I put it here.

 

You have had an offer by letter, this contains the direct telephone number of the person who sent it. It matters not what office they work from, all the letters give the Leeds PO Box address but the phone number could be Newcastle, Birmingham, anywhere... On that letter is a case reference number - you'll need that.

 

Call the number, ask for the person named on your letter (although I've found others in the same office are just as helpful) and give them your reference number. Remember, they are bank employees and are usually well versed in the procedures. They don't like abusive calls or people making demands.

 

They will no doubt ask how they can help you, the letters do say to call them if you wish to discuss the matter and that's just what you are doing.

 

Point out that you have already rejected their previous offer as being insufficient and that you are about to file at court. You feel that perhaps they may wish to discuss the offer before you do that.

 

DO NOT settle for less than you are prepared to accept. They will not bully you into taking less. If you are not happy with their offer then say so, and tell them you have no option but to file your N1 at court...

 

They do not always offer 100%, but get darned close, so decide before you even call if you will accept 95% or greater, or will only settle for 100%. They may ask what figure you want - so tell them!

 

IMPORTANT: You set out to reclaim your charges, you have sent them details of these, you have no claim to any more - such as the 8% interest added at court stage, or payment of court fees - you've not reached that stage yet remember...

 

IF, and only IF, you are happy with their offer they will put this into writing and send it with an acceptance form and pre-paid envelope, which you should get in a day or two.

 

The benefit is that you don't have to file a claim at court, so saving a few weeks and shelling out the court fees. You would normally get your money within a week or two of them getting your settlement acceptance.

 

The downside (is it?) is that you cannot reclaim court fees, as you've not paid any, and do not get the 8% interest.

 

My personal view is that we all set out for reclaim of charges, that's what we achieve here, isn't it ?

 

They don't bite, they shouldn't get stroppy, so don't be afraid to call. They have said, in their letter, they want to help sort this out with you...

[CLARABUCKET]

Couldnt agree more with Hillards, it worked for me!! Good luck with whatever decision you make

[Vitreous]

i just did this myself, not wanting to go through the full court process and settled for the full amount-(not the interest) right there on the phone.

[wandererpaul]

i did the same after reading 'Hillards' thread and thought i'd give it a go.

asked fot the full amount of £1474 and they agreed. just waiting for the letter before i jump for joy !!

 

There's no harm in calling them, you only want your charges back, the interest was a bonus if you took it to court. Ask politely for the full amount, they can only say no! then politely say, okay i will be filing this claim in the court today.

 

It does get busy on the phone number i called but persevere. took me 2 days before i got through.

[hillards]

It works for a lot of people but I feel I should add, after reading it elsewhere and getting a PM on the topic, that the CAG site does not encourage this method.

 

The view seems to be that entering into an agreement by telephone is not the accepted method of handling a claim. If people stick to the step-by-step instructions and send only letters then there is a paper trail to follow should there be any problems and it does end up in court.

 

If a moderator or site helper were to encourage someone to make a call, and then they get a letter saying they agreed to a lesser amount, there is no proof of the conversation by telephone. As a wild example: The Halifax could send a letter saying the person agreed to accept 50% of their original claim and that would be difficult to dispute at court stage. Things then go pear shaped and the person giving the advice feels bad about it.

 

Now I'm quite happy that anyone who has followed this route has reached a satisfactory agreement and they've had a letter within a day or two to confirm it. I've not heard of any attempt to change the offer amount or impose any other conditions. It worked for me, which is why I feel able to talk about it.

 

But, I will point out that I'm only a user of this site. I'm not a moderator or official site helper. Anyone taking my advice/suggestion does so at their own risk. I have to say this to remain fair to those following these threads.

[scouser9]

Hi Guys and Gals,

 

Just to mention I settled the same way a few days ago and I am now enjoying the money with no regret, I mentioned it to Clarabucket as well and it shows it does work. But as mentioned above only settle with what you want out of it.

And I agree they are not animals and do not bite, be polite ask the questions pointed out above and you should get what you want out of the telephone call.

 

If you are still not happy toddle off to court and everything will turn out fine.

 

Mikey