Old DJ v Halifax One CC*** Settled by Consent***

[hillards]

OK - I'm about to start out on my next claim, this time for my Halifax One credit card account. I can't send the SAR until I get some money, but should have a cheque from the Hx any day now for my bank account claim.

 

Despite reading loads of threads on here, the majority of which are for bank accounts, I'm a little unsure of my ground this time. Given that the OFT have forced them to lower charges to £12 is this still seen to be an unlawful charge? I wouldn't want to make the mistake of claiming charges that are now deemed to be fair, and have no chance of reclaiming, even though I don't think they are fair personally.

 

I know I've a default notice on my credit record for this one, but it's not yet been passed out of their internal collections department to their in-house debt collectors, Blair Oliver & Scott. At least I've not had any correspondence to that effect and the last time I spoke to anyone at the Hx they were still dealing with it at the Leeds office.

 

I need to gather together my statements, I've had the account less than two years so should not need to wait for statements to calculate the costs, but I am adding in a request for ALL data they hold on me for this account, including copies of the information they type into their screens when they've spoken to you and a full record of all calls their dialler system has made to my numbers - even if they didn't get through.

 

Someone has already told me I need to state ' All records held in either a Physical. Digital or Magnetic format' as part of the SAR

 

Part of my action will be a claim for compensation for the hassle they've caused with those phone calls - getting me up at 8am when I've not got to bed until 5am etc. I feel that the calls were harassment and that they did not take any notice of my letters explaining my situation. They only stopped calling when I sent the harassment letter, and even then I had to call again to get it sorted properly.

 

As my Hx bank account has been closed I've no reason to tread carefully with this one, at worst they can issue a demand for full repayment of the debt, pass it on to a collection agency, take it to court for a CCJ - none of which worries me as it's heading that way without me making a fuss. I can't pay it, they know that, so I can't really avoid their actions in that area.

 

I just need to be sure of my claim before I start action. Until I pull my information together I'm not even sure if I had any charges that were above £12. Even if this claim is successful, the refund will probably be taken against the balance owing rather than coming my way. Again, I cannot argue with that too much as the charges have been added since my payments stopped, with perhaps a couple of late payment fees charged last year.

 

From what I can tell, they are charging £12 a month for being over limit, plus £12 a month late fee, plus about £29-£30 a month in interest, at 23.95%pa. This means the debt is getting worse by over £65 a month.

 

I did try and ask that the account be passed to debt collection, rather than retail bank collections holding on to it. They told me that it had not reached that stage yet. If anything, that should have stopped the interest etc. being added - but they don't want to play.

 

I've not paid anything directly since February 2005, when I lost my job. However, they did take payments directly from my bank account - which is what caused all my recent problems in the first place! The last 'payment' was in August. At least they can't take any more!

 

It seems that it will be a while before I can send my prelim request, as I'll no doubt have to wait weeks for the data to come though, but thought I ask a few questions about this now.

[diabolical]

Given that the OFT have forced them to lower charges to £12 is this still seen to be an unlawful charge? I wouldn't want to make the mistake of claiming charges that are now deemed to be fair, and have no chance of reclaiming, even though I don't think they are fair personally.

 

OFT said they would take action if charges were more than £12, nowhere have they said it's fair. All charges that don't reflect true costs are unlawful. The Money Programme said no-way would any charge be more than £4.50. As they have charged £12 and that figure wouldn't represent their true cost, it make the entire £12 invalid and reclaimable.

[kegi]

hilli I can tell you on s/in/laws statements they only changed to £12 in aug this year all the rest are £25 for both late fees and overlimit fees plus as you say interest and re my own thread on all are 2 interest payments 1 11 /16 pounds .....and the other around the 50 pound mark and I still believe I should be adding the small one to his claim

 

his balance is now £5000 and still going up by the month

kegi

[hillards]

OK, thanks for those comments. I will check my statements carefully and as long as I've at least one above £12 I'll be going for it. Just didn't want to start a battle I couldn't hope to win.

[sallysas]

When I start on my credit card I'm going to be claiming the lot!!! As stated above the true cost is no more than £4.50 so £12 is still over the top. Just how much longer are they going to keep you waiting for your draft? Didn't you settle some time before Christmas:sad:

[tezviper]

Hilli, are you going to claim all charges or just the ones over £12 mate?

[hillards]

I think this may be the point where I ask a moderator to advise, as I'm not 100% sure myself.

 

There's plenty of info on what to do re. bank charges, but not a lot about credit cards, especially after the banks have reduced those to £12.

[hillards]

I may have found the answer in http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/24031-frequently-asked-questions.html?garpg=2

 

Q. I saw something about the OFT..... Can credit cards charge me £12?

 

A. NO. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) issued a directive to credit card companies to set a point at which they (the OFT) would intervene on behalf of the consumer. They did not state that £12 was lawful - in fact they stated that only a court can decide. "A fair default charge should not exceed a reasonable estimate of certain limited administrative costs which the credit card issuer reasonably expects to incur as a result of default"

 

In other words - reclaim the full amount unless they are willing to show the evidence of what it does cost.

 

In other words, if I feel that £12 is too much then I should claim and let ther company tell me how much it has really cost them.

 

Just goes to show how good this site is, I must have read that section 3 or 4 times previously, but I've looked again and there was the info I needed!

[tezviper]

Nice one m8, Im takin on mint and capital one now and am claiming for all charges ( unless they can provide the illustrious breakdown ) good luck with yours m8, mine will be in another section so u probably wont see much of it.

This site is pretty amazing though, I just found out that ppl are reclaiming early redemption charges from mortgages etc and I paid out 2 grand to Bank of Scotland a couple of years ago so am debating looking into that.

[hillards]

A l-o-n-g time since I was last on here and I'm afraid I didn't follow through on the action I started. I sent a SAR request with a £10 PO in January 2007. Due to ill health I didn't keep track of things and I never got anything back from the Halifax at the time. I have looked all over and cannot find the receipt for the PO but do have a scan of the PO itself, so may be able to find out if it was cashed.

 

In the meantime it seems that the debt has been sold off, which I thought was wrong if the matter was in dispute. I have had a couple of letters from various companies claiming that I owe them a heck of a lot more than the last balance I saw.

 

My preferred route is to resume action for reclaiming excessive charges and see where that goes, but this may be fruitless if they've sold the account?

 

I'm not working so money is as tight as ever, although I realise that I'll not actually see any cash from following this through. They will, quite rightly, use any award to reduce the balance.

 

I'll have to dig out the last letter(s) sent and call the Hx to find out where to go next I guess.

[hillards]

I'll put an update in, even though things don't seem to have progressed very much.

 

When DCA's have called I always insist they stop telephoning and communicate in writing only. Most of the time it does not work, they still keep on calling...

 

I've refused to deal with the DCA's on the grounds that I was claiming repayment of charges directly from the Halifax and therefore I considered that the account was in dispute as far back as March 2006, when I was put out of work.

 

However, when I telephoned the Halifax a few weeks ago, they informed me that they could not deal with the account as it had been sold to a DCA.

 

A strange thing happened today - the post came and I opened up an envelope containing a statement from Halifax One !!! (Recent date, not one that had been lost in the post for months)

 

On the first page it says "If you have a problem with your agreement, please try to resolve it with us in the first instance.". I have a feeling I am now going to be resuming the action started almost 30 months ago...

 

Originally I disputed the excessive charges. The letter I got back then was just to say all such claims were being held pending a decison in court etc. Despite sending a £10 PO, I never got my statements or anything, so I need to remind them about that. I did check with the Post Office in Chesterfield, who deal with PO's, and they say it was not cashed.

 

I was very particular to inform the card services people that they had caused my Halifax bank account to be closed and that no more payments could be extracted that way. I need to know what has been added to this account since they 'suspended' it all that time ago. Any charges at all will be disputed as I understood it had been put on hold.

 

It could be slow going. I'm still not working, so anything requiring payment will have to wait, like stamps, bus to post office to post things... My health has not improved, if anything it's worse as I can not stand to walk more than half a mile or so before I'm totally out of breath. I'm looking at making a claim as disabled, have an appointment for that in a week or two.

 

What I am debating doing is to write to the Halifax. Go back over the history of this card, the fact that I put in a SAR, they told me to wait to claim, that it's been to DCA's and now they send me a statement - so they are still active on the account...

 

I'll see what they have to say and will then go back to procedure to make a claim I think. I'll also be pointing out that I'm not working, am looking at registering as disabled/incapacitated, and don't even get benefits.

 

If anything has changed, bear in mind this is a Halifax CC, not a bank account, I'd appreciate someone telling me. I have spent a fair bit of time reading various threads already.

 

At this rate it will be statute barred before any agreement is made!

[sea-sidelady]

Wow, long time since i saw you.

 

Seeing as you never actually received your statements or had no proof Halifax received your request, and it was a long time ago (over a year) then im afraid you are going to have to start over again.

 

First thing is to get the statements so you know where you are.

 

A lot of claims are going through as hardship now, and by what you have just said, you should come under the hardship criteria.

[hillards]

Just a quick query - is there any way to negate the £10 fee if I am suffering hardship?

I sent them a PO before, which was not cashed, so would sending them a scan of that be enough?

I simply can't afford it this month...

[sea-sidelady]

If you have a scan of the postal order and proof of posting, then you can try sending them copies of it to prove it was sent.

 

Also if you still have the reference number from it, which you will have on the scan, contact Royal mail to see if they can help you find out if and when it was cashed.

 

If you can prove they cashed it, then you can send the prove and request the statements as payment has been made.

 

It is definitely worth a try.

[hillards]

I scanned the PO at the time, so I have that on the computer. I have looked for the proof of posting but no sign of that. Neither can I find the receipt from the Post Office when I bought the PO. However, I had been in contact with Royal Mail in Chesterfield a few weeks ago and they confirm it was not cashed.

So, I may be £10 out of pocket as it's too old to take back as unused, despite it being crossed and made payable to Halifax PLC. I don't have the receipt and that Post Office was closed last year.

It may be a case of writing to the Halifax as a regular SAR and add a note about the previous attempt to obtain the info, with the scan attached. At times they can be real softies... ;-)

If they still insist on money I could always ask them to take it out of my Halifax bank account, which they closed in 2006...

[sea-sidelady]

That's a shame, but not the end of it.

 

Like you say, you could send a copy of the postal order and re request your SAR.

 

If that gets you nowhere then you could always try to see if they would compromise the £10 fee. Stranger things have happened.

 

But it isnt advised to let them take it out of an account because they never do this, then inform you later, and you have to resend the fee. Time wasting.

[hillards]

Ah - you missed those vital closing words - they closed my Hx account in 2006, so asking them to take it from there would waste their time...

 

I'm actually in no hurry to sort this one out, they'll only use whatever I manage to claw back to reduce the balance.

 

This one has done the rounds of the DCA's and seems to have gone back to the HX themselves, if the recent statement was anything to go by.

 

Then they wonder why people are confused. At first they say they cannot deal with it as it's gone to a DCA. You find out that's their own people, Blair Oliver & Scott. They won't talk to you unless you admit you owe them money or confirm your inside leg measurement. So, it eventually goes to another DCA, I refuse to talk to them by phone, they eventually send a letter, I ask for proof they are a legal company and that they have the right to hound me, pointing out that I disputed the debt with the Hx over excessive charges etc. Now I get a statement from the Hx as though nothing ever happened...

 

At least I can go back to them and ask for the statements now.

[sea-sidelady]

Ah - you missed those vital closing words - they closed my Hx account in 2006, so asking them to take it from there would waste their time...

 

Missed it Durrrr!!

 

They do seem to be going in circles. Well they have time on their hands now

 

This claim has been going for too long, but the good thing with Halifax at the minute is they do seem to be settling hardship claims. So the sooner you get the claim in the better, that way you can get them off your back!!!

[hillards]

...get them off your back...

Only partly - the amount I estimated they had overcharged is less than 40% of the total, so they'll still want me to pay the rest once this is settled.

Because I will have taken them to task over charges they'll take it that I admit owing the rest.

[andymanx]

Any update on this Hillards?

[hillards]

This one has been doing the rounds of the DCA's, so I've not done much with it. Each time that I've had a letter I've replied to let them know I'm 'bemused' as I lodged a dispute with the Hx over 2 years ago.

 

As I'm claiming charges from them, and they'll only take that off the balance, it's not been a priority to sort out. Sorry. Partly down to me being ill, partly with computer problems, partly apathy I guess...

[hillards]

Update time - yes, this is still going on!

 

Latest is a letter from the Leeds Losers to ask me to pay an amount that appears to be a lot higher than last time I looked. I've not dug out the file to check as I'm suffering with a really bad chest these days and have to be careful how much strain I put on myself.

 

When I get a mad moment I'll change the date on the last letter I sent to them from this account, the last time it went through this loop, pointing out that I am still waiting for the Hx to get off their backsides and acknowledge me. I refuse to deal with a DCA on this one as there are serious issues with the account that I have asked about on several occasions.

 

If OhHells want to go to court with it they can try of course...

[hillards]

Long time since I sent Lowell a simple letter to say the account has been in dispute for ages, as mentioned above. Nothing heard since then - until today. I've had a demand from Tocatto to let me know they are 'a specialist debt recovery agency working on behalf of Lowell...'. Yes, I know it is Lowell under another name, but now claiming to be in Preston, with an Admail address that no doubt sends everything back to Leeds, despite the return address on the envelope being Bradley Stoke, Bristol!

 

Sadly for Tocatto, I have no idea what the 'outstanding balance' relates to as it does not tie in with anything I may have been aware of in the past, and they omit to say what it for, apart from the Lowell name. Of course, I don't just make big payments to any Tom Dick or Harry who says 'pay up or else' - school-ground bullies are a thing of the past, or are supposed to be. Seem to be a lot of Dick's making these claims as far as I can see, where are Tom and Harry ?

 

Hx never responded to my letter asking about the missing postal order (Cripes, who else remembers Billy Bunter?) and I'd all but forgotten about this one. As you get older, your memory does go - I can vouch for that!

 

It will probably be another year or so before they write again, if they do start to pester I'll do yet another 'account in dispute'/bemused letter.

[hillards]

Yawn, I get bored with it all now. the Leeds Losers wrote recently to say that this account is now being passed to their debt recovery company, Fredricksons...

 

They did that about 4 years ago, Freds were told that the account was in dispute etc etc My Deja Vu is getting flashbacks !

 

Sadly for all of them, it's now SB'd

[hillards]

Oh gosh, this one has come up yet again - but this time it's the Halifax who wrote to me to let me know they think they mis-sold PPI.

 

I'd almost forgotten about this account, it was all so long ago. I've filled the questionnaire in and sent it back, then thought I'd pop on here to see how other people had got on, and re-discovered this thread

 

I've had a lot of problems over recent years, losing my job, becoming too ill to work again, fighting for my rights and allowances and all that. Now I've refreshed my memory I really must do a new SAR and bang it off. I'm positive there were excessive charges and interest added to the account and I may as well claim those.

 

From my own notes on here, it's been passed to several DCA's and will be SB'd by now,