Kevr6384 v Alliance & Leicester

[kevr6384]

Hi All,

 

Just getting into things now after reading (and trying to understand) everything over the christmas break.

 

I am just issuing a prelim letter today to A&L for a small claim of £162.50

 

But hey its the principle aint it ! :idea:

 

Will keep this updated as things progress.

 

Thanks

 

Kev

[Guest ian cognito]

Good on yer Kev, every bit helps!!

 

Good luck.

[kevr6384]

Thanks for your words of encouragement.

 

I have couple of quick questions which i think i may know the answer for but would like a little re-assurance.

 

 

1:

 

From all that i have read there is a very high chance that the A&L will close my account if i take this one all the way. I understand that by them closing my account I will be left with a mark on my credit score ?

 

If i was to close the account myself this week i assume they cannot leave me a bad mark on my credit score ?

 

Could anyone confirm if this is correct ?

 

Have a good credit score at present and would like to preserve it !

 

2: I have a joint mortgage which has just been taken out with A&L i assume that this cannot be affected by the action i am taking to reclaim the charges ?

 

Again could anyone confirm if my thinkingis correct ?

 

Cheers

[Guest ian cognito]

Them closing your account will have no effect on your credit file, it will just show account closed, it is only when they close it because you have defaulted that it effects your file. You will probably have time to close it between receiving your cheque and them closing it though, think it took them about 2 weeks to close mine.

 

It will not effect your mortgage, if they tried that one, they would be getting into very hot water!

 

Good luck!

[kevr6384]

Update:

 

Standard reply letter recieved from A&L blah blah blah.

 

Letter Before Action Issued Today !

 

[kevr6384]

14 day deadline is now up on the LBA. They sent me another letter yesterday saying they are going to charge me £34 as a direct debit i had cancelled (but not in time) has been returned. This has now put me over my overdraft limit so i will be getting another £25 or £50 charge next month.

 

What options do i have here ?

 

The £34 that has been charged since issue of LBA - do i include this on the MCOL?

 

What do i do about the charges that will be applied next month ?

 

Thanks

 

Kev

[Bigmac versus]

Any charges you get before court can be added to your court claim, however the next months charge can not be claimed as you have not paid this as yet, annoying as it is unfortunately, have heard of someone getting the charges back after they had filed at court and awaiting their hearing by saying they thought charges were not to be applied when the account was is in dispute which of course it is as it is in court stages, got to be worth a try, good luck.

[kevr6384]

Hi thanks for your reply.

 

Below are the details from my particulars of claim which i intend to file today. Could someone with a good eye have a quick scan through ? I think its all correct but have looked at it that long i may have missed something.

 

Section 3 i have stated "the Defendant is aware of the details as a list of charges has previousley been supplied" but i am adding on two further charges i have recieved since issuing my LBA does this need to be reworked ?

 

1. The Claimant had an account # --------- with the Defendant.

 

2. Since 11/08/06 the Defendant debited charges and interest in respect of purported breaches of contract.

 

3.The Defendant is aware of the details as a list of charges has previousley been supplied. A list of the charges applied is attached to these Particulars of Claim.

4. Claimant contends:

(a) The charges exceed the Defendant's losses caused by the breaches;

(b) The Term permitting the Defendant to levy such charges is unenforceable under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and at Common Law.

 

5. Claimant claims:

(a) Return of the amounts debited of £230.50;

(b) Interest per S.69 County Courts Act 1984 of 8% - £4.64 continuing at 8% until judgment or settlement at a daily rate of £0.05;

 

6. Alternatively, if the charges are a fee for a service, then they must be reasonable under S.15 of the Supply of Goods andServices Act 1982.

 

7. Costs allowed by the Court.

[kevr6384]

Anyone ?

[omicron]

Pretty much wonderring exactly the same thing myself.

[kevr6384]

No-one ?:o

[Bigmac versus]

Sorry having a look at it just now give me 15 mins to look and reply.

[kevr6384]

No problem sir your time is much appreciated

[Bigmac versus]

Ok looks ok

1/ 1. The Claimant had an account # --------- with the Defendant. since on or before --/--/----.

 

2/ Since 11/08/06 the Defendant debited charges and interest in respect of purported breaches of contract, the claimant contends that these charges were legally unenforceable.

 

 

i would also mention that the bank have refused full settlement and maybe elaborate a little on 4a.,

 

 

maybe The defendant has refused full payment of the monies due and has had plenty of time to avoid this action. (All correspondance has been kept)

 

 

The claimant contends that these charges are unenforceable at law, being penalty charges designed to penalise the claimant for a breach of contract and generate profit for the defendant rather than being liquidated damages designed to compensate the defendant for the actual loss occurring to the defendant as a result of the breach

[kevr6384]

Thanks have elaborated further as suggested.

 

I have had to ditch the MCOL and transfer to a pdf N1 as I have now exceeded the word limit in the POC.

 

One more point to add.

 

If i plan to file the claim on Monday when the court is open should i enter the Interest under s.69 County Courts Act 1984 figure as the sum as calculated on Monday ?

 

Thanks Again

[Bigmac versus]

Yes, good luck.

[kevr6384]

Thanks All,

 

N1 from submitted at Morpeth & Berwick County Court this morning.

 

[kevr6384]

Latest Update,

 

Received all detail etc that A&L intend to defend the claim in full as per the usual.

 

Yesterday i opened the mail to find a nice little cheque for £267.18 as full settlement, although as we all know they do not admit liability in the accompanying letter.

 

Thanks again CAG - donation will be made.

[lesleypalmer]

Hi

Im just in the process of taking A&L to court, but unsure of how to go about it, does anyone know

 

Any help much appreciated

 

Lesley

[kevr6384]

Let me know what you need and i will see if i can help:

[kevr6384]

Another update for this thread.

 

I have been on holiday from the 2nd March until yesterday and opened my post to see another letter from A&L

 

This one is regarding the closure of my account which they intend to do on or shortly after the 11th April.

 

I was expecting this and have been operating with my parachute account now since Christmas so this isnt a big problem although i have a small overdraft that will need to be paid off.

 

I fully intend to carry on with my complaint as i see this account closure as retaliatory action.

 

Is there a sample letter that i can edit to use for my complaint and if not could anyone who has been through the procedure to FOS stage pass on any advice.

 

Thanks

 

Kevin

[younganfree]

No sample letter, kev, but I have seen advice on one of the threads that the complaint you make to A&L should just reflect your opinion of the situation, (keep it clean dude!).

Once you have exhausted A&L's complaints procedure, you can then complain to the big bods at the FOS.