Smartster Vs Halifax.. A couple of questions...

[smartster1983]

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Simon and i'm currently in the process of trying to reclaim my charges.

 

I first heard about the possibility of doing this on the BBC website. I used a template from their site and handed it in personally (i wanna know who picks up the request so that they can't try any of that "we didn't receive it cr*p!). It had all the statements in there with each charge highlighted. The gist of the letter stated that the charges were unlawful and that they have 14 days to comply.

 

That 14 day peiod will be up on Friday. The Branch Manager sent me a letter last Monday saying he had sent my complaint down to Halifax's Customer Relations Dept and i would receive a reply in 4 weeks.

 

This is the first time i'm doing this sort've thing. This is my first post but i'v been reading as much of the storys and FAQs as possible.

 

I'm assuming it's not down to them to dictate how long i wait so i was going to (hopefully) find a template on here stating that their response isn't satisfactory and that i would be going ahead with court proceedings. Is this right or should i be giving them some more time?

 

I'm excited about doing this, but also worried that all time and effort i'll have to put in will be wasted and i won't get back what i feel i'm entitled to.

 

Can anyone help? Thanks in advance....

[AWC]

Hi there and welcome to the forum!

 

You are on the right tracks and yes, it's you who decides the timescale, not them. Your next move is to send an LBA letter (Letter Before Action) giving them 14 days to refund your charges or you will file a claim in court. There is a letter in the `letter templates', use that one.

 

Best of luck, although you won't need it. Keep us updated too!

[doo]

Welcome - don't feel your time will be wasted, you will get your charges back, it just takes a bit of time and effort.

[smartster1983]

Thanks for you help. I'm so on doing this. I'm gona be goin back into the branch at some point tomorrow/friday with the LBA letter.

 

I remember i used to work for Abbey and their attitude towards people who get charges was disturbing. We'd get single mothers crying over £300 worth of charges in a month which had wiped out their benefits and the Branch Manager would straight refuse to help saying that they know their terms and conditions and need to manage their account.

 

... Abbey are next on my list!!!

 

I was talking to another friend of mine who's a Financial Advisor in Natwest and she claims that the charge is totally legitimate. This was the email she sent me...

 

"nooooo, the charge is an admin charge towards the salary of the person who has to do what is called the banks select & return reports. every branch of every bank has a select & return report every day n they have 2 pay somebody iin each branch to sit between the hours of 12-3pm and trawl through every acc on the report that has gone o/d and choose which d/d's 2 pay n which 2 return. that person also has 2 generate letters through the computer 2everyone! so there!"

"those people claiming the charges frm us r getting nowt,when they cme 2me with their court letters I tell them i'll give them tney're charges bk but I will be removing their o/d from their account as they feel it is causing them financial difficulty and they r not operating to the terms n conditions so they can pay it all back and never suffer a bank charge again. then all of a sudden when they realise they gotta give back the money that wasn't even theirs in the first place , they r more than happy 2 have paid the charges. and I take peoples cards off them aswell if they try 2claim bk charges for going o/d due 2 their switches. hahaha! I am evil!"

Anyway. I'll keep everyone here posted about what's goin on.

[survivor]

I was talking to another friend of mine who's a Financial Advisor in NatWest and she claims that the charge is totally legitimate. This was the email she sent me...

 

"nooooo, the charge is an admin charge towards the salary of the person who has to do what is called the banks select & return reports. every branch of every bank has a select & return report every day n they have 2 pay somebody iin each branch to sit between the hours of 12-3pm and trawl through every acc on the report that has gone o/d and choose which d/d's 2 pay n which 2 return. that person also has 2 generate letters through the computer 2everyone! so there!"

 

"those people claiming the charges frm us r getting nowt,when they cme 2me with their court letters I tell them i'll give them tney're charges bk but I will be removing their o/d from their account as they feel it is causing them financial difficulty and they r not operating to the terms n conditions so they can pay it all back and never suffer a bank charge again. then all of a sudden when they realise they gotta give back the money that wasn't even theirs in the first place , they r more than happy 2 have paid the charges. and I take peoples cards off them aswell if they try 2claim bk charges for going o/d due 2 their switches. hahaha! I am evil!"

 

Anyway. I'll keep everyone here posted about what's goin on.

 

I think wecan now see why we're claiming back the unlawful charges. Obviously NatWest operate what I believe to be bullying tactics - do we really believe that Halifax would be any diferent?

 

I'll be passing this info onto friends that are thinking of claiming from NatWest, I'm sure it will help them make their minds up..

 

As for your claim, good luck!! My advice is to read, read, read and re-read the FAQs - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/ - and the step-by-step instructions - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/31460-step-step-instructions.html

 

Once you have read these, read some of the other threads on the site to see how others have faired (and to see that their fears and hopes are probably pretty similar to your own)

 

When you need to send a letter, use the templates http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/ and you won't go far wrong.

 

If you start to panic, or have any other questions, just shout up and somone should be able to help...

 

And remember, you're only claiming back what is ightfully yours and has been taken unlawfully..!

[yorkster001]

Hi Smartster!

 

Stick with it, Halifax settled my claim in full today It might seem drawn out at times but in return for a bit of perseverance you will reap the rewards.

I can't remember the last time I had jaw ache from smiling, but thats the feeling you get when you get back what is rightfully yours!

Good luck and happy hunting

Cheers

Yorkster

[smartster1983]

Yeh i've had a good read through the step-by-step guide and i'm being bouyed by the accounts given on here by people.

 

Like i said earlier, i originally sent a template letter from another site. This is it here:

 

Due to recent media coverage on bank charges I now believe that you, Halifax PLC have been charging me charges that are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Schedule 2 (e) of the said regulations gives a non-complete list of terms, which may be regarded as unfair, such as a term that requires me as a consumer who fails in his obligation, to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.

I believe that your charges are disproportionately high and therefore they are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Regulations 1999. In addition I believe that your charges are a Penalty. Penalty charges are irrecoverable at common law. The precedent for this was Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor co Ltd [1915] AC 79 along with Murray v. Leisure play [2005] EWCA Civ 963. It was held that a contractual party can only recover damages for an actual loss or liquidated losses. It is clear that your charges do not reflect any actual and or real loss.

Furthermore if you fail to comply with this letter, I request without further notice a breakdown and proof of all costs involved, in regards to your actual or liquidated losses involved in any breach of contract to which these charges relate with yourselves, and that these charges reflect your true costs in relation to the said charges, and are proportionate to the charges levied on my account as defined in Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Schedule 2 (e).

Therefore I require you to refund me a total of £1,624.82, representing the total, unlawful amount charged during the last 6 years.

I hereby give you 14 days to refund the charges back on to my account. For the avoidance of doubt, if this is not done within 14 days, I will commence my claim in the courts without further warning. This action will inevitably involve you in additional costs.

I also hereby request a detailed report of which clause in your terms and conditions each charge has been applied against.

Yours sincerely,

XXXXX XXXXX

That letter was sent along with a copy of all my statements for the last 6 years. I think i may have made a slight mis-calculation though as i just added on the interest that it should at the end of each month.

Should i now use the spreadsheet and send it with my LBA or would that jepordise everything i've done so far? Was the letter i sent sufficient enough for them to offer a pay out at some point?

[doo]

I would now do your spreadsheet ready for when you send your LBA (minus interest) that is added on at court stage. I was like you and my prelim was from another site, then I found this site and kept with it all the way and just after christmas got £5,500 back. Once they receive this they will realise you have done your homework and that you mean business I am sure.

[smartster1983]

Thanks, sent the LBA along with the copy (again) of all my bank statements and the spreadsheet showing all my charges and the calculation of how much they owe me.

 

I brought it into Halifax. When i told the cashier who i was and what i wanted she go tthe Manager who seemed to remember who i was from when i bought in my last letter. She asked if i wanted to speak in her office about managing my account better as there wasn't anything else they could do i declined (with the phattest smile on my face) and said

 

"Nah it's okay, i'll wait for Customer Relations to get back in contact me as only they can provide what i want... Although you may see me in a month or so if all goes well...."

 

- That was on Friday. So i'm hoping to receive some sort've response in the next couple weeks. I'll keep everyone posted about what's goin on as time goes by.

[doo]

Why do they want to tell us how to manage our accounts, if they managed our accounts properly and not charge ridiculous penalty charges we would all do so much better, roll on 14 days and on to next stage.

[smartster1983]

Just to let everyone know, i got a letter yesterday with an offer of £1228.20. My claim (after using the calculator) came to a total of 1,331.46 so i was happy to accept their offer if it saves me time.

 

When i started reading the letter i was starting to get a little pissed as took up a whole page talking fraff telling me cr*p like "We clearly outline our charging policy in the terms and conditions that apply to your account" and "The terms of your account state you must have funds in your account to cover your transactions".

 

Then at the beginning of the next page they say "As a gesture of goodwill I would like to offer you a refund of £1228.20"... You should've seen the phat ass smile on my face.

 

I signed the acceptance letter posted it and faxed over a copy this morning.

 

I have to say i was suprised that they settled this quick as i fully expected to have to file a claim. It's funny how their process changes for different people. Anyway, i just wanna thank all the people in here for you help and as soon as my money comes through a donation will be made to the site.

 

I have another claim for another Halifax account to do. Will they pay-out on that one aswell, or am i pushing my luck to try and go at them again? I also need to move to Abbey aswell cuz they were the worst. I actually worked for them at the time they were taking charges and managed to take all the money i'd saved a cot for my first child!

 

Thanks again peeps!!!

[doo]

Have just completed one claim with halifax for our joint account and now doing hubbys bill account, am due to send LBA on Monday - everything so far is going down usual route.

[smartster1983]

I'm about to start my second claim now... I'm looking for a link to that Google site where (i think her name was) Charlotte had set up an online spreadsheet that we just fill out, then it calculates our charges for us.

 

I'm having trouble finding it. I've looked in the templates library but can see it there... Can anyone help at all?

[sea-sidelady]

Here is the link to the spread sheets

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/182-6-interest-calculation-spreadsheets.html

[smartster1983]

Yeh that's the only one i can find. But there was another one with a link to some Google page where you input the details online and it calculates the data for you.

 

Does anyone know how you get this spreadsheet to calculate the row 'days since charge occured'?

[noodledoodle]

=DATEDIF(D30,NOW(),"D")

 

Make sure that you have a column for date charge occured and ensure that the D30 above is changed to the reference for that column.

 

Hope that helps

[smartster1983]

Okay i've just sent off my LBA after gettin no response whatsoever from Halifax. I have a feeling they're gona claim ignorance and say they didn't receive the letter, but the fact that i handed it to the Branch Manager in my local means i don't give a damn.

 

I'm sure i rememer reading in one of the FAQs that £5k is the maximum you can claim for. Can anyone confirm this for me? And does anyone know why this is?

[mr&mrs]

Okay i've just sent off my LBA after gettin no response whatsoever from Halifax. I have a feeling they're gona claim ignorance and say they didn't receive the letter, but the fact that i handed it to the Branch Manager in my local means i don't give a damn.

 

Worry not. Stick to your time scales. I sent my 1st letter direct to Customer Relations heard nothing within 14 days. I gave it a week before sending LBA. They insisted that my complaint was to be dealt with as if they'd received it on 16th Feb (date of my LBA) and refused to backdate my complaint to the 26th Jan when I posted the 1st letter (which they recievd by e-mail on 16th after they informed me that "they cannot be held accountable for Royal Mail deliveries"). However, I stuck to my time scales and they have settled over the phone with me today-(so that's their 8 weeks out the window then!)-result.

 

Good luck!

[doo]

smartster, I think as regard to the £5,000 I'm pretty sure you have read that this is maximum for small claims court, anything over this is fast-track and of course you can claim more than £5,000.

 

As for advice given by mr&mrs, I have found exactly the same. I have now had two claims paid out by halifax, both before filing court action, just a day or so before. So please don't worry, stick to your timetable and if you have any problems or worries just post on your thread.