Don't want to play by their rules anymore

[Bigfishnet]

I came across this group via Red Issue (a Man Utd forum) by accident and I'm so glad that I did.

 

I think that like the vast majority of us here we accepted all the charges because we felt that we were "to blame" in some way or another and I suppose I am.

 

 

Before this group I'd noticed that sometimes nearly half of what had been going into the account monthly had been taken in various charges and that it was becoming increasingly more difficult to pay the bills AND their charges.

 

I contacted them a few times regarding this but got the usual answer...you need to control your money , the charges are fair and non refundable etc.....

 

Everything was brought to a head when they suddenly withdrew the O/D facility WIYHOUT NOTICE. I telephoned them to query this and was told there was a problem on the 1st of May and a number of accounts lost their O/D in error. All would be fine they said the O/D would be reinstated and all charges would be refunded as a goodwill gesture(ha!!).

 

I checked overnight only to find this had not happened and this time was told that the account is now referred to Debt Management.Absolutely NO record of the previous days conversation was on the system (very conveniently)

 

Apparently the O/D would never have been renewed since Nov last year had I applied.

Why didn't they inform me of this earlier ?

 

I have to return the Electron Cards and cheque books to a local branch where they will then allow me £200 "overcash" and reinstate the O/D to be paid back over 12 months.

Why do they need to cause this embarassment ?

Can't they just cancel the cards?

The cheque book is almost useless without a guarantee card anyway.

The lady said the these are the rules and must be strictly adhered to. There is NO leeway......these are THEIR rules and now I feel its time to start playing by mine with the help of this group.

 

Interestingly enough when I questioned the charges I was referred to their Customer Complaints Dept but the lady did say that all the charges are fair because they are all assessed and entered MANUALLY and NOT computer generated (Is this their new defence for the level of charges?) (hahaha!!! can you IMAGINE the size of that team?))

 

If they had not applied these charges then:

 

A) There would be NO O/D

B) No mortgage (with the Abbey unfortunately) arrears either.

 

At the moment I am angry and extremely worried at the same time but I have opened a STEP account with Nat West where all money will be paid into (at least I retain some better control.)

 

The DPA letter is in the post (recorded)

 

At last I feel that there is a way out from the rapacious greed that surrounds all financial institutions at the expense of ordinary people like ourselves.

 

Will keep you all posted as to the progress.

 

Again thanks for a great supportive site its good to feel you're not alone in all of this. Once the matter's settled I'll donate what I can to help the cause.

[alanfromderby]

You seem to be on top of things at the moment - keep us posted of progress.

[dave]

Yes, keep us posted - Abbey are the salt of the Earth - oops, no I meant ****.

 

If you need help or just a friendly nod - it can get quite daunting - then just come here and ask.

 

PS. They WILL close your account.

[Matt1873]

Abbey have also "re-claimed" my cards & demanded the repayment of my overdraught, all because I had the temerity to ask them for an o/d increase to cover the £250+ charges that they hit me with in January. I am now preparing my DPA letter with intention of recovering appx £4000+ in charges, unfairly extorted over the last 5 years.

I still have a couple of legal queries to sort out (Scots law & the OFT statement), but they better prepare for a fight, I've also had enough and won't be playing by their "rules" anymore either.

[Bigfishnet]

Thanks everyone for your help and encouragement...it indeed is daunting without support.

 

The more I look into this the more it becomes apparent that ALL the banks are the same.

 

A quick look at some of the comparisons on charges between the banks show that the level of penalty charges are almost uniform throughout the industry.

 

Also reading numerous threads they all seem to act in exactly the same way.I can see that there is no bank that is better or worse in the way it acts....only on how it deals with our claims !!

 

Does this not smack of a cosy Cartel arrangement?

 

I can't believe that because of the diversity in size , organisational breakdown and all the other variables between all of the banks that the charges in any shape or form reflect the TRUE costs to them of administering the return of cheques,DD bounces etc....and yet charges do get refunded at a stroke when it suits them but only as a "goodwill gesture".

 

This leads me to suspect that there actually is hardly ANY cost to them at all but purely excessive profiteering on their part.

 

I can understand that the charges are set at the level to deter people from badly managing their accounts but then to show no real concern of how their charges escalate the problem and then do nothing about it is frankly disgraceful.

 

I for one would quite happily pay the true costs but not one bank has EVER detailed them anywhere as far as I know and if they are not prepared to do so then then I have no sympathy for them.

 

Along with many others I thought long and hard about taking action considering that it was my fault.

 

However had the charges not been so punitive and the bank more understanding then the problem and probably this group would not have existed in the first place.

 

Through their own actions they have created this action group and they are now reaping the reward for that which they have sown (to paraphrase:)).

 

So to everyone here ,best of luck with your claims ,thanks for all the support and I'll keep you posted on what happens.

[Bigfishnet]

Will send them today recorded delivery this reminder, probably won't make any difference as they haven't even acknowledged the original request... par for the course looking at all the other threads:

 

 

Data Protection Manager

Data Protection Team

Regulatory Compliance

Abbey House

201 Grafton Gate East

Milton Keynes

MK9 1AN

 

24 May 2006

Data Protection Act 1998

subject access request

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXXXXX

 

On the 4th of May I sent to yourselves a subject access request on our account detailed above including the fee of £10.00 by cheque. I enclose a copy of the original letter.

 

It was delivered and signed for on the 5th May

 

As of today I have not received any information nor any acknowledgement from yourselves regarding this matter.

 

As you are aware you have 40 days from the 5th May to comply fully with this request

 

There are 19 days left until this deadline expires.

 

I look forward to receiving this information within the statutory period.

 

Yours Faithfully

 

 

I suppose the more evidence you have to prove you've tried to get the information but they've stalled/cocked up the easier it becomes to pursue the claim in court .

 

Does anyone think that there is any benefit to telling them at this stage that you WILL write to the ICO and go to court under section 7 of the DPA ?

[Movingon]

Yes - otherwise why do they care what you write? I would add that to your last sentence; "... statutory period; your failure in this will be escalated into a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner's office, and potentially a County Court Claim under Section 7 of the Data Protection Act."

[Bigfishnet]

Thanks Tom your advice has been duly noted and acted upon:)

 

Not sure it'll make any difference with this lot though, i'll keep you all infomed

[Bigfishnet]

Well after sending the follow up letter received 14 months printed statements (crossed in the post I think) with absolutely NO acknowledgement from Abbey of the original DPA and they haven't done anything with the cheque yet.

 

At least its filled in a few more gaps in the figures.

 

The total is beginning to astonish me.Nearly 3K and lots of months missing. No wonder we've been struggling for so long.Its like working for 12 months and only getting paid for 11 just because of their illegal charges

 

This is making me even more determined to get the money back

 

Sending reply today telling them whats missing and "thanking" them for the information to date

 

1) Acknowledgement of the original DPA and follow up

2) Requesting the info for a THIRD time

3) Reminding them of their obligations AGAIN under the DPA

 

Will probably get the microfiche letter sometime soon

 

This is ALL too familiar looking at this forum

[Bigfishnet]

Hi everyone just a quick update and question.

 

Received today the usual fob off letter from Pam Speed with the sneaky "we will use the £10 for the microfiche records etc......"

 

So far a "text book case " as far as I can see judging by Abbey's replies.

 

Any comments about this proposed reply before I send it off?

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

 

 

LETTER BEFORE ACTION

Section 7 – Data Protection Act 1998

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxxxxxx

I am in receipt of the documents that you have supplied in response to my Data Protection Act information request dated 4th May 2006.

 

There a number of issues which need clarifying:

 

1) Your letter 0f 24th May 2006 was posted 1st June 2006 (post mark on envelope) and received by myself 3rd June 2006 can you please clarify why the delay of 7 days?

2) I am pleased that you acknowledge receipt of the £10 DPA fee.I expressly FORBID you to use this £10 for the microfiche records. This is STRICTLY to be used for the original DPA request and for NO OTHER purpose.

3) My original DPA request was actually signed for on 5th May 2006 and the 40 days for compliance starts from this day.

4) You confirm that there has been NO record of any manual intervention on my account

 

The disclosure of personal data is incomplete in that at least the following documents are missing.

 

1) You have failed to acknowledge either letter of 4th and 24th May

2) You have failed to provide a complete list of transactions and charges.ALTERNATIVELY a complete set of statements would be acceptable. The statements which you have sent me only cover from April 2005 through to April 2006. therefore all the information from May 2000 as outlined under the DPA Subject Access request through to April 2005 is missing.

3) You have provided no notes, or documents relating to any legal action between you and myself.

 

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, it is just an example of some of the information I am missing.

Accordingly, I have to tell you that you have not yet complied with your obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.

 

You have a further 7 days to comply.

[Bigfishnet]

If the reference on the letter is anything to go by.

 

MANINT**/ (Manual Intervention?)/***(number issued?)/**(no idea?)

 

They have been busy/will get busier:D

 

Wonder how much money they will spend on Solicitors/Barristers etc...before they get the idea that we will not go away:?:

 

As for the post mark question its the first letter I've got from Bradford as all mine have been sent to Milton Keynes before.

 

Not 100% proof but under a civil action combined with all the other correspondence regarding the delays ICO and Court actions etc... the "probability" is there.

 

Also does anyone know which Branch 0836 is ? This is on the "Contract staff Movement enquiry " which they also printed off on 24th May and was printed on Dept C PO Box 382 Prescot Street London E1 8RP letterhead but actually posted on 1st June from Bradford again but in a seperate A4 envelope.

 

Don't really know the relevance (if any) of this to our cases i.e the correct Depts to send all this stuff to get things moving quicker.

[Tuftus]

Hi,

 

I also got the Pam Speed fob off letter re microfiche at the weekend, except I have not received anything else to date, no statements, no nothing.

 

I wrote he back with the microfiche letter and reminding her that they only have 4 days left of the 40...

 

Like Karnevil said, she is gonna be quite busy me thinks...

[Bigfishnet]

Yep

 

4 to be precise covering March 2005.

 

Interestingly they contain such information as cheque books being requested and statments being sent which do not appear on our statements that we receive evey month.

 

I seem to remember in another thread that this type of enquiry is what anyone at any branch can call up on their terminals.

[Rich44]

I too received the microfich fob off the reply isnt going to Pam Speed its going straight to the compliance dept as per the template we'll see what happens 19 days left ShAbbey

[Bigfishnet]

No probs about hijacking , all this is relevant to us obtaining our information.

 

Agree with your comments about Feb:rolleyes:

 

Looking at the claims progress all they are doing is delaying the inevitable and its costing them more and more.

 

All these claims they are fighting and eventually settling are a mere drop in their vast corporate ocean compared with them having to disclose their actual costs and profit structure.

 

Imagine the inevitable fall out not just to the Abbey but the WHOLE of the banking industry once people realise they are being so badly ripped off.

 

In the meantime the fact that we are all experiencing very much the same treatment means that the process here, if followed to the letter (sic) ,will lead to us all getting our money back.

 

Let them put up any obstacle ,we will knock them down one by one........here endeth the sermon for today:D

[Bigfishnet]

This topic was closed on 09 March 2019.

If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there.

If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened.

- Consumer Action Group