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    • for the sake of history, i've merged your old sadly failed charges reclaim court claim. have they ever sent you a default notice regarding this mortgage? dx  
    • I am financially at  point where I can see the light at the end of the tunnel regarding my debts. I have one remaining and I am interested to see what my options could be. I have be in contact with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and the National Debt Helpline, but their advice has been a little more generic (but still helpful). This debt is 12 years old and is now owing around £3k. It was a bank loan and has been passed to several creditors over the years. A payment plan has always been in place and is up to date. I get statements every 6 months. There has never been a CCJ. I have been sent the letters advising of change of ownership. Following my own review of my finances, I decided to contact the current creditor to see if they have a copy of the credit agreement. I regarded this as due diligence as the debt has been sold on several times. The creditor updated me several times saying they had requested the document from the original lender. After 12 months of this they wrote to me saying they had not received it but were still waiting and would send it once received. The last letter was over 6 months ago. I then submitted a freedom of information request to the current and original creditor. The original creditor supplied one, but the current one did not include one in the pack they sent me. I went back to them to ask specifically about this as it was what I requested in my request. They replied saying the debt was sold to them as one without the credit agreement and they did not have it. They have requested it above, so I believe that means they cannot obtain it either for the FOI request. I contacted the original creditor and exercised my ‘right to be forgotten’, under the Data Protection Act, which they have complied with. I also got my up to date credit file and this debt is not showing on it with the current creditor or any others. I contacted the creditor and made them an early settlement offer. They do have an early settlement offer in place on their portal, but I was advised to try to get a reduction via negotiation. I have not heard back from them yet, but I understand through a separate upheld compliant it has or will be refused. Due to this complaint and the creditor putting the account on hold I had stopped payments, and advised them of this. To date, they have not contacted me about resuming payments since the complaint is resolved, but it has only been a few weeks. I am annoyed that they were not honest with me about not having the credit agreement, because that is not being transparent and I understood they should tell you if they do not have it.   I have two questions (but am open to anything else anyone would like to add): 1) Based on the above, does anyone think this account enforceable? I do not think it is? 2) Does anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed? I could resume payments and then settle early. If the above had not happened, I may have just done that. Thank you for any help or input anyone can provide. It is appreciated.
    • The main thing is to stop shoplifting because it could be worse next time. If you think you have mental health issues that led you to do this, please go and have a chat with your GP. They won't judge you and should be able to get you help if you need it. HB
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    • Hello,

      On 15/1/24 booked appointment with Big Motoring World (BMW) to view a mini on 17/1/24 at 8pm at their Enfield dealership.  

      Car was dirty and test drive was two circuits of roundabout on entry to the showroom.  Was p/x my car and rushed by sales exec and a manager into buying the mini and a 3yr warranty that night, sale all wrapped up by 10pm.  They strongly advised me taking warranty out on car that age (2017) and confirmed it was honoured at over 500 UK registered garages.

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    • Housing Association property flooding. https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/438641-housing-association-property-flooding/&do=findComment&comment=5124299
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    • We have finally managed to obtain the transcript of this case.

      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

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      Please note that a recent case against UPS failed on exactly the same issue with the judge held that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 did not apply.

      We will be getting that transcript very soon. We will look at it and we will understand how the judge made such catastrophic mistakes. It was a very poor judgement.
      We will be recommending that people do include this adverse judgement in their bundle so that when they go to county court the judge will see both sides and see the arguments against this adverse judgement.
      Also, we will be to demonstrate to the judge that we are fair-minded and that we don't mind bringing everything to the attention of the judge even if it is against our own interests.
      This is good ethical practice.

      It would be very nice if the parcel delivery companies – including EVRi – practised this kind of thing as well.

       

      OT APPROVED, 365MC637, FAROOQ, EVRi, 12.07.23 (BRENT) - J v4.pdf
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Boba Fett v Smile - ROUND 1 ***WON***


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Hi All,

 

I really like Smile banking, and have always found them helpfull :) ... But they would be, they have taken loads of my money!!! :mad:

 

So I have asked nicely in a "Secure Message" if they can send me a list of chrages on my account in the last 6 years. (Only had acc for about 3 years though) :cool:

 

First message sent Tue 30th January, will let you know what the response is...

 

Keep up the good efforts all...

 

(n.b. We are saving as baby is due on May 15th - this will help :D )

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Hi there,

I've just been successful against Smile - £2568.50 - althought it's not in my account yet damn them!

When I asked for back copies of my statements they asked me for £10 for each one which would have been thousands. Don't let them do that to you. If you send a Data Protection Act letter the whole lot will cost you £10, and they even sent that back to me saying the information was provided free!

 

Like you I'd be happy to stay with Smile as it's convenient all being online. All the banks are at it with charges so I don't think it would benefit me much to go elsewhere, plus all the hassle of changing standing orders etc...

 

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy. My daughter's 16 months now so it seems a long time ago. I'm tell everyone to have an epidural. I did and I felt so in control and relaxed. They told me I could go home 3 hours after giving birth!

 

Caroline x

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Well, received first acknowledgement from Smile.

 

I have transcripted the initial message below:-

 

We are currently re-planning our finances due to expecting a baby in May, and our money adviser recommended that we discuss reclaiming "Unfair" bank charges in line with reports from Which.co.uk and the OFT.

 

While I am very happy with my bank account with Smile, he has advised that I may be entitled to reclaim the charges from the last 6 years.

 

As I feel this would be a sizeable amount, and this would go along way to helping sort out our finaces, could you please advise your stance on this issue, and if you have a policy or proceedure in place to reclaim these charges?

 

He said that I should request a copy of my statements for the last 6 years (for which £10 may be charged) and work out the total charges & fees.

 

Are you able to provide this figure up-front, or do I need to write to you to request this information?

 

Thank you for your assistance on this issue.

 

With kind regards

 

Boba Fett

 

Their response in 3 days was:-

 

 

Mr Boba Fett,

 

You have two options. We can provide you with a Subject Access Request, this is a copy of all information we hold on you. This can take upto 40 days to provide and costs £10.00.

 

The second option is a print out off all charges applied to your account, this is free and I can personaly provide you with this information within a week.

 

Please reply to this message with your choice and confirmation of your full address.

 

Regards

 

Chris

 

This is a very polite response, and of course I only need a print out of charges, and this is what I requested...

 

When received I will update you all.

 

Cheers

 

Boba :cool:

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Latest secure message from Smile, received today 05/02/07

 

Hello Mr Fett

 

The print out has been sent to you today. Please be aware the £6.00, £7.00 and £10.00 charges in the Fees column around the 1st of the month relate to smilemore subscription tariffs. Also the £2.00 Visa charges under the Commission column do not constitute an unauthorised charge.

 

Many thanks

 

Dorothy

 

Looking forward to counting through these charges!

 

Will update when received.

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Charges letter received... added all up comes to around £1300.

 

I have sent my first letter "Asking for refund" via secure message.

 

Dear Dorothy,

 

Thank you for sending the summary of charges on my account.

 

Omitting charges as specified, the total amount taken from my account in "Penalty" charges is £1,304. (Please see second secure message for breakdown)

 

I have been advised that unless these "Penalty" charges represent the true cost incurred by yourselves, they are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent consumer regulations.

 

Unless you are prepared to give a full breakdown showing how you arrived at this rate for charges, I would like to ask for a full refund of said "Penalty" charges into my account.

 

I have been advised to give you 14 days to respond. If I do not receive your response within this time, I will write again to explore how the matter can be resolved.

 

With kind regards

Boba Fett

 

p.s. I have not asked for any interest at all at this stage!

 

Lets count the days!

 

Cheers

 

Boba :cool:

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Got the standard smile response today, (12th Feb) which is as follows:-

 

Hello Bobb Fett

 

This is just to say I'll be looking into your complaint and I'll get back to you as soon as I can with a full response. Please be aware this may take upto 4 weeks in line with the Financial Services Authority regulations, although we aim to respond much faster.

 

Thanks again

 

Chris Hopkins

 

PS - For full details of our complaints procedures, go to Redirecting to Smile Production Site, click on 'Talk to us' and then click on 'Complaints' on the right hand side.

 

4 weeks - PAH! Anyway, they have had 5 says since my Prelim post, so 9 days before LBA.

 

I hope they pay up, as I said I like Smile, and don't want to have to go through the court motions... Unlike Barclays, where I am prepared to go the whole way & screw every last penny from them!!! :grin: :grin:

 

Will post in 9 days if I dont hear before then!

 

P.S. All communication so far has been by Secrure Message, except print out of charges which was posted. So there has been no costs so far, not even the £10 SAR fee. Would recommend this at the early stages, as I hate snail mail!!!

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Boba I'm curious. Why do the subscriptions tariffs vary from month to month? Could it have anything to do with whether your account is over its limit?

The Consumer Action Group is a free help site.

Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.

Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

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Hi Caro,

 

The tariff is constant, but has gone up over the years. It used to be quite cost effective at £6/month, but £10/month is quite high but it does include travel insurance, green flag breakdown cover & £200 int free overdraft.

 

Still waiting for their resonse, (or cleared funds :-) )

 

Boba

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Right I see. I suppose it depends if it is cost effective for you, it's worth having, but if you didn't have a car, travel anywhere, or use the overdraft it would be a bit of a waste. :p

The Consumer Action Group is a free help site.

Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.

Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tick tock tick tock... seems like I am checking my secure messages every day now, awaiting the payment!!!

 

did receive a "we are looking into you complaint, so you should hear from us shortly" message, about a week ago. By my reckoning they have about 3 days to pay up before I start an MCOL.

 

Watch this space :-)

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Well well, it all seems a bit of an anti-climax after all the leg work & research, but smile have just deposited £1300 in my account!!!

 

YIPPEE!!!!

 

Thanks to all for great advice from everyone, and for posting your encouraging progress.

 

Well, just counting down the days before barclays LBA exprires.

 

See my progress here

 

When the Barclays Fat Cat pays up I will be sending my donation...

 

Thanks again to all CAG'ers

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p.s. ALL OF MY COMMUNICATION WAS DONE THRU SECURE MESSAGES. NO LETTERS WERE SENT, AND I NEVER THREATENED THEM WITH COURT EVEN AFTER 14 DAYS AFTER PRELIM. ALL I SAID WAS "I WOULD HAVE TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION" GOOD LUCK TO ALL OTHER "SMILE'RS"

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Congratulation. If only all the banks were so amenable. Well done though.

The Consumer Action Group is a free help site.

Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.

Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

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