Tone V Halifax

[tonedepear]

Morning all. Just starting this thread so I can keep track as I go.

 

Currently persuing charges back from the Halifax for 6 years of charges. Have checked back online as far as April 2005 and the charges are currently sat at £1043. Requested statements on 30-01-07.

 

I also have an older current Account with the halifax which may have some charges within the last 6 years which I'll be looking into at a later date. (it's also a Staff Account, so might prove amusing, if nothing else!)

 

One question I have just now - I also have a BOS Credit Card account (Closed last year) which is now an HBOS account and shows up on my Halifax online banking portfolio. Should I be persuing this at the same time, seperately, or does it make no odds that they're now the same bank and I can just get on with it in my own time?

 

Sorry if that's a stupid question, I've read *SO MUCH* on this site in the past 4 days or so, my mind is starting to haze over!

[chaddyowl]

hiya tonedepaer,

 

I would separate the 2 as credit card is very slightly different in charges.

[tonedepear]

hiya tonedepaer,

 

I would separate the 2 as credit card is very slightly different in charges.

 

Thanks. I'll go with that plan then. Can I do them at the same time as seperate claims, or do I need to wait for the first to be over and done with?

[tonedepear]

Text message from Mrs Tone says 31 fat envelopes arrived in today's post that say Halifax on them. I'm at work til 7 tonight, but I know what I'll be doing at about 7:30!

[tonedepear]

Right then. So I've been through 153 pages of statements and stuck all the charges in the spreadsheets. Statements go back as far as March 2003 when I first opened the account.

 

Total Charges: £2074.00

Charges + s69 8% interest: £2394.21

Charges + 28.9% contractual compund: £3611.60

 

 

At the moment, I'm undecided whether to go the whole hog and plough the contractural furrow, or whether to just aim for the basic figures. To be perfectly honest, I personally think that claiming the bank's unauthorised rate is stretching my conscience a bit. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't expect them to waive it were the tables turned, but it seems to cross the line between getting back what they took and is rightfully mine, and being a money-grabbing so-and-so.

 

BUT, if I'm confident I'll get it, then and extra £1600 would make a lot of difference to my life, so I'll probably just take the plunge. I'll be putting the letter together over the course of this weekend, so I've got some time to think. I've spent this week leafing through all the threads I can find regarding contractual interest, and I've yet to find a successful halifax one. I know there's a few in the pipeline, so I'm unlikely to be the *first*, but at the same time, if it all went wrong it could be the difference between me having £3600 in my pocket, or losing my house.

 

Any advice welcome on this, I'm in no mad rush, just keen to get it right first time with the prelim.

 

This is also a bit of a test run, as next will be HSBC. Account from 6 years ago, where the sums involved (from memory) will be far greater. I'll be sending them the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) letter next week as well. I'm not sure, but with contractual the HSBC claim might be in mortgage-paying-off territory!

[tonedepear]

Right. Scuse the hiatus. I've not been very well.

 

So anyway, I ditched the Contractual Interest and just went for 'what's rightfully mine' as far as I'm comfortable. Prelim letter sent, 13th Feb. Letter received back saying 'Sorry you're unhappy with your charges, we'll get back to you eventually, etc'. LBA sent yesterday. Total charges now £2141.

 

So yesterday afternoon, I checked my online banking, and they've refused to honour a cheque for £10 on the 26th Feb (you can guess what this was for!) despite me having £100+ in the account, and still £20+ available for withdrawl as of today. And (obviously) charged me £39 for the priveledge which they'll be clawing from me on March 5th. I honestly despair.

 

To make matters worse, they let another cheque for £10 go out on 27th Feb without flinching. And I've no idea which bank the one they've rejected is for! I received my Barclaycard statements last week, so I guess it'll be one of the others. But if the cheque that came out OK is for Barclaycard, then they'd supplied the info before the cheque had cleared, so fingers crossed I'll get the statements from whoever anyway!

 

You never know...

[tonedepear]

Winner!

 

Yesterday I received an offer letter suggesting I take £1196 as full and final settlement. "It's a start", I thought. So I came on, opened the sample letters for rejecting a aprtial settlement, read them, and then phoned the number on the letter. 15 minutes of civilised chat, and the nice lady on the other end of the phone had written off all pending charges and offered me the full amount of £2113. I couldn't believe how easy it was. I just explained that while I realise I'd have to be fairly assertive to get what I want, I'm a fairly nice guy, I'm not going to shout, and as far as I can see it's a fairly simple situation. I can either hang up, wait until the 15th, and then start proceedings through the court, or I can talk on the phone now and see what we can come up with. If she wants to save the costs of 8% interest and the court fee, then that's fine with me. She said the most she could offer is £2113, which is the total cost of charges on the account to date. I said that'd be fine. I'm expecting a new offer letter in today's post.

Amazingly stress-free.

 

I'll stay wary until the money appears in my account, but still!

[jaxads]

WELL DONE YOU :D:D

 

I was successful against halifax earlier in the year - they settled with me too on the phone for the full amount I was claiming £2281. It's a great feeling isn't it?

 

ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY !!!!!

 

Jaxads xxxx