Gavman v BOS

[gavman99]

Hi,

 

I'm making a claim against a closed account with BOS. I issued my statements request letter a few days ago recorded delivery. A bit early to hear back from them but never mind !!

 

The account I'm claiming for was held jointly with an ex partner. I am no longer in touch with this woman and the account has been closed since August 2003. My concern is that any refund I receive will be payable to me and my ex, as opposed to just payable to me. If this is the case, my current bank have confirmed they will not allow me to pay it in. I even called one of these cheque cashing shops and they said pretty much the same thing.

 

I'm sure any request from me to the bank to issue the cheque in just my name will be promptly refused. I doubt I'm the only person to be in this predicament so any ideas how I can get round this will be most welcome.

 

Thanks.

Gav.

[gemspan]

HI Gav

 

I am actually sortingout a claim for my mum and dad and, because it is a joint account, they both have to sign the SAR so you may find you get nowhere unless you can contact your ex somehow and get her to sign it with you and you can them divide the proceeds if you have charges to claim

 

Gemspan

[gavman99]

Thanks for the reply.

 

I read in the FAQ's (see below) that you do not need both signatures to make a claim against the bank as long as each person has full authority on the account.

 

This was a standard joint account which means that only one signature is needed to sign cheques, direct debit mandates, standing orders, etc. I believe the only things you need two signatures for is to a) close the account, and b) remove one person from the account to convert it to a single account.

 

Can anyone clarify this please ?

 

See below for the URL to the FAQ's (it's the bottom one on this page)

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/24031-frequently-asked-questions.html?garpg=4

[gemspan]

HI Gav

 

Well, if that is the case then you should have no problem getting the charges back. However, like you say, you will have a problem depositing the cheque. Perhaps somebody will come along with more knowledge but I personally dont think it is worth pursuing if you cant bank the cheque. You'd be paying money and getting nothing in return. Unless you can get in touch with the ex - but then again you might not want to do that!!!!!!!!

 

Annie

[isidore]

The only thing I would suggest is to ask that they wire the money to another bank account, that is presuming they offer you the money, but of course the will .

 

My only reservation would be what implications this has. What happens if your ex starts the same process and finds out you have already cleared out all the money? Would be cautious with this.

[tweenies2]

Dont know if this helps , I have just won a settlement with RBOS. I have a joint account with my hubby, althought when i sent of the initial request for SAR only I signed the letter and addressed it from myself , same with my Prelim letter. However when I recieved the letter informing my they were paying out, it had to be signed by both of us.

[gemspan]

Hi there

 

Yes, I would agree. Any monies - even if they are wired - I would expect would have to be paid out to both parties. I think this is a no win situation if Gav is not still in touch with his ex.

 

Gemspan

[gavman99]

I doubt it's something she would consider doing. Any charges were as a result of me going overdrawn, not here. Plus I was the main earner by a long way, so I could argue that it's me who deserves the refund.

 

Putting aside the question of whether we both have to sign a letter accepting settlement for a minute, would they wire the money to my current account if I asked them to as opposed to sending me cheque.

 

I would be prepared to pay the £35 CHAPS money transfer fee if this was the case.

 

I take it in a CHAPS transfer, it's done simply to a sort code and account number i.e. they don't validate the account names ?

[isidore]

The only person who can answer that is the bank itself.

 

Thing is without her signature you're still stuffed. Any dodgying of signatures is putting yourself in a REALLY serious position and I would question whether the money was worth the risk.

 

Guess you're going to have to make a decision here, whether you go for it with a view to writing off half of whatever you gain or not bother at all. Spose it depends on how much your charges are.

[gavman99]

So are you saying that if ask them to, a bank would issue two settlement cheques, one payable to me for half the amount and the other half payable to my ex ?

 

Also, can anyone answer my previous question regarding settlement via a CHAPS transfer (minus the transfer fee). Do banks do this if I requested ? And is the account name validated on a CHAPS transfer or is it just the sort code and account number ?

 

Thanks.

[isidore]

Not would, might.

 

I don't know what they would do.

 

People's circumstances change so they would have to accomodate. If you don't have a joint account anymore then you can't have a joint cheque can you? They would have to resolve this SOMEHOW in order for your complaint to be settled. Whether that was two cheques or a cheque in another name I don't know.

 

The problem you will have to get around is what tweenies mentioned above - both of you requiring to sign your acceptance.

[isidore]

The only way I can see you getting round this is to bite the bullet and hunt down the ex.

 

Realistically, if you go to her offering her a couple of grand (or however much) for signing a piece of paper, is she honestly going to say no? By that point you will have an acceptance letter that says we are going to pay you £xxxxx if you sign here. Doubt it will be hard to convince her?

[gavman99]

I eventually got a response to my subject access request letter. Their response was dated exactly 40 days after they received my letter. And all they said was my statements have been ordered and I should receive them within 21 days and if not, to call a phone number.

 

Can they legally do this ?

 

Their letter also stated that the bank is under no legal obligation to record levels of manual intervention on my account so they are unable to provide this information. Is this the normal response ?

 

Should I just wait the 21 days or should I call them now ?

 

Thanks.

 

PS - They weren't so low to cah my £10 cheque, which they did after about 12 days of receiving my letter !!

[isidore]

Gav, they have 40 days to comply, not to respond. They have therefore failed to comply with your DPA request.

 

You have two options, ring / write telling them they have failed to comply and that they need to hurry up (and take much shorter than 21 days about it) or simply file for non-disclosure / non-compliance. Plenty of information about regarding filing a claim.

 

 

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[gavman99]

Hi........heres the latest on my situation.

 

BOS eventually sent me (albeit 7 days past the 40 day deadline) every bank statement covering the full banking period I was with them, going back to 1994.

 

I calculated my charges and sent away my preliminary request for repayment of charges plus interest giving them 14 days to respond. In this I included a table detailing the date of charge, the type of charge, the amount and the interest at 8%.

 

Yesterday, approx 7 days after sending my letter, I received a response to this letter. To summarise it states the following :-

 

1. Sorry to hear you are unhappy about the charges.

2. One of my colleagues will carry out a full investigation of your complaint.

3. Unfortunately the information I provided is insufficient to investigate my concerns, therefore can you please telephone us on the number above. Please have your account details to hand when you call.

4.Our commitment is to ensure we will respond to your concerns at the earliest opportunity however we do want to ensure that the issues you raised are thoroughly investigated. If for any reason we are unable to respond fully to your concerns within the next 4 weeks, we will write to update you of our progress.

 

Should I call them as instructed ?

Should I reply to this letter ?

Should I ignore it and send my LBA as I said I would 14 days after I sent my preliminary letter ?

Should I send my LBA now ?

 

All advice appreciated.

 

Thanks.

Gav.

[gavman99]

Anyone at all ??

[Guest Mumofthreeboys]

I would wait until the 14 days are up and send the LBA. You also should not have included 8% interest yet, this only comes into play when you file your claim.

[gavman99]

I am requesting repayment of the charges plus interest at 8%. So surely it makes sense to have detailed this on my spreadsheet ?

[Guest Mumofthreeboys]

s69 8% interest is a discretionary award by the courts, therefore, it should not be added until you file a claim.

[isidore]

It has however been sent out with the 8% added. As MOTB has said, it shouldn't have been added. Whilst some sites suggest you do this, it is not sensible as you aren't entitled to it unless you have filed a claim.

 

Not really sure what you can do about it now. If it were me I would send them another Prelim ASAP saying you have made an error on your first, please use this one instead blah blah blah.

 

Up to you I spose.

[gavman99]

Now I'm a bit confused. The prelim template states "I calculate that you have taken £XXXXX plus £XXX which you have charged me in overdraft interest for the sum which you have taken".

 

I thought this was what I have done ?

 

If not, how do you calculate overdraft interest ?

[jowalshy]

Hi gavman, you can claim from the prelim stage the overdraft interest that the bank had charged you on your charges. I don't know whether the Advance spreadsheet templates in the library are working yet, but they can calculate this for you.

 

According to what you have said earlier in your thread, you have claimed the s.69 interest at 8%. This is what is claimable when you file your claim at court, (not the prelim stage).

[gavman99]

Hi.......I realise this now.......what confused me was the bit about interest in the prelim template letter. I now realise this is OD interest.

 

Should I really follow up with an amended prelim letter with no interest charges mentioned ?

[jowalshy]

You could do what T4FF suggests and re-do your prelim and either calculate the overdraft interest part or just claim back the charges on their own.

[laaldinger]

s69 8% interest is a discretionary award by the courts, therefore, it should not be added until you file a claim.

 

More a curiosity than anything, but why can you not claim back interest on money paid for charges?. It would of being accruing interest if it had been in the account rather than removed (yes, I know it would of probably been spent anyway), so why is it felt that you should not be claiming it?