help needed ###won###

[Michael Browne]

Ignore her, there's misinformation and then there's bo**ocks. this falls into the bo**ocks category. Stick to your timescales not Halifax's

[kgrant]

the letter i recieved was rubbish anyway , it says thankyou for your recent complaint, it wasnt a complaint it was a request, why would they want to thank anyone for complaining what a stupid thing to put on a letter. i am still on hold and getting annoyed now my deadline is up on tuesday and then i go to court i only rang to see if they had recived my lba as it is not showing up on the royal mail website . ohh im through lets have a laugh!

[PPMAN159]

The most thatv they have is 40 days-this 8 week scenario seems to be creeping in more and more but as Michael says stick to your timeframe not theirs.

 

If all else fails mention the Ombudsman to them-that might focus their attention.

[kgrant]

right just spoken to someone else she has said regardless of what deadlines we give them they are working on them as quickley as they can and they are today working on claims that are 8 weeks old , they cant do them any quicker and my 8 week deadline would be the 17th may, now im quite prepared to go to court but wont that take just as long

[jessica'smum]

I have found it much easier to put everything in writing, and only phone if you want to check the letter has arrived. That way they can't try and talk you out of claiming or try and blind you with 'facts' or wind you up so they can say they don't want to talk to you any more. Why else do they have the hold option

 

I am sure the person on the other end has been told to try and stop as many people from carrying on as possible.

 

Catherine

[PPMAN159]

Almost like Little Britain in real life 'The computer says no'

[1stlifeline]

I have been sent a sheet of charges but not a full list of transactions as requested. I rang them today and after 3 attemps finally got through to someone who seemed to be trying to be helpful. She told me they are sending out lists now instead of statements because it is faster and also because they are doing them free now!!!!! I told her that I had paid £10 and wanted what I had requested, she said she will print off a full set of statements today and post them straight out to me. She also told me that they hold statements from the opening date of the accounts so thats what I am getting and may try to claim from day one.

[kgrant]

right i sent my LBA on the 30th march so my two week deadline is nearly up and i havent heard anything and also had no joy on the phone today.

so its off to court i think.This is where i am stuck in the bank templates do you copy the forms like you do for the other letters or do you get them else where (might sound a bit thick but i want to get it right) i also think im going to do the N1 version as i dont think ill have to pay the court fees due to our financial situation( income and benefits) and i would imagine they would need to see proof of this at the courts so MCOL would be easier but i wont be able to do this.

advice please:confused:

[Michael Browne]

Court Fees - Do you have to pay them?

 

For exemption you have to file using Ex160 and N1 at your local court

[kgrant]

do i get the N1 forms from the court? or can i download them?

[Michael Browne]

You can download both N1 and Ex160a from here:

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/FormFinder.do

[kgrant]

You can download both N1 and Ex160a from here:

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/FormFinder.do

 

 

cheers

[fubarswife]

I sent mine on the 29th , don't forget the bank hols as this morning postie brought a letter from halifax offering partial payment as goodwill, rang the number said thanks but no thanks and appreciated the offer but wanted full amount , she upped the offer immediately, i again said no thanks that i wanted full amount especially as charges taken from account when the money in it was child benefit, she offered full amount without quibble and said letter on way and amount would be in bank within 14 days, hope you get the response you want. good luck

[kgrant]

This is what i dont get, some people are sending LBA 's off and getting a response within a week of the halifax recieving them yet yesterday when i spoke to the halifax the woman said they were dealing with claims at present that were 8 weeks old and that mine probably wouldnt be acknowledged till the middle of May, and another thing all this 8 week rubbish they say they have to investigate your complaint , i didnt complain in the first place i asked for my money back, the best bit about the letter was the opening sentance "Dear Mrs ???? "THANKYOU for your complaint. " fancy thanking someone for complaining:D

[fubarswife]

I know it's weird , they took ages to send me copy of charges and statements and i got the 8 week response aswell as they said they had been inundated with request for repayments, my letter was also a standard thank you for your complaint lol I'm sure they'll get back to you soon, fingers crossed.

[kgrant]

our first morgage was with the halifax but we remorgaged 4 years ago, we got into difficulty with the halifax one a couple of times and were charged would we be able to claim these charges back, also we had a joint current account with the halifax which ended up being closed would we be able to get the charges back on that one aswell. im in a mood and want revenge:D i have just been having a go at some pratt at the halifax regarding another matter and have seen my backside with them i want revenge!

[jowalshy]

I have read somewhere that someone managed to claim back penalty charges on their mortgage account. About your closed account - yes you can claim on a closed account.

[c_allen]

mortgages are a bit more difficult at the mo have a look around in the section dealing with them before you go for them, as for your joint account, go for it:D

[jowalshy]

I have found a template letter for you. But first please read up on mortgages before you go ahead as I am not sure what actually happens.

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXX

 

Request for repayment of charges

 

Dear XXXX,

 

 

Our request

 

 

We are writing to ask you to refund the charges which you have levied from our account in respect of late payment fees to the sum of £XXX , the sum of £XXX representing the contractual rate of interest applied by yourselves in respect of the said charges (Please find enclosed schedule of charges detailing dates, amounts and interest) and. We now understand that such fees are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent consumer Regulations.

 

In the case of Castaneda and Others v. Clydebank Engineering and Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (1904) 12 SLT 498 the House of Lords held that a contractual party can only recover damages for actual or liquidated losses incurred from a breach of contract as oppose to a charge which represents a penalty. This law was confirmed and upheld in Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor Co Ltd [1915] AC 79. A charge will be held to be a penalty if the sum stipulated for is extravagant and unconscionable in amount in comparison to the greatest loss that could conceivably be proved to have followed from the breach. A penalty clause is void in its entirety and unenforceable.

 

In addition your charges appear to represent an unfair term of contract which is contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (SI. 1999/2083). Our account falls within the ambit of Regulation 5 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 as we are consumers. Your charges constitute an unfair penalty under Schedule 2 of the said Regulations which provide an indicative and non-exhaustive list of terms which may be regarded as unfair. Under paragraph 1(e) of schedule 2 this specifically includes terms which have the object of requiring any consumer who fails his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation. We would vigorously contend that this is the position regarding the fee of XXXX which you deemed fit to apply to our account.

 

I would like to bring your attention to the following statement by The Office of Fair Trading:

 

"A term in a mortgage agreement which requires the borrower to pay more for breaching the contract terms than actual costs and losses caused to the lender by the breach (or a genuine pre-estimate of that) is likely to be regarded as an unfair penalty and to be unenforceable both at common law and (in a consumer mortgage) under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations.

 

We believe that the charges you have levied of XXXXX far exceed any true cost to yourself as a result of our breaches and any genuine pre-estimate you could conceivably reach. If you disagree, then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put to as a result of our breaches, in order to reassure us that your charges really do reflect your costs.

 

We really hope that this matter can be resolved amicably and without the need for redress to the courts. Thus we are asking that you refund the chargeswhich have unlawfully been levied on our account. Failure to refund all the money unlawfully taken from us will result in us taking further action. We will give you 14 days to reply accepting, unconditionally, our request in principle and letting us know a date by which we will receive payment. If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, we shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. We believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.

 

After that, there will be no further communication from us and we shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline. Thus take this letter as 28 days written notice of our intention to issue a court claim should you not comply with our request. I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

XXXX

 

[kgrant]

like the letter:D i want to do the joint account but i cannot find the account number anywhere if i ring the halifax will they tell me our account number?

[kgrant]

found the account number so i have filled out the SAR and its ready to send

[kgrant]

i recieved a letter yesterday after sending my prelim and getting the standard 8 week to investigate letter then sent my LBA only to get a letter stating that they are sorry they havent delt with my complaint but i should here something no later than the 17th may:mad: i want to go to court but am affraid this will take longer

[Bigmac versus]

You set the timescales, if they fail to respond positively in your timescales then proceed to court stages.

[Rooster-UK]

Hi Kgrant.

 

That is a standard response, designed to slow you down. Don't let them impose their timetable on you. Stick rigidly to your own timetable, regardless.

 

Preliminary request......14 days.

Letter before action.....14 days.

MCOL or N.1.

 

You're driving this bus, and you decide if it stops,when it stops, where it stops, and how long.

 

Good luck.

Regards, Rooster.

[Bigmac versus]

You're driving this bus, and you decide if it stops,when it stops, where it stops, and how long.

 

Loved that one ROOS, lol.