Help with Abbey and OD!!

[kerryelisabeth]

Im about to request a refund of about £5000 of charges but Ive got a couple of questions before I do.....

 

1. I first requested copies of my statements back in about July time last year but didn't receive any until November. By this time there were statements missing because they send the last six months without charge and the rest you have to pay £10 for. They never charged me the £10 but there was a gap in the two lots because of the time delay.....confused?? Sorry!!

 

Well, I called them again and requested them again, this time I paid the £10 but they haven't sent all the statements that I requested!! There's a gap of about 6 months when I think I probably had about £1500 of charges but that will then take me over the £5000 for the small claims court.

 

My questions are these;

A. have the bank breached something by not sending the statements as requested?

B. Is it worht pressing for these statements if it's only gonna take me over the threshold anyway??

 

 

2. I have an overdraft with this account. I have opened an umbrella account but can they insist that this refund is used to pay back overdraft or will it just be paid to me by cheque? I am aare that I will have to pay back overdraft if they close my account but I am reluctant for them to use this money to do it?

 

3. Has anyone take on Abbey and if so what was their experience??

 

Sorry I know there are a lot of questions but this all just seems too good to be true and I want to be totally prepared!!

[bp]

Hi, I'll try and answer some of your questions as best as i can

 

Im about to request a refund of about £5000 of charges but Ive got a couple of questions before I do.....

 

1. I first requested copies of my statements back in about July time last year but didn't receive any until November. By this time there were statements missing because they send the last six months without charge and the rest you have to pay £10 for. They never charged me the £10 but there was a gap in the two lots because of the time delay.....confused?? Sorry!!

I had a similar problem with Abbey and it took nearly 5 months to get my statements. Any time you contact them about the statements, keep a record of it so that if need be at a later stage, you will be able to prove that it was their fault.

Well, I called them again and requested them again, this time I paid the £10 but they haven't sent all the statements that I requested!! There's a gap of about 6 months when I think I probably had about £1500 of charges but that will then take me over the £5000 for the small claims court.

Its a difficult choice but are you willing to lose that much money? it might worth going for a different tract lets face it the chances of them actually turning up in court are small.

My questions are these;

A. have the bank breached something by not sending the statements as requested?

My feeling is yes. You can complain to the Information Commissioner but that may end being a long process. you can however just carry on with your claim making sure that you remind Abbey that they have not sent you all the info. Indicate which period this applies to. i had the same problem and in the end went to court. They did not send me my info till it was at AQ stage and i had to complete an N244 form and stated that the defendant had been aware all along that part of my claim was estimated. Its worth my mentioning that completing an N244 form will cost you £35 its non-refundable.

B. Is it worth pressing for these statements if it's only gonna take me over the threshold anyway??

it really is up to you. I'm not sure of the actual costs for going over the threshold but will they be as much as the amount you stand to lose for not claiming for those six months?

 

 

2. I have an overdraft with this account. I have opened an umbrella account but can they insist that this refund is used to pay back overdraft or will it just be paid to me by cheque? I am aare that I will have to pay back overdraft if they close my account but I am reluctant for them to use this money to do it?

I have a new acc elsewhere but my Abbey account is still open. i have agreed to pay back my overdraft at an affordable amount. Once you've agreed this, even if the money is paid back into your account, they can't take up all your money to clear the overdraft

3. Has anyone take on Abbey and if so what was their experience??

My acc is well overdrawn and i've had to give back my card and chequebook but to be honest i'm not bothered as none of my money is going in that acc anyway!

Sorry I know there are a lot of questions but this all just seems too good to be true and I want to be totally prepared!!

 

 

Hope this helps.

[kerryelisabeth]

That's excellent, thank you very much indeedy!!

[charleyfarley]

Hi Kerryelizabeth,

 

I am in a similar situation to you with Abbey o/d and a big claim. The Fast Track court is nothing to be scared of. The worst case scenario is that you lose and have to pay costs, which are set at a maximum of £750 but are on a sliding scale according to the size of your claim. On the plus side the court has more powers of disclosure so the banks are more scared of it than the Small Claims.

 

As for o/d's with the Abbey, they took away my limit which was the trigger for me to start this claim, but I opened a parachute and have switched everything over to that. The Abbey made a GOGW payment straight into my a/c which helped reduce the outstanding balance, and now I've got a repayment schedule of 5% per month of the balance, so not too heavy.

 

You can insist on a cheque for payment(see templates) and as for the outstanding statements I would just estimate the amount from the statements you actually have.

[kerryelisabeth]

Excellent! I am happy to pay them back but it would just defeat the object paying some of this money back to my overdraft...thay'd have won again!! It's not a huge one so I'd be more than happy to make regular payments on it!!

 

Thanks for that!!

[kerryelisabeth]

Sorry, one more question...whats the address in Milton Keynes to semd first letter to?? I found it last night but can't see it today!!

[charleyfarley]

KE,

I was told to send my Prelim to

 

Send it to....

REGISTERED ADDRESS: -

ABBEY NATIONAL PLC

ABBEY NATIONAL HOUSE

2 TRITON SQUARE

REGENT'S PLACE

LONDON

NW1 3AN

and they pass it on

[kerryelisabeth]

Thank you!!!!

[kerryelisabeth]

ok one more question I promise....

 

what's to stop me from beginning court proceedings now before I send the letter? That way it'll all coma about at the same time wont it??

[charleyfarley]

KE,

 

My thoughts on this are as follows, but they are only my thoughts...

 

1.You have to be seen to give the banks sufficient time to refund your money and by sending the letters you are seen to be reasonable

 

2.The system on here works well and if it ain't broke don't fix it. Accept it is not a quick fix, but a legitimate process that could well end up with you in court, so follow it step by step. The time involved is actually positive because it's more interest repaid and it gives you more time to read up and understand some of the complexities of the process.

 

But you do what you want.......

[kerryelisabeth]

yeah thats very true!! Ta!!

[kerryelisabeth]

ok me again...sorry!!

 

Just worked it all out and I have £5281 since April 2001. That comes out at £6084.87 with interest. Can I still go to small claims court with that amount??

[kerryelisabeth]

ok another one.....just reading the letter, is it only unauthorised overdraft fees that I can claim back or is it all charges...unpaid direct debits/cleared transactions etc too??

[charleyfarley]

KE,

 

1. No, £5K limit is Small Claims

2.Yes, generally look for every transaction ending in £.00

[kerryelisabeth]

but isn't it £5000 before the interest is added?? If so I'll scrap the £200 odd pound!

[charleyfarley]

It's your money and your choice.

 

With the Fast Track the only significant difference to the Small Claims is that you could be liable for costs if you lose up, to a maximum of £750 depending on the value of your claim, but you are also entitled to claim costs in the Fast track.....one of the posters on here successfully claimed 49 hours at £9.25 per hour, so it's quite a decent amount of money when you win.

[bitingback]

Hi ya Kerry found you again,

 

You seem to have things well in hand, on the charges all unpaid DD's paid referrals etc can be claimed back.

 

And for your information Fast track will require standard disclosure form the banks (this means they will have to justify that the charges they are taking from you are an accurate reflection of their costs (as if)).

 

If you were to loose at Fast track you would be laible for costs as has been said above, however given the rules i would think it unlikely that they would want to step inside the courtroom.

 

Very best of luck, and I will keep an eye on the story as it unfolds.

 

Regards

 

BB

 

 

Any advise offered is my own (mainly opinion) and I would reccommend seeking clarity form wiser heads if unsure.

[bitingback]

One more thing,

 

The claim amount is i believe before section 69 (8%) interest is added which dictates the track you will be on.

 

BB

[anney63]

Don't be afraid of Fast track Mine was allocated to fast track judge ordered disclosure by list by 12th March Abbey settled in full plus 30 hours prep ,ink and paper after a couple of phone calls £10k+ still waiting for cheque but have email confirmation and have not sent anything to the court except of course my list. Go For It