Urgent Attention Please Read - Claims in Scotland

[Bigmac versus]

Hi suzieblooz and the point you are making is very important and is covered within the guidance, there are a few little things needed before it comes onto the forum but in answer to your question for the moment.

 

To complain through the FOS you need to send the FOS the final offer the bank has made in relation to your complaint, unfortunately the bank can take up to 8 weeks to respond, yes continue with the prelim then the lba at the moment as you would do if taking your case to court, there may be the need for a 2nd letter template or ammendment to the LBA basically advising the bank you will be making a complaint to the FOS if their offer/response is not acceptable.

[suzieblooz]

Thanks Bigmac. I'll wait for the rest of my statements & then continue with prelim. I'll keep it updated on my thread. Cheers.

[sazz]

I'm thinking that we need to make as many claims through the FOS as we possibly can, in order to let them feel the sheer amount of work that the Courts have to deal with now in regards to unlawful charges. Maybe something will be done about it and we won't have to go through all this nonsense any more

 

This seems very unfair for Scottish claimants...

 

BOOOO!!

[caro]

I believe FOS are getting about 2000 claims a day and getting the banks to pay with interest so I think they've got the message. A year ago it was 80 a day.

[suzieblooz]

Think of all the people we're keeping in a job dealing with all this LOL.

[caro]

And with all the extra money both them and us will have to spend it will help the economy no end.

[Bigmac versus]

They have taken on more staff last year who were trained to help in relation to endowment mortgages so as to clear the backlog which previously was taking on average 6 to 9 months to complete a complaint, their annual report said they were expecting 10,500 complaints in 2007 in relation to bank charges, think i will crack the jokes from now on, and can i predict more recruitment for them to which we should all feel good about.

[edinburghbeerbucket]

Hi folks,

 

it looks like I'm about to win my first small claim in Edinburgh (by default - BoS didn't do anything by the return date) and in light of what's happened I'm wondering how to proceed.

 

Has anyone considered using two different courts? For example, I lodged the first small claim in Edinburgh, and now I'm thinking I should lodge the second in Dunfermline. They have a branch in every major town in Scotland, so you can always say "the Defender has a place of business in xxx, and this court therefore holds juristiction."

 

Just a thought...

[knoxvillain]

my original claim (settled out of court) was at Edinburgh and I am now considering raising the second one at Linlithgow but am waiting to see the outcome of this whole scenario to see if I should go down the FOS route instead

[By-Tor]

Hi,

 

This is my first post on CAG, although, I have been reading up from here and Moneysavingexpert.com for a few weeks now. In case anyone is interested, I am reclaiming from:

 

Nationwide - £3340

Nationwide - £2969 (on behalf of my wife)

Capital One - £309

 

So far, I have sent the first letter for all three accounts. Unsurprisingly, Nationwide have refused saying their charges are fair (blah, blah, blah), and Capital One have refunded £112.00.

 

Due to amounts that we're claiming, and the fact that we live in Scotland, I have sent the forms away to the FOS, with all relevant correspondence. I'll see what response I receive in due course, but I won't hold my breath. If I'm not satisfied then I will raise court action. I did it in this order, as if you approach the court first, you can't then go through the FOS (or so they say). Incidentally, since I sent my initial letter to the Nationwide, they have downgraded my Flexaccount to a No Withdrawal account, as I went over my overdraft limit by £11! Coincidence or not? If I need to withdraw money, I have to phone them to get them to authorise it, then go into a branch, which is a complete pain in the 'arris. I was initially worried when I started this that they may close my account, but now, I'm not bothered, as they have effectively removed my ability to run my account anyway. Fortunately, my wife still has her account, so we're using her account as our main account now.

 

I will pursue Capital One for the difference in my claim with them, I was going to let it lie, then I thought, "Sod it, they would hound me for £190-odd, so I'm not letting them away with it".

 

I'll let you know how I get on.

 

TTFN

[Bigmac versus]

Hi By-Tor and welcome, please start a thread and keep it updated of all progress. In relation to below you can go via FOS after court and if you go to court after going through the FOS the court may take the FOS findings into account, nothing is clear cut in these routes and each case will be different in their circumstances so as i said there is no YES or NO to these routes.

 

If I'm not satisfied then I will raise court action. I did it in this order, as if you approach the court first, you can't then go through the FOS (or so they say).

[katie1407]

Hi all

 

New to this site and am a bit baffled by all the info and terminoligy!

 

I wrote to Woolwich claiming a total of £2794 inc interest. They responed offering me £1900 as a "goodwill gesture". I know thats a lot of money, but I still feel they owe me the total, so I want to take it further.I live in Scotland and from the above posts it seems my best bet is to go to the fos. So, I write a letter refusing their offer and giving them 7 days to respond, but do I say I will take them to court, or do I say I will report them to the fos?

 

Also, this account is actually in my husbands name, I'm just dealing with the bank charge refund for him. He lived in England when the account was opened. I work in England(at Heathrow) so am down there regularly. Should I consider going thru the English courts? Would this possibly be resolved more quickly? How often do you actually have to go to court and could I go as my husbands representative? I work for an airline, so if he had to go I would be able to get him a staff ticket, so the cost wouldnt be too high (about £70) but time off work is hard for him. Also, would we need to give an English address?

 

Sorry to ask so many questions, but like I said its all a bit confusing. Sometimes I am tempted just to accept original offer as an easy way out but I know I will be really annoyed at myself if I do that!!

 

Also, can I accept what they have offered as part payment and contact fos re the remainder? Car just written off and desperately need the money for a new one!

[stevokenevo]

i am unsubscribing from this thread

[katie1407]

was it something I said stevo??

[knoxvillain]

please start a thread and keep it updated of all progress

 

Best to keep specific queries about your case to your own thread and only discuss stuff here about things in general about court vs FOS.

[katie1407]

consider myself told off and will start a new thread. Like I said new to this and sorry if I posted in the wrong place. Didnt realise there were rules on where I could post! Other people seem to have discussed their own cases in this thread too, but no one seems to have told them to post elsewhere, so I thought it was ok. Was my first post but as now scared to post in the wrong place again may be my last!! lol

[caro]

Don't be scared Katie others had done it too, and some had been told off and others hadn't. Spend a bit of time reading up the FAQ's, and start a thread in the right forum, but the simple answer is, if you can claim in England then do so.

 

It just that when people make posts on their own circumstances in a thread it makes it harder to follow the discussion. If you find a thread like this and want others to help you can always post a link and people can click through and read the whole story.

[sn00psmum]

NOOOOO! Don't say that, you've as much right to be here as anyone:) Simple mistake, that's all and as you pointed out you're not the only one who's done it! It's just a little frustrating when you are reading pages & pages of a long thread and only a small number of posts are relevant.

SM:p

 

Caro, you beat me to it!

[knoxvillain]

no offense was intended. Just the situation in Scotland is confusing at the moment even for seasoned people on here and this thread is really important to clarifying it. Sorry if I scared you. Didn't mean to.

[katie1407]

Have posted as shaun v woolwich in scotland. Seems to have been grouped with other people with problems with woolwich but my main problem was what to do in scotland. Not to worry. Dare say I will work it out for myself if no response.

Wouldnt know how to post a link I'm afraid.. a bit blonde sometimes!! Have spent most of today reading this thread and hope I have the info I need from this. Thanks and good luck to everyone...especially newbies like me trying to find their way!!

[katie1407]

Am I allowed to ask here if its possible to accept the £1900 goodwill gesture I have been offered and advise them that I will be sueing for the additional £750 thru the small claims court in Scotland?

[RedDeath]

Am I allowed to ask here if its possible to accept the £1900 goodwill gesture I have been offered and advise them that I will be sueing for the additional £750 thru the small claims court in Scotland?

 

Very good question! But terrible answer, I don't know. Very interesting though!

[knoxvillain]

Am I allowed to ask here if its possible to accept the £1900 goodwill gesture I have been offered and advise them that I will be sueing for the additional £750 thru the small claims court in Scotland?

 

I asked HBOS this question when they made me an offer and the answer I got is "we wouldn't settle with you on that basis". The money they are offering you is a "full and final" settlement. In other words, you wouldn't be able to litigate against them for any further charges what-so-ever I believe. they make you sign a bit of paper acknowledging it as full and final and they don't give you the money unless you sign the form and return it.

[RedDeath]

The money they are offering you is a "full and final" settlement.

 

What if you send the usual letter that you are accepting the money as part settlement and that you will be pursing the rest of it in a court of law? Just because they have said it is their final offer it does not mean that you do have to accept it as a final offer. Take it as part payment.

 

From what I have read on the scotscourt website, a claim for over £1500 can be initially submitted through a summary action, it is then the judge to decide if it can be dealt or if it goes to a court of session and I would be inclined to believe that at that point it would go stay in a sumary court.

 

Just a technicality anyway. They want you to accept the payment. Hold on and you will get the money. Accept it as part payment and carry on with it.

[caro]

This may help clarify. If a condition is made with offers attached, acceptance of the money constitutes acceptance of the conditions, which is why you should always go for unconditional payments.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/yorkshire-bank-clydesdale-bank/63455-have-you-received-settlement.html