chancer vrs HBOS

[chancer]

Thanks again Bigmac for the feedback. I have one final question - hopefully - and it's about this next letter I'm about to send off. I just want to make sure I have the right letter template used. It is as follows and I'm not sure if the bit in red below needs to be included - would you include it?

 

Request for repayment of charges

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxx

 

My request

I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges which you have levied from my account over the last XXXX years.

I now understand that the regime of fees which you have been applying to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent consumer regulations. If you say that they are not, then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put by as a result of my breaches, in order to reassure me that your penalties really do reflect your costs.

Additionally, it has now been confirmed that your particularly high level of penalties are considered to be unfair per se by the OFT who reported on the 5th April 2006 and are therefore presumed to be unlawful in the absence of specific proof to the contrary.

 

Your responsibilities

I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

 

I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary.

I consider that your repeated representations that your charges are fair and reasonable are deceptive and that they have deceived me into agreeing to pay them.

Your concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now.

 

What I require

I calculate that you have taken £XXXXX from my account(s) with you. I enclose a schedule of the charges which I am claiming with this letter.

 

Additionally if you have entered a default notice against my credit record. This default occurred merely in respect of unlawful charges levied by you or was the result of impecuniosity caused directly by the taking by you of penalty charges which you had applied unlawfully to my account.

 

In addition to full payment of the sum mentioned above, I require that you remove the default entry from the register. Please note that mere correction or amendment to the entry will not be acceptable.

 

My targets to resolve this matter

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.

 

I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

 

If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I 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 me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

[name]

 

Regarding manual intervention:

 

This is you asking the bank to prove that any staff actually worked in relation to your breach of contract when they charged you.

We all know they are automated letters and that there is LITTLE if any manual intervention, certainly not enough to warrant such a charge:mad:

So they will never provide any information of this because it would prove without doubt their charges do not reflect their liquidated losses.

 

Standard reply you got.

[Bigmac versus]

Well is suppose that would depend on if i had been defaulted due to charges.

If you are unsure of this then leave it in, it wont harm your case it says IF YOU HAVE.

[chancer]

Thanks again.

Well is suppose that would depend on if i had been defaulted due to charges.

If you are unsure of this then leave it in, it wont harm your case it says IF YOU HAVE.

[chancer]

Hi all,

 

Long time no hear I know but I've been away doing a bit of travelling and managed to get more charges en route.

The good news is that I have just sent off the letter asking for the money to be refunded etc. so it's a case now of watch this space folks. I'll update this tread as I progress with the claim - well till they decide to start paying out again. Fingers crossed sooner rather than later.

[Bigmac versus]

Hello stranger

[chancer]

Hi de hi ,

 

Hope life has been good to you since last year.

 

Ironically enough I just got a letter from the customer relations dept today (bank letter) saying they recieved my charges request letter. It said in the letter basically, once the legal proceedings between the banks and the OFT have finished, they will resolve my complaint. However, that it could take months. And if I'm not happy with the resoulition they give, that I can take the matter then to the courts or FOS.

 

I'm now left with 2 questions which I'm hoping you can help with.

 

1) Is this a standard reply?

 

2) What do I do next - as in do I now send off the next letter saying that I shall be starting court proceedings against them?

Hello stranger

[Bigmac versus]

Yes and Yes, get your claim into court then you will get your interest.

[chancer]

Hi folks,

 

Since I last updated this tread I was reading the moneysavingexpert site, and I've now decided to try 'asking for a speedy settlement' under the sample letter template section there.

 

Basically, if you want a speedy settlement, one tactic is to offer the bank the option of settling for a lower amount if it pays out now. How much lower depends on you, so I'm now trying that and if no joy then it's a case of logging the case with the courts.

 

One question pops to mind, which is am I wasteing my time sending that letter? Should I perhaps send the court action letter instead?

[chancer]

Just wondering if anyone can shead any light on the below question?

Hi folks,

 

Since I last updated this tread I was reading the moneysavingexpert site, and I've now decided to try 'asking for a speedy settlement' under the sample letter template section there.

 

Basically, if you want a speedy settlement, one tactic is to offer the bank the option of settling for a lower amount if it pays out now. How much lower depends on you, so I'm now trying that and if no joy then it's a case of logging the case with the courts.

 

One question pops to mind, which is am I wasteing my time sending that letter? Should I perhaps send the court action letter instead?

[Bigmac versus]

Hi Chancer sorry i couldnt reply quicker

 

I really do think you are wasting your time doing this, however dont let me put you off. My opinion has always been and will remain that every penny they have unlawfully taken from me will be taken back plus interest.

 

There may be a time when banks will accept what you are suggesting doing but that will be when they know they are going to have to pay out in full.

The question I often ask people who consider this route is this.

 

When the bank charged you did they offer to reduce the amount debited from your account?

Treat them as they have treated you over the years.

[chancer]

Hi Bigmac versus,

 

I've had a re think and you're right in what you say. I was about to print off the 'LETTER BEFORE ACTION' letter from the template, but it states in it the following;

 

'You have failed to respond to my letter of the [XXXXXXX - date of preliminary letter] and its enclosed schedule'.

 

The thing is they did respond but it was not the response I was hoping for, as in the standard reply.

 

Is there another template for the 'LETTER BEFORE ACTION' letter or is that the only one?

 

Hi Chancer sorry i couldnt reply quicker

 

I really do think you are wasting your time doing this, however dont let me put you off. My opinion has always been and will remain that every penny they have unlawfully taken from me will be taken back plus interest.

 

There may be a time when banks will accept what you are suggesting doing but that will be when they know they are going to have to pay out in full.

The question I often ask people who consider this route is this.

 

When the bank charged you did they offer to reduce the amount debited from your account?

Treat them as they have treated you over the years.

[Bigmac versus]

So change it to "you have failed to respond satisfactory to my letter of the xxxxx"

[chancer]

Thanking you once again.

So change it to "you have failed to respond satisfactory to my letter of the xxxxx"

[chancer]

Hi folks,

 

Just send the 'LETTER BEFORE ACTION' off Friday gone registered. Hopefully I didn't leave it too late but only time will tell.

 

Will I need to see a Solicitor if I do end up having to make a court claim against the banks, or can I go solo?

[sea-sidelady]

They have 14 days from receiving the lba letter to respond to you, if not then you file at court.

 

You dont need a solicitor, everything you need is on this site, along with the advice. It is a good idea to have a read up of the next stage, so you know what to expect.

 

Guide to reclaiming bank charges - Consumer Wiki

[chancer]

Thanks for this sea-sidelady......I'll get reading after this reply.

They have 14 days from receiving the lba letter to respond to you, if not then you file at court.

 

You dont need a solicitor, everything you need is on this site, along with the advice. It is a good idea to have a read up of the next stage, so you know what to expect.

 

Guide to reclaiming bank charges - Consumer Wiki

[Bigmac versus]

If you need help with the court forms just yell.