I need a little advice!

[ptothej]

I recently received a response from Lloyds TSB in relation to my letter before action.

They are saying that the charges are from going over my overdraft unlawfully; however they were incurred by direct debits and standing orders being processed with out enough funds to cover them.

I wanted to know if I should send a stronger letter to rebuttal there statements or should I just go full force into court proceedings, I have enclosed the letter below for people to view. Please Help!!!!

 

 

Thank you for getting in touch with us. I am sorry you are unhappy about your account charges.

Like any business, we do make a charge for some of our extra services. When customers don't have enough in their accounts to cover a payment, this always means extra work - and it has to happen very quickly.

 

We have to agree to make the payment by setting up or increasing an overdraft, or tell customers we can't agree it. We feel it's fair to charge for this service.

 

Of course it's only fair too, that we're completely open about any charged-for services before you might need them. That's why we take care to give every new customer the latest guide to our charges. You can also get up-to-date details about fees and borrowing rates at all our branches, through our helpline and on our website.

 

Just as importantly, we do everything we can to help our customers avoid these charges. You can get an up-to-date balance at any of our cash machines, over the phone, on line and by weekly text to your mobile.

 

If you know a payment is going to take you over your agreed limit, you're welcome to see if there's anything we can do.

 

The Office of Fair Trading has published new guidelines on credit card default charges. We're still talking it through with them, but the important point is that the guidelines are about 'default' charges that people pay when they break an agreement with us. This doesn't apply to your charges as these were for dealing with your request to go over your agreed overdraft limit. They are not default charges because you haven't broken your agreement. They are our prices for the service we provide in these situations.

 

I do hope you can see that we make our charging system as fair as possible and why I can't agree to cancel your charges.

­

I hope this fully answers the points you raised with us. I please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help. If we cannot come to an agreement, I will provide you with details of the Financial Ombudsman Services so they can consider your complaint independently.

 

If you are happy with the way I have dealt with your complaint, there is no reason for you to reply to my letter. If I have not heard from you by 01/05/2007 I will close my file, though of course I will re-open it should you come back at any point afterwards.

[livelylad]

go for court action now, you have given them the required time frame.

[Guest Niklowe]

This is another of those standard letters that they send out to try and distract you from claiming. As Lively said, issue a court summons. That is the next step.

[ptothej]

Thanks very much!

[ptothej]

Sorry me again!

I'm a little confused to what the overdraft interset and interset under s.69 county courts act 1984 means (in the below section).

I know I should add my 8% in one of these but not sure which one.

Can anyone explain for me please?

 

 

Charges £xxx.xx

Overdraft Interest £xxx.xx

Interest under s.69 County Courts Act 1984 £xxx.xx

Court Fee £xx.xx

 

TOTAL £ xx.xx

 

Plus interest pursuant to S.69 County Courts Act 1984 from date of issue to date of judgement/settlement at £xx.xx per day {(enter daily rate here - (CHARGES+OD interest)x 0.00022 = pence per day) }OR at such rate and for such periods as the court deems just.

[Lion1983]

I believe that overdraft interest is the contractual interest, if you have included this in your Prelim and LBA then you need to add this as Overdraft Interest on your claim.

 

The s.69 interest is the one that is added at a daily rate, if you used the 'simple spreadsheet with interest' from this website, that'll be your 8%.

 

hope this helps!

 

Matt

[ptothej]

Thanks Lion!

Much appreciated:p

[Will Scarlet]

Guys - be carefull when discussing interest as it can get very confusing.

Overdraft interest, whilst part of the terms and conditions of your account, is not what people refer to as contractual interest or CI.

In short you can claim:

1) Your Default Charges

2) The apportioned interest on those charges calculated by the spreadsheets on the site.

If the above claim is not settled BEFORE you commence legal proceedings then, on commencement, you have the option to charge 8% interest in accordance with the County Courts Act 84. The CCA interest can ONLY be added when you file at the court, not before.

 

CI is a different kettle of fish and would appear as point 3 in the above list.

In simple terms look at it like this. If you go over your overfdraft limit the bank charges you an unauthorised borrowing rate of probably not far off 30%. Using the principle of reciprocity, on the basis the banks have taken money from YOU in an unauthorised fashion, it can be argued that you could charge the banks contractual rate on each charge from the date of the charge to the date of making your claim. ie. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. There has been success and failure with this argument but it is considerably more complex than a standard claim and would require a higher level of skil, determination and a considerable amount more research.

[ptothej]

I thought it was along those lines so I have opted to avoid this as much as possible.

I am simply claiming charges plus the 8% from the spreedsheets as I cannot prove the charges made me exceed my overdraft and thus receive the higher interest rate charge.

 

Thanks for the advice though!

[ptothej]

Lloyds have acknowledged my claim and the court has advised me that they now have 28 days to submit a defence, would this be working days or actual days?

[witchywarloc]

Lloyds have acknowledged my claim and the court has advised me that they now have 28 days to submit a defence, would this be working days or actual days?

 

calendar days as far as I am aware and from when claim was deemed served

[ptothej]

Thanks very much

[ptothej]

I have now recieved my allocation questionaire but I was wondering if I can add to the amount I intend to claim. During the time it has taken to get to this stage the bank has charged me on a few more occasions.

[BARTY]

Hi

Unfortunatley you can't add on any more charges after you have filed your Court claim, you would probably have to start a new claim once this one has been settled.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

barty:)

[ptothej]

Thought so but it was worth a shout

[ptothej]

I submitted my allocation questionnaire on the 2nd of May and I have still not heard anything from the court about a date. I phoned today and they said they are waiting for the defendant to submit their questionnaire.

Can I send a letter to either the court or the defendant to speed this process up?