Lancia 4747 v Lloyds (Business Account)

[lancia4747]

Hi, I'm new to this and wwonder if anyone could give some advice.

 

I have a business account with Lloyds Bank and I tried (unsuccesfully) to reclaim a proportion of my bank charges. They sent a very comprehensive rejection letter, but I don't know if I can take it any further.

 

Do the rules change if it's a business account? If not, then I will try again.

 

Does anyone think I have a chance with this?

[mrsfoot]

Hi and welcome

 

You can claim back penalty fees if you have incurred them from your bank, however you cannot claim arrangement fees etc, even though they are extortionate in themsleves.

 

I have recently helped a friend to claim back some business charges by simply trawling the market and looking for free business banking which his own bank then matched.

 

However i suggest you read the following before you do anything:

 

There are a few things that you must do before sending letters off left right and centre. By following the steps correctly you save yourself and others a lot of work!

 

• Read the FAQs. Print them out and take 2 -3 days to understand what it is you are about to do…..you wouldn’t just jump into a lake for a swim unless you knew how to swim, would you??
  
• Understand the process. Don’t try to start halfway through, it won’t work. Its time consuming but at least you won’t be making any mistakes in getting your money back!
  
• Read through the relevant forum for your bank claim. Here you will find others journeys, celebrations and queries, most of which will help you in your claim.
  
• Start a thread in your forum, and keep it in your favourites so you can find it easier. Call it your name v bank name for example. Here you can log your own journey, ask questions and most of all offer another thread for a newer person to read (see you are giving something back already)
  
• It’s your claim; you have to do the work! Its not easy, can be very frustrating and at times you will feel like throwing the towel and letting them get away. But keep on going, seek advice from mods / site helpers/ or anyone else who is on the forum, great place for this is the chat room, try it out!

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

I have been succesfull in claiming back charges from my BOS business account.The wording of your claim is slightly different, but yes you can claim all your returned d/d charges also excess o/d charges back. I am in the process of claiming back about £7,000 Will take a bit of time but worth it in the long run. All the bumf they send you is their way of trying to put you off and delaying you as long as possible.Its your money, go get it back.

 

Best wishes with your claim.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[Nick SPX]

Hi, maroondevo52.

 

Are there any example / template letters that outline reclaims for business accounts ?

 

I've only found one in the templates library and I've scoured all over the forum.

 

It would be useful if they had a 'business accounts' section too.......

[kennyh]

Hi,

Was there any response to Nick's posting? I'm about to start helping a friend whose business was 'blitzed' by charges.

[lancia4747]

Thanks Mrs Foot

 

They have alrady offered me £200 + which is not a fortune, but the total amount owed is only just in excess of £1000 over 6 years, soI guess we are talking. I notice from other message boards/forums/ etc that Lloyds are very agressive with this. Some banks seem to roll over and give in but it appears Lloyds blind people with legalese, so we shall see how far we get!

[kennyh]

Keep going lancia. Read the FAQs - there are gems there and parallels to be drawn AND the so called 'scales of justice' are swinging your way. YOU are in the driving seat never mind 'talking'.

[lancia4747]

Lloyds have now sent me a letter saying they will not go higher than the £200 + they are offering, which still leaves about £1200 outstanding. I am very nervous about taking them to Court - I have done this twice before with my business, on custoners who didn't pay, etc, and each time have lost on a technicality.

 

It will cost me at least £100 to issue the summons - any advice. Does anyone think they will defend it?

[lancia4747]

PS - they have told me if I don't like it to go to the Financial Ombudsman. Anyone know anything about this and is it worth doing, instead of a County Court?

[MARTIN3030]

You have the option of going to the FOS yes and they will assist,but only if all your efforts in trying to get a FULL refund have been exhausted.

The Fos will not get involved if you have started court action.

So choice is yours......you can choose to weather out the storm and wait through the court process.......or go to the FOS with your complaint.

You should not compare this claim with previous failed cases.......I think its fair to say your chances here are better !!!

Will move your posts into the Lloyds Tsb and see if another business claimant comes to assist.

In the meantime dont give up.

[lancia4747]

Thanks Martin. The only thing that worries me is if Lloyds choose to defend the case and I loose, the costs involved could be huge, and like everybody else doing this I don't have a lot of dosh!

[BARTY]

Hi

As your claim is below £5000, you will be in the small claims, so you will not have to pay out costs if you lose. And their is no chance of you losing anyway, have you read all the threads in the "Success" forum:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/lloydstsb-successes/

 

Go for it!!

Barty:)

[lancia4747]

I issued a summons to Lloyds and they have decided to defend the case. They now have 28 days to post a defence and I am hoping they don't, that we are all playing a game of chicken to see who blinks first!

 

I take heart from the comments from other users on this and Martin Lewis' website, so fingers crossed please:)

 

I'll let you know!

[lancia4747]

LLoyds have now posted a defence and my case will be held at Guildford County Court. I am waiting for the allocation questionnaire. Needless to say I am not looking forward to this. Very few others seem to have gone this far, but my bank seems determined to see this one through to the end. Any advice or encouragement from other people who have gone through this process would be a great help

[BARTY]

Hi

Most claims do go this far, so you are not alone.

These links should help you with your AQ:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/57708-draft-order-allocation-questionnaires.html

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/11644-allocation-questionnaires-guide-completion.html

 

And have a read of this if you haven't already:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/64975-business-claims-basic-guide.html

 

Barty:)

[lancia4747]

Hi

 

This is the defence Lloyds have filed:

 

This defence is served without prejudice to the Defendants contention that the Statement of claim i insufficiently particularised. The defendant reserves the right to plead further to the Statement of Claiim once they are sufficiently particularised.

The Defendant will object that the Particulars of claim in this action disclose no reasonable cuase of action against the Defendant and makes no specific allegations against the Defendant as to why the Defendant should be liable to the Claimant for the amount claimed.

The Particulars of Claim do not comply with Rule 16.4 1(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules (amongst other things) they do not identify the account in question that appears to form the subject mtter of these proceedings or indeed show how the sum of £1121.57 is arrived at and the Particulars of Claim are too vague. The Statement of Claim shows no reasonable grounds for bringing the claim.

The Claimant should, therefore, be ordered to file and serve an amended claim to set out the full Partriculars of the Bank Account and the charges he is seeking to recover, identifying each charge, the date and amount of the charge and why the Claimant in each case he alleges it is a disporprotionate penalty and thus unfair.

The Defendant should then be given the opportunity to defend the proceedings further.

 

PHEW!!!!

 

Anybody got any ideas? Has anyone seen a similar defence filed, and if so how did they deal with it? Of course the Bank has had all the information (in fact they supplied it didn't they) so when you make an online claim you have to be brief in description as you are only allowed a certain amount of characters.

 

Is this a smokescreen to make me give up? 'Cos if it is it could succeed. Lloyds are having a certain amount of success when they have gone to Court recently.

[bobcatman]

hi, had the same defence on my business ac, to cut a long story short the filled there new defence and in the same letter offered a setlement almost all that i asked for chek my thread

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/lloyds-bank/80760-lloyds-tsb-claim-3.html