Bring it on... BG V Abbey * WON *

[boatgirl]

Having spent a year paying off a managed down overdraft because the abbey wanted to charge me nearly £700 in charges in one month (4 cheques written to the same person which were cashed and failed several times in succession and subsequently charged over £100 each time, by the time the abbey got round to telling me about it they'd made themselves a tidy profit) I've decided enough is enough. The "kindly" waived one lot of the charges at the time, leaving me with around £550 as an overdraft. As anyone would, I just accepted it at the time as there being nothing I could do about it. Apparently I'm wrong on that count. My other half has just had his moneyclaim settled with HSBC for the full amount, and now I want my money back. I've been through my online banking and there are around £800 of charges going back over the past year. I've had my account with the abbey for nearly 3 years, so I'm reckoning there will be around £1500 of charges when I add it all up. I sincerely hope it goes to Small Claims so I can add interest on, that'll take it up to the £2000 mark by my guesstimations.

 

I'm terrible at saving money, so I'm now considering this to be a savings account I never knew I had. I've opened a new account with the Co-Op already, who I must say have been a breath of fresh air already. Just speaking to someone whose first language is English is a good start. My abbey account is now only still open so they can pay my money into it, then they can wave goodbye to yet another customer.

 

I've got as far as requesting statements, I'll keep you all updated on how it goes.

[NeilP]

Good Luck BG.

 

Hope it all goes smoothly.

 

Neil.

[boatgirl]

Well, today they've taken the £10 from my account for my statements. I await their arrival with baited breath!

[boatgirl]

quick question - I've been charged interest on the managed down overdraft that they set up purely so they could charge me their stupid fees, can I claim this interest back? Only amounts to about a tenner, but still...

[NeilP]

Boatgirl,

 

You are able to claim for....

 

Bank Charges

Overdraft Interest caused by the taking of these Bank Charges

 

However, most people (i think) are not claiming for the additional OD interest as it is that money that is a reasonable cost for handling these 'occasions'.

 

IMO, i would only claim for the charges.

 

Neil.

[boatgirl]

just called the Abbey to chase my statements, they tell me they should be with me within 15 days of when they received my request, so that means within the next week by my reckoning. Although I'm also reckoning that they're just picking numbers out of the air. But nonetheless, this deadline has been duly noted and I will be calling back on day 15 to find out why I haven't received my statements

[boatgirl]

Amazingly did receive my statements on time, well, all but 2, but afaik there are no charges on those. Sent my initial letter a little over a week ago, LBA being sent on Thursday...

[boatgirl]

I'm just writing my LBA, is there a specific address this should be sent to? The address on my statement for contacting the Abbey is

 

PO Box 382

Prescot Street

London E1 8RP

[boatgirl]

Claim filed today for £1494.52 reference 6QZ44328. I'm crossing my fingers now

[boatgirl]

So over the weekend I received a letter from Jasmine Meynen, presumably sent before they received my court papers, or they're just ignoring the court papers so they can drag their feet and apply to set judgement aside later down the line, here's a few snippets...

 

"I would like to confirm, the recent Office of Fair Trading announcement was in relation to Credit Card default charges, and no overdraft default charges or to other products, such as Bank Accounts. This means our Tariff of Charges continues to apply.

 

Our terms are valid...

 

If you complaint escalates to the County Court we may close your account...

 

However, having carefully reviewed your situation at the time, I am satisfied the charges in question are attributable to circumstances beyond your control as opposed to negligence or willful activity on your part. As a one-off gesture of goodwill, I would be willing to waive the charges £55.00, in full and final settlement of your complain.

 

This is my final resolution letter...

 

If you wish to complain to the Financial Ombudsman..."

 

And a letter for me to accept the £55. Are they joking??? My claim is for nearly £1500, why in God's name would £55 be acceptable? If these charges are for "circumstances beyond my control", why not refund all of it as a "gesture of goofwill"?

 

Pah. Anyway, what I want to do is to write back to Ms Meynen informing her that my deadline for resolution has passed and papers have already been filed at the County Court, sent special delivery so that when they try and claim they didn't get the papers I have evidence that they were informed of the Claim details well in advance of the deadline. What do you guys reckon?

[boatgirl]

bump, can anyone help with the above question? Would it help when it comes to setting the judgement aside?

[boatgirl]

I'm hoping that should they try and get judgement set aside, I'll have a leg to stand on with my argument that it shouldn't be if I send them a letter, perhaps including a photocopy of the papers that have been filed

[boatgirl]

why wouldn't you be able to? I can print off a copy of the form from the website and send it to them to ensure they have all the necessary details to defend their claim A "gesture of goodwill" on my part, to ensure they don't end up having a judgement against them because they didn't receive the necessary papers I'm just trying to avoid the age old "we didn't know about it" defence when they ignore it and I enter judgement. On the claim you can print off it says "for reference only" or something along those lines.

[bowkett]

Hi BG, aren't your 14 days up now then? Can't you apply for a judgement?

[boatgirl]

26th, so not long now, but I'd rather they acknowledged it so that I haven't got all the set aside nonsense to go through, it seems to be their stalling tactic of the month!

[bowkett]

True, it does, I filed my N1 today at my local court so I am expecting/preparing for the worst anyway:rolleyes:

[boatgirl]

Well, I never got round to sending the letter yesterday, but this morning I got letter one from DLA Piper, asking for how the charges and interest were calculated. I have dutifully forwarded my spreadsheet, evidently they are in receipt of my claim, so at least I won't have the extra hassle of a set aside hearing.

[Dessie]

Strange, my claim was acknowledged within a couple of days.

 

Good to see they have a standard procedure for all the claims coming in.

[boatgirl]

Mine was acknowledged today, so now they have until 9th August to enter their defence. What happens from here, what should I expect to receive next?

[bowkett]

Sounds like you sit and wait! I am sure someone will come and take a look for you. Hopefully it wont be too long now before you get your money back.

[Dessie]

Once they have acknowledged, there isnt much you can do now.

 

With mine, they then 'filed' a defence about a week before the 28 days was due to end and I received their defence with the 50% offer a couple of days later. I have replied to their offer (yesterday) so I await the final (fingers crossed) letter now.

 

It seems that once they have filed a defence it all seems to go through quite smoothly.

[boatgirl]

excellent news, I reckon it can only be a few weeks now til I get my money back. I could really do with that cash at the moment, I can't wait

[boatgirl]

Surprisingly I got my copy of the defence and 50% offer yesterday, nearly a week before the deadline! Maybe they're starting to accept that delaying tactics aren't working and are just costing them more money. So I'm just about to write and turn it down Is there a template for this, or should I just say thanks but no thanks, I want it all?

[bowkett]

OOoooo its getting close now for you BG, Abbey have acknowledged my claim in court, awaiting defence/judgement now. Fingers crossed for you

[boatgirl]

I sent an e-mail and letter back to DLA a week ago stating that I would not accept 50% and that only 100% would be sufficient to settle my claim out of court. I also completed and returned my AQ, as my claim is under the £1500 limit for the fee. How long do they usually take to offer the full amount? They have until 23rd Aug to file the AQ.