Mrs Majorclanger100 vs Abbey

[majorclanger100]

Flipping Shabby

 

Please can one of you wonderful people scan through this and confirm if we are doing the right thing here. Thank you and sorry for the waffle!!!

 

We sent a SAR on 3rd March for my wife's two accounts, and Shabby are making the most of confusing issues and using delaying tactics as usual;-

• As we don't have a cheque book any more we sent the £10.00 SAR fee in cash (probably a mistake now we've read the thread about Abbey and the DPA...oops). This was OK with the Woolwich for my SAR but the Shabby have sent it back saying they can't accept cash (they're a bank! well - they advertise themselves as one anyway....). Instead they've invited us to send a cheque or give them authorisation to debit the account (we can do neither). We've had the usual SAR authorisation form. Presumably they'll have to accept a postal order or counter cheque from our parachute account as an alternative?
  
• Shabby have sent a year of account statements (saying they've sent 18 months) and have told us if we want them to 'go ahead' to give them authorisation (and alternative payment). Are we right in assuming that, as they've already started complying with the SAR by sending the statements, the original 40 day limit applies from our initial request? Please tell me it doesn't start again from when we send alternative payment?!
  
• As other CAG users have found, Shabby are still using the microfiche argument. We'll throw the ICO finding at them and say if they don't comply we'll issue a complaint.
  
• At the same time as the SAR we issued a Notice Pursuant to the DPA as we knew they'd default my wife. The reply we've had is slightly hypocritical, bearing in mind their lack of compliance with the DPA in other areas... 'we are required by the Information Commissioner to register and share information on how customers run their accounts. Any information registered with credit reference agencies is a true and factual reflection of the situation on your account'. We are going to counter this by stating that, as the amount outstanding is comprised totally of fees then the processing of the data is inaccurate and is likely to cause damage and/or distress and is therefore in breach of S.10 of the DPA. We will threaten a complaint to the ICO and legal action without mentioning specifics, but is there anything specifically we should mention?

Thanks for your help!

[mattyb13]

postal order will be fine although if you could send a cheque you will know when they cash it.

 

the 40 days is from your inital request. In all fairness to abbey they sent all my data within 40 days and i had a simalar letter to you. i think i received statements in 9 days then microfiche about 3 weeks after that.

 

about the default, i am requesting they remove a default as i owe them about £900they ome me £3.5k.

 

good luck

 

matt

[majorclanger100]

Thanks for the advice Matt.

 

Good luck to you too.

[majorclanger100]

Surprise, surprise Shabby haven't sent us anything other than the last year of statements - they still say that anything prior to that is on microfiche They don't actually say nowadays that microfiche isn't covered by the DPA, following the Information Commissioner visit, but they hint heavily that it is difficult to provide the information (presumably to try to put you off).

 

Well they are now over the 40 day deadline so we've issued them with a notice before action DPA default letter - allowing them 7 days to come up with the goods before court action. I've also had to do the same with the Woolwich - not a bean from them!

 

Anybody had any luck getting your transaction details after threatening Court action, or do you reckon we'll actually have to go through issuing a claim before they take any notice?

[Lula]

have you sent them the £10, as the time only starts from the time they receive the SAr and the money. they never said that they wouldnt send the microfiche statements, only that they are held on a separate system and will be sent separately. Dont worry, you will get them. they seem to have learnt their lesson with the Information Commissioner breathing down their necks

[majorclanger100]

Hi Lula,

 

We sent them £10 cash with the original SAR (recorded delivery) on 3rd March, which they returned saying they couldn't process cash payments. At the same time they sent us a year of statements.

 

We then sent a £10 counter cheque from our parachute account (no cheque or debit facilities with Abbey any more! ) with a reminder that the full information had not been provided and that 16th April 2007 was the deadline date.

 

As we had sent payment originally (even though they sent it back) and they had begun to comply with the SAR we have taken it that 3rd March 2007 was the start of the 42 day period.

 

Are you able to advise if this is correct?

 

Many thanks

[Lula]

well i think i am correct in saying that no, the 40 day timescale started from when the counter cheque was delivered as they say that they dont accept cash, the send the 13 months statements because you can have them anyway, so i would show "tolerance" (it will look good on your should it ever get to court) and start the 40 days from the date that the cheque was received,

 

Sorry, its probably not the answer you want, but it is the answer that will find you most favour with the court should it ever get that far

[majorclanger100]

Thanks Lula.

 

As difficult as it will be , we shall try to show tolerance and extend the time limit as you suggest....

[Lula]

Just call me the Soup dragon LOL

 

Patience isnt my middle name either, but sometimes, its just worth it for an extra few weeks wait

[majorclanger100]

LOL!

 

These guys just test your patience anyway. We sent them a letter clearly asking for the information held on microfiche prior to the fourteen months of statements we've already received. They sent back copies of the fourteen months statements.....

 

Roll on a stroppy letter threatening court action!!!

[majorclanger100]

This probably is a very stupid question, but Abbey have just threatened to take us to court for the remaining overdraft under our account (comprising wholly of charges - it's £350 as opposed to the £2,500 they owe us in charges and contractual interest :o ).

 

If they do take court action can we counterclaim for the charges? We are on quite solid ground as the Shabbey have only just complied with our SAR (a long way outside the 40 day limit, and have even sent a letter apologising for this) and have been hassling us continually for repayment of the overdraft whilst the debt was in dispute and under investigation (and acknowledged by their complaints department). As this puts them in breach of both the Banking Code of Practice (13.6 & 13.8) and the OFT guidelines on the collection of debt (2.6 & 2.8) presumably this would put them in a bad light in court?

 

We are just about to issue a preliminary approach, following their response to our SAR. However they are already aware we are going to reclaim the charges as this was clear in our SAR letter and other correspondence.