Dozer v Abbey

[Dozerblue]

Hi everyone am new to this so please be patient, I sent my SAR to Abbey and after about 6 weeks received all my bank statements, when I totalled the list of charges it came to a massive £5+k, I then sent the letter requesting a refund of these charges and after 14 days received no response, I contacted Abbey on their complaints hotline and they told me that they had sent a letter on the 14th March (never received) that stated that on this occasion they would not even be offering a ogw, has anyone else had a similar letter or should I be worried....the 14 days has now expired should I continue with my LBA or wait for the letter to arrive to see why they will not even offer the ogw

[welshcakes]

I would definitely continue with your time scale ie send the LBA. Concurrently I would ask them to resend the alledged correspondence that states they are not prepared to refund the sum you have asked.

 

In respect of them not offering to settle, this sounds pretty standard so don't be put off by it

[pmahonc]

You want to stick to your deadlines not the Abbeys.

prelim = 14 days. Abbey normally sends a standard letter saying they are investigating your complaint.

LBA = 14 days Abbey will probably send another letter saying that they need another 4 weeks to investigate.

After the 14 days file the claim. You will probably get another letter saying that they could find nothing wrong and that they are acting lawfully.

They are all bog standard letters we all receive and why it's important to stick to your own timetable otherwise they will give you the run around.

 

regards pmahonc

[Dozerblue]

I have asked them to resend their letter, and so after I send the LBA I give them 14 days to respond and then start my court action right

[Dozerblue]

As I am claiming £5+k does this mean that when I go to court I cannot do it through the small claims and will have to fast track?

[mariejader]

after I send the LBA I give them 14 days to respond and then start my court action right

 

Spot on, just ignore the standard letters about it taking 4 weeks just keep to your times

[Dozerblue]

thank you marie....this is all getting a bit confusing

[livelylad]

Have another read of the FAQs and the step by step instructions, these will aid you in claiming your cash.

[welshcakes]

There are quite a few ongoing threads (and successfully completed claims) for over the magic £5k figure. One current is http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/woolwich/59442-what-if-looks-like.html

[Dozerblue]

right with some help from josamolly I have done an updated schedule of charges, (thre were not enough columns for all my charges!!!!!) and I have just sent this along with my LBA, roll on 10th April, now on to my next question, I have printed off 3 N1 forms and have started to fill them out ready for the inevitable court action, do I send these to court or deliver them? it is also asking for a solicitors name? what do I do here, I don't have one do I need one? also what is the interest under s69, I have already put down the 8 percent as overdraft interest, am I missing something?

[charleyfarley]

Hi dozer,

 

1.N1 forms...send or deliver whichever is convenient. I would deliver them myself because the court staff are very helpful and will point out if you've fogotten anything

 

2. Don't need a solicitor so ignore it

 

3 8% isn't overdraft interest, it's interest that at the discretion of the court you can claim back from the defendant ( ie Abbey). This is s.69 interest.

[Dozerblue]

Well just giving you an update, as expected the Shabby have not replied to my LBA at all, so today am sending off my N1, spoke to a very nice girl at my local court who informed me that 99 per cent of banks are responding to their issue letter and that virtually none go to judgement after 14 days, roll on 14 days thats what I say....maybe they will miss mine....will let you know how it goes

[mariejader]

99 per cent of banks are responding to their issue letter and that virtually none go to judgement after 14 days, roll on 14 days thats what I say....maybe they will miss mine....will let you know how it goes

 

She has obviously not been reading up on CAG then.

 

Abbey are 95% of the time acknowledging calims and are defending in full which gives them 28 days from the date it was issued, you will then receive a copy of the defence with a letter offering 50% GOGW (unless they have made an offer to you before).

 

Sorry don't want to be the bearer of bad news but this is how Abbey are dealing with cliams currently.

[Dozerblue]

Are they actually going to court? the threads I have read seem to suggest that they are settling before the court hearing.....don't really fancy going to court and am getting a bit worried.....

[Mad Nick]

Dozer,

As I am claiming £5+k does this mean that when I go to court I cannot do it through the small claims and will have to fast track?

Missed this the other day. My claim is >£8K (£5K charges + £3K overdraft interest). I sent my draft AQ to Abbey and offered them the choice of SCC or Fast Track. Guess what - they opted for SCC for "reasons of commerciality" or some such nonsense, and I don't really care. The Judge allocated it to SCC. My Bundle's in the post. Roll on 19 April. Regards, Mad Nick

[mariejader]

Are they actually going to court? the threads I have read seem to suggest that they are settling before the court hearing.....don't really fancy going to court and am getting a bit worried.....

 

As yet they have not gone to court, but you need to be prepared just incase they do decide to go, don't worry about it just yet keep an eye on the dates that are being set by the courts now you have filed your N1, anything you get through the post and you are not sure about post it here and someone will confirm what to do next.

 

I would suggest that you read as many Abbey posts as possible if you are not doing so already, this way you will know what to expect so you will be prepared and ready.

[Dozerblue]

Right guys just giving you an update on the story so far, I sent my N1 off to the courts and this was deemed served on the 18th April, Abbey have until 2nd May to respond and whilst I think they will do just that, they have now issued a default, I have sent them the letter saying they can't under the data protection act 1998, but they said they will anyway....what is my next move, is there a template letter for the section 6 clause of the banking code?

[Guest Mumofthreeboys]

Do you know that they have actually entered a default against you? Chances are if they have just issued it, they haven't yet applied it to your file, but you should check.

 

If they have applied it, I would file an N244 and have the default removal added to the POC.

[Dozerblue]

So an N244 is obtained from the court? and what does POC mean, sorry being a bit dim....

[Guest Mumofthreeboys]

You can find the N244 here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/41901-form-n244-application-notice.html

 

POC = Particulars of Claim

[Dozerblue]

Right an update.....have received a Notice of Acknowledgement today, the shabby have until the 16th to file their defence....and am about to start getting court bundle up together....understand it can take a while,

[Dozerblue]

Right having talked to likelylad on the chat forum, am keeping you up to date on something further. At the moment I have an overdraft with the abbey, which should expire at the end of the year....when I sent my LBA, they requested that I pay back this overdraft or else they would issue a default, I wrote them a letter saying that whilst my account was in dispute they would not be able to issue default proceedings, and followed this up with a phone call, where I was told that they would go a head anyway, I reminded them of section 13 of the banking code, which went totally over their head, but they sent me a letter the following day requesting return of my bank card, I went on line to check my account and found that I could not log on to my internet banking, another call was made to the bank whereupon they informed that due to non payment of my now unauthorised overdraft they had closed my account and that I must return all my cheque books and cards or else THEY would issue court proceedings, I did this the same day, cutting up the card on return, the predicament which I discussed on the chat forum was that as a lot of ppl seem to be getting gogw at the defence stage and mine is due on the 16th May, how will I know if I have been offered one so that I can reject it, or accept it in part payment, and do they give you a time to accept or does it become full and final if not acknowleged.

[sparkydawg]

You gotta just wait for them to give you GOGW. As for your bundle, iwould wait till you get your directions as you may not have to compile one. You will have at least a month until the hearing which should be plenty time to prepare. And as for them taking your overdraft and cards etc, They are breaking their so called codes because in a leaflet they provided me with following my LBA it said that they would give 1 months notice before doing anything like this. Talk about 2 faced!. I don't even bank with Abbey and i hate them. Almost as much as the halifax but thats because of their crappy adverts which i have to turn off!!!!!!

[mariejader]

iwould wait till you get your directions as you may not have to compile one.

 

Have to agree I held off starting mine until I got the directions back from the judge, and today I have just found out that he has struck Abbey's defence out so I have entered judgement.

[Dozerblue]

So how does that work marie, does that mean you don't even have a court date, you just get your money?