Chunky Linc Vs. HSBC

[chunkylinc]

Hi, Im pretty new to this and so was wondering if anyone could offer some advice...

 

I've managed to obtain 6 years worth of statements and im pretty confident about the 2K + charges I want to claim back, however im a little unsure about the interest?

 

I believe there are two types...

 

Firstly, the amount of interest which you would have earned on that money should it have been in your account. I beleive this to be based on 8% and that you can only get this should you get as far as court?

 

Secondly, when the bank has charged you these unfair charges, your account goes even further overdrawn, which in essence means they charge you a higher amount of monthly interest on your account. Should they not have debited the charges from you in the first place then your account would not be as overdrawn and hence your monthly interest charges would be lower than the ones they charged you?

 

Now some people suggest claiming both, some say claim none...Ahhhh What do I do?

 

Ta.

[nettyg]

Overdraft interest

 

This is the single most confusing part of most peoples claim, and one of the most frequently asked questions

 

overdraft interest is applied to your whole overdraft, however if some of your overdraft is made up from (unlawfull) charges,

then a proportion of the interest has been wrongly applied and is therefore reclaimable

 

Example

 

you have a £400 overdraft, you purchase something that day for £200 so now you are -£200 on your current account balance, but on the same day £200 of charges are placed on your account, which means that your current account balance is now -£400 and the bank will charge interest on the whole £400, but as we are contesting that these charges are unlawfull, then the interest should not be placed on the whole amount, only on the amount that you have actually spent,

therefore in this example you can claim back 50% of the interest, however these calculations have to be done daily to truly reflect the amount which can be reclaimed,

 

Dont worry, Vampiress has made a spreadsheet that will calculate this for you, you can find it here, but please read the instructions that come with it;

 

if you understand that reasoning - then carry on.

[johnnymitch]

Hi Chunkylinc, welcome to the forum.

 

My advice would be to claim the 8% interest when you go to MCOL (Court action). The other type of interest is complicated to work out and quite frankly, not worth the hassle. It's buried in with other (legal) interest and difficult to isolate.

 

Meanwhile, do as much reading of advice on this forum as you can - in my humble opinion it's the best on the site. If you stick to the timetables for letters etc, you can't go far wrong, and there are a lot of people who will help you if you ask.

 

There you are you see - Nettyg has beaten me to it - not for the first time I might add! Cheers Netty!

 

Best of Luck - go for it.

John:)

 

PS This might help:

Newcomer? Here's A User Guide

[nettyg]

lol... just read and observe and if you think you understand it all, then go for it

[Castlebest]

Hiya chunky my two good friends almost explained that ... you are right there are two types of interest however the first is overdraft interest. if you look in the library you will see two spreadsheets, one is English simple the other English advanced.

If you are going to try to untangle the mass of worms that is overdraft interest you need the advanced spreadsheet. There is money there. Go have a play with it and then come back and ask your questions, Netty and Lattie are brill at the spreadsheet explanation and you should have it in a couple of days

The simple spreadsheet ignores overdraft interest and just calculates the 8% statutory interest that you wont need until you submit your claim to the court.

pete

[chunkylinc]

Thank you nettyg, johnnymitch & castlebest, your advice is much appreciated.

 

Im going to try and go for the Overdraft Interest option using the comples spreadsheet... I'll let you know how I get on.

 

Im so new to this site it took me ages to actually view your replies...? Guess im doing something wrong.

[lateralus]

if you are going to do the o/d interest - try looking at this thread - post 26 - i wrote this for someone and she and many others have conquered overdraft interest using it.

:honeygie v HSBC *****WON***** (1 2 post 26.

 

as an example - my son's charges were 1500, o/d interest added 300 and the 8% interest which everyone can add at the claim stage added another 300 - so in his case it was certainly worth the hour it took us to sort it.

my advice - try the thread - do the advanced and see if it is worth it.

[chunkylinc]

Thanks for all your support so far.

 

I've used the advanced spreadsheet and I wont pretent I know how it works, but I've double checked all the figures and dates and it's given me another £350, so Im def gonna do it.

 

Now I do have 1 further Q tho....

 

When I send off my prelim letter with my schedule of charges, do i also need to send off another schedule for the debit interest ? or do I literally just say in the letter copy "and a further £350 of......" etc etc

[Bigmac versus]

Same schedule, include the amount as in the prelim template.

[chunkylinc]

Ok....

 

Well I've just posted the first letter to HSBC, along with my schedule of charges which includes the overdraft interest, so let's see what happens...

[Guest bong]

well done chunky, be prepared for HSBC and their solicitors (DG) to feign shock and horror that you should even think of reclaiming any of the overdraft interest but just remember - you are entitled to it, they know it, and they will pay it. it is just another dirty trick.

[chunkylinc]

Just a quick update...

 

I actually posted the letter on Sat 7th as i needed to go inside the post office in order to ensure it was sent first class recorded delivery. Because it was the bank holiday weekend im giving them till monday 23rd to respond...

 

In the meantime it looks like they have recieved it as i've got the standard HSBC reply letter from our old mate 'Colin Langdale' informing me he'll be looking into matters... Also included was a leaflet called 'listening to your comments' it was so nice of colin to include that, as it was just what i needed to light the BBQ on Sun...lol

[chunkylinc]

Thanks Bong.

 

I must say that Im looking forward to all the court form filling stuff like a hole in the head...

 

I've literally just sat and read through netty's original thread, which has given me a good insight as to what lay's ahead, but with help from you and lattie it all worked out fine....

[pinkduchess]

one step at a time chunkylinc & you'll be fine. theres always plenty of help on here. good luck

[chunkylinc]

Ummm, after having a good sort out, I've just come across a load of old statements from 97 - 2001, and there's atleast another £150 of charges on them. Is it too late to include these? Can I simply add them to my schedule and then when I send the LBA simply attatch the revised schedule?

[givememymoney]

Yes feel free to add anymore you find up until you file your court claim

[pinkduchess]

takes you over 6 years though if you use the older statements. not sure if this complicates things - check out bongs thread

[Castlebest]

It will complicate things but the money is recoverable.

If you want an easy(ish) money recovery plan do two claims, one for five years and one for the older stuff.

By leaving some of the charges under the 6 year limit in with the older stuff you will force them to look at that claim and not just throw it out because its all over 6 years old, this should give you the opening to pull the rest into a recoverable position, and of course the five year claim will be fairly straight forward and should be quicker.

pete

[chunkylinc]

Thanks pete, givememymoney & pinkdutchess...

 

Right it's time for the LBA to be sent... Just tried to find it in the templates section and it doesnt seem to be available? I can get all the other letters ok tho? Anyone know if there's anywhere else to locate a copy?

[lateralus]

it's in the library, working ok - i just checked

[pinkduchess]

me too - but couldn't attach link for you

[chunkylinc]

Just a quick update....

 

I decided to go the hard route and included those earlier charges (so it will be interesting to see what they come back with)...watch this space!

 

Have located the LBA in the templates section and sent this off first class recorded delivery on Sat 28th April.

 

Am I right in thinking that I now leave it another 14 days before the next step....? Which is going online and starting the claim/court procedure?

[pinkduchess]

thats right chucky - you can register with mcol straight away & read up on what to do & start filling in the form. Then you can pop in & out & amend anything up until you're ready to press the submit button 14 days after the LBA

[chunkylinc]

Thanks PD...

 

Do I have to write to them any more after the 14days are up? I completed the LBA from the templates section and told them what I intended to claim (charges and overdraft interest) and also any costs along with interest, but when do you actually have to let them know what this amount is? And would you advise to go for Statutory or Contractual, obviously Contractual increases my claim by nearly £800 ?? Is one easier than the other?

[pinkduchess]

chunky (apologies for spelling error on last post)

 

the LBA is exactly as it is called (letter before action) - its their last warning so go ahead & file your claim after 14 days. its all put down on the form including court fee so they will know what your claiming.

 

just checking - did you send them a breakdown of what charges you are claiming with your letters. ie the spreadsheet?

 

I'm not too hot on the interest. I claimed the overdraft interest & then the 8% when filing on MCOL.