I'm going to need to use a company to claim back.. Advice please!

[isidore]

Would this site accept donations from us?

There's a donation button at the top, nothing stopping you?

[PPMAN159]

We are going round and round in circles here people.

 

Can we not agree to disagree and move on?

[isidore]

So lets just get this straight, don't send your statements to a regulated claims management company, send them to a person you have never met apart from on an internet forum? I'm not saying Livelylad is going to do anything bad but the double standards here are astonishing!

 

Not questioning Lively's integrity for a second but I think he's got a point?

 

 

Lively, can you come round and do my ironing?

[feefofum]

I know that some reclaims are much more involved than others - the point is, you can get back thousands of pounds of your OWN MONEY with relatively little effort. The process is so much easier than I could ever have anticipated, and I've been blue in the face telling everyone at work about this!

 

Kind of agree with your last comment - if you don't want to spend a few hours over the course of the 6-8 weeks reclaim timetable getting the cash back, then is it deserved?!

 

 

Hmm so in your opinion (above) because I am so busy, and my sister is at the moment incapable of doing this herself, she doesn't deserve her money back at all and the banks should get to keep it??

 

I'm trying to catch up on the replies here since I left last night, but in answer to some points made so far:

- pmahonc: Great idea re: accountant, and I will indeed look into that avenue! (dependant upon costs of course, how much does an accoutant charge these days? The first two letters are easy once I get my figures correct.

 

- Does time really not matter in terms of claiming? I'm beginning to sense a 'must do it now or else you'll miss the boat' attitude, both here on this site and in the general media. My boyfriends claim was settled in Feb 2007, and a lot has happened since then re: bank charges (of which I haven't kept up to date). Surely there'll be a 'cut off' point sooner, or a decision etc?

 

-Bathgatebuyer and Podgydad, When claiming back my boyfriends charges, beleive me I spent a lot longer than 10 hours on this site, more like a 100! (No JOKE!). Maybe you're all a lot more intelligent than I, but I headed the original warnings from bankfodder that to do this you had to do it right and know what you were getting in to, and be prepared to go all the way, and have read all around the subject. So yes I'm off to a head start in some respects having already done this before, however as I mentioned above, there's been a hive of activity since Fab 07, various judgements/rulings/media stuff etc. I would want to be au fait with all this before I take on my sisters case.

 

Right, that's it for now till I read the rest of the replies to my thread. Thank you so much for all your contirbutions.

 

Fee (female by the way). ;-)

[PPMAN159]

This thread, as mentioned before, is going nowhere and in the end I can it ending up as a slanging match with no winners.

 

I feel that after reading the threads that your best option Fee is to look in Google and find a reptuable company who will do the legwork for your sister.

[feefofum]

Thanks PPman, I agree about the circular arguement. However I originally did google these comanies, and wondered how to find one that was a) reputable (i.e how can you tell just from an advert)?, and b) ppl had used before without hassle. - Hence this thread!

 

T4FF, re: your suggestion that my sister gives me full access and control over her accounts so I can write and sign the letters for her on her behalf, .. What is this process called please and how do we go about it? (you're right in that it is an issue I mentioned that wasn't considered before in this thread, your solution seems possible).

 

Thank you all once again! And CAG, would you not consider setting up such a company and making this money yourself? As others have mentioned on this site, 25% is obviously seen as a reasonable fee by some (inc me and my sister) to have the leg work done for us. CAG are obviously the ones who know how to do this intimately, and I'd much rather the money went to you than some 'ambulance chasing' company.

 

Oh and the claim will be against Yorkshire Bank (sorry lost track of who asked me that).

 

Cheers

[podgydad]

As already stated, use one thats regulated http://www.claimsregulation.gov.uk and one that charges a fee that you are comfortable with. If you tell us which bank she is with I can tell you how easy/difficult the process will be and what time frame you can expect to get your money back.

[PKea]

Can I make a suggestion.

 

You have all the statements so you can add up the figures.

(If you miss calculate they will argue that at the court stage)

YOu send your prelim, might get a fob off letter, might get an offer

YOu send your lba, probably get an offer,

If you dont want the hassle of all the court paperwork after you get an offer at the LBA stage, give them a call and try and up it, or just take it.

 

At least this way you will feel that YOU have achieved something.

 

If you are after £6000 in charges and a company will charge you 25% and vat ( £1500 + £1050 = £2550) leaving you £3450 in your hand.

I can honestly say that the bank will probably offer this amount to you anyway?

 

Paul

[feefofum]

Thanks podgydad, I took heed of your advice originally, but always worth repeating. As mentioned, it's the Yorkshire Bank. What are their tactics?

 

Paul, it's the blummin (not swearing, meant in jest) adding up all the figures in the first place that I just don't have the time to do! There are three huge bundles of statements. Each months statement is about 3-4 pages.

 

But as I've said, many thanks for all advice on here so far. My position is still the same (I'm time poor, my sister is not quite mentally stable, blah blah blah, but no sympathy needed.... ) My thanks are heartfelt, and you all have my admiration for taking this on yourselves.

[podgydad]

Thanks podgydad, I took heed of your advice originally, but always worth repeating. As mentioned, it's the Yorkshire Bank. What are their tactics?

 

Paul, it's the blummin (not swearing, meant in jest) adding up all the figures in the first place that I just don't have the time to do! There are three huge bundles of statements. Each months statement is about 3-4 pages.

 

But as I've said, many thanks for all advice on here so far. My position is still the same (I'm time poor, my sister is not quite mentally stable, blah blah blah, but no sympathy needed.... ) My thanks are heartfelt, and you all have my admiration for taking this on yourselves.

 

Slow, awkward and annoying is how I would describe them. Reached settlement nearly a month ago and still no cheque or reply to any faxes. Guess we need to go to court.

[isidore]

Personally, I don't think you need to explain yourself - your situation is yours and whatever decision you make shouldn't be frowned upon by others.

 

I also agree with your estimation of doing the job in hand - I didn't take anywhere near 10 hours to do the process first time round because I took my time and did the research. That said, later ones took half the time because I knew what I was doing.

 

There are spreadsheets available on this site that do all the calculations for you so it should just be a case of trawling through the statements with a highlighter then adding them to one of the spreadsheets available here.

 

The process whereby you are given access to your sisters accounts is simple. I can't find a link on this site right now, but your sister just needs to send a simple letter to the bank in question saying something along the lines of "Please accept this letter as my authorisation for my sister to be given unconditional access and authority on the above account number." then supply your name and address and a signature on the letter.

 

Sorry thrown that together but will find a link to an official letter when I get home, not got the time now - just finishing work

[PKea]

 

Sorry thrown that together but will find a link to an official letter when I get home, not got the time now - just finishing work

 

Alright for some, blumin part timers...lol

[podgydad]

Personally, I don't think you need to explain yourself - your situation is yours and whatever decision you make shouldn't be frowned upon by others.

 

I also agree with your estimation of doing the job in hand - I didn't take anywhere near 10 hours to do the process first time round because I took my time and did the research. That said, later ones took half the time because I knew what I was doing.

 

There are spreadsheets available on this site that do all the calculations for you so it should just be a case of trawling through the statements with a highlighter then adding them to one of the spreadsheets available here.

 

The process whereby you are given access to your sisters accounts is simple. I can't find a link on this site right now, but your sister just needs to send a simple letter to the bank in question saying something along the lines of "Please accept this letter as my authorisation for my sister to be given unconditional access and authority on the above account number." then supply your name and address and a signature on the letter.

 

Sorry thrown that together but will find a link to an official letter when I get home, not got the time now - just finishing work

 

Often the banks ignore these signed authorities, they do with us anyway.

[PPMAN159]

Espacially when they get wind of why the authority is being given!

[podgydad]

Natwest and Halifax are the best to deal with, Barclays & Lloyds are the worst. No surprise there then

[Bookworm]

CAG, would you not consider setting up such a company and making this money yourself? As others have mentioned on this site, 25% is obviously seen as a reasonable fee by some (inc me and my sister) to have the leg work done for us. CAG are obviously the ones who know how to do this intimately, and I'd much rather the money went to you than some 'ambulance chasing' company.

 

That would go against the whole ethos of this site. Dave & Bankfodder didn't set this up and pay for it as a money-making scheme, but to try and help us.

 

Then, the bandwagon started. We know some people come on here and ask questions to then deal with other people's cases for a fee. Speaking for myself, I find that despicable.

 

It also raises many questions. What happens if your case is the one the bank decides to defend and turn into a test case? Whose liability is it if you lose, you're in fast track, and costs get awarded against you? Ok, not very likely to happen, but has ANY of those companies factored in this scenario? SOmehow, I don't think so.

 

Some of those, probably the majority of them, are cowboys. Roberxc found one the other day, where they can't spell Stephen Hone's name differently from one sentence to the next, and mis-quote law text. And these people will ONLY charge you 25% for what, according to them "• How long will it take for me to get my charges back?

The whole process will take us no more than 12 weeks."

Are you scared yet? I know I am...

[PKea]

"• How long will it take for me to get my charges back?

The whole process will take us no more than 12 weeks."

Are you scared yet? I know I am...

 

I got some junk mail from one of these companies today and "it only took a few weeks to get Mrs Smiths money Back" they claim

 

I bet they cant prove that!

[PPMAN159]

A bit like the people you see who have won the Readers Digest prize draw-do they exist?

[PKea]

A bit like the people you see who have won the Readers Digest prize draw-do they exist?

 

I though it was the bin that always won those...lol

[PPMAN159]

Very true.

 

What I dont see is that if it takes 40 days to get the statements,14 days from the LBA and potentially up to 28 days on MCOL how can they say that they can get monies back within a short period of time-do they know something that we dont?

[PKea]

They prob accept the first offer given, least work for them

[PPMAN159]

Less work and still they take their 25% plus VAT.

 

Still as the old saying goes 'Make hay whilst the sun shines'

[bathgatebuyer]

Bookworm, exactly my concerns. The reclaims are easy to deal with, it's the after effects when accounts are closed, CRA information is incorrectly recorded, etc, etc which have been the bigger problem for me.

[Isiris]

If you are after £6000 in charges and a company will charge you 25% and vat ( £1500 + £1050 = £2550) leaving you £3450 in your hand.

 

 

Paul

 

Christ, 70% VAT . Hope you calculate your interest better

[podgydad]

That would go against the whole ethos of this site. Dave & Bankfodder didn't set this up and pay for it as a money-making scheme, but to try and help us.

 

Then, the bandwagon started. We know some people come on here and ask questions to then deal with other people's cases for a fee. Speaking for myself, I find that despicable.

 

It also raises many questions. What happens if your case is the one the bank decides to defend and turn into a test case? Whose liability is it if you lose, you're in fast track, and costs get awarded against you? Ok, not very likely to happen, but has ANY of those companies factored in this scenario? SOmehow, I don't think so.

 

Some of those, probably the majority of them, are cowboys. Roberxc found one the other day, where they can't spell Stephen Hone's name differently from one sentence to the next, and mis-quote law text. And these people will ONLY charge you 25% for what, according to them "• How long will it take for me to get my charges back?

The whole process will take us no more than 12 weeks."

Are you scared yet? I know I am...

 

Certainly with ourselves, its our liability.