Dissident v Halifax ***SETTLED IN FULL***

[Dissident]

Hello all,

 

I have been reading all your stories with interest, and have decided to go ahead and try and claim back all my unfair charges from the Halifax, amounting to over £1000.

 

I know exactly how many charges I have paid as I keep all statements and letters, so once I had added these up, my first step was to send the prelimenary letter to my local branch (this happened to be the address on my statements).

 

The letter went on the 15th of May, and I received a response on the 25th May, well within the 2 week time frame I gave them to respond. However the letter states that they acknowledge my correspondence, and have forwarded it to their head office:

 

" Thank you for your letter of the 15th May 2006 which has been refered to our Customer Relations department at Head Office. They will be in contact with you shortly.

 

You will find enclosed a copy of our leaflet which tells you how we will handle your complaint.

 

Your concerns will be dealt with as quickly as possible, but if you need to speak to me in the meantime, please telephone me on 0**** 7*****.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Branch Manager "

 

However they failed to enclose the leaflet as promised! Obviously as I didn't receive any kind of offer or solution, I assume my next step is to send them a letter before action?

 

If this is the case, do I send it to Head Office (Customer Relations), or my local branch again? Or do I take up the branch managers offer and give him a call to discuss my needs?

 

Please can someone advise, I would be very grateful!

 

Many thanks!

[natalie]

I would send it all to the head office. Stick to your time frame, dont let them fob you off with promises of respnding in 6/8 weeks.

 

There is a sticky at the top of the Halifax forum with addresses that other people have used.

[john-boy999]

Hi

 

Yes, send the LBA to the address I sent mine to:

 

Halifax PLC

Customer Relations

PO Box 548

LEEDS

LS1 1WU

 

I have alway received responses from this address well within any time frame. I suggest that you DO NOT call the manager or leave your phone number as they will try and settle for a very minimal amount. It is best to have a paper trail. If they phone tell them you would prefer letters and end the call politely.

 

If you need any help at all, I will be only too happy to advise. I have gone through this motion and I am now waiting for my settlement.

 

Hope this helps, and if it does could you please click on teh scales on the top right of this threat.

 

John

[Dissident]

Thank you both for your speedy replies! I have clicked on the scales!

 

I shall send the LBA to the Leeds Customer Relations address on Monday! I wasn't keen on calling the manager for a chat as I'm not especially confident when talking and prefer to correspond through letters!

 

My only other question is, when I send the LBA, do I include how much interest is owed due to the charges? My first prelimenary letter did not include the interest, just the amount in charges, as this is what I was advised from reading the forums.

 

Also, does anyone advise opening another current account with a rival bank incase the Halifax does choose to close my account? It's my only one so I would be in a muddle if they did that!

 

Cheers!

[natalie]

I didnt charge them interest until filing my court claim, however, there is now a theory that you can claim interest at THEIR interest rate. I am doing this with my Halifax Credit Card and Argos CArd, but I'm not sure how it will go. Its totally up to you really,

[john-boy999]

I did not state the interest in my LBA but i did say that if my claim was not concluded and went to court THEY WOULD have to pay interest @ 8% pa + court costs. It made no difference because I have taken them to court and now they have an extra £800 to pay. You are unable to charge the 8% pa interest until you file your court claim. I am unaware of the interest charge at Halifax's rate. Again it is upto you but read more threads about this interest before wrting it in your LBA letter to ensure it is correct. You don't want to lengthen your claim because it is incorrect.

 

John

[Dissident]

Thats what I thought, thanks again for the advice. I won't demand the interest back yet, but I will state that if my claim was not concluded and went to court THEY WOULD have to pay me the interest!

 

I still can't decide whether to bother opening another current account or not! I guess I'm just scared in case they shut mine as I've compained! Has anyone actually had their account closed due to moaning about these charges?

 

Cheers guys, I'll let you know how I get on!

[natalie]

it is advisable to open another account just in case

[Dissident]

I thought it would be a good idea to open another account in case they close mine! I'll do it next week! While we are on the subject then, which bank can someone recommend me other than the Halifax? They are seemingly all as bad as each other, lol!

[natalie]

They are all as bad as each other, I opened a Lloyds account as my ex banked with them so it was easier for child maintenance transfers and also both of us received £40 for the referral.

[Dissident]

Hello again!

 

Right, I've drafted my LBA and its ready to go, I just wanted people's opinions on my letter before I actually send it:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Halifax Plc

Customer Relations

PO BOX 548

Leeds

LS1 1WU

 

May 29, 2006

 

Request for repayment of charges

LETTER BEFORE ACTION

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: *********

 

I recently wrote to my local branch (copy enclosed dated May 15th, 2006) to request a refund for all the unreasonable charges you have levied on my account. I received a standard reply (copy enclosed dated May 23rd 2006) informing me that my complaint has been forwarded to the Customer Relations department to deal with. I was expecting to resolve this matter with the local branch, but I am seemingly forced to take matters further and write to you in order to proceed swiftly with my request.

 

I now understand that the regime of 'fees' which you have been applying to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent Consumer regulations.

 

I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

 

I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary.

I calculate that you have taken £**** in the last 3 years.

I require repayment in full of this money. If you do not comply fully within 14 days then I shall begin a claim against you for the full amount, plus interest, plus my costs and without further notice.

 

Furthermore, I shall submit a Consumer Credit Act 1974 complaint to the OFT upon the basis that you have failed to comply with the OFT's direction of 5 April 2006 and are therefore not a 'fit and proper person' to hold a consumer credit licence under the 1974 Act. If you do not understand what this means then seek advice from your legal department.

Yours faithfully

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is there anything I need to change before popping it in the post tomorrow? Bear in mind my Prelim letter went to my local branch, and the reply said it had been refered to Customer Relations. As it stands I was going to send this direct to Customer Relations, but should I also send a copy to my local branch?

 

 

Your help would be appreciated, many thanks in advance!

 

 

[john-boy999]

Yes, that looks fine to me. It's basically the same as the letter I sent which worked for me.

 

Keep us informed.

[jonni2bad]

Yes, that looks fine to me. It's basically the same as the letter I sent which worked for me.

 

Keep us informed.

 

Since they're in our templates library, we would certainly hope they are the same

[Dissident]

Yeah its pretty much the same apart from the opening paragraph which I added to say I had already had an acknowledgement from my local branch! Thank god for templates though, I would never have known where to start otherwise!

 

Thanks for all the advice! My LBA has now been posted, will keep you up to date with any news!

[Dissident]

Hi folks, another quick question!

 

I am preparing my moneyclaim forms ready for the next step providing Halifax don't offer me a full refund before the 14 days is up!

 

I was just wondering, what official address do I use for Halifax - do I use the address of where my prelim letter got sent to (Local branch), or do I use the address I sent the LBA too (The Leeds Customer Relations address).

 

Also, I didn't do a DPA as I have kept all my statements and letters so sorted out how much I was owed myself. If I do have to go the moneyclaim court route, will I need to submit all the 'evidence' in the form of statements? I am confused as to how you demonstrate the amount owed, I mean, you could have just made up a figure!

 

Any advice would be great, cheers!

[jonni2bad]

My acknowledgment of service states...

 

HBOS PLC

Legal Services - Retail Division

Trinity Road

Halifax

West Yorkshire

HX1 2RG

 

You can also send in copies of the spreadsheet to court, showing what claim they are in relation to (send 2 copies) or one to the court and one to the above address.

 

If you submit the claim in person at your local county court, you can put everything in together - 2 N1 forms and 2 spreadsheets. This also gives the option of utilising more words on the claim for if needed.

 

It's also a good experience and you should be able to have a look around the building / court room if you ask politely!

[Dissident]

Thanks for the advice, I won't get time to go to the court in person unfortunately! So I guess I'll have to stick to the Moneyclaim route!

 

I'm think I'm going to list Halifax's address on the Moneyclaim forms as the Leeds Customer Relations address, as per my LBA.

 

I am having trouble wording my 'particulars of claim' on the form, would anyone mind reading the following and giving me any tips or advice? I used the suggested template but found it hard to understand, and to fit the text into the allowed amount of space! Thanks in advance!

 

Particulars of claim:

 

I have held an account with the defendant

bank dated 2000,and conducted on their

standard terms and conditions. I am claiming

return of money taken by the defendant in way

of charges over the last 6 years and interest

they have levied on the charges.

 

The bank's charges are disproportionate

penalty, therefore unenforceable as they are

contrary to common law. Further, as a

disproportionate penalty they are invalid

under the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977

s.4 and under the Unfair Terms in Consumer

Contracts Regulations 1999. Para.8 and

sch.2(1)(e).

 

In the event that the charges are not a

penalty then they are unreasonable within the

meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services

Act 1982 s.15. I have repeatedly asked the

bank to justify charges but have declined to

do so.

 

The claimant claims interest under

section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at

the rate of 8% a year from 1.1.2003 to

17.04.2006 of £112.43 and also interest at the

same rate up to the date of judgment or

earlier payment at a daily rate of 0.31.

 

I am unsure as to how the daily figure of interest (0.31) has been calculated? I did the interest up to the last charge which was £112.43, but how do I know the daily rate since then is 0.31?

 

Does the rest sound ok?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Guest blindman]

Daily interest calculations

 

Look at the Working out Interest paragraph, page 5.

 

 

I can't see where you get the 0.31 from on any template?

 

Should be 0.00022 x the amount of your claim as per the link I provided.

[Dissident]

Many thanks for your help with the interest - I've done the calculation and have worked out the daily rate!

 

As the 14 days are now up, and I've heard nothing from the Halifax since my Letter Before Action, I would like to go ahead with the moneyclaim form.

 

Before I hit submit, please can I have anyone's opinions or advice on my 'particulars of claim' which are detailed in my previous post above!

 

Any comments and suggestions are welcome, many thanks in advance!

[Guest blindman]

I bet you didn't get all that in the limit of 24 lines and 1080 characters!

 

You need to prune the details, but you must keep the last bit about charging for interest!

[jonni2bad]

Alternatively, don't claim online.

 

Use the N1 claim form in Templates, copy all the text needed onto it and submit the papers into your local county court - you can even have a look round if you ask nicely! Give 2 copies in if doing it like that.

 

Same cost.

[Guest blindman]

Thanks for the advice, I won't get time to go to the court in person unfortunately

 

Which is why he's doing it on-line.

[jonni2bad]

Too many posts, not enough time!!

[Dissident]

Thanks again guys. I did manage to fit the particulars of claim within the limits, but the paragraphs were not separated as shown above.

 

When you say 'prune the details', do you mean its too 'wordy', I mean I admit, all the stuff about Acts and Paragraph numbers baffles me, but I get the gist of what I am trying to say.

 

Hmmm, guess I'm just very nervous about pressing SUBMIT until I'm positive all the details are correct! :o

 

Can someone please confirm that my 'particulars of claim' are ok and I am ready to submit the money claim form!!! Put me out of my misery please! Many thanks!

[jonni2bad]

This seems to fit in, just! There is clearly a need to crop out some parts from out template, so I have attempted to keep the most relevant and vital points.

 

Substitute those points in red with your own, obviously.

 

Alternatively, doing it in person allows the full text.

 

If you are claiming online, wait until you have confirmation of the claim starting and then send in 2 copies of your list of charges to the court, clearly marking them with your claim reference number.

 

 

1. The Claimant has an account number

1234567 with the Defendant which was opened

in May 2000

2. Since this time, the Defendant debited

charges in respect of purported breaches of

contract.

3. A list of charges will be supplied

separately.

4. The Claimant contends that:

a) The charges debited to the Account are

punitive in nature; are not a genuine pre-

estimate of cost incurred by the Defendant

and exceed any alleged actual loss to the

Defendant.

b) The contractual provision that permits

the Defendant to levy such charges is

unenforceable by virtue of the Unfair

Contract Terms in Consumer Contracts

Regulations 1999, the Unfair Contract

Terms Act 1977 and common law.

5. Accordingly the Claimant claims:

a) the return of the amounts debited in

respect of charges in the sum of £XXXX and

any interest charged thereon;

b) Court costs;

c) Interest pursuant to section 69 County

Courts Act as set out on the list of

charges, and interest at the same rate up

to the date of judgment or earlier payment,

at a daily rate of £0.31