HELP! Dave or bF Can they do this???

[babes66]

Ok, I need some help from the "big guns".

Yesterday the Halifax paid £725 into my acc as settlement for my 1st claim against my account........

Today, they took £500 back out again!

When I phoned up, they said it had been taken by card services for arrears on my visa card (which I also have an action against at the moment, and have been refusing to pay until the actual amounts are sorted)

Can they do this? Are they allowed to just take £500 from one account to pay for another without notice?

I dont know whether to hit something or cry.

[MARTIN3030]

Any Mods can answer this one ??

 

 

[Bookworm]

Yes, they can. It's called offsetting, and even though it is a highly objectionable tactic, it is legal.

 

Incidentally, refusing to pay anything until your claim is sorted, is not the best thing to do, as charges will just keep on piling up as you claim progresses, which only complicates things from your point of view. Also, if you ended up in court, you want to be able to show that you have made every effort to keep your legal side of the bargain, which is to pay your bill monthly.

 

Plus if they decide to default you, it's only going ot heap more pressure on you. Anyway, it's academic just now, since they have effectively paid themselves.

[thewifeandI]

The next step would be to look at what charges have been put on the Visa account and start claiming them back.