Dizzy v Abbey.

[dizzy delilah]

On advice from Robdblynd (thankyou! ), I have started this thread about some advice I was given today.I originally started my rant on Alex v Abbey thread, who seems to have recently been sent the same spreadsheet. This morning I received a Charges Summary spreadsheet from the Abbey showing dates from January 2004-January 2006, in response to my S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) which they received on 3/4/07. The accompanying letter said that the most recent 14 months statements will be with me in the next 5-7 days, and information prior to 2004 will be sent asap. Well, after looking at the summary I was a bit concerned . Firstly, I only have their say-so that the summary is accurate - there are no duplicate statements to compare it with. (It only shows around £462 of charges over 2 years, so it does seem a bit odd). Secondly, it only tells you what month the charges were made - no exact dates. Now, to me this does not seem to be the comprehensive list of all transaction charges that I originally requested (and paid £10 for!! )When I rang The not-so-helpful lady at the Information Commissioners Office she said that they do not regulate the format in which the information is supplied by the banks . She also said that they had received many complaints about this, and also from people who had recieved 6 years statements, but no consise list of charges. Her advice was to send off another £10 , and specifically request copies of all statements in addition to a list showing the exact dates of charges over the last six years. Isn't this what the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) was for ?

 

Would appreciate you thoughts please..........Dizzy

[elliejay39]

Hi Dizzy,

 

I can't advise you as I am at a similar stage (as you know) and just as confused. Did they not refund your original £10? mine was credited to my account about 5 days after receiving the spreadsheet. I'm a bit peeved to have to start again - particularly given that my 40 days were up last week. Did you read the quote on my thread that if they refund the charge or sent back the cheque they can argue the SAR is not valid - how pants is that if its true! we could be doing this for years. I totted up my charges for the period I 'allegedly' had no unauthorised overdraft fees for and guess what - £960:eek: with more than half being for cleared transactions. Now if they cleared transactions (9 in one month alone) then surely my account was sent into unauthorised overdraft... how nice of them not to charge me the fee!

 

Oh what a todo:???:

[charleyfarley]

Dizzy,

 

How did you word your SAR? If it was straight off the template in the library then it is now very open-ended, and just asks for "all information held on this account". If you're SAR was this open, then this can't be acceptable, so I would give them their 40 days, and shase them up according to the templates on here.

 

If you've just asked them for a list of charges applied to your account then that's a different business altogether

[dizzy delilah]

I'd actually used the Martin Lewis template (and found this site a week or so later). It reads: 'We are writing to request a fully comprehensive list of all the default charges for direct debit, unauthorised overdrafts and standing orders that we have paid over the last six years.'

 

Oh poo - is this not good enough then? Surely 'comprehensive' would mean complete and accurate? There are only two things I need to know from them really - and both relate to the spreadsheet. The first is that I need exact dates that the cleared transaction charges were made, AND if I had incurred over £300 in charges for these, why do I have a 'nil charges balance' for unauthorised overdrafts in the same period?

 

Oh god, the thought of having to start again makes me feel sick....

 

(and no, Ellie - I did not get a refund although their letter acknowledged my payment of £10!)

[mooboo]

Dear Dizzy,

 

I used the Martin Lewis template and received the last 14 months statements within a couple of days and then the remainder as photocopies of the microfishe records with no problem or hassal, so I dont think it's the letter. Reading through this site though many people are having lots of different problems and I think it's all about where you send your letters in the first place and who opens them. I get the feeling that there is no set way for the banks to deal with this and if you get a person on the wrong day then it can be much more difficult. I would also expect them to monitor sites such as this to determine what's getting all of our knickers in a twist and make it worse in an eternal bid to hold onto our cash!

 

I am not an expert in this but I would send another letter detailing exactly what you want (again) and letting them know that they cannot withold the information requested and that they have acknowledged the receipt of your cheque.

 

Good luck x

[elliejay39]

Hi Dizzy,

 

Wondered if you had had any word since your non-compliance letter? Mines been gone about 2 weeks now and not a peep since. I've now moved to my parachute account so expect them to get a bit nasty about the overdraft (particlularly as i've had almost £200 charges since sending original SAR meaning that I'm now in unathorised OD!). Laptop conked last week and I've had to resotre factory settings so have lost everything. i do have some hard copies (not everything - grrr, I am so dim - was always GOING to back up on disc but never did...!) I will have to redo Abbey spreadsheets as I didn't have copies since they were incomplete, hey ho!

More on my thread if you want additional tales of woe.....

 

Ellie x

[colpac]

Dear Dizzy,

 

I used the Martin Lewis template and received the last 14 months statements within a couple of days and then the remainder as photocopies of the microfishe records with no problem or hassal, so I dont think it's the letter.

 

 

I also used the Martin Lewis templates and got the same as mooboo , i got the statements after around 7 days and the rest followed a few days later. Sounds like they are just trying to make things difficult before you really get started, but keep with it.

[dizzy delilah]

Hi all, Haven't had much time in the last couple of weeks so have loads of reading to catch up on! No, Ellie I haven't received anything back or heard anything either - but Abbey (bless them ) have very kindly taken £160 off me in charges in the meantime, so I also have to amend my spreadsheets! Have to sort out my other bank account today - need to ask the new bank for an overdraft in order to be able to switch account over. I should have done it at the time I opened it really, but just never got round to it.

Bad news about computer - look at it this way though.

1. You would have had to fiddle around with the spreadsheet in order to add the newest charges on anyway,

2.It will be a good opportunity to double check that you've made no errors, and

3. You have now learnt how vital it is to back the darn disk up!! Sorry - couldn't resist! Besides that - I couldn't think of anymore positives to write about it! Just remember that all this extra work will have a financially positive outcome though - so keep at it .

 

Thanks for your advice and support colpac and mooboo - I know its all just a delaying tactic really, but isn't it just soooo irritating ?

 

Had better go and do something useful now - like sort the kids out, ring the bank, do some housework. The excitement is almost too much....

[LeroyTheGreat]

I have calculated my girlfriends bank charges using this spreadsheet.

 

Do I now need to disregard the charges from this spreadsheet and get the statements from Abbey for this period?

 

Thanks.

[dizzy delilah]

OK, look at your spreadsheet. Assuming its similar to mine, in the first column (cleared transaction charges) there were several months where I'd been charged because they'd paid d/d's even though there was no money in my account. So I would presume that this would then make me overdrawn. A few columns over, theres one for unauthorised overdraft fees - which I apparently had no fees for at all - not even on the months when they had cleared transactions and charged me. So the bit I couldn't get my head round was - did they give me a free unauthorised o/d for that 2 year period, or did they 'forget' to list the charges on the spreadsheet? Which is why I wrote back requesting them as microfiche. I really just wanted to make sure they weren't [causing problems] me . The microfiche copies arrived this morning - I've just not had time to compare them yet. I suppose I can only really advise you to study your spreadsheet. If you find there's something you're not sure about, query it with them. Only drawback is though, its delayed my prelim letter by about 3 weeks - it depends on how much of a rush you're in. Hope I've been of some help - good luck with your claim!

[dizzy delilah]

Afternoon all!! Just a little question..... My LBA is due to go to Abbey on 21st June (assuming they don't contact me in the meantime and make me an offer that will knock my socks off ). Since sending my prelim, I've recieved about £200+ more charges (lucky me). Do I add the new charges to my LBA, or do I save that bit for when I undoubtedly have to file a court claim? Would appreciate any advice!! Thanks, Dizzy

[dizzy delilah]

bump

 

Have I been sent to Coventry?

[bram stoker]

Add the new charges.

 

Good luck.

[dizzy delilah]

Thanks Vampiress -much appreciated!

[bram stoker]

No problem, just make it clear in your letter that you have added further charges, and since you have come to no agreement in principal you will not be extending your deadline for filing at court.

 

Then get ready for court quick!

[dizzy delilah]

You're a little star, Vamp! Thanks for that.

[alex_the_lad]

I really sympathise with you on this - it's maddening!

 

I got some really good advise on my thread in relation to the spreadsheet issue.

 

Basically I got fed up of waiting to proceed with my claim so I used the info from Abbey's spreadsheet to put together my schedule of charges. I realised that the actual date of charges doesn't matter just yet 'cos you don't add interest until the court stage. In my preliminary letter I put in a paragraph that I reserved the right to alter the particulars of my claim and cited their failture to comply with the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request). I was also given the email address for one of Abbey's 'Data Protection Consultants'. She undertook to chase up the missing statements and also gave me email confirmation that the amounts quoted on their spreadsheet was accurate - for what ever that's worth! The email address is [email protected]. I basically said that I was concerned that they hadn't complied with the Data Protection Act 'cos I think it's reasonable to assume that they hold more info about my account transactions than just what charges have been applied.

[dizzy delilah]

Hi Alex, I did eventually get the microfiche for the same dates as the spreadsheet, but it still showed that despite many cleared transaction charges , I NEVER ONCE got charged for using an unauthorised overdraft :? . Weird, isn't it? However, I'm not intrigued enough to query it with them over the phone - I'm a bit of a chicken like that . What really gets up my nose is that they're still slapping charges on the account(which is now in limbo 'cos I've moved to the parachute one), therefore, LBA (sending tomorrow) is now £1800 without interest.

[Rooster-UK]

The new title will show on all new posts.

 

Regards, Rooster.

[dizzy delilah]

Thanks Rooster!

[dizzy delilah]

Its all very quiet on the Abbey front.......

 

I sent my LBA last monday, along with a letter asking them to stop levying further charges on the account as it is now 'in limbo' (we've gone to parachute account) and have yet to hear a dicky bird from them - not even an acknowledgement!! How rude! :o

 

I got all prepared for a snotty letter from them - bagged up all cheque books, debit cards etc ready for them to demand them back...and , well nothing. I've still got online facilities, still got a working account....and still got an overdraft! But not even a good will gesture of a tenner or a 'sod off' letter!

 

Hmmmm....... something tells me they could be up to their necks in claims. Oh well, thats the nearest they'll get to sympathy they'll get from me. Better get started on preparing court claim then........

[elliejay39]

Same here Dizzy (although I did get a leaflet offering me loan - it came in the same post as the letter telling me I am now £318 over my OD limit and suggesting i contact them to HELP me! lol)

 

I've had a bit of a delay so only just sent LBA and will file in court around 12th July (funds allowing). Got a cap 1 claim coming to a conclusion soon I hope...

[dizzy delilah]

Ellie! I wondered where you'd got to - we're about neck and neck then. I'm not holding my breath for large cheque from Abbey anytime soon.... but I'm still trying to figure out whether to use N1 route or MCOL.

 

Did you take up their kind offer of a loan then?? Good luck with Cap 1!!

[petcat]

dizzy, use N1- you are more likely to have it dealt with by your local court and not transfered like the bulk cases we keep hearing about.good luck.

[jules1973]

Dizzy I agree with petcat, I issued mine at the court on a friday, and received a notice of issue the next day, telling me it will be served to abby on the monday, it is a lot quicker than waitint on MCOL to transfer it, then possibly have it transferred again.