Urgent Advice needed please help

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi right I am about to send my prelim for contractual interest to Barclays Bank but am a bit nervous as I don't want to mess this up.

Right I have the prelim template off of this site and have tried editing it to suit my needs based on the advice given to me by various forum members and here it is sort of.

 

 

Request for repayment of charges

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxx

 

 

My request

I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges which you have levied from my account over the last 5 years.

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. If you say that they are not, then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put by as a result of my breaches, in order to reassure me that your penalties really do reflect your costs.

Additionally, it has now been confirmed that your particularly high level of penalties are considered to be unfair per se by the OFT who reported on the 5th April 2006 and are therefore presumed to be unlawful in the absence of specific proof to the contrary.

 

Your responsibilities

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 consider that your repeated representations that your charges are fair and reasonable are deceptive and that they have deceived me into agreeing to pay them.

Your concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now.

 

What I require

I calculate that you have taken £945 plus £21.64 which you have charged me in overdraft interest for the sum which you have taken.

Total £966.64 .

I enclose a schedule of the charges which I am claiming with this letter.

If you would now be so kind as to check your records for these charges, and refund them fully and immediately, along with contractual interest as detailed in the attached schedule, then I shall consider the matter resolved

 

 

 

My targets to resolve this matter

I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets.

 

I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

 

If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.

 

After that, there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

Now my questions are, for the schedule do I just include a print out of the excel spreadsheets I used or do I have to send them copies of the bank statements, just the pages wih charges on or the whole lot.

Also should I put in how much the total amount is with contractual interest. Also which amount do I use monthly or daily off of the spreadsheet as monthly its £2383.53 and daily its £2412.05

 

Any help would be greatfully recieved and any alterations you think I should make to my prelim would also be helpful

 

Thanks

[Guest NATTIE]

Bump on this one and please edit the letter as it is from the bank templates section which is for registered users only.

[Mad Nick]

Hi right I am about to send my prelim for contractual interest to Barclays Bank but am a bit nervous as I don't want to mess this up.

Right I have the prelim template off of this site and have tried editing it to suit my needs based on the advice given to me by various forum members and here it is sort of.

 

 

Request for repayment of charges

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxx

 

 

My request

I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges which you have levied from my account over the last 5 years.

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. If you say that they are not, then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put by as a result of my breaches, in order to reassure me that your charges reflect your costs and do not constitute penalties.

 

Your responsibilities

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 consider that your repeated representations that your charges are fair and reasonable are deceptive and that they have deceived me into agreeing to pay them.

Your concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now.

 

What I require

I calculate that you have taken £945 plus £21.64 which you have charged me in overdraft interest for the sum which you have taken.

Total £966.64 .

I enclose a schedule of the charges which I am claiming with this letter.

If you would now be so kind as to check your records for these charges, and refund them fully and immediately, along with contractual interest as detailed in the attached schedule, then I shall consider the matter resolved

 

 

 

My targets to resolve this matter

I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets.

 

I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

 

If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.

 

After that, there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

Now my questions are, for the schedule do I just include a print out of the excel spreadsheets I used or do I have to send them copies of the bank statements, just the pages wih charges on or the whole lot.

Also should I put in how much the total amount is with contractual interest. Also which amount do I use monthly or daily off of the spreadsheet as monthly its £2383.53 and daily its £2412.05

 

Any help would be greatfully recieved and any alterations you think I should make to my prelim would also be helpful

 

Thanks

 

Yankee/Nattie, one edit in red and I wouldn't bother with the bit about the OFT - they'll only point out it was about credit cards not Bank accounts (even though the OFT also stated that its findings were likely to be relevant to Bank accounts). Save that argument for later - you'd just be wasting your breath at this stage.

 

I didn't understand your figures. Halfway down you mention £945 + £21.64 then you mention £2K plus later. How have you worked out the interest ?

 

Regards, Mad Nick

[Yankeeruinx]

Well the interest charges where worked out from the spreadsheet which I got from this website and the £20 something charges where all the interest charges which they charged me. There were a some charges made called interest charged and they ranged from 41p to £2.17 and when added together came to around £20.

This is where I'm confused as I don't know where I should put the contractual interest rate in or if I should put it in at all. When worked out with contractual interest based on Barclays 27.5% rate for unauthorised borrowings the interest alone is over £1400 and I really don't want to mess this up in my prelim letter.

[Mad Nick]

Yankeeruinx, you're right to go for contractual interest and to claim it in your Prelim. Couple of things from what you say :

• It sounds like the £21.64 comes from your Bank statements - in which case don't include it because it is a combination of interest on charges and interest on 'normal' transactions. But if it is from the spreadsheets on this site - esp the one which separates out these two elements of interest - then ignore me and include it;
  
• the 27.5% unauthorised rate. Have you read up on the implications of that - it's not wrong per se, but there is a debate about whether to claim just your loss (more like the authorised rate) or do unto them etc (unauthorised rate). Later posts on : :http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/18313-why-no-one-claiming.html

What you'd write is (using the exact figs obviously !):

I calculate that you have taken £945 plus £1400 contractual interest at your unauthorised overdraft rate which you levied on the charges. [but see above, the word "taken" is not correct if they didn't charge you at 27.5% all the time - it would be based on the notion of mutuality and reciprocity which I've made no secret of not agreeing with]

Total £2.3K. I enclose a schedule of the charges which I am claiming with this letter. If you would now be so kind as to check your records for these charges, and refund them fully and immediately, along with contractual interest as detailed in the attached schedule, then I shall consider the matter resolved

 

Regards, Mad Nick

[Yankeeruinx]

So it will be alright if I put £945 plus £1400 in contractual interest. I just want to make sure thats alright to put as they have not actually charged me that much in interest thats just what I want back as some form of compensation for them taking my money.

[Mad Nick]

But that's my point - in my view a claimant is on dodgy ground claiming a sum greater than their loss (ignoring court costs of course). If you ask me, it risks being accused of unjust enrichment (which is a bit ironic because that's what we are basically accusing the Banks of doing). On the other hand, Banks don't want to walk into Court (because it would mean disclosing their costs - the cat would be out the bag !). That's a risky game of brinkmanship - personal opinion ! It's entirely up to you, but I would stick to the authorised overdraft rate (which is still "contractual interest" - ie interest iaw the contract). As you might realise by now, there's a bit of debate : for example, post #110 onwards on here :

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/lloyds-bank/54548-could-biggest-claim-site-6.html

[Yankeeruinx]

Thank you for your advice, I think I shall go back and review all my options before pressing ahead its a bit risky and I don't want to mess it up.

[copperman05]

But that's my point - in my view a claimant is on dodgy ground claiming a sum greater than their loss (ignoring court costs of course). If you ask me, it risks being accused of unjust enrichment (which is a bit ironic because that's what we are basically accusing the Banks of doing). On the other hand, Banks don't want to walk into Court (because it would mean disclosing their costs - the cat would be out the bag !). That's a risky game of brinkmanship - personal opinion ! It's entirely up to you, but I would stick to the authorised overdraft rate (which is still "contractual interest" - ie interest iaw the contract). As you might realise by now, there's a bit of debate : for example, post #110 onwards on here :

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/lloyds-bank/54548-could-biggest-claim-site-6.html

 

I think this attitude is typical of us British, we dont want to cause to much fuss, shouldn't claim the higher rate because its too much.

 

Come on if Yankeeruinx is entitiled to it he has the right to claim it. I believe we have a better chance of claiming the higher rate, as thats what the banks charge us, and their charges are unlawful, the end amount claimed is immaterial, if your entitiled to it, claim it. Lets stop being easy on the banks, its our money, our contracts, our right to claim the higher interest.

 

I have a fairly large overdraft facility with my bank, which I believe is mainly due to my banks penalty charges, how many times have you extended your overdraft to 'accomodate' the charges... I believe claiming the higher rate is not only justifiable but only goes some way to compensating me of my loss + large O/D + plus numerous other unpaid items in the past.

 

Of course we need to know what we are claiming and be able to justify it at court, I believe I can, and at the higher rate, but lets not 'go for the lower rate' just because the higher rate produces a larger amount of money.

 

Just my 2pence

 

Edd

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi I have sent a prelim off to my bank (barclays and have heard nothing from them. In the prelim I set out that I wished to claim contractual interest, my question is has anyone got an advice how to ammend the LBA template off of here to suit my needs as I really don't want to mess this up.

Also I'm starting to get a bit nervous about claiming contractual interest now as it seems some people are having problems getting it. Do you think it would be wise to forget my first letter and just send them another prelim just asking for just my charges back and start again or should am I just being silly?

[ED1237]

I would keep going whith the contractual. However on the claim form you will need to give the court the option of either contractual or the statutory 8%. I will PM you a LBA

[Yankeeruinx]

Thank you for your help. I am going to continue down the contractual route but will give the option to the court as advised, again thanks for your help

[Yankeeruinx]

One more quick question. When I send my LBA along with schedule, which bit of the speadsheet shall I send. Shall I send the bit which shows how its worked out with contractual interest or just the bit which shows the dates and charges made and leave them to figue out how the interest was worked out.

Sorry also in the last paragraph of the LBA you sent me where it says about filing a complaint against them to the OFT, will I have to actually do this and if so how do I go about doing it?

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi I sent my prelim letter to Barclays on the 26th of Jan and was ready to send my LBA on the 9th of Feb after the 14 day deadline but to my shock I recieved a letter from Barclays today. It said that they will contact me as soon as possible but the cannot guarantee they will be able to in the timeline I outlined in my prelim. They said they aim to have a solution within 4 weeks. They also said a full report or update on their progress will be sent within 8 weeks.

What should I do about this, proceed as planned and stick to my timescale and modify my LBA as obviously I had written it as though they hadn't responded or should I give them a chance and see what they do.

I'm sure they are just trying to stall me or smething like that but I thought I had better get some advice from here before I proceed.

Thanks for your help

[Bigmac versus]

Hi yankeeruinx you are right in thinking they are stalling, continue as planned after the 14 days send the lba, good luck.

[carter56]

hi stick to your guns and adhere to your timetable not theirs good luck i will be following you

linda

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi right I sent my prelim to Barclay's claiming for my charges with Contractual Interest and they gave me a response saying that they would look into it but it would take up to 8 weeks so I waited until my 14 day dead line then sent my LBA to them giving them another 14 days. No reply this time, so what is the best way for me to proceed now.

Is it better to use money claim online or should I use the N1 form. This is for a claim with Contractual Interest so I do not add the s.69 8% is that correct.

Thanks for your help

 

edit - Just rung money claim online and they said they are not sure if I can do it on there. The guy said you can add interest the normal 8% but wasn't sure about using contractual interest, he didn't know if it would work or not.

So any advice would be greatly appreciated

[Advoc8]

The main problem with moneyclaim is the limited amount of space you've got for your particulars of claim - there's a danger you'll abbreviate or miss out something important and cause problems for yourself later on. I'd go the N1 route myself.

[lucid]

Hi Yankee,

 

If you're claiming contractual then firstly yes you're right in that you don't also claim for statutoru - it is either one or the other. But you can't using MCOL for contractual because there is not enough space to detail it.

 

Good luck. Lucid

[Yankeeruinx]

Ok been looking at the N1 form and its set out to claim the s.69 8% interest. Has anyone got any ideas on how to edit this to suit my needs (Contractual Interest) as I really don't want to mess this up.

 

Thanks

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi I am at the stage where I am about to complete the N1 form but I am struggling a bit with it. I am trying to claim my bank charges from Barclay's with contractual interest based on Barclay's Unauthorized rate of 27.5%. I have sent my Prelim and LBA so now its time for the N1 form.

I am using the template from this website but it is set out to only claim s.69 8% interest. Can someone give me some advice on how to modify it to suit my needs. I'm getting really nervous about all of this now as I'm sure I will mess this up without some help.

Can someone give me some pointers or maybe if you have already done this and gone the contractual interest route give me some examples of what you have put.

All help will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

[natwesttookmymoney]

Hi I am at the stage where I am about to complete the N1 form but I am struggling a bit with it. I am trying to claim my bank charges from Barclay's with contractual interest based on Barclay's Unauthorized rate of 27.5%. I have sent my Prelim and LBA so now its time for the N1 form.

I am using the template from this website but it is set out to only claim s.69 8% interest. Can someone give me some advice on how to modify it to suit my needs. I'm getting really nervous about all of this now as I'm sure I will mess this up without some help.

Can someone give me some pointers or maybe if you have already done this and gone the contractual interest route give me some examples of what you have put.

All help will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

 

Have a look at my thread - you'll find POCs there. Alternatively, PM me with your e-mail address and I'll send them over in a word document. You will need to modify them, as they include NatWest's terms and conditions but you'll be able to use them as a template.

 

And if there are any Mods overlooking this one - can you shift the thread to the Barclays forum, please?

 

Don't worry Yankee - you'll still be able to find it!

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi I am trying to fill in the N1 form so I can start my case against Barclays just a couple of questions.

What address do I use for Barclays?

Also I'm going for Contractual Interest in my claim and set out using the Unauthorized Rate of 27.5%. Has anyone got any advice they can give in filling the N1 out as it seems to be set out only for the s.69 8% rate.

Thank you all help is greatly appreciated

 

edit/ Also today I have recieved another letter from Barclays saying that they are looking into my complaint and are waiting for futher information then they will be able to provide a full response. They then say they woill contact me again by the 26th of March. Should I just ignore this letter and proceed as planned and go ahead with the N1.

[Yankeeruinx]

Anyone?

[Yankeeruinx]

Ok still trying to get my N1 together but today had a letter from Barclays saying that they disagree with my complaint but have offered me £500 back. I am trying to claim £945 in charges and then contractual interest on top of that which takes it to around £2400 in total.

Should I just ignore this letter and proceed with my N1? Also I need some pointers in regards to the N1 as the template off of here seems like its just geared to just claiming the s.69 8% interest and I am claiming for contractual interest based on Barclays 27.5% Unautorised rate.

 

Please please help me