The Gloves Are On

[Anita Wright]

First of all, what an absolutely fantastic site. I, like thousands of others, watched Tonight With Trevor McDonald on Monday night in astounded horror. Not only have the banks been getting away with charging excessive penalty charges but I have been one of those being charged (to the tune of £2,500+) and did not realise that I had recourse to reclaim these charges. So a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to this site and opened my eyes!

 

I have spent the morning wading through my statements online and, using the brilliant spreadsheets provided, have now calculated my claim back to July 2002 and have sent off my preliminary letter by recorded delivery and email today. I will be doing the same for my credit card accounts as soon as I have the relevant information to hand.

 

Thanks again for the wealth of information posted on this site, without which I would not have had the courage or knowledge to proceed. Will keep you all posted.

 

By the way I think I meant "the gloves are off" ???

[gordonhall]

welcome to the site and all the best. Keep us all informed - we're all here to help...

[Axleuk]

Welcome to the site first of all, but why go back to 2002 ? Why not go the whole hog and claim your 6 years worth ?

[Anita Wright]

Thanx for your reply. I only need to go back as far as July 02 on this account as, according to my statements, there were no charges applied before that. This Lloyds A/c has only been open for five years.

[Seminole]

Hi and welcome. It sounds as if you've already worked through the forum materials but please do post any questions as you go through the process.

 

Oh, and please tell all your friends and colleagues about what we are trying to do here.

[Anita Wright]

I have today received a letter from David Just (Asst Mgr) which looks like their standard response ... Thank you for taking the time to contact us about your account etc etc ... and threatening withdrawal of banking facilities if I proceed. This seems to be their final word on the matter as they end the letter saying "I should mention too that if I don't hear back from you at all by 11 August 2006 I will take it that matters are resoved between us and close my file." Ha Ha Ha! I think that it is now time to send my LBA but this was not due to be sent out until the 21st. Should I wait a few more days or just bite the bullet and send it off now? There seems to be a mixed reaction to this question on the other threads.

Anyway I'm warming up for the fight! Any advice will be welcome.

[reload]

Generally speaking Anita, it's up to you whether you send the LBA out early or not. From what you write there, it sounds as though the letter you have recieved is slightly different to the standardised response - the bit about "I assume if I have not heard from you by xx date". Did they state anywhere in the letter it was their full and final response? If yes, then it's up to you when you send the LBA. If not, I'd hold off a few days until the 21st.

[Anita Wright]

Thanks for the advice, Reload. I will wait until the 21st before sending my LBA. It doesn't state anywhere in the letter that it is their final response. I have copied the letter I received today below in case anyone else has had the same letter:

 

I like the bit where they state that they are doing their customers a service by returning unpaid items!!!

 

Also if they had not applied so many damn charges (sometimes up to £200 per month) I would not have been in the situation where my DD's were being returned and incurring charges - classic snowball effect. They say that we should contact them if we need help and if we do not think some payments will be met but in my case I did contact them the first time and was politely told to go away (or words to that effect).

 

Letter received from Customer Care, General Banking, 125 Colmore Row, B'ham:-

 

Thank you for taking the time to contact us about your account.

 

I understand that

 

* You feel that the charges you have incurred are unlawful.

* You are unhappy with the amount of charges you have incurred as a result

of being overdrawn and from returned items.

* You have requested that all charges incurred should be refunded.

 

When you become a customer, we give you details of any charges for the day to day running of your account. Details of our charges are also available from our branch staff, telephone helpline or our website.

 

For the vast majority of our customers banking with us can be completely free as charges are not made for services such as debit cards, cash machine withdrawals, balance requests, statements, cheque books and Internet banking. We also do not charge for processing direct debits and standing orders when they are paid through our customers' accounts.

 

One of the few services we apply charges for is when a customer does not have enough money in their account to meet payments they have requested us to make. If customers think they may exceed any limit they have, we urge them to contact us to discuss their requirements. Any requests for further lending are then assessed in line with our usual credit policy. Similarly, when we return an item, we are preventing a customer from exceeding their limit, and again as we explain clearly to our customers, this process incurs a charge.

 

Typically we do not levy customers an excess overdraft fee for the first time they go overdrawn without agreement, as long as it hasn't happened in the past twelve months and we limit excess fees to a maximum of three occurrences in any one month.

 

As a business we are entitled to set charges to cover additional work. These charges are not hidden and are notified in the guide the banking charges leaflet we produce. We advise our customers to ensure cleared funds are available in their accounts to meet payments due. You will also note that in the front of each cheque book we request that funds are available before cheques are issued.

 

You incurred charges because you did not ensure funds were available in your account to cover the payments set up by you. It is your responsibility to operate your account within any agreed limits and within the terms and conditions.

 

You accepted these terms when you opened your account and when you agreed your overdraft. We did not agree to pay your account in excess of the amount agreed without charges being made.

 

Accordingly, I am unable to agree with your request to refund the charges. We do expect your account to be run in line with the terms and conditions of its operation. This means that you must ensure that cleared funds are deposited into the account the working day before any payments are due. If you do not feel you will be able to run your account in accordance with the terms and conditions, we may have to consider withdrawing certain facilities, such as any debit cards, overdrafts and chequebooks. Alternatively you my wish to consider alternative banking arrangements.

 

If you are unhappy with my decision and feel that you have something to add which might change the outcome, please get in touch. If we cannot agree a solution at that point, I will help you refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service for independent arbitration.

 

I should mention too, that if I don't hear back from you at all by 11 August 2006 I will take it that matters are resolved between us and close my file.

 

Yours sincerely

 

David Just

Assistant Manager.

[reload]

Thanks Anita - looks similar to the standard template except for that last paragraph. Added it to the template responses

[Anita Wright]

Letter Before Action posted to the Colmore Row address by recorded delivery today. Unless favourable response received will be filing suit by moneyclaim in two weeks from today. Will keep you all posted.

[French William]

Letter Before Action posted to the Colmore Row address by recorded delivery today. Unless favourable response received will be filing suit by moneyclaim in two weeks from today. Will keep you all posted.

 

Good luck. (not that you need it )