butwhy vs Lloyds TSB

[butwhy]

Hi all,

 

So i have compiled my two claims, one for my gold visa credit card account which is now closed, but i'm still clearing the debt (uni mess up) and the 2nd claim for my current account, mostly made up of unpaid DD charges and overdraft excess fees.

 

I have sent my preliminary letter for both of these and received ONE response letter which amongst other things says the following:

 

The Office of Fair trading has published new guidlines on credit card default charges. We're still talking it through with them, but the important point is that the guidelines are about 'default' charges that people pay when they break an agreement with us. This doesn't apply to your charges as these were for dealing with your request to fo over your agreed overdraft limit. They are not default charges because you haven't broken your agreement They are our prices for the service we provide in these situations.

 

That's gone and confused me!

 

Do I still have a valid claim and therefore, can I still follow through with my LBA?

 

Also, both my schedules do not include the interest charges, but in each case, what type of interest can I actually claim, if any?

 

Any help would be much appreciated as I am still unsure about the whole process.

 

Thanks in advance!!

[Rooster-UK]

Quote:

The Office of Fair trading has published new guidlines on credit card default charges. We're still talking it through with them, but the important point is that the guidelines are about 'default' charges that people pay when they break an agreement with us. This doesn't apply to your charges as these were for dealing with your request to fo over your agreed overdraft limit. They are not default charges because you haven't broken your agreement They are our prices for the service we provide in these situations.

 

Waffle. Waffle, and more Waffle. It is merely the bank trying to muddy the waters, to frighten you off and intimidate you.

 

Carry on with your claim as though you never received it.

 

You are entitled to claim back the interest that the bank charged you on the unlawful penalty charges.

It can be a pig to calculate. Some people don't bother. If you want to claim it then you will need to download the advanced spreadsheet template........Click on the link....

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/182-6-interest-calculation-spreadsheets.html

 

When you submit the MCOL or N.1 form, you can also include the statutary interest of 8% under S.69.

 

Regards, Rooster.

[butwhy]

ok so I sent my prelim letter to Lloyds for my credit card account on 2nd June and then followed up with an LBA on 20th June.

 

However, I have received a letter in the meantime dated 19th June with some blurb about the OFT's recommendations (including this):

 

We believe our charging policy is fair. The OFTs statement is their view of the principles they think credit card issuers should follow. Ultimately,m it is only a court that can decide whether a term is unfair in illegal terms.

 

As you will know, the OFT recommended that these charges be cut to £12 an we have made a commercial decision to do this with effect from 29th June 2006, even though we do not agree with the OFT's interpretation of the law.

 

The OFT made no recommendation about previous charges and we do not plan to make any alterations to charges we made in the past. As a result we are not in a position to offer you a refund.

 

So, where do I stand?

 

What do I do now? As the most recent letter from them is dated a day before I sent my LBA, so there appears to be a crossover.

 

Do I take this as the response to the LBA or wait until the 14 days are up to start court proceedings?

[nicsussex]

Personally, for the sake of good housekeeping I would wait for the 14 days to expire and then issue your claim

[butwhy]

great, thanks!

[butwhy]

Hi All,

 

I have a small problem.

I began the whole claims process and sent a LBA. got up to the stage where I was supposed to file a court claim but had a few health problems so was not able to follow through on this stage

 

I am now ready to pick this claim up again but don't know where I stand with the process?

 

Where do i pick up from? Do i have to start the whole claims process all over again or just resume from where i left off?

 

Also it was recently brought to my attention that I was paying PPI for my credit card whilst I was a student, which was mis-sold to me!

 

So on top of the £392 (minus interest) that they owe to me I am also now due back the PPI aswell

 

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of this, so any suggestions about where to start?!

[Blossomandebony]

Hi, Butwhy,

 

I've had 2 successful claims against Lloyds TSB and am about to start another!

 

Both times, they refused to settle until I put in a County Court Claim, 1 through MCOL and one through my local court).

 

You need to bite the bullet and put in a claim asap. Unfortunately they do not respond to anything but direct court action - they really are the pits. They're still charging me an average of £60 - £80 a month and won't even consider discussing the charges.

 

At the moment the likelihood is that your claim will be stayed until after the OFT case, ( all MCOL claims are automatically stayed at the mo', by the way), but you will be able to claim the statutory 8% interest from the date of your claim, which will add up . . .

 

Look around for a template Particulars of Claim and 'interest calculator' to use in your claim - there's no point reinventing the wheel.

 

Oh, and have they added any more charges since your previous letters? If so - add these to your schedule of charges.

 

Cheers.

[butwhy]

Hi Blossomandebony,

 

Thanks for that!

 

Sounds a bit daunting that I am gonna have to go through the court process! Was hoping to settle out of court. Just my luck that the bulk of my owed money is held with Lloyds!

 

But I'm still a bit confused, shall I just proceed with the court claim, where i left off from before or do i need to start the claim all over again?

 

I ask this because I will now be claiming for my PPI on my Lloyds credit card which I wasn't aware I was entitled to before. Luckily though, there have been no more charges because I am being extra careful with my finances. I will not give them another opportunity to make a fool of me!

 

Thanks

[Blossomandebony]

Hi,

 

Don't start all over again - simply add any recent charges to the last schedule of charges you did.

 

1. Get an N1 form, (from local court or HMCS website or this site). Use a template from this site for the Particulars of Claim section, adapting it for your purposes.

 

2. Go to your local court with your N1 form and attach to it your schedule of charges. Pay the fee - the staff will do that for you. Ask the staff any further questions, they're usually helpful. That's it - your claim is in the legal system heading straight for Lloyds!

 

3. Personally I would also tell Lloydstsb by polite letter that you have put in a claim, quoting the claim number given to you by the court.

 

4. Now, in both of my previous cases Lloyds entered a defence, (utter rubbish), then proceeded to pay out within two weeks of the claim, claiming it as a goodwill gesture! In the present climate I'm not sure if they will pay out as swiftly but so what? Your claim is done and dusted and will not go AWAY! At some point in time any stay will be lifted and hey presto! they will pay out.

[butwhy]

sounds good to me!!

 

That's my weekend planned out... and soon enough I should get a hefty (long needed) cheque in the post!

 

Thanks for your help, very much appreciated

[Blossomandebony]

Butwhy,

 

Forgot to say - I claimed for both current account charges and Credit card charges in the same claim.

 

The issue of PPI I don't know much about, beside the fact that some people on this site are claiming for mis sold policies.

 

I would keep the PPI as a separate issue and stick them with your Bank/credit card refund first.

[BARTY]

Hi

You should do the credit card and current account charges as two separate claims.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Barty:)

[Castlebest]

Agree with Barty, keep the credit card and current account separate the contracts and terms and conditions for these two types of account are different and therefore your POC's should be different.

 

Added bonus of this is you shouldn't get a stay on your credit card claim if you use the right POC's because the test case doesn't refer to this type of account.

 

pete

[Blossomandebony]

The advantages of combining your credit card claim with your account are as follows:

 

1. You will only have to pay one claim fee.

 

2. Lloydstsb will pay out the claim, (eventually).

 

3. Many courts are, (incorrectly), staying claims on credit cards anyway. Rather than have two stayed claims, you will only have one.

 

4. When a District Judge sees that there are two separate claims against the same defendant, he can say, "Okay, I will consolidate these two claims and send them to the Fast track court." This is one thing you don't want to happen because you can be liable for costs!!!

[BARTY]

Hi

You need to use different POC's for credit cards and current accounts though:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/116099-new-poc-lloyds-credit.html

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/107596-new-poc-n1-lloyds.html

 

Barty:)

[Blossomandebony]

Hi, Barty,

 

The new POC are very good - I've just looked at them - but I wrote my own POC using various ideas, and making them more specific to my case. Doing the 'combined' claim has worked for me every time and is a cheaper method of claiming.

 

However, for someone who is about to do their first claim, it is good advice to go with a template POC. For those more experienced, or simply wanting to extend their knowledge, or with less funds (!), I would suggest considering a 'combined' claim.

 

My warning about the 'fast track' hearing comes from an experience I had last year.

 

I had put in a claim against Barclays regarding my current account, got a court date, then decided to claim from my Barclaycard.

 

Lo and behold, when the court received my second claim, the DJ, in his infinite wisdom, decided to 'consolidate' the two claims, vacate the first court date and set a date for the two claims to be heard as one, in the FAST TRACK court, 6 months later!!!

 

To say I was fuming is an understatement. I couldn't believe that a judge could do this, especially as the total amount for the two claims was under the £5000 barrier!!

 

Luckily for me Barclays caved in and paid up but it was worrying that my claims could be diverted in this way.

 

Cheers.

[butwhy]

Thanks all, the information you have provided is definately going to be of good use when i re-start this claim.

 

Hoping to get this done asap, just need to work out all the extra money they now owe me! Plus the PPI charges.

 

Seems very unfair that a judge would combine the two claims since they fall under different categories.

 

Its almost as though they are taking the bank's side!!

[butwhy]

Hi All,

 

I have recently sent a complaint to the FOS about a mis-sold PPI and since I have had no response from Lloyds regarding my claim for bank charges and also credit card charges.

 

I want to pick up with the claim roughly where I left off but was not too sure about whether I can still do this?

 

Is there still a "stay" on any bank charge claims? Can i claim for the outstanding credit card charges?

 

My spreadsheets indicate that i am owed £488.87 for credit card charges and £1194,69 in bank charges including the 8% interest rate.

 

The 1st bank charge occurred in May 2002 so I am still JUST within the 6 year period and therefore really want to get this sorted before I lose out!

 

My last correspondence was an LBA in mid June 2007. I received a response basically telling my that they were rejecting my claim and should I wish to contact the FOS i could do so. At the time I had alot of other committments and so failed to follow through with the application to court or FOS.

 

So what are my options now? Do i need to warn them AGAIN and then wait 14days before filing a complaint with the FOS or court.

 

CAN I claim for bank charges or is this still on hold?

 

I truly believe the bank was not helpful at all when I incurred these charges and had they not penalised me in this way I would not be in debt now. So I am adamant to follow through!

£488.47

[nicsussex]

Get your claim in for the bank charges and this will cover you under the 6 year rule - it will almost certainly be stayed though. The credit card charges should be issued under a separate claim and should not be stayed.

 

Keep us posted

[butwhy]

Hi nicsussex,

 

When you say "Get your claim in" do you mean file a claim with the court or a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman?

 

Should I also be contacting the bank again to let them know I am taking action or just go ahead with it?

 

Would it be possible for me to achieve a full refund via the Ombudsman too, or should I only really consider the court route?

 

I only ask this because I have just filed a PPI complaint with the FOS and it seems like an easy enough process so can this also work for the credit card and bank charges claims?

[nicsussex]

Personally have only had experience via the court route - but either way making your claim soon will ensure that you don't start to fall foul of statute of limitations. No need to contact the bank again seems that you have given them plenty of opportunity