Meee V Halifax (they're refusing to pay after 1st letter)

[loulou32]

Hi All

 

Firstly, I wish I'd chanced upon this site before I'd sent my first letter to the Halifax. Fountains of knowledge is an understatement!

 

I had an old account with Halifax which incurred charges for being overdrawn plus interest on the overdraft totalling £1722.57 which I am trying to reclaim.

 

My first letter requesting the refund has been rejected, the reason being that they are quoting the T&C's of the account in that when agreeing to have my current account with them I essentially agreed to all of their 'fair administration costs.' Therefore they have done nothing wrong and therefore I am not getting my money back....

 

Is this a normal tact with them? If so what should my next move be? I waited the 40 days after the 1st letter out - my 1st letter went on 25th April, as I already had my statements between 2001 and when I closed the account. Now they've annoyed me and I am determined to get a refund!

 

Look forward to your feedback, thanks!

[**Tilly**]

thats just there standard fob letter stick your time scales you now need to send your letter before action lba giving them 14 days to reply then file for court if you need help or have any quistions just someone will come along and help you good luck

[**Tilly**]

here you go

3. Letter before action - Consumer version - asking for it back

[moneyhelp]

Hi and welcome to CAG.

 

Yes we all get those fob off letters, the idea is for them to get you to back down and not go through with it.

We all now know differently.

 

Here are some handy book marks that you can look back at when you need to know what steps to take next :

 

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/31460-example-step-step-instructions.html

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/site-questions-suggestions/53182-cant-find-what-youre.html#post436526

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/

 

Read all you can - plus at the top of this page are some **win** threads you can read.

 

You will find lots of help and support here and any worries of fears, post them here and someone will pop in and help.

 

Good luck with your claim.

 

M/H

[loulou32]

Thanks for your replies. I thought that it was a delay tactic on their part, and having read over some of the other cases seeing that they have done it to others I am now pretty confident with what my claim. It appears that once you take them to court they mostly settle? What are the costs of lodging a court claim for the amount I am claiming, I've seen elsewhere that it could be £30-£120?

 

I shall be sending them a LBA as a next step then, and will keep my progress posted on here.

 

They did make me laugh though as they tried to take the moral high ground with me - I had a difficult year when all these charges started a while back which involved me going overdrawn then they applied charges and interest to the overdraft thus increasing the debt. It has since been repaid, but because of the way that the Halifax dealt with my accounts at the time I transferred my business to the Natwest where I have several healthy savings accounts, plus a mortgage etc. The Halifax offered me debt counselling in that letter of response. Cheek!

[moneyhelp]

This may help you http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/helpful-external-links/63-county-court-fees-exemptions.html

[Dusary]

Your story is much the same as all the rest of us!

 

We're behind you!

[kennythecelt]

They did make me laugh though as they tried to take the moral high ground with me.......................The Halifax offered me debt counselling in that letter of response. Cheek!

 

Hi meee,

 

similar story here with me.

Charged £100 debt counselling fee by Halifax. Now got all charges back except that one. BoS repaid charges on 3 accounts. Letters from them include following statement...

 

"However, we do value our relationship with you and pleased to tell you..........."

 

I bet they valued their relationship with me (and everyone else here- its a standard letter remember.) They ripped us of for years and lived off the proceeds.

 

You will get the refund and that will mean a banking relationship on different terms. Good luck!

[loulou32]

Thanks for your replies, great to hear from others in the same boat.

 

Sent off my LBA via email today to [email protected] (that way I get delivery receipts for free and they can't blame Royal Mail for 'misplacing' my letters). Gives them until the 9th July.

 

Watch this space! Good luck everyone else with your cases.

[**Tilly**]

we will be watching:)

[loulou32]

Just a quick query as I've had more time to digest statements from the Halifax. The statements they sent from 2001 until 2003 (when the account was closed) detailed charges for going over my overdraft, plus interest on the overdraft. The later parts on the statement had the charges and interest bundled in together. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

I've asked for the charges and the interest back...is this right? I am just thinking about what I am allowed to claim back through court should it get that far.

 

Thanks.

[**Tilly**]

all i had on my statements was charges as notified when you file your court claim you can claim your o/d interest and 8% interest when you do the spreadsheets it calculates it for you

[**Tilly**]

have a read through these they are really helpful

 

Example Step-By-Step Instructions

 

 

dont be afraid to ask questions better to ask than make a mistake

we have been there

[kennythecelt]

Good luck! Tilly is right!!

[loulou32]

Ahh I see, all makes sense. Well I've put the interest charges on my schedule of costs as they lumped the two together with later charges in their printed statements that they sent me. Very odd, but then most of the things they did with my account were.

 

At the end of the day if it goes to court I'll be asking for it back then anyway, plus interest so it might encourage them to settle early...yeah I saw that pink pig just then too!

[ant80808]

I am currently at the stage where I sent a letter off, the initial letter asking for about £2,100. As seems to be the stance now, they wrote back totally refusing anything. I then re-calculated with the 8% stat. interest giving them 14 days before court, and that was now 14 days ago. So i guess now it's moneyclaimonline time right? Any advice appreciated!

[loulou32]

From reading other people's cases on the won thread I reckon it might be worth ringing them before you lodge the claim. I should think they're snowed under with claims which is why a lot of people don't hear back within the 14 days. Those that just go on with the claim tend to win. You could call and say you've got the N1 form in front of you and do you really want me to take you to court and add to your costs? Worth a shot, it's what I intend to do!

[loulou32]

Confidence is growing after reading the following (sorry if it's posted elsewhere) BBC NEWS | Business | Judge warns banks over fee cases

[loulou32]

Quick update. The 14 days passed this Monday. Emailed my LBA to about 5 different people at the Halifax on Sunday as I've not had any acknowledgement etc. Called them today and spoke to a guy called Phil (bit of a wet blanket bless him, but then I'd lose the will to live having to field these claims all day). Explained that I'd rather not go to court but if they didn't pull their finger out they'd leave me no choice...he said that my case is due to be re-looked at and that someone should call me in the next few days.

 

I shall be calling them again tomorrow...they won't win this one!

[moneyhelp]

Did you also send your LBA by snail mail?

[loulou32]

Yep. They've had it, it was scanned into their systems on the 27th June apparently (was sent the 25th).

[moneyhelp]

Ok good.

 

So on Monday you need to file for court, either MCOL or N1 and check to see if you are exempt. You can also add your 8% interest on your court claim ;-)

[loulou32]

Yep, said I'd give them till the end of this week (I'm nice like that) otherwise they give me no choice

[loulou32]

Update; had a call back from a helpful lady called Lauren today. Apparently they are willing to make a 'goodwill gesture' offer...but there's a catch.

 

As my account went overdrawn thanks to my kind ex by nearly £6k it was passed to their collections department. I made a repayment of over £5k about two years prior to this plus I'd been making regular repayments before then and the account was closed. They are now saying that I still owe them nearly £1500 despite the fact that the account is closed and settled, and any charges that they will refund me will need to be paid back to that amount...so they are giving me the money back with one hand but still keeping it with the other!

 

Also, as it was a joint account with my ex, if they were to issue a cheque then they would have to do it in joint names. Bit of a snag seeing as we do not have a joint account any more and I wouldn't piddle on him if he was a flaming inferno.

 

Very annoyed to say the least, but I'm not giving up!

[loulou32]

Ok, partial victory here.....

 

Called Halifax, pointed out that the money I paid them was a full and final settlement on any outstanding monies. So they have agreed to refund me my charges. We're currently at 75% of what they've worked out they owe me (which is still incorrect). BUT they have to get my ex's authority to release the amount in my name only............haha

 

It pays to call them, trust me!