simm1701 v HSBC

[Spiceskull]

Hi Simon,

 

I would pursue your normal claim according to your original timetable. This way it will settle more quickly.

 

Regarding 'charges pending,' these will continue (as they are automatic) and will result in you amending your claim a couple of times before court.

 

My suggestion would be to 'step out' of pending charges until the main claim is settled. Once done, you could follow some of the steps I have taken in my own 'charges pending' thread.

 

Additionally, this will give you scope for a lot more creativity in your letters, as well as having a precedent of the bank already making a settlement.

 

Have fun.

 

See the steps I took to get my bank charges back

Spiceskull v HSBC

Thank you Consumer Action Group

Read my blog

View a heated discussion about bank charges on the Times Educational Supplement bulletin boards

 

[simm1701]

I left the pending charges in purely because of timing

 

I wont know if and how much any more pending charges are til the 27th (but I think there will be some) and they won't be charging them til the 17th.

 

I want to be able to include them in my money claim even if they are pending (since the bank is clearly stating they intend to take that amount before the court hearing, I want to be able to claim them in court without having to do this twice)

 

But I don't want to delay the schedule by waiting til I know what the amount is hence leaving it general

[simm1701]

Well they've done it again....

 

£50 in charges coming off next month.

 

They list it as "Overdraft Charges" - I am right this is just their catch all for over over the overdraft - its not a overdraft fee which would be legit

[Spiceskull]

It is a catch-all: overdraft fee would be labelled as such, this is purely penalty charges. To add insult to injury, they are still charging at £25, even though the OFT has said that these are unlawful.

 

You could make a complaint to the OFT, but for now I would suggest you continue recovering your money - complaints can be dealt with later.

 

See the steps I took to get my bank charges back

Spiceskull v HSBC

Thank you Consumer Action Group

Read my blog

View a heated discussion about bank charges on the Times Educational Supplement bulletin boards

 

[simm1701]

Though so - just the first time I've noted the name for the fees

 

Yep the claim continues - a little over a week until I file with the courts - £342 now

[NeilP]

Well done for staying your ground. Good Luck with everything, and keep us posted!!

[jonni2bad]

To their Head Office.

[simm1701]

I'm beginning to wonder if Rebecca Janik has gone on holiday.... still nothing since the standard "we will look into it and get back to you"

 

Ah well - I told them what would happen.... and if I haven't got the reponse I want by the time I get home from kung fu on tuesday then I know which site I'll be logging on to....

 

 

One query though

 

I live in one side of the country, the account holding brach is the other sie and the head office in leeds is even futher away - where should I get the court papers addressed to?

 

EDITED by mod - Posts out of sync due to clock errors. Reply is now above!

[simm1701]

Well they've written back...

 

I haven't seen the letter yet for the gory details but they are saying the usual... not our fault....charges legal... dur to court costs offer you £250....

 

Since we are only claiming £292 my wife wants to leave it at that to get the money now and save the hassel - since its her account I'm inclined to agree however we've decided that since they have a pending charges of £50 due the 17th of this month we want written confirmation of them cancelling those charges and the £250 refunded to the aco**** within 7 days otherwise the claim will be filed (this is actually a 1 week extension to the timetable and I will point that out to them since we are inclined to accept the offer as long as it is on our terms.

 

I'll read the full terms of their offer when I get home tonight and then draft a reply.

 

Any comments?

[simm1701]

The letter:

 

Thank you for your letter dated 02 June 2006 offering £250 in full and final settlement against my claim of £250.

 

 

I would draw your attention to the following from Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 in reference to unfair terms.

5. - (1) A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.

 

(2) A term shall always be regarded as not having been individually negotiated where it has been drafted in advance and the consumer has therefore not been able to influence the substance of the term.

 

(3) Notwithstanding that a specific term or certain aspects of it in a contract has been individually negotiated, these Regulations shall apply to the rest of a contract if an overall assessment of it indicates that it is a pre-formulated standard contract.

 

(4) It shall be for any seller or supplier who claims that a term was individually negotiated to show that it was.

 

 

 

 

Under these terms I feel the fee levied by HSBC when going over draw would be considered an unfair term and hence unlawful and that proceeding to court would result in a successful legal challenge for the refund of these fees in total, interest and court costs.

 

 

I am, however, equally mindful of my own time and for this reason alone without any acceptance of any legal basis for these charges I am prepared to accept your offer of £250 in full and final settlement for the disputed £292 of charges on the following conditions:

 

 

The £250 settlement is credited to my account within 7 days.

The £50 unlawful overdraft charge due to be charged to my account on the 16th June 2006 is waived. Written confirmation of this to be received be my within 7 days.

 

 

Meeting these conditions I will consider full and final settlement of this matter against the bank.

 

 

In light of your settlement offer and as a gesture of good will I will delay initiating court proceedings for 7 days to allow you to meet these conditions. Failure to comply will result in a court claim for the £292, plus the £50 due to to be levied on 16th June 2006, plus interest and court costs. However I hope we are able to resolve this matter amicably.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yours sincerely

[simm1701]

Well haven't heard anything back since I sent the above letter.

 

Guess I'll be filing with the courts

[thistlegorm]

Are you actually Surprised?

 

Read Your opening line: Thank you for your letter dated 02 June 2006 offering £250 in full and final settlement against my claim of £250.

 

What is it your asking for?

 

There are too many people on this forum that are looking for a "get rich quick scheme" read the FAQ & realise what this forum is about!!!!

 

Every person that "cuts & pastes " these letters needs to understand that they may end up in court explaining. If you are not prepared to do the latter , please do not do the former.

 

Regards

 

Thistlegorm

HSBC £1600

[Don Quioxte]

Right I assume that the letter you sent stating the £250 in respect of £250 was a typo and that you are still disputing the £292?

 

My suggestion is just to wait two days now and confirm that they have applied the £50 charges that you anticipate, to the account, so that you can file your moneyclaim online and accurately - so that will be £292, plus presumably the £50 that you aniticipate being charges, plus costs (£50) plus interest - to be calculated by you at 8% APR from date of occurrance of charge...

 

let us know how you get on with the claim.

[simm1701]

Bugger, never noticed that typo

 

Yes was supposed to be the claim for £292 as mentioned in the rest of the letter.

 

And to thistlegorm - late night typos nonwithstanding I was quite aware what I was getting into when I started this and am perfectly prepared to meet them in court on whatever argument basis they pick to defend on.

 

I would have been willing to settle for £300 out of the £342 (ie 250 plus the next fee cancelled) but not for £250 out of the total.

 

Well once they take the £50 I'll start the money claim then either wait for them to settle or see them in court

[simm1701]

It was pointed out in my thread that the letter I sent to the bank conditionally accepting their settlement offer (which they seem to have ignored) had a rather glaring typo:

 

 

"Thank you for your letter dated 02 June 2006 offering £250 in full and final settlement against my claim of £250."

 

Obviously that though have been £250 out of £292

 

(Full letter http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=59123 )

 

 

I'm not sure what to do with the typo....

 

Fix it and resend the letter...

Write a letter noting the mistake...

Ignore it and just carry on with the claim...

 

Any advice from anyone with legal experience would be greatly appreciated

 

 

 

(I hope making a separate threat won't be a problem but I though the issue of typos more generic than just my claim)

 

 

Thanks

 

Simon

[Spiceskull]

Hi Simon,

 

Checking your thread I gather you have not yet raised the claim. In this case I would wait until the deadline expires, and then send a third letter. This should help you get out of the mess...

 

It needs to say that you will extend your timetable for a further seven days

That their offer of £250 against £292 is not satisfactory, and that with the new charges the claim is now £342 or whatever it is

That on the 8th day you will issue your claim.

 

They will likely come back with another offer - and this time make sure you double check EVERYTHING before replying to it...:)

 

See the steps I took to get my bank charges back

Spiceskull v HSBC

Thank you Consumer Action Group

Read my blog

View a heated discussion about bank charges on the Times Educational Supplement bulletin boards

 

[simm1701]

Cheers - I do believe that deadline will be tomorrow however the new charges come out on friday so I will write then - I will also write it at a sensible time in the evening not nearly midnight

 

Would you suggest that I make no reference to the typo in the next letter?

 

Am I right that you are suggesting the next letter to be:

 

That they did not respond to my conditional acceptance of their settlement offer within the time I offered.

(I was going to accept the £250 against the £292 as long as they also cancelled the pending £50 fees - should I mention this?)

That they charged another £50 of unlawful fees

That I am no going to persue them for the £292 plus £50 a total of £342 and that they have a further 7 days in which to offer a full refund before I take the matter up with the courts.

 

 

Sound about right?

 

 

 

(Mods: hmmm seems to have gotten right back onto my claim thread - might want to merge it?)

[Spiceskull]

Cheers - I do believe that deadline will be tomorrow however the new charges come out on friday so I will write then - I will also write it at a sensible time in the evening not nearly midnight

 

Would you suggest that I make no reference to the typo in the next letter? I wouldn't refer to the typo...

 

Am I right that you are suggesting the next letter to be:

 

That they did not respond to my conditional acceptance of their settlement offer within the time I offered. Yes - better than refer to the typo

(I was going to accept the £250 against the £292 as long as they also cancelled the pending £50 fees - should I mention this?) Just reiterate your claim...

That they charged another £50 of unlawful fees

That I am no going to persue them for the £292 plus £50 a total of £342 and that they have a further 7 days in which to offer a full refund before I take the matter up with the courts. ...as you have done here

 

Sound about right?

 

(Mods: hmmm seems to have gotten right back onto my claim thread - might want to merge it? I want to, I want to...so I will...)

Good luck.

 

See the steps I took to get my bank charges back

Spiceskull v HSBC

Thank you Consumer Action Group

Read my blog

View a heated discussion about bank charges on the Times Educational Supplement bulletin boards

 

[simm1701]

Thanks!! Willlet you know how it all goes!!!

[simm1701]

Sent the letter yesterday saying we wanted £342 back, however it looks like their latest response crossed in the post and they are offering us £300 with no conditions for us to drop the matter

 

For the £42 its not worth the extra time it would take to persue this to the end so we are taking the £300 very happily

 

Just want to read over the paper work before my wife signs it but I think we can call this a result

 

 

Thankyou again all - now time for me to help some friends of mine do the same!!

[Spiceskull]

Cool result - well done.

 

See the steps I took to get my bank charges back

Spiceskull v HSBC

Thank you Consumer Action Group

Read my blog

View a heated discussion about bank charges on the Times Educational Supplement bulletin boards

 

[simm1701]

How long does it normally take for your settlement to arrive?

 

Its been well over a week since the signed acceptance of the settlement was mailed back but haven't heard anything from them....

[maverik1979]

give them a ring or write a letter asking for confirmation of when your settlement will be credited to your account

[simm1701]

This topic was closed on 09 March 2019.

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