Amex and advice

[anthonyenglish]

Hi all. I sent my letter notifying them of my charges and a breakdown of the charges applied on my card. Not a huge amount all told, £343, but something I would like in my account and not theirs. Today I got the letter shown below

 

..........

 

I refer to your letter received in this office on 21st June concerning the default charges applied to your account. Whilst I appreciate your comments, American Express maintains that the charges applied to your account were clear, properly disclosed to you and could have been avoided, provided you complied with the Terms and Conditions of its agreement with you.

 

In April 2006, the office of fair trading (OFT) issued its statement of position regarding default charges in Credit Card contracts, which considered default charges more than £12 to be unfair. In making its statement, the OFT identified legitimate costs for assessing default charges as including “staff costs, premises, telephone, letters and postage, IT systems, depreciation of assets related to running collection systems pre default notice, IT support and other central services such as human resources”. Had the OFT believed that a minimal sum of £1 or less represented a reasonable charge, no doubt it would have not set its threshold at anywhere near £12.

 

Following publication of the OFT’s statement and in line with its recommendation, American Express carried out an assessment of its default charge policy. Although the OFT’s statement position only concerned Credit Cards, American Express also voluntarily assessed its default charge policy in respect of Charge Cards. With effect from 1st July 2006, the default charge applied to American Express Credit Card accounts has been £8. This figure is significantly lower than the threshold set by the OFT and indicates the thorough and fair nature of the assessment carried out by American Express. However it does not affect the default charges applied by American Express prior to 1st July 2006 and therefore our previous default charges will not be amended

 

I trust this deals with your queries and that I have clarified the position of American Express.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Paul Greenfield

Executive Customer Relations Manager

 

..........................

 

OK iy looks like they don't want to play ball. I have not seen too many Amex stories on here and so wondered if anybody has had any joy with this lot. I must admit that they are very quick to respond.

 

My points are that it isn't about if Amex feel their charges are fair, I thought it was about the charges being illegal. All but one of my charges were before the lower rate was introduced. Also, by their own admission, their costs are now £8 regarding late payments. If this is the case, then surely their previous charges were unfair and so illegal.

 

Also, it is worth noting that they recently changed things with their card regarding missed payments. I missed a payment in September and was charged £8. Then in January, they increased my APR to 25.9%. I had £2.5k on the card and so could not pay it off. This means that since then I have paid an extra £20 per month due to the higher APR. I have asked them when it would be reviewd and they are not prepared to look at it for another 4 months. So over a year this would amount to £240, plus the £8. I nice [problem] as far as I can tell.

 

Does anybody know what I should do next? Is there a stock letter which I should use to take this further?

[Josie8]

Standard reply from Amex. See my thread Josie8v Amex - I received all charges & interest back fromthem.

 

If you've sent the LBA issue as soon as 14 days up. They will then make partial offer -refuse that then they'll give you full amount.

 

Then next step Is to Cca them under s 78. They may well not have a true copy of your executed agreement. if they default on request you can suspend payments & they can't charge interest etc. They are in criminal default with my request at moment!

 

Remember No CCA = No debt or interest charges

[anthonyenglish]

Blimey that was quick. I'll check out the link you specified.

 

Just one more quick question. The £343 is just the cost of the charges and does not include any interest. When should I apply the interest? Is it the standard 8%?

[Josie8]

You can reclaim all interest they have charged you on your charges & then when you issue claim 8% on both charges & the interest from the date each was applied to your account. So by messing round they will give you 8% extra on your claim (aren't they kind)!

[anthonyenglish]

I might be appearing thinck here, so just wanted to check this.

 

My LBA letter should just ask for the £343 only.

 

When I make the claim at the courts, I should ask for the £343 plus the 8%? So I only get the 8% (making it up to £420) if it goes to court.

 

If, after my LBA letter and before the court step they offer me the £343 I should take it as I cannot ask for the 8% before that point.

[Josie8]

Nope.........

 

LBA letter = 343 & any interest they have charged you on those charges.

 

Then when you issue claim add a further 8% from the date of each unlawful charge & interest deduction from your account