help please - problem

[jayneuk]

Hi everyone,

 

Can someone please advise. I'm in a right muddle.

 

I made a claim a while ago for the last six years. I filed court papers and then they paid up the full amount.

 

I then decided to give pre-six years a go. I started again with the first letter claiming a smaller amount for pre-six years AND for further charges whilst my main claim was going through.

 

I heard nothing from them regarding my second claim, and then all this court stuff case started. I have now recieved a letter from them, saying they want me to sign something to say that the money I received was full and final settlement - in other words I then cannot carry on with this second claim. They say that if I do not sign the thing saying it's full and final settlement, then they will take the money back.

 

Can someone tell me what to do please?

 

Many thanks.

 

Regards Jayne.

[deadlykiss]

hi , im presuming you have been paid well before announcement of OFT case ? i would not sign papers and i dont think they can do that ,a moderator would be able to help SSL, Kenny the celt are site helpers and they no all ins and outs , hope this a little help

regards

[Goldlady]

I don't think they can do that either. Are you still using the account? If not I would leave it with a nil balance and they can do what they like.

[jayneuk]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the replies. Yes I am still using the account. Maybe I should open one elsewhere.

 

I got paid out before the OFT case, yes.

 

I am reluctant to sign the thing, because they still owe me money - they have taken further charges since my claim, regardless of whether I go back further than six years or not. Equally though, I do not want to give the money back

 

Regards Jayne.

[Goldlady]

Jayne, I have a cunning plan..... Why don't you amend their I accept this in FFS letter by adding "for charges incurred between x date and y date" - ie your original claim dates. They might not notice and it will leave you free to carry on:p

[deadlykiss]

hi again ,

there is a letter you can send in templates library accepting there offer as part payment ect,, this may help therefore making them unable to stop you claiming further amounts , but i would open a parachute account just in case

[MacBoy]

jayneuk

 

The templates for rejecting offers are here, but without seeing the original text of your letter from the Halifax, this sounds slightly different to me as it appears to be 'after the fact'.

 

Suggest you PM kennythecelt or sea-sidelady, who will either help answer your query themselves or escalate to a mod.

 

The OFT view retaliatory account closures in a very dim light so I cannot see them resorting to this straight away, but DK's advice to research a parachute account anyway is valid.

 

Regards and good luck

Mac

[Dusary]

I think that it would also be good to get a sight of the letter BEFORE that one stating the terms of the offer they made to you when they paid up.

[MacBoy]

Good point Dusary.

[kennythecelt]

Hi everyone,

 

Can someone please advise. I'm in a right muddle.

 

I made a claim a while ago for the last six years. I filed court papers and then they paid up the full amount.

 

I then decided to give pre-six years a go. I started again with the first letter claiming a smaller amount for pre-six years AND for further charges whilst my main claim was going through.

 

I heard nothing from them regarding my second claim, and then all this court stuff case started. I have now recieved a letter from them, saying they want me to sign something to say that the money I received was full and final settlement - in other words I then cannot carry on with this second claim. They say that if I do not sign the thing saying it's full and final settlement, then they will take the money back.

 

Can someone tell me what to do please?

 

Many thanks.

 

Regards Jayne.

 

 

Hi, don't worry. We can get this sorted.

 

It is unclear what letter you have got. I think I know what it is but don't want to mislead you.

 

Can you type it up or scan a copy to your thread please- removing any reference to you which could identify you, inc calim ref and amounts.

 

Thanks

[deadlykiss]

hi ,, BOO!! to kenny and MacBoy ,, thanx for giving links im still trying to suss out how to do it

[jayneuk]

Hi,

 

Thanks again for the replies, and apologies for my delay in replying - I have switched broadband providers and it all went wrong, so I was left with no connection for a few days. Anyway, I think I am back now!!

 

Right, I will scan the letter and post it here. Need to make my scanner work first, so it might not be until tomorrow.

 

Dusary, in answer to your question, I never got a letter at that stage. The money just appeared in my account.

 

Back soon.

 

Regards Jayne.

[jayneuk]

Well, I have finally scanned the letter lol. Had to do it at my friend's in the end, because my scanner was saying it wasn't connected even though it will print stuff off my computer!!

 

Trouble is, I don't know how to attach it to here now. Can anyone help please?

[MacBoy]

Jayneuk

 

Check your PMs.

[jayneuk]

Thanks MacBoy

 

Here is the letter -

Dear Mrs jayneuk

 

We refer to your complaint about bank charges.

We wrote to you recently making you a goodwill offer in full and final settlement of your complaint about these charges.

 

We believe the charges are fair, transparent and lawful. Since we last wrote to you, the bank (and several other banks) became involved in legal proceedings with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) about bank charges which we believe will resolve the legal issues on the fairness and legality of your bank charges.

 

We have asked the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to suspend the normal timetable for dealing with bank charges complaints, and the FSA has agreed to this request subject to conditions that protect your rights.

 

However, the goodwill payment the bank made to you still stands and you can accept or reject this offer. Please return the attached form, in the enclosed pre-paid envelope, within 2 months from the date of this letter. You should be aware that if you accept this offer, this will be in "full and final" settlement of your complaint.

 

This means that it is unlikely you would be awarded a further sum even if the test case indicated that you could be entitled to a potentially larger amount. Though this does not preclude you asking for repayment of any future charges if the court finds they are unlawful.

 

If you decide to reject this offer and await the outcome of the legal proceedings with the OFT you will need to return the money which we have already paid to you. We will reconsider your complaint once the test case is resolved. We can assure you (in that instance) we have registered and stored your complaint.

 

If we do not hear from you by 6th October 2007, we will assume that you have decided to reject this offer and await the outcome of the legal proceedings with the OFT. Please retain your bank records, as this will make it easier for you to support your complaint on resolution of the test case.

 

Once the legal proceedings between the OFT and the banks finish, we will resolve your complaint as quickly as possible and apply the (test case) principles. This may produce a larger or smaller figure when compared with the current offer.

We are sorry that we have not been able to respond in full to your complaint now, but we (together with the FSA and the OFT) think that it is necessary to resolve the key legal issues before we decide how we should respond to your complaint.

 

Obviously exactly what will happen next will depend on the courts. We do not know how long the case will take - we have promised to proceed as quickly as possible but inevitably given the importance of the issues being considered this may take many months to finally resolve. But we can assure you that once the legal proceedings are completed we will resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. If at that stage you do not agree with our conclusions you will of course be able to refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) (or to the courts).

 

Given this court case we have asked the FOS not to proceed with any other case they are hearing until the test case is resolved. FOS has indicated that as a general proposition it will indeed not proceed with cases which rely on the legal issues being considered in the test case.

 

Similarly, you should be aware that if you choose to issue a claim in the Courts, the bank will immediately apply to the Court for an order to stay your action until resolution of the bank's proceedings with the OFT.

We will keep you updated appropriately about the proceedings with the OFT. You can also check the latest position on our websites at Halifax Online

 

Thank you for your patience. Yours sincerely

Laura Thompson

Customer Relations Manager

Customer Relations

 

(consent form follows)

[MacBoy]

No worries Jayne..

 

Mac

[jayneuk]

Can anyone help with this please?

[MacBoy]

Jayneuk

I was under the impression that kenny was going to take a look at this for you once you and I had worked out how to get the text of the letter posted.

 

Did you not heat from him? I haven't seen him for a couple of days - he may be busy with personal/work stuff...and I'm going away on business for a cople of days tomorrow too. I'll see if I can get someone to help.

 

Mac

[MacBoy]

OK jayne - I've raised the alarm for you - someone should be along to help soon

[muggins73]

Thanks MacBoy

 

Here is the letter -

 

 

Dear Mrs jayneuk

 

We refer to your complaint about bank charges.

We wrote to you recently making you a goodwill offer in full and final settlement of your complaint about these charges.

 

We believe the charges are fair, transparent and lawful. Since we last wrote to you, the bank (and several other banks) became involved in legal proceedings with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) about bank charges which we believe will resolve the legal issues on the fairness and legality of your bank charges.

 

We have asked the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to suspend the normal timetable for dealing with bank charges complaints, and the FSA has agreed to this request subject to conditions that protect your rights.

 

However, the goodwill payment the bank made to you still stands and you can accept or reject this offer. Please return the attached form, in the enclosed pre-paid envelope, within 2 months from the date of this letter. You should be aware that if you accept this offer, this will be in "full and final" settlement of your complaint.

 

This means that it is unlikely you would be awarded a further sum even if the test case indicated that you could be entitled to a potentially larger amount. Though this does not preclude you asking for repayment of any future charges if the court finds they are unlawful.

 

If you decide to reject this offer and await the outcome of the legal proceedings with the OFT you will need to return the money which we have already paid to you. We will reconsider your complaint once the test case is resolved. We can assure you (in that instance) we have registered and stored your complaint.

 

If we do not hear from you by 6th October 2007, we will assume that you have decided to reject this offer and await the outcome of the legal proceedings with the OFT. Please retain your bank records, as this will make it easier for you to support your complaint on resolution of the test case.

 

Once the legal proceedings between the OFT and the banks finish, we will resolve your complaint as quickly as possible and apply the (test case) principles. This may produce a larger or smaller figure when compared with the current offer.

We are sorry that we have not been able to respond in full to your complaint now, but we (together with the FSA and the OFT) think that it is necessary to resolve the key legal issues before we decide how we should respond to your complaint.

 

Obviously exactly what will happen next will depend on the courts. We do not know how long the case will take - we have promised to proceed as quickly as possible but inevitably given the importance of the issues being considered this may take many months to finally resolve. But we can assure you that once the legal proceedings are completed we will resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. If at that stage you do not agree with our conclusions you will of course be able to refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) (or to the courts).

 

Given this court case we have asked the FOS not to proceed with any other case they are hearing until the test case is resolved. FOS has indicated that as a general proposition it will indeed not proceed with cases which rely on the legal issues being considered in the test case.

 

Similarly, you should be aware that if you choose to issue a claim in the Courts, the bank will immediately apply to the Court for an order to stay your action until resolution of the bank's proceedings with the OFT.

We will keep you updated appropriately about the proceedings with the OFT. You can also check the latest position on our websites at Halifax Online

 

Thank you for your patience. Yours sincerely

Laura Thompson

Customer Relations Manager

Customer Relations

 

(consent form follows)

 

Hi Jayne,

 

Just subscribing to your thread so forgive me if I do not know the complete ins and outs of your claim so far.

 

Firstly, this appears to be a pretty standard letter at the moment as I have received one exactly the same, so there is nothing to worry about.

 

I too have commenced court proceedings and have also opted to go beyond the six year limitation and this lettter didn't sway me. I am in the process of asking the DJ to have my stay lifted or set aside at the moment, as this account (when it was open) had all my benefit money paid into it. It's a long shot as it was closed back in September 2004, but it's worth a try I think.

 

I have also written a response to halifaxs customer relations department advising them of such, and once again refusing their offer of full and final settlement, as per the letter in the template section.

 

In relation to your current claim, I dont believe they are talking about making you return the money that has already been paid in settlement of your first claim. As I said, I think this letter refers to your current claim only and is meerly a template. One that has probably been sent to thousands of us around the country with claims outstanding.

 

you have two choices,

- You either accept the amount they've offered and call it quits or

- you reject their offer and if they apply to the court to have your claim stayed (if the court hasn't already done so) then you can try and have it lifted. The only way to do this currently is if this action causes you 9and your family, finanacial hardship, and there are templates for this.

 

All-in-all this is a minor blip and is nothing to worry about, honest:)

 

I hope this has helped to ease your mind, and if you have any questions then feel free to let me know.

[muggins73]

Oh, and in addition to the points above, this letter does not mention the closure of your account, which as you've already been advised, will be frowned upon if done as a clear result of your claim. So again, no worries there:D

[sea-sidelady]

It would advisable to report their actions to the FOS/FSA, as it seems to be a clear attempt to use the upcoming test case to coerce claimants into accepting smaller settlements, and the FSA need to know that the bank is abusing the test case, it could help overturning the waiver due for review shortly. The review is due end of September, so time is of the essence.

____________

[jayneuk]

Thank you for your reply Muggins. I'm really sorry for the delay - only just back online after computer problems.

 

Sorry to sound thick, but I don't understand all of what you say. I don't know what a "stay" is.

 

Do I have to answer this letter or can I just ignore it? Should I carry on with my existing claim, because so far I have only sent off the first letter and the second is well overdue. If I continue with this claim, is there a possibility of me having to pay back what I have already had, because if there is then I will just accept what I have so far.

 

[sea-sidelady]

Report this letter to the FOS..!!!!!

 

Financial Ombudsman Service

 

You dont have to pay it back, carry on with your claim.

[jayneuk]

But what about the test case? Should I wait for that? There's no point in me starting court proceedings now is there?