Bank Charges - illegal?

mjanet · 14 March 2006 at 9:20PM

got my statements .... worked out how much they owed me ....... sent letter before action, by mistake, asking to be refunded ...........
feel like kicking myself
from reading posts on the BAG site I am getting the letters from the same 2 people in the bank and they aint paying out so I thought give them the 14 days then file my case .I am determined to take this all the way if need be so how much have I messed my case up ??

oh and if they send the same letter refering you to ombudsman is it best in the long term ,ie in court , to reply or just ignore it and file right away or answer it while your filing your case .

Karnam · 14 March 2006 at 9:37PM

i cant seem to find this.... does asking for the charges back affecting your credit rating?

djohn2002uk · 14 March 2006 at 10:00PM

Karnam wrote:

i cant seem to find this.... does asking for the charges back affecting your credit rating?

That only happens if you default on a payment or payments.
If they did then you can request they have it removed.

By the way, thought you said the thanks button is free.:rotfl:

dchurch24 · 14 March 2006 at 10:51PM

mjanet wrote:

got my statements .... worked out how much they owed me ....... sent letter before action, by mistake, asking to be refunded ...........
feel like kicking myself
from reading posts on the BAG site I am getting the letters from the same 2 people in the bank and they aint paying out so I thought give them the 14 days then file my case .I am determined to take this all the way if need be so how much have I messed my case up ??

oh and if they send the same letter refering you to ombudsman is it best in the long term ,ie in court , to reply or just ignore it and file right away or answer it while your filing your case .

Ignore the letters regarding the ombudsman - they know (as well as we do) that the ombudsman will not enter into discussions regarding the legality of the contract. The charges were applied in line with the T&C's so the Ombudsman will not get involved.

The only thing to do is give them 14 to give the money back - when they don't give them the Good News.

mjanet · 14 March 2006 at 11:23PM

dchurch24 wrote:

Ignore the letters regarding the ombudsman - they know (as well as we do) that the ombudsman will not enter into discussions regarding the legality of the contract. The charges were applied in line with the T&C's so the Ombudsman will not get involved.

The only thing to do is give them 14 to give the money back - when they don't give them the Good News.

Thank you for replying Dchurch ... so are you also advising that it doesn't matter that I'v sent the letter before action to soon ? As I have now informed them I will start the claim against them in 14 days if it's not refunded so I don't really want to go against what I have said by now having to write again because I've sent the wrong letter ... I am fuming with myself for making such a stupid mistake .Anyway not much I can do about it now.

Don't forget everyone Dchurch has been nominated for post of the month this month .If his adviced has helped you why don't you nominate him too

dchurch24 · 14 March 2006 at 11:40PM

Just to clarify:

You have sent a letter telling them to refund the cash within 14 days or else?

If you already knew the amount they owed you, then I don't see what the problem is really. You haven't made a mistake in my eyes - or am I not getting the point (happens to me a lot that!)

If they haven't replied or haven't given you your money back within 14 days, then the answer is clear.

They must WANT to be taken to court over it. It's the only logical conclusion that can be drawn.

I would say that you have done the right thing.

dchurch24 · 14 March 2006 at 11:42PM

Karnam wrote:

i cant seem to find this.... does asking for the charges back affecting your credit rating?

That would be illegal and defamatory.

The only way it affects your credit rating is, when you get your money back and use it to pay off credit cards/OD's etc...

Then your credit looks good again.

Once my partner and I retreive the 5k Abbey took off of us, the 'get your loan here' brigade started sending cr*p through the door again.

Usefull, as I have a pot-bellied stove that is always in need of fuel.

mjanet · 15 March 2006 at 2:22PM

Just recieved standard longgggggggg letter refusing to repay me , as I expected and pointing me to the banking ombudsman.Replied with '' I am well aware of banking ombudsman but I will let a court decide on the legalities of your charges.You have until the XX march to repay me or I will start an immediate claim " ( thats condensed version ).So now I wait for 14 days to be up and then file my claim.

BTW I think a lot of what they have said in there letter proves they are punitive charges i'e: as a buisness we are entitled to set charges to cover aditional work , they sent me a list of all manual intervention on my account, none for any of these charges.I don't have a scanner even though the letter is long I don't mind typing it out if the wording is helpfull to anyone ?

lol also it suggests that I may wish to consider alternative banking arrangements , thats well in hand , new account up and running just incase

ali82 · 15 March 2006 at 2:54PM

mjanet wrote:

BTW I think a lot of what they have said in there letter proves they are punitive charges i'e: as a buisness we are entitled to set charges to cover aditional work , they sent me a list of all manual intervention on my account, none for any of these charges.I don't have a scanner even though the letter is long I don't mind typing it out if the wording is helpfull to anyone ?

Additional work, they get paid an hourly rate; it is their job to carry out tasks that need to be sorted; it's not after hours or public holiday. I'm sure we all have to carry out 'additional work' in our jobs but we don't expect someone else to pay us for it!