Bank Charges - illegal?

pink_fairy_5

dchurch24 - thats great news - congrats.

how far did the process get before they offered anything? Thanks

dchurch24

we wrote them the letter giving them 7 days on 15th Dec, they didn't give the money back so started a claim on the 8th day - they were 'served' on the 23rd Dec.

The wrote a letter last week (about 2 days after we received the Allocation Questionnaire from the court) offering a 50/50 settlement - we declined the 'offer' and stated that we would accept nothing less than full payment.

In all, the whole process took just over a month. Easy when you know how ;-)

suffolkb

Dchurch - that`s excellent news.Surely no one can now doubt that these charges are illegal.There is no way they would have coughed up unless they knew they would lose in court.I have now written to M&S and Fiat Finance giving then until Friday of next week to repay all the charges they levied on me.I still don`t know if the secured loan i had with Paragon would be covered by this thread,so i haven`t written to them yet.

Turning_into_scrooge

dchurch24 wrote:

For the information of the group: Abbey sent a letter last week to my partner 'offering' a 50/50 settlement. I wrote her a letter NOT accepting this, and reiterating that we would settle for the FULL amount of the claim, plus costs and interest - and nothing less.

This morning she recieved a letter informing her that a cheque for the full amount will be in the post.

Stand your ground - they know what they are doing is not ethical, legal and above all moral - they WILL give in and give you your money. Don't accept anything less than the full amount claimed - they're lucky I didn't claim the interest levied back as well (I see that as a fairer way of recouping any losses caused by the breach, so I didn't claim for it).

Brilliant news :T :T :T

Who's next

ajbaker

Is anyone able to post a link to the legislation that is being used here. I understand there is a certain amount of interpretation involved but I would still like to make reference to it in the letter I have to write to American Express.

wabbit02

Hi,

I was recently charged by Abbey. £100 in charges - when I queried it the immediately gave me a £30 "goodwill" gesture. Both charges are recent (we have only just opened the account) so haven't been applied to my account as yet. First one is on 3rd feb, not sure when the next one will be - probably 3rd of march.

Do I need to wait until the charges have been applied to my account before I can take action?

Also I have looked at the standard letter on https://www.govanlc.com - should I start by sending this in or are you required to make a softer query first?

I take it the process is (for Abbey anyhow)

write a letter to the general address (abbey head office) - asking for return of penalty charges
- get letter back saying no
write further letter warning of court proceedings
initiate court proceedings
- they file a defence
court proceedings progress
- they then (ussualy) refund.

wabbit02

ajbaker wrote:

Is anyone able to post a link to the legislation that is being used here. I understand there is a certain amount of interpretation involved but I would still like to make reference to it in the letter I have to write to American Express.

Take a look at this Govan law centre I think that covers what your asking for.

Andy_S_6

Just to let everyone know today I have sent "pay me my money back within 7 days or else" letters to Abbey National and Halifax Plc. I'll keep the group informed of any future developments.

If anyone is in doubt over the morality of trying to get the charges back then DON'T BE. Over the last six years I have endured bank charge upon bank charge - it nearly cost me my relationship through bringing unbelievable stress into our situation. I've had to sit for 2 days with no electricity, have had no money for xmas pressies, had to endure endless phone calls to the banks begging not to charge me, have had to let mates down, have had to borrow from unlikely sources, my credit rating has been pasted into the ground, my self-esteem reduced to rubble. that feeling of helplessness when you find out the money you were depending on was "taken" in bank charges.

Only last week I got a letter from the Abbey enquiring about the £106 I "owed" them from 2 years ago due to Sky trying to take money from my account when it had a zero balance after I had cancelled my subscription. The £106 was one failed DD and bank charges and interest. It wasn't even my fault!

Take the advice of the guys on this forum and SCREW THEM into the ground. They are heartless, uncaring, immoral ba**rds who would have you over a barrel as soon as look at you. What's good for the goose etc ....

fagun

The FSA has a number of case studies of Unfair Contract Terms, but none about bank penalty charges. Could any of you who have been affected send them the relevant information. I saw a post a while back where the person said they had a letter from Abbey acknowledging the charges were punitive.

Reporting unfair contract terms
If you have a contract concerning one of the products covered by us and you think it might be unfair, write to us including:

• a copy of your contract (which is sometimes called the ‘terms and conditions’);
• an explanation of which part of it you think is unfair, and why; and
• details of any discussions you have already had with the firm about these terms.

Send all of this to the following address:

Consumer Protection Powers Team
Financial Services Authority
25 The North Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London E14 5HS

dchurch24

Thanks for that Fagun.

I have already done this some time ago regarding Abbey. As yet, nothing has happened.