Icesave - 11 Days Later & We Are No Wiser

edwinac_2

pumpndump wrote: »

This could go on for years and years.

Like Jarndyce and Jarndyce, the fictional court case in Charles Dickens' Bleak House..

ft.com wrote:

Scene set for court battle over deposits

By Sarah O’Connor, Tom Braithwaite and Nicholas Timmins

Published: October 17 2008 00:51 | Last updated: October 17 2008 00:51

London and Reykjavik have appointed lawyers as the Nato allies threaten to sue each other over Iceland’s banking collapse.

The move came as the UK public spending watchdog ordered councils to confess to any dubious investments – on top of their £860m ($1.49bn) frozen in Icelandic banks.

UK officials have hired Jonsson & Hall, a Reykjavik-based law firm, to explore legal options after Gordon Brown threatened to chase Iceland through the courts to recoup money deposited in its failed banks by UK companies, public bodies and individuals.

But Geir Haarde, Iceland’s prime minister, said Reykjavik had appointed a UK law firm, which he refused to identify, to build a case against the UK. Iceland’s three big banks, Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir, were seized last week by the state as the country’s financial system collapsed.

In an angry speech to Iceland’s parliament, Mr Haarde said the UK’s decision to put Kaupthing’s main UK division into administration and the use of antiterrorist laws to freeze Landsbanki assets, “wreaked enormous damage”.

“The way we were treated by the British government last week had nothing to do with salvaging British interests and was absolutely unacceptable,” he said.

Kaupthing appointed its own lawyers, London-based Grundberg Mocatta Rakison, with a view to suing the British government and regulators over the bank’s demise. The law firm said it was investigating the British authorities’ decision to transfer the assets of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander to ING Direct, and that damages could run into “billions of pounds”.

Gestur Jonsson, the UK’s chosen adviser, has been the lawyer for Jon Asgeir Johannesson, executive chairman of Baugur, the troubled Icelandic retail company.

Lawyers say the two countries are more likely to reach a political settlement than to take each other on in the courts. It is rare for historically friendly countries to clash in court, partly because of the diplomatic and reputational damage they risk as they trade allegations and disclose potentially embarrassing evidence.

Meanwhile, the Audit Commission ordered councils to review their books and declare any exposure to dubious financial arrangements in addition to their deposits in Icelandic banks.

Swipe

I think we could be waiting over 12 months now

Ratatosk

edwinac wrote: »

Like Jarndyce and Jarndyce, the fictional court case in Charles Dickens' Bleak House
....
From ft.com
In an angry speech to Iceland’s parliament, Mr Haarde said the UK’s decision to put Kaupthing’s main UK division into administration and the use of antiterrorist laws to freeze Landsbanki assets, “wreaked enormous damage”.

“The way we were treated by the British government last week had nothing to do with salvaging British interests and was absolutely unacceptable,” he said.

Your quote from this article fails to mention the fact that Geir Haarde also said this:
"Despite the dispute that has arisen in relations between Iceland and the United Kingdom, both countries have emphasized resolving the issues connected to Landsbanki’s IceSave accounts. The same applies to IceSave accounts in the Netherlands. No agreement has yet been concluded with the United Kingdom, but I am hopeful that an outcome will be achieved soon."

Now, whether this means that the Icesave issue is being treated largely independently of the legal confrontation is hard to tell. However the implication is certainly there and that interpretation is, in the absence of any further information, just as likely as not.

Until announcements are made through official channels I think it is best to ignore all speculation on the matter, including reports of 'I rang the FSCS and they said this' type. The FSCS call centre staff will know little more than we do and will just have scripted FAQ answers to field calls.

Frustrating as it is, all we can do at the moment is wait. If no official announcement is forthcoming in the next few days then we should start to cause a fuss with our MPs, because this lack of information is causing unneccessary worry and fueling idle speculation.

Meadows

Posted today on another forum ref FSCS:

As per just a few minutes ago they said that they were today instructed to say that they had no specific timescale as negoitiations were still going on between the British and Icelandic authorities. This is different from earlier this week when the representative said the forms would be going out in a 'week or two'. The discrepency is concerning. I asked about the update on the website for today and she said that may well be true but they had been instructed of nothing.

amistupid

This is becoming a farce if lawyers get involved this could last for months, because the longer it drags on the more they earn. I believe the FSCS will just become a useless puppet. My guess is they will, as promised, up date their website today with "firm news" It will read "The firm news is there is no firm news" and it will probably be announced just 30 seconds before the phone lines close or even worse a minute to midnight tonight!

Further more I hope the negotiations are better than last weekend where "our lot" took the huff and got the next ferry home. Strange really as at the same time the Dutch delegation made significant progress.

Optimist

amistupid wrote: »

This is becoming a farce if lawyers get involved this could last for months, because the longer it drags on the more they earn. I believe the FSCS will just become a useless puppet. My guess is they, will as promised, up date their website today with "firm news" It will read "The firm news is there is no firm news" and it will probably be annouced just 30 seconds before the phone lines close or even worse a minute to midnight tonight!

If that is the case then it will be a definite letter to my MP . There is no excuse after this time not to issue the claim forms


http://www.writetothem.com/

Satscene

Optimist wrote: »

If that is the case then it will be a definite letter to my MP . There is no excuse after this time not to issue the claim forms


http://www.writetothem.com/

Agree completely, there`s nothing to prevent the UK government making good the loss now as promised, and later dealing with the icelandic authorities. This can`t be allowed to drag on and on

dougk_2

Personally I think we should just take control of iceland!
When a company gets into financial difficulty it is run by administrators.
Therefore the UK should act as administrators for iceland until the money is returned.

~Chameleon~

Pandora123 wrote: »

For anyone who has a fixed term account with IceSave:

8. Will you compensate me for any interest I have earned on my account?

Interest owed to the depositor as at the date the bank is declared "in default" by FSCS will be paid as part of the compensation amount. Notice accounts will be paid as if notice had been served on the day the account was frozen and payment will be made, including interest, at the end of the notice period. Fixed term accounts will be paid at the maturity date with the interest that would have been paid by the bank at maturity date.

LINK

So it appears that those with fixed terms maturing months out, will be better off than those with fixed terms maturing imminently (or those with easy access accounts), because they'll receive full interest on their savings.

And from the same link above ....

6. How long will it take to process my claim?

After a declaration of default, FSCS aims to process all claims within six months. However, the time this takes depends very much on the type of claim. For example, most credit union claims can be completed within four weeks. For other types of claim it may take longer, depending on how complex it is and on some factors that may be outside of our control, such as waiting for information from third parties.

moola_3

If the FSCS give us specific positive news today then I will be pleasantly surprised, but I am not counting on it. I am not sure a form is legally essential anyway, and if they send us into another weekend in a state of uncertainty and worry then I will be no longer wait for a form from the FSCS but submit my own detailed claim to their head office by recorded delivery as a starting point for going on the offensive. From Monday we should also consider staging a media event to keep this matter in the news - the government may be less likely to stall us if there are detailed stories in the press about how seriously this is affecting people.

I am owed £35K, an inheritance from my father. Being disabled I have no means of replacing the c £200 pm interest that I have lost and which was keeping me afloat. There must be people in even worse circumstances than me. Unless we get some serious action soon Darling will need to be clearly reminded of his promise and that we are going to be continuously present in the media, reminding everyone not to feel too secure just yet.