Taking The Fight Back

hicskis

This thread is aimed at those that have been subjected to unlawful bank charges and have had as a consequence detrimental data recorded against them with the Credit Reference Agency’s (CRAs).

This is aimed at those that want to bring the fight back to the banks.

I will need to clarify here that we are dealing ONLY with a lender or bank when they have made a mistake (breached the contract with you) and have recorded detrimental data against you with the CRAs - such as missed payments.

To clarify further when I mean a mistake I mean that the bank had no right under the terms and conditions of the contract and Law to do what they did. This is not about whether you think you have been wronged, or you think the charges were unfair - but to do with clear cases of contract law that can be proven to be wrong.

See the Case Study* below for an example.

Your Rights

You have the following rights – DEMAND that

• they give you your money back that they unlawfully took;
• they repair your files with the CRAs;
• they pay you your costs;
• you be compensated for the damage their Negligence has caused

The following process should be applied:

Ask first (by phone) as a gesture of goodwill that they do points 1 & 2 above and that they give you 10 pounds for your trouble of raising it with them.

If they refuse then immediately follow that request up in writing and DEMAND that they do that. At the same time start an accounting process that enables you to recover your costs:

a) Physical costs such as telephone calls, postage, photocopying, electricity, depreciation of your computer etc
b) Time - at 10 pounds per hour (Financial Ombudsman Service briefing note**)

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/distress-and-inconvenience.htm

c) Every standard letter you send at 12 pounds per letter because that is what the credit card companies have admitted is a reasonable cost for a letter. If the lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service is unwilling to accept this cost then it will have to be tested in court.
d)Damages - keep it low as per the FOS briefing note- a couple of hundred pounds at most.


**I have included the link to The Financial Ombudsman Service above so you can see the technical note in regards to what and in which circumstance you can claim.

Buy a diary and write everything down – absolutely everything.

Write first to:

• Customer Services;
• then Manager of Customer Services;
• then to the Chief Executive;
• then the Financial Ombudsman Service;

Don’t mess around – if you don’t get the response you want from the appropriate department then escalate the complaint to the next level.

When you have the Final Response from the bank then you want to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You want the FOS to order the firm to:

a)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]give you your money back that they unlawfully took;
b)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]repair your credit files with the CRAs;
c)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]pay you your costs;
d)[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]compensate you for the damage their Negligence has caused.

The Law

The bank has broken its contract with you and is therefore Negligent. In regards to the Case Study below Bank A had not been reasonable in the circumstances to mitigate my loss.

Settlement

At any time you may be offered a settlement by the bank which you will have to seriously consider if they have fulfilled your Demand to repair your credit file. The Financial Ombudsman Service may well instruct the bank to repair your credit files and pay a proportion of what you are claiming.

You ought to receive some money in compensation for damage caused and you will be compensated in part for your time.

You will get the money that they took back plus interest.

*Case Study

Bank A when I attempted to pay my credit card bill using the banks on-line system that was not operating at the time as the bank was making repairs to the system due to outside fraud - failed to accept a debit card payment from me over the telephone from my current account that I held at the same bank - as such payments were not permitted under the contract.

Even though such payments were barred under the contract - this was however a more than reasonable method of paying the credit card bill by me as I was overseas at the time, and could have been permitted under the circumstances by the bank as they could have accepted such a payment.

Bank A failed to make any other necessary arrangements so that my credit card could be paid on time and repeatedly stated afterwards that the terms and conditions clearly state that they are not liable for any loss should the on-line system be un-operational for whatever reason.

They claimed I should have come into the branch and made the payment myself in person, over the counter – knowing I was overseas the entire time.

Realising the seriousness of the problem I sent a cheque from my current account covering the card payment even though I knew it would arrive late – the bank cashed that cheque.

I was then charged for missing that payment and the event was registered with the CRAs as a missed payment.

I complained after a lengthy fight to the Financial Ombudsman Service where it was ordered that the Bank repair my credit file and reimburse me those charges and compensate me for part of my loss.

I could have at that time refused to accept the settlement and pursued the matter for my full loss in court.

However I was overseas at the time and my travel expenses would not have been covered as reasonable costs, and there was a risk that I could have received an unfavourable decision in such regards by the Judge.

I accepted the settlement as it more than covered the physical cost.

Small Claims Court

For claims under 5000 pounds this is a relatively un-complex process. You file your papers, pay the nominal fee and attend.

Be careful if you go down this route – the Law as the OFT (a government agency no less) recently found out - is not so un-complex.

Disclaimer

This information about the law is designed to help users safely cope with their own legal needs. But legal information is not the same as legal advice -- the application of law to an individual's specific circumstances. Although I go to great lengths to make sure my information is accurate and useful, I recommend you consult a lawyer if you want professional assurance that my information, and your interpretation of it, is appropriate to your particular situation.

natweststaffmember

Do you not realise that you are stating the blindingly obvious??? If the bank makes a mistake then they have to put you back into the position you were prior to the mistake.
Stone the Crows, that is normal banking practice.

hicskis

Yes but at a monetary cost to the bank. I have read many of your replies natweststaffmember to know you are quite knowledgable - Think outside the box a little.

hicskis

I would like to further add that is what i wish to see:

By natweststaffmember:
If the bank makes a mistake then they have to put you back into the position you were prior to the mistake.

At the moment people are only getting back percentage points of what banks took.

ThunderBird_3

you are not going to change the world dude!!!!

natweststaffmember

hicskis wrote: »

I would like to further add that is what i wish to see:



At the moment people are only getting back percentage points of what banks took.

If there is a clear bank error, remember, we aren't talking unfair charges and you post including the case study is about bank error and/or system error then people should get 100% back based on factual information as your own case indicates.
This is not about thinking outside the box but about getting people their money back which is not about bank error but unfairness of the way the charges were levied and not about level or cost of the charges.

hicskis

Check out this video natweststaffmember -

http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/

Is this an Unfair tax (charge) on the banks or a means to getting some of the taypayers money back?

Yes or No?

natweststaffmember

hicskis wrote: »

Check out this video natweststaffmember -

http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/

Is this an Unfair tax (charge) on the banks or a means to getting some of the taypayers money back?

Yes or No?

I don't really care to be honest(it won't ever effect me since I am unlikely to ever work in financial services again). there is already a tax on bank bonuses over a certain amount(cannot remember the amount). Not sure it has anything to do with the first post though.

hicskis

By natweststaffmember:
I don't really care to be honest(it won't ever effect me since I am unlikely to ever work in financial services again).

But it most certainly will - where do you think the banks are going to come looking for the lost revenue?

think4yourself

Dealt with at robinhoodtax.org.uk/uncategorized/who-ends-up-paying-for-all-this/

Makes interesting reading.

ThunderBird_3

Yeah - the bank's got us into this mess - they should get us out. Why do us taxpayers have to foot the bill. Who cares if the shareholders loose there money - teach em a lesson wouldnt it -