business HP Loan charges...?

Geo123

Hi All,

I had a loan to purchase some hardware from a major bank, the loan went swimmingly until last year when i struggled to pay on time for four monthly payments due to cash flow issues (basically clients taking 60-90 days to pay me rather than 30). This resulted in a total of 8 direct debits being returned at the cost of £35 per DD return. A total of nearly £300.

I was under the impression that the HP was a personal loan so I applied under the Consumer Act (prior to the OFT case finishing) to reclaim (if not all some) of the charges.

Unfortunately I was wrong in this assumption and the HP agreement, although paid out of my personal current account was an agreement "in connection to my business" and hense a commercial loan according to two lines of small print on the original contract.

I need to respond to this and to do this could do with some advice on how best to restate my case. Although this loan is now paid in full - i'm aggrieved about the £300 in lost fees which i believe to be too high.

Is there a sample template letter with the wordings for a commerical or business reclaim which i can use as an example in my responce?

many thanks for any help

Geo123

*bump*

in case anyone can help me?

natweststaffmember

I don't know the answer, so apologies.

Premier_2

Couple of possibilities I see.

1. What basis are you trying to reclaim the charges? Do you qualify for financial hardship as described on page 20 of the lending code? Financial hardship applies to "micro-enterprises" too, presuming you would qualify as one.

A micro-enterprise is defined as a business that employs fewer than 10 persons and has a turnover or annual balance sheet that does not exceed €2 million

If you don't qualify for financial hardship, I wouldn't bother attempting a legal claim - no one appears to have won a legal argument based claim since the Supreme Court Ruling in November 2009.

2. What clauses do you have in your supply contracts with customers? Can't you recover some costs from them if they paid you later than the agreed credit term? Usually supply contracts include such terms.

natweststaffmember

Premier wrote: »

If you don't qualify for financial hardship, I wouldn't bother attempting a legal claim - no one appears (no one has won a claim but have won the argument to amend their POC's which banks have sought to strike out. One small step at a time)to have won a legal argument based claim since the Supreme Court Ruling in November 2009.

I don't agree with you on not attempting to reclaim at all. Caution yes, but don't claim, is not an argument I am familiar with

Premier_2

natweststaffmember wrote: »

I don't agree with you on not attempting to reclaim at all. Caution yes, but don't claim, is not an argument I am familiar with

Here's what MSE Martin says on the matter:

Prior to the bank charges test case, many found going to court was the easy route, you put in a claim, the bank didn’t defend, you won by default and got the cash.

That’s extremely unlikely to happen now. Going to court is unlikely to be easy and frankly most people shouldn’t attempt it. To do so you may need to write a bespoke legal complaint, ensure you understand what are new and untested complex legal arguments and maybe even go up against the banks barristers.

There is no guarantee of success, lose and you could lose court fees of £100s, and in extreme examples, if your case wasn’t dealt with by the small claims system, risk having to pay the banks costs.

For some it’s still worth it, both for the justice of the campaign, or because your finances are so dire anyway there’s no risk – or you are confident enough to go to court comfortably.

Yet it really isn’t the right option for most people – which means if you’ve had charges and don’t fit the Ombudsman’s criteria, it’s at this point you may need to accept you won’t get your money back or at least wait to see others are successful.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/oft-bank-charges

natweststaffmember

Premier wrote: »

Here's what MSE Martin says on the matter:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/oft-bank-charges

I can think for myself and I am not some idiot wally brains who has just turned up since the OFT test case Supreme court decision. If you are a thinking being you most certainly have your own views on the matter. I do and they may well differ to Martin's et his team.