Bank charge offer - should I take it?

judi24

I got an offer for repayment of bank charges from the Yorkshire Bank. I claimed for £4770.00 plus costs plus inteest of almost another £4000.
I got to the stage where I claimed through the small claims court and was waiting for a defence to be filed. Got a letter today offereing £4664 plus costs.
Should I accept and be happy with the fact that I got almost all of my charges back or hold on for the interest.

Obviously £5000 would make a fair dent on out debt - but £9000 would be about half of what we now owe.

The problem is the YB are not settling very easliy - I don't know how long this process will take and how stressful this would be if I had to go to court.

Any thoughts on this dillema would be appreciated.

judi24

I'm not sure - I would think our case is as solid as anyone elses. They say in thier letter that this is not an admission - just a goodwill gesture and a way to settle this. They say they will present the offer in court as way of showing that they have attempted to settle. I know this is just trying to put me off - but on the CCAG website most people are taking YB's offer at this stage - a few are holding out but none have been concluded yet.

Don't want to get to court and the judge says i'm being greedy and get nothing - I just don't know what to do.

mummyemma

sorry just want to make sure i understand something before i answer your question

Your claim is for £4770 + court cost and then another £4000 on top of that in interest. Is that interest the 8% added at court stage or is it contrual interest???

sorry just want to be clear before i answer you

Emma

judi24

This is the interest worked out on the spreadsheet from the CAG site - it's at 8% and added a court stage - I know it seems a lot but I have checked it and double checked it and it come to just under £4000.

lil'H

I don't know much about reclaiming, but I have to say if they are offering all the charges back plus a little extra, how likely is it you'll get the interest on top without a lengthy/expensive battle? Also whilst you are accruing interest on your current debts how quickly do you need to pay a chunk off?

Lil'H

mummyemma

thanks that what i thought, in that case i would hold out. They will increase your offer. They know they are wrong and would much rather you took £4000 rather than £8000.

If i remember correctly no bank has yet taken anyone to court and have all settled before hand (or last time i checked that was the case). i would try and hold out for longer

Just my opinion and good luck in what ever you decide

Emma

judi24

In relation to or debt - all but £2000 is at o% until April 2007. The £2000 is at 2.9% now. So in effect if they settled before April we would no be incurring much interest and I am hoping to pay the £2000 off within 3-4 months. So in alot of respects it would be better to wait and hold out - it's just having the nerve to do it!

The cost implication for the cout case is small cos it goes through the small claims court which means you pay up front but you don't acrue any extar costs. So that is not really an issue.

prudryden

mummyemma wrote:

thanks that what i thought, in that case i would hold out. They will increase your offer. They know they are wrong and would much rather you took £4000 rather than £8000.

If i remember correctly no bank has yet taken anyone to court and have all settled before hand (or last time i checked that was the case). i would try and hold out for longer

Just my opinion and good luck in what ever you decide

Emma

Correct. Continue negotiating. If you have a friend that knows legal terminology and processes - get his help with the letters. I personally don't think you need a lawyer. And don't be afraid of the Claims Court - you're just going to a third party to settle an unsettled dispute.

mummyemma

oh with reguards to letters go back to the consumer action group they have a good template letter. You can accept their offer as a partial settlementand tell them you will continue collecting the rest through the small claims court. if you cant find the letter over there give us a yell i think i have it saved some where

Emma

judi24

prudryden wrote:

Another question: Are you asking for restitution i.e. to be put whole again or are you also asking for punitive interest? If the former, it sounds as if the defendants have entered into the beginning of a negotiated settlement.
Your next step would be to acknowledge their letter (be polite) and make a counter offer. The reason for this is that the judge wants to see some effort by both parties to settle the issue prior to entering the court room.
Since money doubles every 10 years at 7% - I'm wondering why the interest you are claiming is so high. Has this been going on for a long time?

I think I am asking for restitution not punititive interest - the interest is high because it is for 3 acounts over 6 years I think.

If I ask for a counter offer do I ask for all the interest or just some of it?

Maybe the fact that I don't really know what I'm doing means I should cut my losses and take waht they are offering - I don't want to end up with nothing if i f*** it up!!!:eek:

mossy

To me it sounds like they are trying to shut you up and give you a small payout when you are entitled to more.

I think prudryden's suggestion of politely acknowledging their offer and making a counter offer is a good way to go. I think it very likely that they'll accept your counter offer especially if its somewhere inbetween what you originally asked for and what they are offering.

If you are freaked out by the thought of going all the way with this claim and are worried about messing it up then a counter offer could be the ideal solution. This way you are still going to get more money out of them but without the stress and worry of messing it up and ending up with nothing.

I guess it would be best to find some advice/help/template on making a counter offer and how to word it as like you said you don't want to fluff it up. Even if they decline your counter offer atleast the court will see that you have tried to be reasonable.

Good luck!!!