First Direct - (merged)

Rex_Mundi

It's a personal choice whether you accept a lower amount or not. I bet the bank couldn't believe their luck that you weren't interested in claiming the full amount that you are entitled to.

mumsyrach

Diggerb wrote:

First Direct! I was with them some years ago, but binned them, they are I think one of the worst banks I have ever had the misfortune to deal with,
Which surpises me as they are part of HSBC,, I have been with HSBC for years and generaly HSBC has been very good to me (so far) not the same for everyone I know, I think it largely depends on the branch itself that you deal with.

However, if First Direct do impose the fine (cos thats what it is) of £10.00 for having less than £1500.00 in the bank at any one time, I reckon they will lose a hell of a alot of customers, and share holders, "for whom the bell tolls" you might say.

Diggerb

Had exactly the same experience, was with both first direct and HSBC during my student days and HSBC couldnt have been more helpful or nicer to me but first direct just didnt seem to care, imposing more and more charges!

If only i had known about reclaiming back charges back then before i shut this account down!!

Just hope that first direct are not going to be the one to get all the banks started on charging their customers again!

Might have to dig a hole in the garden and stash my cash there! hehe

Rex_Mundi

mumsyrach wrote:

If only i had known about reclaiming back charges back then before i shut this account down!!

Even though you've closed an account, you can still claim back any charges you had on that account in the last six years. This is even better because you don't have to open a new account in case they close it (it's already closed).

Hizz

Have posted this on CAG site but haven't had any response, so here it is again:-

Trawled through the 6 years of statements and prior to sending my Preliminary letter and spreadsheet, I need some advice on the following:-

There was an occasion when my debit card was either lost or stolen, and as a result was used by somebody else defraudulently. Having read the manual intervention notes on my account, the FD Fraud Dept. were involved. The actual wording is that 'Fraud verbal authorisation given file to be raised customer held liable £50 liable. Does this constitute a servive? And if so, can I reclaim this charge?

At the time we did have card protection but didn't claim!

As it's easy to identify the bank transacations from the DR statement intitials. I have noticed one from a few years ago that is:-

DR withdrawn................ ..then the amount

Is this likely to be cash withdrawn from over the counter? If so, it doesn't refer to bank, or could it be something else, how could I find out? Should I include this in my claim?

Do I add interest to the amount I have calculated on charges before sending off my claim, and if so, how should I calculate this?

Help would be highly appreciated.

cindyhove

michael1983l wrote:

all my statments were available online for the whole time I have been with the bank. I sent them an electronic message asking for 60% of my money back immidiatly with no attached terms to close the matter otherwise I would see them at court for the full cost plus interest. I also said I wanted this ammount within 14 days. They written back saying they cannot close this matter via electronic mail but they would be sending me the paperwork through the post, so it looks like they have gone for it. £600 in 14 days for writing 1 measley electroinic message. You have to be happy with that :beer:

where did you go to online to get all your back statements?

Having written asking for them I received a leter saying I would get them by courier. Only problem is that there is no one at home to receive them!

michael1983l

cindyhove wrote:

where did you go to online to get all your back statements?

Having written asking for them I received a leter saying I would get them by courier. Only problem is that there is no one at home to receive them!

log into your online banking with them, thats providing you are still a customer of course, click statments at left hand side there you will find a drop down menu where you can select any month. I have electronic statments selected I dont know if that makes any difference.

neilmorris123

.... Hey guys,

I'm a relative newbie to this site and this is my first post.

I've been with First Direct for about 7 years and in that time i have racked up numerous charges (£1515.00) from them and in the last two months i thought i should really consider pursuing this (with the mindset that i haven't got anything to lose but a lot to gain)....

I ended up asking them for my bank charges for the last 6 years and naturally they just sent me 500 pages worth of statements (I guess just to prove whether or not i was serious about my claim???)

It's taken 3 letters and one phone call and finally this weekend i received a letter from them....

'We are confident of our position and believe that if your claim for a refund proceeded to court, we would successfully resist any legal challenge in relation to these fees.

First Direct is, however, mindful of the management time and irrecoverable legal costs we may incur in relation to such a claim. For these commercial reasons alone, and without any admission of liability whatsoever, first direct is prepared to make a payment to you in the sum of £1515.00, in full and final settlement of this matter'

To be honest i didn't use this site for the claim (i hadn't visited here... sorry!!!!) but i followed this link and just followed the steps.

I noticed some chap in this thread was in the process of going to court so i guess in certain cases (when more is being contested i guess) that it may be worth them pursuing??? If it's around my figure it just isn't worth it for them???

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/foolseyeview/2006/fev060504c.htm

Good Luck everyone, loads of my mates have been waiting to see whether it works or not but i can definitely say it worked for me so i hope it works for all of you :-)

:j

big_h_6

Hi I am a neewbie

I have spent a day starting the process of claiming back my charges, I have set up a student current account with halifax this morning and cancelled all payments and directdebits to my dreaded first direct account.

i have worked out from all my statements that i have paid £205 to first direct in charges, which isn't a lot compared to some of the claims posted but it would be a lot of money to a poor student like me(and considering this was over a time scale of 18months they have done well out of me).

Just about to trot down to the post box and send the initial letter (asking for charges but no interest). i feel excited and empowered and feel willing to go all the way even tho my claim is a meagre sum.many of my charges were due to a previous month's charge being taken out of my account when i didnt have enough to pay.

i have heard from a friend that works in the 40 wakefield road building of first direct that they have set up a huge department to deal with these claims.

i hope they are quaking in their boots. haha.

will keep all posted

biggie :j

jonnyb1978

About to claim to Capital One Credit Card but want to get a few things cleared up first.

1. How do i send payment if i have to got a cheque book? Can i give them permission to charge my card?
2. I believe the maximum charge deemed fair on a credit card is £12. So, do i claim for the whole lot or for each charge minus the £12?
3. Is it the same process as for a normal bank?

Thanks

Rex_Mundi

1) You can send a postal order for £10
2) You claim back the whole amount.
3) Yes