First Direct - (merged)

Elsie2_2

Well, i've just recd the second letter from First Direct stating the same for my credit card as my bank acct, in that they will refund part of the amount claimed, but are advising me that it has to be paid straight into the debt management's acct dealing with my debt now. I've just spoken to them to ask could it not be put into a cheque, and they say no, it has to go to the debt management company. Does anyone know if this is true? Surely the court will tell them to pay me direct?!?!?!?!

PaulW922

Hi Elsie - they can do that yes. The court would see it as a reasonable course, especially if you are in arrears and with a debt management company. Whereas I am not cheerleader for any of the banks I would not expect them to do anything else if I were in their position.

I agree that 65% settlement is a bit low. I'd avoid dragging this out if I could but I don't think I'd accept less than 75% and if I had started legal proceedings I'd want the full amount.

Twinkly

Elsie2 wrote: »

Hi everyone. Need a bit of advice.

Just recd a letter from First Direct offering £726 of a claim i put in for £1105.34 (inc Interest), which is just over 65% of my claim.

They have stated in the letter, however, that if i accept the payment as a full and final settlement, they will arrange for the debt management company dealing with the account, to debit the refund from the balance outstanding.

My query is, can they state that i have to use the refund to pay off part of the debt? They dont know if i have mortgage arrears or council tax arrears, or something which i deem to be a more urgent debt than their own.

I think i will continue through the court system anyway as i am not happy to accept only 65%. But assuming i take them to court and win as i did with A&L who sent me a cheque for the refund, can they still state that i must pay the money off my debt??

Thanks Everyone.

the bank have the right to 'set off' monies against the account but certain conditions must apply first. Breach of these conditions is subject to complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.

Please see here for some information on this:

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/40/40_setoff.htm

With particular regard to the following:

Certain conditions must be met before the firm can exercise its right of ‘set off’.

and:

The debt must be due and payable. For example, if a customer misses making a loan payment, then (at least until it calls in the loan) the firm can take only the missed payment – not the balance of the loan.

If you are making payment by agreed instalments in addition or amendment to the original terms and conditions of the loan and you are not in arrears with this then I dont see how they have a right to the money. It is worth mentioning this to the bank and stating that any attempt to set off the refund against the debt will result in complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. Of course each individual case is different and it is down to the ombudsmans opinion eventually but taking this money would be a retaliatory action by the bank for reclaiming your charges.

As regards payment of the loan IF they recall you retain the same rights as a debtor as usual with payments calculated on your income and outgoings. They can demand full payment but they cannot expect it

I would advise under this whole scenario to claim back every single penny. If it ends up with them it might as well be the whole amount and relieve some of your debt at least.

Please get more advice on this and good luck

Elsie2_2

I see what your saying, but i'm not in arrears with the debt management company and never have been since the debt was transferred to them.
My stance on it was, they don't know that i may have urgent debts to clear such as mortgage arrears or rent arrears (which i don't), that i could clear with the money they are refunding.
Surely they can't dictate how i spend my money? Or maybe they can, i don't know.

Elsie2_2

Also i have recd a letr from Natwest, another of my creditors who i started court proceedings against on 20th march. This is what they wrote:

" You are aware of our position regarding charges applied to our credit card accounts under their terms. However, after further consideration i have made a partial refund of £76. This represents the part of each fee exceeding £12 each. The OFT advised that we do not have to refund any interest."

Can anyone advise me with this? I have already started my online claim on 20th March for the full £294 plus £30 court costs, so what happens if they have already refunded the account with £76. A) i dont want it paid onto my account, and do i then need to take this off the sum claimed?

newcook

First direct tried this with me - I told them I would only settle if the amount was made payeable to me by cheque and I also wrote this on the acceptance form - 5 days later the cheque was on my doormat.

helpme43

Bank:First Direct
Amount claimed £415 plus interest =£481.33
Amount offered £340
History:
I am very 'organised' so I had all statements, so went straight to asking for my charges back:
letter 1 sent on 16/3/07
Today - (one week later) - recevied a 'without prejudice' letter from First Direct, offering me £340. This represents the charges, less two stopped cheque fees amounting to £75 (I do not think that £37.50 per stopped cheque is a fair cost, incidentally) and no interest. As the account was closed some time ago they are offering to send this as a cheque to my home address.

I have been reading the thread on this forum for the past week and noticed that First Direct seem to be taking this 'on the chin' and issuing refunds immediately.

Has anyone any advice on:
1. Can I claim the two stopped cheque charges?
2. As this was so easy, should I hold out for the full amount?


I hope to post again as I have the following, other claims in progress:

Bank Of Scotland - £7,042 - plus interest - original letter sent 2/3/07 LBA sent 16/3/07 - only a holding letter (will reply within 8 weeks) received so far on 16/3.
GE capital (laura ashley card) - £267 -letter sent 16/3
Morgan Stanley - £380 - letter sent 16/3
Capital One - £815 - letter sent 16/3
Bank of Scotland - no 2 account £345 - letter sent 16/3
MBNA - (Abbey credit card) - £512 - letter sent 16/3
Tesco Personal finance - £240 - plus request to remove default - letter sent 16/3

I am a single parent, working full time and have been through an horrific divorce with many years of legal fees over child custody battles to pay - so please don't judge me (other than nicely!!).

Edinburghlass_2

I've moved this out of Success Stories so I can answer your question and will pop it into the First Direct thread as I think other users have had similar problems regarding certain charges.

You won't get an "offer" including the interest as this only comes into play when it goes to court so if you get an offer of your full claim you must accept this.

As regards the "stopped cheque" fee, was it you who stopped the cheque?

helpme43

Edinburghlass wrote: »

I've moved this out of Success Stories so I can answer your question and will pop it into the First Direct thread as I think other users have had similar problems regarding certain charges.

You won't get an "offer" including the interest as this only comes into play when it goes to court so if you get an offer of your full claim you must accept this.

As regards the "stopped cheque" fee, was it you who stopped the cheque?

The two charges of £37.50 each are described as 'charge, unpaid item' on my bank statements. As this account had no direct debits into it, I presume this was two cheques - but iunpaid item suggests cheques that were not paid as a result of insufficient funds in the account, and not a cheque I stopped. The paragraph under the sentence about not repaying this £75 refers to the costs of reviewing my account, where I have made a payment that would either make me overdrawn or exceed my agreed overdraft limit. I am not sure if this is a generic comment about all the charges or is a reasoning for why these two fees will not be repaid?
thank so much for your help

Edinburghlass_2

It seems that First Direct offer an amount with a disclaimer on a couple of charges. I would go back to them and say thanks but you will only accept an offer of the full amount or you will proceed to court.

As I say you can't ask for the interest at that stage only if they make an offer once you have started the court proceedings.