First Direct - (merged)

bluejosiah

Phoned First Direct on 4th April to request statements (as they are free and quicker than sending a letter), was told they would take 7-10 working days, received them today - 11 days! Going to wait a few days for the latest statments to date then going to send Letter 2 asking for £410+recent charges! This thread is very encouraging! Thanks all!

d0nnyoz

That seems very fast indeed - 11 days!?!
I wrote to FD on 26th March and got a reply dated 29th March with my returned cheque.
But as of today (23rd April), I still have no statements.

What number is best to call on for this matter?

cheesy*wotsit

I am in the process of claiming back my bank charges through the solicitor that I work for. First Direct have offered me £200 less than what I am claiming for. My legal fees will be either nothing or minute, but am still very nervous about proceeding as any amount of money from them would be nice as its money that I didnt think I would get back, but if things went wrong I couldn't afford to pay out. Can people out there please put my mind at rest as most of me wants to take on the bank but is scared to. If I knew I would definetely win in some shape or form I would go with (for want of another phrase) all guns blazing. Help!

beardface_2

The best form of reassurance can be found in this forum. See if you can find a post by anybody who has been to court and lost.

Even if you were to lose there wouldn't be anything to pay out as you are claiming your money back.

love_united_hate_glazer

Telephoned Fd and requested 6 yrs bank statements not a problem, recieved them via DHL 10 days later.

Advisor on phone advised:
"It wont be held against me for attempting to claim back charges and First Direct wouldnt close the account as they dont operate like that"
And by all means request the charges back and they would look into them"

Highlighted £2007 worth of charges
Copied statements and enclosed with
Downloaded template letter and its in the post !

14 DAYS TO REPLY WITH FULL SETTLEMENT AMOUNT, IF NO REPLY COURT ACTION GURANTEED !!!!!! WATCH THIS SPACE.......

so far this year I have recieved a free month of broadband from BT worth £27
and £20 from British Gas due to both being incompetient.

thebiglebowski_2

Requested statements from First Direct, which took 2 weeks to arrive via DHL.
Calculated £831 without the interest, and £1180 with compound interest using the MSE charges calculator.

Wrote to FD asking for a refund.

Got a letter today advising me the total is actually £667, as a couple of the charges fall outside the 6 year time frame.

With the usual gumpf of being confident of thier position, and claining no liability whatsoever, they have offered me a settlement of £567.

Should I take it, or chase them for the rest?

Must admit, the thought of court is a bit daunting, but it seems very few ever get that far.

Whynothen

Has anyone ever had their Credit card bill merged with their overdraft by FIRST DIRECT. This is what they did to me. I never went over my overdraft limit but I did not pay money in regularly. I now have a bit of money but they are demanding the full balance.

Are they allowed to merge my Credit card and overdraft, close my account and demand the full balance as well?

Elsie2_2

Whynothen wrote: »

Has anyone ever had their Credit card bill merged with their overdraft by FIRST DIRECT. This is what they did to me. I never went over my overdraft limit but I did not pay money in regularly. I now have a bit of money but they are demanding the full balance.

Are they allowed to merge my Credit card and overdraft, close my account and demand the full balance as well?

God, this reminded me of what they did to me about 4 years ago. I had my current acct with them, plus a credit card and an overdraft. I contacted them to say i was struggling and they merged my credit card and overdraft together as a loan and unfortunately, they closed my bank account. They wanted me to pay £260p/m which i tried to do for a few months, butcouldnt keep up and went to the CAB as a very naive newby about all things money. I know a lot more now and i sent them an Income and Expenditure showing i could only afford £60pm which they said they wouldnt be able to accept. They werent horrible, they just said it was too low. It has since been farmed out to a very nice Debt Management company and i now pay £30pm. I intend to clear it in full when i sell my house.
So.... long story short, yes they can close it. I didnt mind them merging my stuff as i was only paying one lot of interest. Dont worry if they say it will go out to a DMP as they are usually quite approachable. It wont affect claiming your charges either, you can still do this. If you can prove you cannot pay it back all at once, they will usually accept a payment plan.

thebiglebowski_2

I have just recieved a letter back from FD offering me £567, from an original claim of £860. I think I'm going to turn it down and try and get the full amount through the courts, plus interest.

They were pretty quick, and replied to my request for a refund within 14 days.

sammyannie

Have been reading the site for a while now but actually feel like a proper member of the gang as I've now sent off my letter to FD asking for 3104 in charges (3999 with interest). Am assuming I'll get the standard 14 days letter but can't wait to see what happens from here on.

Have also sent letters to Cap One and MBNA requesting statements on closed accounts so hopefully I'll get those in the next couple of weeks.

Will keep everyone posted with developments!