Reclaim Unfair Bank Charges Discussion Area

Jo_Green_2

Hi, I have been tackling the halifax for a claim of £10,500 after them taking nearly 4 months to give me a statement of charges. After my first claim letter they used a delaying tactic with a standard letter ssaying they were dealing with my complaint. It took a further 2 weeks and I was just about to threaten court action when I got a phone call offering me 4,500 to which I refused and immediately offered me another £700 (£5.200 in total). After putting the phone down and expecting the offer in writing the next day I thought this was not enough so 2 days later I phoned them back :money: and suggested this was not enough and they asked how much did I want, asked for £9,000 and they offered me £8,000. It then took them a week to get this offer out to me in the post and say It will take 7-10 days to get into my account after they have recieved my acceptance.
Have I done the correct thing and does anyone have advice as to weather I should have held out to ask for the whole lot with interest, as they said there was no way I would get with interest. I'mpretty pleased with how i negotiated on the phone as I felt they were getting pretty tired of me calling direct to the negotiater.:T £8,000:T :j
Be good to hear from anyone who has similar experience with Halifax.
Joanne

Edinburghlass_2

The bank is right in you wouldn't get an offer with the interest so that is a very good offer and you would do well to take it. Halifax customers thread is here..


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=285448

ukmonkey

Guys, please remember that you DO NOT have to accept confidentiality conditions that the banks may impose on any offers.

If they make an offer with such a condition attached, simply cross out the part about keeping it confidential and sign the letter and send back, or simply send them a letter along the lines of:

Ref XXXXX

Dear Bank,

I note the contents of your letter dated XX/XX/XXXX.

I do not accept your offer.

Please don't be bullied by the banks!

SUFC

Edinburghlass wrote:

I'm guessing that they have compiled all the info rather than send you statements which they are allowed to do as that is what you are asking for under DPA. Do you think the amounts are wrong?

The amounts the statements indicate i have paid are incorrect, plus it states i paid them by DD when in fact i paid them by debit card. They haven't included the early redemption figures they charged me which i asked them to.
Thye have also included 2 entries for missed payments after i had paid the account off & it was closed. Just seems a very amateurish statement not a true reflection of activity. I can't seem to attach the statements as i scanned them into my pc & saved them as pictures but heres a copy of my reply please take a look & see if you think its ok to send.

' I am writing to thank you for sending the statements I requested in my previous letters to you. However I do not believe the statements, which I have enclosed, are a true reflection of activity on either of the accounts. I know the last few payments on the XXXX account were not made by direct debit but by debit card. I also know I paid slightly higher amounts on this account & further more I missed 2 payments which is why you were threatening legal action. The dates of the debit card payments were also different, not as stated on the 'made up' spreadsheets you are trying to pass off as statements. Furthermore I don’t see how you can charge for two missed payments on the fifteenth of November when we paid up the account on the first of November.
Please could you send the actual data again including details of the early redemption charges you imposed which I intend to reclaim, through the courts if necessary.
I look forward to your response within 40 days, as Citi Financial is obliged to reply under the Data Protection Act 1998. The 40 days are up on the 1st March 2007 as I am taking it from the date when I first sent my request, which was the 18th January 2007. I am not including the £10.00 fee again as you have already cashed the 2 cheques I sent to you.
If I do not receive the information requested I shall seek remedy from the Information Commissioner.'
Many thanks, SUFC.

Edinburghlass_2

I'd take out the bit about "made up spreadsheets etc" and put in something like "as I disagree with the figures you have given can you now send copies of the statements that can confirm the figures"

Just noticed you've used the words statements received etc, change that to list of charges.

mushroombabe

Hi to you all. A work collegue told me about this site after we were talking about charges made on my account by the Halifax. Anyhow, I downloaded the template letters and handed in the first letter to them yesterday (10/02/2007). I'm in the process of trying to open up an account with the Alliance & Leicester, but I think that there will be problems with opening up a new account with them.
Can anyone let me know, what the next step to take regarding Halifax and if Alliance & Leicester refuse me, what then?

SUFC

Edinburghlass wrote:

I'd take out the bit about "made up spreadsheets etc" and put in something like "as I disagree with the figures you have given can you now send copies of the statements that can confirm the figures"

Just noticed you've used the words statements received etc, change that to list of charges.

Thanks, you truely are brilliant. Don't know what we'd do without you. SUFC.

Edinburghlass_2

mushroombabe wrote:

Hi to you all. A work collegue told me about this site after we were talking about charges made on my account by the Halifax. Anyhow, I downloaded the template letters and handed in the first letter to them yesterday (10/02/2007). I'm in the process of trying to open up an account with the Alliance & Leicester, but I think that there will be problems with opening up a new account with them.
Can anyone let me know, what the next step to take regarding Halifax and if Alliance & Leicester refuse me, what then?

Well you need to wait until you hear back from the Halifax with your statements/information, as regards opening a new account, have a read of this thread in Budgeting and Current Accounts board.

Step-by-step Guides: Bank Charges: Reclaim Your Cash | Top New Bank Account Calculator: Charge them interest Template Letters: (right click and save) Ask for charge details |Initial letter | Second letter | Small claims note Get Updates On Important Changes: Free Weekly Money Tip

mike765

Hi everyone, i'm new to the site, although i've been hearing about being able to reclaim bank charges for a while-thought it was finally time to get up and do something about it! Anyway, I had a couple questions that I was hoping somone could help me out with before I begin the process. (I've tried to search through the forums but on a dial up modem it's very slow!). Firstly, do I send the first letter (asking for a breakdown of all charges for the last 6 years) to my local HSBC branch, or to their head office? Is this the same for all correspondence? Secondly, whilst I was at university and occurring most of my bank charges, the bank withdrew the cheque book from my acount. What other way/s can I send the £10 covering the fee for the breakdown of charges?Could/would I have to get another person to write a cheque on my behalf? I'd really appreciate some advice, I figure the bank probably owe me quite abit and i'm determined to get it after their very poor customer service!

Edinburghlass_2

First post in this thread gives you the addresses for the letter asking for your details/statements, although have a read of the HSBC thread as I've a feeling they are no longer charging or maybe just £5 in which case it might be an idea to hand into your local branch and ask them.