Have the banks got 8 weeks to reply?!!!

sparky0107

Hi received a response from Abbey stating they were investigating my claim for nearly £2800, and would respond within 28 days, do I have to allow this or can I proceed with stage 2 of reclaiming charges, if anyone can help it woulb be really appreciated, the initial 2 week period is up on the 14th of June. Thanks in advance, sparky0107

simmo66

hi andrew weather you take them to court or the ombudsman is up to you im in the court process with abbey they have acknowledged my claim and if they dont defend it by the 19th of june ive won no doubt they will defend it but im not bothered im looking forward to taking it to court if i loose i loose £120 if you go through the ombudsman it takes longer but its free whatever you choose go for it regards

simmo

andrewjwalsh

Hi,

Thanks for the info. I was concerned whether this was a tactic, to stall my reclaim.

Stephen_Leak

sparky0107 wrote: »

Hi received a response from Abbey stating they were investigating my claim for nearly £2800, and would respond within 28 days, do I have to allow this or can I proceed with stage 2 of reclaiming charges, if anyone can help it woulb be really appreciated, the initial 2 week period is up on the 14th of June. Thanks in advance, sparky0107

The letters saying that they are investigating and will reply sometime between now and the next ice age are little more than acknowledgements of receipt and attempts to make you give up and go away.

Your first claim letter should give them 14 days to reply. If you have not received an acceptable reply by your deadline, send them the second “Letter Before Action” letter. If you are threatening to refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman, give them until 40 days from the date of your first letter to reply. If you are threatening to start court proceedings, give them 14 days to reply. If you have not received an acceptable reply by your deadline, then either refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman or start court proceedings on Money Claim Online.

Having said all of that, the 28 days quoted is a lot less than the 6, 7 or 8 weeks being quoted by the others.

Please read the Reclaim Bank Charges Help thread for information and the Reclaimed Bank Charges Success Stories and Reclaimed Bank Charges Success Stories II threads for inspiration.

oohtobeaterrier

sparky0107 wrote: »

Hi received a response from Abbey stating they were investigating my claim for nearly £2800, and would respond within 28 days, do I have to allow this or can I proceed with stage 2 of reclaiming charges, if anyone can help it woulb be really appreciated, the initial 2 week period is up on the 14th of June. Thanks in advance, sparky0107

i got the same response 5 weeks ago from abbey. i started court proceedings the same day i wasnt prepared to wait any longer, last week they made an offer that i thought was acceptable. dont let them fob you off.:D

supernanny_3

I have had the same letters and have just starting to file by MCOL. Must say I am a bit scared!!

Twinkly

sparky0107 wrote: »

Hi received a response from Abbey stating they were investigating my claim for nearly £2800, and would respond within 28 days, do I have to allow this or can I proceed with stage 2 of reclaiming charges, if anyone can help it woulb be really appreciated, the initial 2 week period is up on the 14th of June. Thanks in advance, sparky0107

The bank has entered you into their complaints procedure which has strict timescales laid down by the FSA. If you wish to use the Financial Ombudsman you will need to follow them too. Procedural Rules state:

4.14 Otherwise, the business must send a written acknowledgement to the complainant within five business days of receipt of a complaint. This acknowledgement must give the name or job title of the employee handling the complaint, together with details of the business’s complaints handling procedure.
4.15 The business must then, within four weeks, send the complainant either a “final response letter” (see the explanation of this at paragraph 3.22) or a holding response indicating when the business will be making further contact. Then, within eight weeks of receipt of the complaint, the business must send the complainant either a final response letter or a response that explains the delay and the next steps and informs the complainant that they can now take the complaint to the ombudsman service. In both instances the business must enclose a copy of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s leaflet.

source:Procedural Rules

If you want to use the court route you only need show the court you have given ample oppertunity for the bank to resolve the matter and the timescales in the template letters give a total of 28 days. This is more than adequate and you can send the LBA (Letter before Action) anytime after the 14th June.

Good luck

ratgirl59

hi, has anyone else had one of those letters from the bank/building society/credit card etc, stating that they need four weeks to complete their enquiries blah blah? i am helping a few mates out with claims and havent come across this before, so was just wondering if this another stalling tactic or is it now the norm ? so can i ignore this and go straight to the online court claim or do i have to give them the four weeks ? thanks in advance for any advice.

pov

thanks for reply prob with my case is two accounts one business one personal both now closed. am asking for £700 personal and £2800 business maybe more complicated. my 14 days deadline is today but they have told me they get back to me beg July, do you reckon i just go ahead with court or sit on it for a while. Your time is appreciated.

Edinburghlass_2

Edinburghlass wrote: »

Under the FSA guidelines the bank has 8 weeks in which to deal with a complaint and they must let the complainant know if they think they can't deal with the complaint within this timescale and give them an approximate date as to when they will have completed their investigation.

If you receive such a letter giving a second "date" as to when they will be dealing with your complaint this is a holding/stalling letter.

By following Martin's step by step guide you give the bank 14 days to respond to your initial letter and if no response you can send out the letter before action on day 15 and give that bank a further 14 days or you will take them to court. If you decide to file court action at either court or via MCOL you can then expect the bank to acknowledge your claim and file a defence and should read Beate's post in the Reclaim Help Thread as to the timescale for this next step.

Should your bank send you a letter giving a definate no to paying your claim or indeed if the bank suggest you take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman you can go straight to the FO alternatively you have to have been dealing with your bank for 6/8 weeks before the FO will take on your complaint.

HOWEVER, personally, I would advise you to read the bank thread relevant to your particular bank, you'll find them all linked in the Reclaim Help Thread, as some of the banks when they say they are dealing with your complaint and will reply in 8 weeks they do in fact do this and will at that stage offer to pay the whole of your claim.

You'll also find in the relevant bank threads just which banks will take it to the wire and won't make any offer nor are open to negotiation.

as above....