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

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.............

babycakes666

Thank you for everyones advice on this, i think i will wait another week and give them a call again. I do feel quite pushy and a little guilty asking for this back after all its a lot of money! ( 1.200) Just seems to be takign long, my brother in law did his as soon as this all came about and he got all his money back and the whole process only took 4 weeks from start to finish! but i understand they are bbusy now.

Again thanks

Leanne

bingobella_2

Hi there,
Wrote to HSBC on 29th May 07 with the 1st of Martin`s :money: letters to say that my charges were unlawfull for a total of £2778 without interest.

Got a letter back 4th June 07 saying that they are investigating the matter and to see the enclosed complaints procedure leaflet. (Which states that they have 8 weeks to respond).

Im not quiet sure what to do now should I wait for the 8 weeks (24th July) or should I forward the 2nd of Martin`s :money: letters saying that they response isn`t good enough and i`m proceeding with the courts / FOS.

I would rather wait for the 8 weeks to see if i get a payout as i could really do with the money it would pay off a credit card.

Advice needed please!

Bingobella xxxx

mrs-d_3

Hi bingobella,

I sent my letters this week to Lloyds (3 acc. total just over £4500). I used the template letter from consumeractiongroup. I'm not an expert but after a lot of reading the advice seams to be stick to your time not theirs. Thing is they are highly unlikely to give you the money after 8 weeks so you loose 6 weeks of your time. If you go to consumer action site they have a template for second letter in which you are giving them another 2 weeks before going to court. It's also a very good site to read more on bank charges.
Hope this helps,
Good luck, MrsD.

Stephen_Leak

bingobella wrote: »

Hi there,
Wrote to HSBC on 29th May 07 with the 1st of Martin`s :money: letters to say that my charges were unlawfull for a total of £2778 without interest.

Got a letter back 4th June 07 saying that they are investigating the matter and to see the enclosed complaints procedure leaflet. (Which states that they have 8 weeks to respond).

Im not quiet sure what to do now should I wait for the 8 weeks (24th July) or should I forward the 2nd of Martin`s :money: letters saying that they response isn`t good enough and i`m proceeding with the courts / FOS.

I would rather wait for the 8 weeks to see if i get a payout as i could really do with the money it would pay off a credit card.

Advice needed please!

Bingobella xxxx

The 8 weeks is only if you want to refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman.

If you don't think that you could successfully handle a court claim, or can't afford the court fees and aren't eligible for fee relief, then the Financial Ombudsman is an alternative. It is free of charge and handles everything for you. However, they cannot force the bank to pay up, set the level of the settlement or award interest like a court. Despite this, their success rate is good. Being financial experts, they can also threaten to ask the bank some very awkward questions. If the Financial Ombudsman is unsuccessful, you can still take the bank to court.

If you threaten to refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman, give them until 8 weeks from the date of your first letter to reply. However, if the reply either suggests that you now refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman or says a definite no, then you can refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman straight away. If you have not received any reply for the 8 weeks, then you can refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman.

If you threaten to start court proceedings, give them 14 days to reply. If you have not received an acceptable reply by this deadline, then start court proceedings on Money Claim Online.

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.

revrm

Claimed for £1300 using templates :money: - got letter today saying they were considering claim and went on -

"Given the work involved in assessing your claim we anticipate that we will be in a position to respond within 6-7 weeks, but will endeavour to do so sooner if we are able to."

what do others think? Is this reasonable?


thanx

bingobella_2

Thanks for you responses after reading some of the threads i think i will go ahead and send the LBA letter it`s been three weeks now so i will go ahead and see what other response i get! from the bank.

I`ll keep you posted on how i get on.
Thanks again
bingobella

Stephen_Leak

revrm wrote: »

Claimed for £1300 using templates :money: - got letter today saying they were considering claim and went on -

"Given the work involved in assessing your claim we anticipate that we will be in a position to respond within 6-7 weeks, but will endeavour to do so sooner if we are able to."

what do others think? Is this reasonable?


thanx

How long do you want to wait? Who's claim is it?

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. At this point, you have to decide between referring your claim to the Financial Ombudsman or starting court proceedings.

If you don't think that you could successfully handle a court claim, or can't afford the court fees and aren't eligible for fee relief, then the Financial Ombudsman is an alternative. It is free of charge and handles everything for you. However, they cannot force the bank to pay up, set the level of the settlement or award interest like a court. Despite this, their success rate is good. Being financial experts, they can also threaten to ask the bank some very awkward questions.

If you threaten to refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman, give them until 8 weeks from the date of your first letter to reply. However, if the reply either suggests that you now refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman or says a definite no, then you can refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman straight away. If you have not received any reply for the 8 weeks, then you can refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman.

If you threaten to start court proceedings, give them 14 days to reply. If you have not received an acceptable reply by this deadline, then start court proceedings on Money Claim Online.

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.<O:p</O:p

t4t

I have tried to reclaim £475 back from HSBC. I have sent them the first letter asking them to repay the charges(template downloaded from the site), sent the second letter threatenining court action. I have now recieved a letter giving me a reference number for my case about 2 weeks ago. I have phoned them to ask what is happening and they have now said that it only got put throught the system on 6 June and takes 8 weeks from there for me to get my money back/ look at the claim.

Is this just a process to delay me or what?!! I have contacted the Financial Ombudsman and they are sending a letter of complaint.

Please help, I am sooo confused!

Regards

t4t

iain_jones

I bank with Nat West, i sent my letter asking for my unlawfull charges back, they have responded with a letter saying they are considering my claim but as it takes a lot of looking into they will get back to me 6-7 weeks!

Is this normal?
Should it take this long?
How do i respond?