Bank / building society - court action to reclaim my cash.

Ogre_De_Flamme

So. I sent the building society a letter closing my savings account. It said it didn’t receive it but I think they did.
I logged on and sent a secure message closing the account and they refused saying they don't think its my money.
I sent a bank statement showing where the money came from which they received but gave no reply.
I've not threatened court and got no response.

To anybody who has been in this situation. What excuse can they give to a judge to avoid paying me ?

meer53

You don't need to go to court, you need to make a formal complaint to the building society and allow them to respond. (they have up to 8 weeks to respond) If they don't or you're not happy with their response you can then go to the Financial Ombudsman. It's free.

You wouldn't stand a chance in court if you've not given them chance to respond to you.

Archi_Bald

Before you consider court action, you should raise a formal, written, complaint with the bank / building society. They then have 8 weeks to respond.

If they fail to respond to your satisfaction, you can take them to the FOS, or to Court if you prefer.

rb10

Have you actually spoken to them, to ask why they believe the account is not yours? i.e. phoned up or visited a branch?

grumbler

meer53 wrote: »

You wouldn't stand a chance in court if you've not given them chance to respond to you.

Yes, but no court would require waiting 8 weeks for a reply. 2 weeks will definitely suffice.

Archi_Bald wrote: »

...They then have 8 weeks to respond....

Yes - if you go to the ombudsman. Not necessarily if you are going to the court and warn the bank about your plans.

If they need more time they have at least to reply and confirm receiving a complaint and inform you about this.

Hominu

Ogre_De_Flamme wrote: »

So. I sent the building society a letter closing my savings account. It said it didn’t receive it but I think they did.

Did it send it via a guaranteed/signed for delivery method? If not you have no proof to say they received it, or even proof to say you sent it.

Likewise, did you send your bank statement via a guaranteed service?

I'd raise a formal complaint in writing, sent via special delivery. Keep all receipts. If you still don't hear from them after 8 weeks, go to the FOS. Court is also an option (and you can do this much earlier), but it'll cost. The FOS, in comparison, is free.

grumbler

Why pay for a special delivery if a recorded signed for is no different in this case?

Ogre_De_Flamme

My gratitude extended to forumite responders. I’d like the money this side of 2016 so I’ll avoid complaints.

agrinnall

Reading between the lines I think the BS suspect you of money laundering or some other illegal activity. I would suggest that rather than trying to do this by post or secure messaging, you make an appointment to discuss it in person with them so that you can show them where the money came from and answer any queries that they have.

Archi_Bald

Ogre_De_Flamme wrote: »

My gratitude extended to forumite responders. I’d like the money this side of 2016 so I’ll avoid complaints.

If you mean by that that you think you will be better served by going to Court than with the suggestions people made on this thread, let us know how you are getting on. Just bear in mind that

• no Court will hear your case unless you can provide sufficient evidence (in a judge's eyes) of your efforts to seek a reasonable settlement out of Court
• Courts, even small claims/MCOL, can take many months before your case is heard, if it will ever been heard (see above)

Archi_Bald

grumbler wrote: »

Yes, but no court would require waiting 8 weeks for a reply. 2 weeks will definitely suffice.

You would be surprised how long a Court will give people to respond. Particularly if there is no danger to life, as is the case here.

I would suggest that the "up to 8 weeks" a bank/building society can take is positively fast compared with anything taken to Court. In any case, the 8 weeks are the only timescale that is defined - - - neither the FOS nor a Court is operating to any committed timescale.