Abbey have taken £800+ out of my account for a holiday 1.5 years ago

meerustar

Wow .... the saga continues.

I have read the letter which is well written, but I would shorten in. Quality not quantity. Get rid of the parts about doing the DIY, they don't need to know. Lose the parts about where you work and hours, days off, etc ... its irrelevant.

Also, just show copies of the emails and write your thoughts underneath rather than after each paragraph, so you can read the email in full.

Just write the specifics in the letter. Read and re-read it and chop out the bits you don't need.

Good Luck

milkydrink

meerustar wrote: »

Wow .... the saga continues.

I have read the letter which is well written, but I would shorten in. Quality not quantity. Get rid of the parts about doing the DIY, they don't need to know. Lose the parts about where you work and hours, days off, etc ... its irrelevant.

Also, just show copies of the emails and write your thoughts underneath rather than after each paragraph, so you can read the email in full.

Just write the specifics in the letter. Read and re-read it and chop out the bits you don't need.

Good Luck

Thank you, I made two blunders:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: I put that we paid in 07 not 06!!!! & I said the next day was July 07, I've corrected them now.

The bits in red, are not my thoughts, but they were my written responses to each email, I tried to show that by doing them in red. It didn't work:o

pandas66

I've briefly read through your thread kim and I would keep all correspondance punchy now.

State problem, state retification, state dates of email correspondance and that you have copies of the emails/the statements/the charges details.

I would ow state this needs to cometo a satisfactory conclusion before the end of July or you will hand his evidence over to a solicitor and instruct them to persue a claim against them. They have more than 7 days in which to resolve the matter, this has taken too much time (yours) and caused untold stress t you and you hubby and your now in need of a holiday!

Best Wishes and move it on!

Mrs_pbradley936

I think this is an awful situation for you to find yourself in. I cannot believe that they let you take a holiday that was either unpaid for or that was paid for but then they decided to refund the price of the holiday. Either way I cannot see that you have done anything to be ashamed of. I think I would make an appointment to see someone at the bank (take a day off if necessary) and ask for an explanation of how and why someone with an out of date card can have accessed money from your account in spite of your express instructions that this should not be allowed because you had not yet had a satisfactory explanation from First Choice.

I think the bank would be in a better position IF they had not phoned to ask if this was OK. The point is they did ask but you said no. The reason you said no was not because you wanted a free holiday but because there was an administrative error by First Choice or their agent, hardly your fault! Therefore it not being your fault you ought not to be penalized by facing charges that an unexpected and unauthorised debit of £800 has caused.

bluenose1

Have you ever watched 'Don't Get Done, Get Dom'

He is a consumer champion on BBC1 daytime TV.
"Dom's looking for contributors who are battling bureaucracy or looking to save money"
Here is the link if you want to see if he will investigate your complaint.Please contact us for further information or an application form.
Email: [EMAIL="dom@flametv.co.uk"]dom@flametv.co.uk[/EMAIL] (please include a contact telephone number)
Telephone: 020 7278 5052


What an absolute nightmare for you.

magyar

Kim, I like the email, but I agree with all the posters above who've said it should be snappier and more to the point.

Has this actually been sent yet, or was this for us all to comment on before you send it.

If you've sent it, then c'est la vie.

If not, then can I suggest a few points:

- you need to get all your facts 100% accurate (e.g. Abbey, not Abbey Bank as pointed out earlier)... this makes you look more professional.
- ditto use of capitals, use 'and' not '&' etc. Sorry to be pedantic, but it makes it look MUCH better if you do that, and I'm very happy to help with this if you'd like.
- take out all things like 'you might be surprised to note' etc. Just leave everything FACTUAL.
- you MUST get those old statements, I know it's frustrating, but you really won't get anywhere without them. It will be £10 well spent. I'll go halves with you!
- don't use the 'red' highlighting thing; if that gets printed out in blank and white it wouldn't make sense.
- when copying to other companies, don't include those people's names and phone numbers - just block them out or go over them with a black marker.

finally, and this is the most important:

- say what it is you actually want from them, and make this the last paragraph. As I said above, your contract was with First Choice and you should ask them for the money back, plus the charges etc. refunded. It would then be up to FC to claim this back from Streamline or anyone else. (Since they may have the legal oomph to sue your bank, you don't).

Very happy to comment on any drafts etc., either on here or by PM.

milkydrink

magyar.

Hubby did ask for statements when they told him to take it up with First Choice, we are still waiting for them.

magyar

kimevans wrote: »

magyar.

Hubby did ask for statements when they told him to take it up with First Choice, we are still waiting for them.

Cool. My advice would be to hold off sending that email until you have them.

milkydrink

Mystery solved.

First Choice were paid for their holiday.
But Abbey NEVER debited us. They remembered about the end of June & decided to take the money without warning, they also BACKDATED it to June 4th & whacked us for charges that never happened.
I think its appalling the way they have behaved.
First Choice are innocent, I wish I could re-name the thread.
I'm going to fight the charges, they are un-ethical.

Anyone got any advice?

magyar

kimevans wrote: »

Mystery solved.

First Choice were paid for their holiday.
But Abbey NEVER debited us. They remembered about the end of June & decided to take the money without warning, they also BACKDATED it to June 4th & whacked us for charges that never happened.
I think its appalling the way they have behaved.
First Choice are innocent, I wish I could re-name the thread.
I'm going to fight the charges, they are un-ethical.

Anyone got any advice?

Firstly, you CAN rename your thread, you just edit the first post.

Secondly, can I just clarify the situation:

- First Choice called for the transaction in Feb 06, and were paid their money
- Abbey didn't debit your account until Jun 07 (so effectively only half the transaction occurred)

What I would do is to contact the Citizen's Advice Bureau. You can find your local branch here.

It's clear to me this is completely unethical, and almost certainly a breach of the banking code. But the CAB should be able to advise on the right course of action.

Potentially your other route is via the Banking Ombudsman, but I would go to the CAB first.