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Metropolitan Collection Services Refund

ancilla100
Posts: 42 Forumite
Hi all,
I've been debt-free for 3 years now, mainly due to an article on here urging me to check my tax code. The money from my tax rebate paid nearly everything off. Check now just in case!
Anyway, I got a letter this week from Metropolitan Collection Services who had taken over my debt from HSBC. I repaid the debt in full over three years ago, making the payment for the amount owed over the phone to them. The letter said I had an overpayment and was due a refund. I rang them and they said the account was overpaid by nearly £200 and arranged to refund me the money.
So far so good right? Extra money I didn't know I had.
But I asked them, how long it's been overpaid and they confirmed that the last payment on the account was my final payment 3 years ago and nothing was said to me before this letter. The account with HSBC was closed so I wasn't able to check the account online or see the balance any other way. Should I get any compensation/interest for this seeing as they've had that money for three years and not told me?
Any thoughts/advice/people who've gone through this?
I've been debt-free for 3 years now, mainly due to an article on here urging me to check my tax code. The money from my tax rebate paid nearly everything off. Check now just in case!
Anyway, I got a letter this week from Metropolitan Collection Services who had taken over my debt from HSBC. I repaid the debt in full over three years ago, making the payment for the amount owed over the phone to them. The letter said I had an overpayment and was due a refund. I rang them and they said the account was overpaid by nearly £200 and arranged to refund me the money.
So far so good right? Extra money I didn't know I had.
But I asked them, how long it's been overpaid and they confirmed that the last payment on the account was my final payment 3 years ago and nothing was said to me before this letter. The account with HSBC was closed so I wasn't able to check the account online or see the balance any other way. Should I get any compensation/interest for this seeing as they've had that money for three years and not told me?
Any thoughts/advice/people who've gone through this?
0
Comments
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Hi,
Yes, you can ask them to add 8% interest, this is what a court would recommend, if it went to legal action.
If they refuse, you can take the matter to the FOS, but to be fair, the interest will not be very much on £300, around £32, that's all you will be entitled to, but they could enhance this amount if asked, the old adage applies here, "don't ask, don't get".
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Thanks. I've drafted the following letter that I'm going to send. I'll see I get anything from it. As you say, it doesn't hurt to ask.
I don't have an email for them unfortunately.
Dear Sir,
Reference: xxxxx
Account number: xxxxxx
I received a letter from you dated xx xx 20xx stating that an overpayment had been made on my account. I rang today and spoke to someone in your customer service team who confirmed that there was an overpayment of £xxx on my account. I gave my bank account details to facilitate a refund. I asked when this overpayment had taken place as, to my knowledge, the last payment was made in 2011. Your representative confirmed that the last payment on the account was made on xx xx 20xx.
I made that payment of £xxx to settle the balance of the account so I’m surprised to find out that that payment that was made over the phone was an overpayment, especially as I asked to pay the balance of the account, rather than stating a specific amount. I’m also surprised to find out that it has taken 3 years to be notified of this error. The account had closed so I had no way of seeing the balance of my account to notice this otherwise.
As you have had this overpayment erroneously for nearly 3 years, please can you include in my refund an appropriate amount of interest/compensation.
Yours faithfully,0 -
How much were you charged during the period when 'you' owed this debt, and for how long was the money outstanding from you before you paid it off?
Maybe the amount you were charged should be the starting point?"There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe a 'Princess Coronation' locomotive in full cry. We shall never see their like again". O S Nock0 -
Hi,
From my multiple dealings with FOS I think they generally ask for an 8% basic interest in total across the amount due back (i.e. 8% of the total for the entire period, not compound interest of 8% per year).0
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