Lloyds TSB

robtog

I am pursuing lloyds for reclaim of charges (6 yrs) on behalf of my other half, £2600, and am getting really confused. Started in Dec 06, eventually filed mcol in Apr 07, as it took lloyds this long in correspondence to say no. response in May 07 from one county court for transference to home town county court, June 07 received Sept trial date. Have called court twice re AQ and have been told two different things the latest being that Allocation Questionaires do not apply in these cases. Also today I have been told by Court Managers office that we have to pay a further £100 if we wish for the case to go ahead, already paid £120 initially. Does anyone know if this is right. We have not received any further correspondence from Lloyds and none from their local solicitor as others claimants appear to have? Can anyone advise?

4thstar

hello martin.
I hope all is well.
We have recently been going through the process of claiming back our bank chatges from lloyds tsb, we were at the point 3 weeks ago where we should have filled out the court forms but we had to wait till payday

I called lloyds tsb today and said could they not give a solution before i proceeded with the small claims court, their answer was....

at this time lloyds tsb is proceeding with its own case regarding claims and they have placed everything on hold untill their test case is resolved.

i suggested that if i put in my claim and they didnt respond that i would win my case against them, they still insisted that nothing would happen whilst their test case is ongoing.

my question is..

should i proceed and pay the £120 court costs or should i wait?

Kind Regards
Carl

nickmack

4thstar wrote: »

should i proceed and pay the £120 court costs or should i wait?

Your dilemma is as follows:

You could pay the court fee and most likely (although not certainly) either the bank or the judge will have the claim stayed.
This means you will need to wait until the outcome of the test case is known. At the moment various timescales are being thrown around from a few months to a year as to when this may be heard.
It will then depend on the result of the case what if any money you then get back.

If you don't file the claim, you may lose out depending on the ruling in the test case. They might decide a timescale or that only claims already filed are eligible. Obviously if the decision goes against the OFT, you would not have wasted the court fee.

With the limited information currently available, it's a very tough decision. I think if I was reclaiming a large amount and I could afford the court fee, I would file a claim. If it was a small claim, I would probably not bother. This is just my thoughts at the moment and as more is revealed, there might be a clearer guide.

Beate

It's not two different things really. Whether or not the AQ is dispensed with, you will still have to pay the £100 if your claim exceeds £1,500.

johnbfan

I started the procedure for my son (£371) and husband (£1310) in February.

My son got a letter to day saying they would settle and how much (just over £400).

My husband has had no reply to his last two letters which were exactly the same as my son's and posted in the same envelope at the same time so we know they did not go astray.

I am going to do the Ombudsman procedure for him and will give it two more weeks before I complete the form and send it off. As they say on that show 'I've started so I'll finish' unless we hear anything in the meantime.

If you are decided on the court route and can afford it then go ahead. Or you could try the ombudsman which if you are not happy with the results you could go to court after.

Marya_2

Kim1971 wrote: »

Hi Marya

I really don't know why things differ so much from person to person. I have a friend who is fighting tooth and nail for £250, yet they hand me nearly £3000 without even having a court date? I really didn't expect this.

I have everything crossed for you that an offer comes through soon, from what I can gather it seems that court cases are still going ahead. Good luck Marya.

Thank you Kim that is very much appreciated - I am rarely lucky so I need all the help I can get.

P.S. How do you type with crossed fingers?

zimzam

hi.i have just had lloyds bank deposit £750 in my account and they immediately took £50 of charges from it.:mad: :eek: i know this is a standard approach by them but where do i stand as regards this.do i leave it in the bank and not touch it or move it to my other lloyds account so nothing else gets taken from it.and if i move it is it seen as accepting it as a full and final settlement?i dont know what to do.i am about to go to the financial ombudsman with my claim.anyone got any advice please.thanks.

nickmack

johnbfan wrote: »

I am going to do the Ombudsman procedure for him and will give it two more weeks before I complete the form and send it off. As they say on that show 'I've started so I'll finish' unless we hear anything in the meantime.

If you are decided on the court route and can afford it then go ahead. Or you could try the ombudsman which if you are not happy with the results you could go to court after.

Please read Martin's post in this thread:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=512661

angelcake

The ombudsman are not taking any new claims!

angelcake

I have been reading a lot today about what to do and had many questions, I found this on the Lloydstsb Website which probably applies to all of them

The Banks in the test case so far are:

• Barclays
• HSBC
• Royal Bank of Scotland
• Clydesdale Bank
• HBOS
• Abbey National
• Lloyds TSB
• Nationwide

Answers to questions on bank charges


Q: What is happening?
A: On 27 July, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Lloyds TSB, six other UK banks and a building society started a court case to decide on the legality of unauthorised overdraft charges. Together, these banks and the building society provide more than 93% of current accounts in the UK.
This case is being called a "test case" because the decision will clarify the law in this area and is likely to apply to all current and new claims against current account providers about unauthorised overdraft charges.
We will continue to post updates on our website to keep customers informed of progress on the test case as this could run for at least a year.

Q: What will happen to customer complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges?
A: Lloyds TSB will suspend dealing with or resolving customer complaints on unauthorised overdraft charges while the test case is running.
If you do complain about your unauthorised overdraft charges, we will write to tell you that we have received your complaint and that we will record it on your file. When a final decision is reached in the test case, we will contact you as soon as possible to tell you how we will resolve your complaint. We will apply the decision in the court case to all complaints we receive.

Q: Why are the banks allowed to stop dealing with unauthorised overdraft charge complaints during the test case?
A: We applied to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for a suspension of the normal timetable for dealing with unauthorised overdraft charge complaints. The FSA decided that in the circumstances, it was appropriate to grant us a suspension of our obligations under the FSA's complaint handling rules whilst we seek legal certainty on this issue. The suspension is subject to a series of conditions designed to protect customers' rights. You can read the form of the FSA suspension (direction) here: [URL="javascript:popWin('/it/cmf/exturl.asp?asset=/assets/link/lloydstsb2004/external/fsa_link_table.xml','640','480','scrollbars=yes,toolbar=yes,location=yes,status=yes,menubar=yes,resizable=yes');"]www.fsa.gov.uk[/URL].
All customers who have made a written complaint on unauthorised overdraft charges but haven’t yet had a final response will receive a letter to explain the position with respect to their complaint.

Q: I’ve recently requested copy statements as the start of making acomplaint about bank charges. Can I still make a complaint?
A: We’re always happy to send copy statements on payment of our service fee. If you have requested them they should be sent to you within 40 days of payment of this fee. However, you should note that if you then write to make a complaint about your bank charges this will be treated as set out above.
Q: Can I make a court claim for a refund during the test case?
A: Yes, but we will apply to the court to put your case on hold while the test case is running. This is because the issues being raised in customer complaints on unauthorised overdraft charges are being considered in the test case.

Q: Can I complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service about my bank charges?
A: The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has decided not to review complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges while the test case is running. If you do complain to FOS, you will receive a letter explaining this and letting you know what will happen.

Q: What if I have already been made an offer?
A: We will stand by any offer to settle a complaint or court claim that we have already made to our customers. If you have received an offer to settle from us which is still outstanding we will be writing to you again shortly. Our letter will explain that customers have two months to decide whether to refuse our offer and wait for the decision in the test case. If you do choose to refuse an offer, and return the settlement amount to us, your complaint will be held and recorded by us until there is a final decision in the test case. We will then contact you again as soon as possible to finally resolve your complaint.

Q: I have already accepted an offer from you. Will my complaint be revisited?
A: If we have made a 'full and final settlement' which you have accepted, we believe it unlikely you would be awarded a further sum even if the test case indicates you could have claimed a potentially larger amount. However, accepting any such settlement does not stop you from asking for repayment on any further new charges incurred if the court finds they are unlawful.

Q: You’ve rejected my complaint, what can I do now?
A: You may wish to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. However as set out above, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has decided not to review complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges while the test case is running. If you do complain to FOS, you will receive a letter explaining this.
In addition, you can also make a court claim for a refund during the test case. However we will be applying to the court to put your case on hold while the test case is running. This is because the issues being raised in customer complaints on unauthorised overdraft charges are being considered in the test case.

Q: How long will the test case take?
A: At this time it is too soon to give any exact timescales for a conclusion to the test case but it could go for more than a year. We have agreed with the OFT and the FSA to conduct the test case in an efficient, prompt and orderly way.

Q: How can you continue to charge what you do for these services when there is legal challenge?
A: We believe that our current account fees and charges are clear and represent a fair charge for a banking service that is valued by our customers. That is why we have worked with the other major UK banks and the OFT to start legal proceedings, which we believe will clarify the law in this area.

Q: Does this test case and the suspension of unauthorised overdraft claims apply to my credit card complaint?
A: No this test case and the suspension applies only to complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges and the law which applies to them.

Q: Where can I find out more?
A:You can contact us by calling 0845 603 0899.
Alternatively, you can find more information through the following links:
The Financial Services Authority:
[URL="javascript:popWin('/it/cmf/exturl.asp?asset=/assets/link/lloydstsb2004/external/fsa_link_table.xml','640','480','scrollbars=yes,toolbar=yes,location=yes,status=yes,menubar=yes,resizable=yes');"]www.fsa.gov.uk[/URL]
The Office of Fair Trading:
[URL="javascript:popWin('/it/cmf/exturl.asp?asset=/assets/link/lloydstsb2004/external/office_of_fair_trading_link.xml','640','480','scrollbars=yes,toolbar=yes,location=yes,status=yes,menubar=yes,resizable=yes');"]www.oft.gov.uk[/URL]
The Financial Ombudsman Service:
[URL="javascript:popWin('/it/cmf/exturl.asp?asset=/assets/link/lloydstsb2004/external/financial_ombudsman_link.xml','640','480','scrollbars=yes,toolbar=yes,location=yes,status=yes,menubar=yes,resizable=yes');"]www.financial-ombudsman.co.uk[/URL]