abbey threat - HELP!!!

woodwa5

Hi, I did originally post this in another section but they suggested to post here as you guys are v.helpful,


Long storey short: went to LBA stage with Abbey (since november) and I have not been able to afford to pay the over £200 required to file against the abbey at court yet and in the mean-time have had loads more problems with them which resulted in me leaving them in January. Since then they have continued to lump more charges onto my account and also paid a couple of debit card items despite the fact there was no money going into the account. These were automatic debit card items which i had forgoten about. I do not and can't have an overdraft facility so how the hell can they pay them? Any way today I received the following letter:

Important you should read this carefully

This is a default notice served under section 87(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Dera Woodwa5
Overdrawn Balance: 394.47 (plus interest and fees)

Nature of Breach: Management of account not in accordance with termas and condition

Action required to remedy: Payment of the overdrawn balance of £394.47 (plus interest and fees) to us within 14 days of service of this notice.

If the action required by this notice is taken before this date shown no further enforcement action will be taken in respect of the breach. If you do not take the action required by this notice before the date shown then further action may be taken against you.

We may take legal proceedings for recovery etc etc

You should contact CAB etc etc

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX

I am fuming and worried. I can't afford to take them to court at the moment (and would not qualify for help financialy). They have my claim logged (which is well over £7k). I have a couple of credit card claims which i am about to file in court over the next few days and will use some of the money from that to file against the Abbey and Nat West for bank charges. I can't believe they have the gall to issue me with a default notice.

How should i word a reply?

Also they are now saying they are going to charge me interest at the higher rate. Should I now look at counterclaiming all charges against them at the higher rate?

Please help!

Woodwa5

katyw

Help guys.....it was me suggesting he come over here re the court threat (I said you were all lovely :j )......anyone help?

Brejoeira

hi

can anyone give me advice, am in similar position to the other person in that i have been informed by Abbey that within 28 days my default will take effect. Even though i had registered a complaint due to their EXPERT banking skills!!! i have had confirmation that my complaint was logged and they would hold my account until the decision of test case was final by their complaints department and still collections department are sending letters stating that my account is overdrawn and it was abbey that caused this to happen with their charges after i had stopped using it.

What can i do now? I have jumped through their hoops but i cant understand how one department is telling me one thing and the other department has different rules! can one account have so many rules depending on what department is dealing with it at the time?

Would be greatful for any help anyone can give me.

shadydaz

has anyone got any ideas to help out here? (bump) Ihave one but it is more shifting it rather than delaing with the situation at hand..

woodwa5

it looks like the abbey are having a bit of a field day.(bump) I hope somebody out there can help us because it seems that they are doing this to lots of people

GeorgeUK

Your letter before action (LBA). Is this informing the company that you dispute the amount owed on the account?

My hairbrained theory (and would appreciate feedback from others)

Dear Sir/Madam

Account No: 4563210025897412

We would like to make a complaint against your company. The details are set out below.

Paragraph outlining the nature of your complaint. Say what you are not happy with and what you want the lender to do about it.

We understand that you must send a written acknowledgement of our complaint within 5 business days of its receipt. If you are unable to resolve our complaint within 4 weeks you must send a holding response, explaining the reasons why and indicating when you will make further contact.

If you fail to resolve our complaint within 8 weeks, or if matters are not settled to our satisfaction, we will have no alternative but to escalate our complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. This could result in you being ordered to pay compensation if our complaint is upheld.

We look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully

This is a letter from the nationaldebtline for complaints to the bank before contacting the Financial Ombudsman Service.

If the debt is in dispute, then i don't think they can charge interest on this or default the account - or pass on the debt to a 3rd party. You should probably refer to the various sections of the acts and guidelines they are breaching, but ccan you confirm that a LBA actually disputes what they say is the debt owed? Then hopefully we can put a few decent paragraphs together to make them reconsider.

stapeley

It has been covered extensively in the media that the refund of bank charges are on hold . It will be ages yet till it is settled . I would not rely on gettin anything back yet! As far as your case of a claim from Abbey goes , it is a standard threat . For that amount it is not worth them taking it to court . They will more than likely pass it to a inhouse collection conpany . You should write and explain your situation and offer token payments even if its only £1. I have been chased for £4000 ,and its gone on for 2 years .

Broken_hearted

Hugs, can't be of any help as still fighting Abbey to get my account closed been 6 months so far. Abbey won't talk, help or anything useful.

woodwa5

for me this is more the frustration that they have put a default on my credit record. This is the first one for years. They have given me no detail as to exactly what is contained within the alleged debt. My LBA to them was for return of bank charges and I would imagine that this means the account is therefore in dispute