Cunnington vs Abbey startred 14/12/06 *** WON ***

[kilmeedyman]

I am no longer banking with Abbey National and haven't since mid 2003 when I got so fed up with their charges causing me to remain overdrawn that I moved banks.

 

I sent my letter on 14 December claiming £1503 charges which were levied between 1 April 2001 and 1 June 2003. I have also asked for £508 in interest as calculated by the BAG spreadsheet.

 

I will keep you informed of any developments.

[kilmeedyman]

I have today received, what I perceive to be, a standard letter from Abbey saying that one of their team will be responding to my complaint...... that a thorough investigation can take time....... and if not contacted before, they will contact me again in 4 weeks to let me know what is happening.

 

I presume that they consider this to be a response within 14 days as I requested in my letter.

 

Should I ignore their 4 week timeframe and continue with a letter giving them a fixed time within which to refund me?

 

I feel like writing that their letter isn;t a full response to my complaint and also that the only investigation they need to do is to check a printout of charges levied from their computer against the list I sent them.

[Michael Browne]

Should I ignore their 4 week timeframe and continue with a letter giving them a fixed time within which to refund me?

Absolutely

I feel like writing that their letter isn;t a full response to my complaint and also that the only investigation they need to do is to check a printout of charges levied from their computer against the list I sent them.

Only if it makes you feel better. Won't make a scrap of difference

[kilmeedyman]

Ok, thanks.

 

14 day letter before action sent today.

 

Will keep you informed.

[kilmeedyman]

Been a little delayed due to a spell in hospital, but all fine now.

 

Letter received from Abbey stating full investigation carried out and their charges do not contravene Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. So they are unable to refund any charges.

 

Off to read up and then post my Moneyclaim this afternoon.

 

Here we go.......

[kilmeedyman]

Moneyclaim filed. £1503.50 + £521.93 interest + court fee £120.

 

Interestingly, the form now provides a standard wording for interest claims. I used their template for this section rather than the one from here on the basis it made sense to follow their requirements word for word.

 

Nutty's experience has made me unsure as to what I should do next.

My instinct says sit and wait for court paperwork, but should I send supporting documentation to the court? It has not asked for any in the claim form process.

[kilmeedyman]

I am still reading a mixture of views as to whether or not to send a schedule of charges to court to support my Moneyclaim, or should I wait to be asked?

[Mad Nick]

kilmeedyman, Just send it to MCOL without delay. When people don't or wait, Abbey just have a poke in their Defence along the lines of "the Claimant is stupid, how do they expect us to defend something so unspecific" which isn't really what you want the Court to see. Regards, Mad Nick.

[kilmeedyman]

kilmeedyman, Just send it to MCOL without delay. When people don't or wait, Abbey just have a poke in their Defence along the lines of "the Claimant is stupid, how do they expect us to defend something so unspecific" which isn't really what you want the Court to see. Regards, Mad Nick.

 

I decided that I would ring Northampton Court to ask about this and the guy on the helpline was unequiivocal in his reply.

 

He said that if Abbey had sent me a letter saying they had fully investigated my complaint, they are acknowledging that they understand which charges I am talking about.

 

Also, if I have sent my schedule of charges to Abbey (which I have every time I have written to them) there is no requirement whatsoever to send any documentation to the court in support of my Moneyclaim until a hearing is set and there is a call for evidence to be submitted.

 

Hope this helps others who are thinking about this.

[Lula]

thats excellent , looks like the courts (or at least MCOL) have done some background on this

[kilmeedyman]

On Friday, I received a letter from Abbey stating that they are preparing their defence and require detials of the charges and interest I am reclaiming.

 

I have replied:

 

-----quote-----

Further to your letter of 31 January 2007, which I have received this morning, I am disappointed to note that you have not received the schedule of charges I am reclaiming. Especially since a copy of the schedule was attached to all of my previous three letters.

 

To assist you, I herewith attach another copy of the schedule of charges which was compiled from the original bank statements, all of which we still have here.

 

The interest claimed is as per the court ‘s own instructions and is listed individually against each reclaimed charge and continues to accrue daily.

 

I am aware of the evidence I am required to produce for court. I am grateful for the guidance in your letter although during discussions with the court whilst compiling my moneyclaim, they clearly told me that I did not need to send any evidence to them until it became necessary to prepare a bundle for court which you will, of course, receive a copy of at the appropriate time.

 

This letter has my telephone number, as you have requested, at the letterhead, as have my previous letters. My email address is xxxxxxxxx@xxx

 

All the hassle and cost of court, preparing evidence etc. can be avoided if you were to send me a banker’s cheque for £2150.06 which comprises £1503.50 refund of excessive unfair charges, £526.56 interest –to-date and £120 refund of court fee. I will accept this figure including the quoted interest figure by banker’s cheque to my address no later than 20th February, after this I will expect to reclaim additional interest as it accrues.

 

You have my contact details, I look forward to hearing from you, at least to advise me that you have received this schedule of charges.

 

-----endquote-----

[121o121]

Hi Kilmeedyman

 

Read your post on Sams thread.

 

Abbey should enter their defence by the 3rd March in my case.

 

I too got a letter saying they have no record of my schedule of charges and they do not know how my claim is broken down. I responded like you.

 

My thread can be found here:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/cahoot/46127-121o121-cahoot.html

[kilmeedyman]

Have received Abbey's defence this morning, which is identical (except personal details) with Tinkerbell's and many others.

 

They offered me 50% of my total claim (charges+interest+court fees).

 

I am going to compile a letter to James Arrandale rejecting the offer and giving them a further chance to settle before any additional court fees and personal expenses are incurred.

 

In my cynical way, I have calculated that it will cost them significantly more (in solicitor's time, additional court fees, my costs, interest etc.), if they do not settle now, than they will make by investing the whole amount of my claim for the further time before they come to court.

 

So any decision to further delay settlement is not based on sound financial principles.

 

Therefore, their decision not to refund my money is personal.

I would have thought that a respected financial institution was above such pettiness and that their shareholders would be unhappy that Abbey are prepared to waste money on a personal vendetta against someone who is simply standing up for his rights. That's not good stewardship ..........

 

Still, all that is rambling - the letter will be written later today and I will then await the AQ.

[121o121]

Hi Kilmeedyman

 

Was the defence submitted on the usual 28th day?

[Guest louis wu]

Hi Kilmeedyman

 

I personally dont think this is a vendetta against you (or the rest of us), it is surely down to the mistaken belief that we will chicken out at the last minute a 'grab' the first offer that comes along.

 

Stupid and a waste of money, but considering the history and Abbeys inability to admit when the are beaten, quite expected.

 

fwiw, I enjoy the thought of Abbey pouring good money after bad going right down to the wire in thier mistaken belief that we are a bunch of clueless pushovers.

 

regards

[kilmeedyman]

Hi Kilmeedyman

 

Was the defence submitted on the usual 28th day?

 

26th day.

[kilmeedyman]

Ok, decided to talk to Abbey before submitting my Allocation Questionnaire and we agreed a settlement figure. That was over a week ago now. James Arrandale stated he would send a letter confirming the settlement the same day and I would have settlement cheque within 7 working days.

 

I agreed that once I received the settlement offer from them I would contact the court to extend the deadline for the AQ submission whilst waiting for the cheque to arrive.

 

So here I am with my AQ deadline tomorrow (13th) and 8 days passed with no letter confirming the settlement from Abbey and no response to my 2 phone messages and 2 emails following this up.

 

My instinct is that Abbey are going to welch on the deal or wait for ever to even acknowledge that we have settled. So the question to you guys is.... should I extend the AQ deadline in the absence of any acknowledgement from Abbey at all or should I go ahead and submit my AQ and assume the deal is dead?

[A-dust]

Hi Kilmeedyman

 

I'm not as far into the process as you are but I'm sort of in a similar situation. My MCOL has been served and ABBEY has offered me part payment over the phone but had said a letter was on its way to me. This letter has yet to reach me...I'd stick to your timetable if I were you. If the situation were reversed they'd be at your doorstep by now!

 

Go get 'em! and the best of luck to you

[Guest louis wu]

Have to agree, you've got to carry on until you have the cash in hand.

 

Nearly there now mate, well done

 

Louis

[121o121]

Hi Kilmeedy

 

As you know through our PMs, I'm in the same boat as you.

 

Cahoot have sent me a letter "accepting my offer", but I haven't received payment yet. My AQ date is tomorrow, and I have submitted mine. I won't jepordise my claim incase they want to play games.

 

Will call the court tomorrow and see whether they filed their AQ on time.

[kilmeedyman]

Well, I phoned James at Abbey and he said he hadn't received my emails - an obvious stalling tactic. So I sent it again, with a pdf of the charges I am reclaiming, whilst he was on the phone and he received it there and then.

 

So the lesson is - if you send an email or fax or letter which is time critical, phone them to ensure they have received it (never assume).

 

James asked me to get the court to suspend the date for AQ - I phoned the court and they wouldn't do that but they noted on my case file that I wouldn't be sending it in on time and why, then they said I will get a reminder seven days later from the court to send it in which gives Abbey the time to sort the settlement. So the lesson is - Abbey don't seem to understand court procedures very well.

 

Anyway, Abbey's settlement letter arrived the next day and I returned the acceptance same day (14th). Cheque arrived today.

 

So when it clears I will advise the court and also make a contribution here.

 

Then I start to reclaim my charges from Jan 1998 to November 2000 which is double the amount I claimed for the past six years. That will be an altogether different journey.

 

Can a mod please change my thread title to add "WON"

[121o121]

Hi Kilmeedyman

 

Great Stuff

 

CONGRATULATIONS!

 

PS. Was your settlement cheque from Natwest (though that was odd)?

[mariejader]

well done and good luck with your next claim

[kilmeedyman]

Hi Kilmeedyman

 

Great Stuff

 

CONGRATULATIONS!

 

PS. Was your settlement cheque from Natwest (though that was odd)?

Yes, the cheque was from Ashursts drawn on Nat West.

[livelylad]

Thread moved to success forum.