Yup, after all, they get so much grief from consumers they either wet themselves laughing at us or sh*t themselves when we tell them how much we want back.. LOL

Who knows Kia, as with the Abbey and all the rest of them, it seems they sometimes chop and change their tactics as often as they all seem to change their underwear... Lol

Good Evening all, I thought I would take the trouble of sharing some information with you about what I have spent this past week doing with the "Abbey". As you all know I am claiming my bank charges back through the courts and like the rest of you this has been placed on hold while we wait for the Judge to come back with is decision and findings based on what has been said and given in cout. Anyway, during the process of me claiming back my bank charges which began in March 2007 myself and my husband had a £500 overdraft with Abbey. As everything was on hold and there was nothing we could do we carried on having some money paid into this account to keep the account open and active so we can get our refund when due smoothly. In December 2007 they decided to take away the overdraft leaving us with a £500 debt owed. I argued they could not do this, they argued they could stating it is their money and they want it returned. In the end I spoke to a nice lady in abbey complaints who knew what I was talking about and dealt with everything or so I thought. Come January 2007 the overdraft facility was removed and we was now in debt for £500 and the abbey was singing at the top of their voices to get their money back. I argued you can have your £500 if you repay my £6000. They said No can do, and kept putting the phone down on me when ever I called or spoke to someone. In the end my husband called and they stated they wanted their money back at £100 per month and there was nothing we could do about it so there They began taking their money and we handed in our cards and got cash cards, I warned them if I found out other wise I would be back Sure enough, I did find out different. I stated to the abbey that under section 13.6 of the banking code and under the administration of justice act 1970, thay have breached both of these regulations and have acted unlawful by forcing us to repay a debt when the account is in dispute and has been since March 2007 and has not been resolved satisfactorily by both parties concerned, that they should refund my money immediatley and have my account placed on hold pending the outcome of the test case! It wasn't easy to begin with, they kept tellin to write to "Legal". Turns out Legal are "Ashurst" so I emailed them and quoted the above 2 regulations, they emailed abbey and told them account should be on hold and that no further action should be done on this account nor should the debt be collected. I then had this confirmed and instructed them to return the money they have already taken from my husband and myself for the said debt as the collection was illegal. They informed me that, as the account was now on hold they would have to check all of this out. I informed them to do that, and ended up with a very helpful lady in complaints who informed me that as the money is going to be repaid that meant the debt would increase back to as it was, I said fine do that as you have caused me hardship by forcefully collecting this, as I have to wait for my money Abbey can wait for theirs. It has took a long 48 hours to keep reminding them I was not going to go away and I wanted my money back. Today they have finally agreed to reinstate the overdraft temporaily until the outcome of the test case and reimbursed me £300 with immediate effect!! Not a bad ending to a stressfull week, which begs the question...as I got the refund of monies paid back to me for a debt owed...is there some good news around the corner from the good Judge himself???????

Goldlady. Upon reading your thread here, I have a question. When you say mortgage charges, can you please define if this charges for late payments and non DD payments made? or something else? Many Thanks Ladidi

Well if anyone can put forward a good and reputable company that will be willing to take on the reclaim of fees etc for mortgages and PPI's as well previous credit card charges etc, we would be willing to give them our details and allow them to deal with it all. Less stress and more gain would be great for me I say I have seen the forum on mortgages etc. But to be honest with all the stress of the bank charges, me and my husband would rather allow someone who was reputable deal with our claim as long as they are honest and reliable and can inform us what they charge from day one and have contact telephone numbers and addresses etc so we know who we are dealing with.

I have spoken to my husband about reclaiming the monies claimed byt he mortgage companies in relation to late payments and non DD payments and he said if we can find a reputable company we are going to let them deal with it and also claim for all the PPI`s we have been mis sold on previous loans we were forced to take out. SO in the mean time I`m on the look out for a good company who can deal with all too boot. I found one but tehre was no contact tel number for them so I`m dubious to it, they said they would take 18% of the total payout plus VAT and the minimum would be £150 plus VAT..It was NO WIN NO FEE as well. But as there is no contact number for them I dont wanna give all my dets to someone I cant contact or discuss things with first. Wonder if anyone on here has had dealings with any of these types of companies and can recommend one?

Hmm you and me both Kia, I thought buying a house would be the best acheivement ever. tunrs out it is a complete nightmare that never ends unless you come into money and can pay it all off!!! I dont mind paying whatever it is due for my paying late which is their costs incurred same as bank charges but I do mind when they slap on £50 a time!!!! I have been told by one these cold calling companies that you can claim it back, but well as they have cold called me, they will tell me anything to get me to sign up with them and pay them £180 and take forever and a day to deal with it all!! Plus with what you said, if the mortgage companies got funny and decided to say right you owe us this much and we want it!!! Gawd where those d*mn lucky lotto balls when you need them??? LOL Good to her from you Kia, How are you these days? and I wish the Judge would hurry up and make his decision too cos I need my money back ASAP!!!!!!!!

Hi Everyone, I have question to anyone who can answer. I applied to the Abbey for the return of over £5k and the case was put on hold. Low and behold in January they took away a £500 overdraft facility we have and have now requested this back at £100 per month. I argued with them and said well if they want their £500 I want the return of over £5k. I said as my case was put on hold and they were not prepared to give me what was due and as the account is in dispute they have no power to request £500 whether it is paid in a lump sum or monthly payments. They argued and said they have and have been taking payments of £100 per month. We have paid £100 off this so far and it is killing us each month what with never ending out goings each month increasing. Is there any legal argument I can point out to them that will prevent them from taking this money each month pending the outcome of the "test case"? Thanks for your help Ladidi P.S. one more thing..I for got to ask.. I have PPI in which I would also like to claim for loans in which we were told we could have but PPI had to be taken out with the loan and also fees and charges which have been applied to our mortgage which I would also like to claim, but due to the stress of dealing with the bank charge claim and then getting everything going and then being told it will be put on hold due to the "test case" I dont have the energy to go through it all again with these companies and was thinking og hiring someone to do it all on my behalf. They have quoted me £180 for 3 PPI claims and for the fees on my mortgage and 2nd charge. Does anyone recommend this or company who they think would be ideal to do this for you? This company that cold called me and said they would just request £180 and all monies claimed would be paid with no deductions from this. Does anyone have an opinion? Thanks

Hatoreff, I have sent you a private message to your inbox can you please read and reply any help of advise will be appreciated. Thanks Ladidi

Hi, First of all I`m not in arrears on my mortgage just my 2nd charge and between them both my outgoings is £950 per month and my house value is £120k. My arrears are only £700. I just wanted to know if I could reclaim the so called fees they charge you for late payments and paying by DD card etc..

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can help me. I ahve amortgage with GMAC adn 2nd charge with capstones. Every time I get behind I get hit with fees and charges. are these fees and charges enforceable? Can i reclaim them? Half the time it`s hard to balance out salary and monies for kids and work etc..the costs are spiralling. I cant get a newmortagage deal as we messed up last year. You see we was on target for a new deal and we was advised it was done and dusted and this went for 3 months!! So we never paid our original mortgage. bad mistake. but our mortgage advisor kept saying dont worry everything is ok it is sorted or we havea deal etc and the USA had their credit crunch and then Northern Rock and now we are in such a mess and our credit history is shot due to this and now we are struggling ot make ends meet!!!! I seriously regret buying the house, all the added bills and payments we have to make is killing us!!! Is there anything I can do re fees and charges being added??

Hi, The abbey did the same to me and my husband recently. I had organised for them to leave the overdraft facility on the account until the outcome of the case seeing as they applied to have my case stayed in court and argued the toss. It was agreed that the overdraft would stay on the account until then and I thought great even though I have an account elsewhere I still had money paid into this account just to keep it ticking over which prevented them from doing anything drastic until I got my money returned from them. Anyway come 2nd January 2008, they went back on their word removed the over draft and swallowed every penny that went into the account. They marked my file as me being abusive and threatening and refused to deal with me so they spoke to my husband, asked for the return of our cards would accept payment of £100 per month until the over draft is paid back and said we could have cash cards!!!!!! The craziest thing is they have given my husband a BANK CARD and me a CASH CARD for the same joint account...Goes to show what idiots they are as the account is joint account, shouldn't we both have the same cards???? I would have thought!!!!! I can't be bothered to argue with them no more, all I want is my money back and then they can have their account and cards and stick it where the sun dont shine!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for that Wild Billy, I have joined the site and added it to my favourites so I can keep up to speed.

I wouldn't mind going through the threads wildbilly, but I do when half of them mentioned on here dont have anything to do the OFT test case after all thats what the head title says doesn't it? Dont get me wrong I believe people should post the questions and queries, but they could at least post them on the correct threads and keep all the upto date important day to day information of the test case in one place then people would have the questions and answers in one place and wouldn't need to ask the question if the answer can be found in front of them! No offense or pun intended to anyone just my opinion.

Hi Everyone, I have a couple of questions but not enough time to go through all of the inscriptions left on here by everyone so I`ll just ask the questions and then shut up ok..lol 1) How is the case going? In short are we onto a winner or no hope at all? 2) I know the OFT are starting to outline their arguments starting next week and no matter who wins the losing side is expected to appeal all the way to the house of Lords, so in short no one is going to be winner for at least a another 1.5years, well except the banks they get to invest what they might be forced to repay effectively costing them nothing in long run! So can the OFT not force the banks if they win that any "stay" they have on cases already in the courts system to be allowed to continue or be upheld in favour of the "plaintiff"?

The abbey are tellin you they have received your letter of compalint and they are looking into the concerns and complaint you have made. Dont hodl your breath on getting a result any time soon, they like to move very slowly in these cases and go at their pace and not yours. All you can do is wait and see what they have to say in response to your letter, but doesn't mean you cant stop gatehring any information needed to defend yourself and request all bank statements for the account in question and ask them to provide you with what proof was used when the account was opened, after all when you sign up for an account they take the proof of ID off you and it has to be something with a signature on and th photocopy it for the file..

Have you ever thought of asking them to proove the debt was built up by him i.e proof of bank statements, bills paid by him, cheques cashed, money paid into this account by him, ask them proove the account was used by him, what address have they got on record etc...surely to god they must have more than a peice of paper they claim he signed...and anyway aren't bank accounts signe for insied the bank? ask what proof of evidence was provided at time account was opened? Then you should be able to ask them show the all bank statements for last 6 years. you say the account only closed in 2003..well the bank should have some sort of information on record going back 6 years...if they state they dont have this you can say state you will pay £10 charge for this information and if they dont provide you will report them to the information comissioner or OFT.. To make you pay a bill they have to proove that you owe the bill in the first place or have signed something to agree to the bill..eg credit agreement etc.

Hi Everyone Does anyone know if the "Test Case" has actually started yet? I have been checking all over and saw that it was delayed and was meant to begin as of yesterday, but no news as to what is happening I just wish it was all done and settled in favour of the consumer at least then we can all begin 2008 properly..new start..pay off bills..and NO Mr Bank Manager stealing our hard earned dosh!!!!! What wishful thinking, I am doing

The BBC News website have made this interesting reading.. BBC NEWS | Business | Key test for bank overdraft fees

I found this and thought it might make interesting reading... BBC NEWS | Business | Key test for bank overdraft fees

I cant believe they actually expect us to believe they did not know where this case was going to be held until the very last minute and also stating that not one person of the public or press will be able to verify the true picture of events from beginning to end due to the size of the room. I believe this a stitch up! The banks have no intention of revealing anything and I for one dont believe the outcome is not going to be for good of the customers who have lost £££'s but for the good of the banks and institutions and alike. What can I say, the ombudsman put out a "stay" on all cases when they could have should been heard and now we are not even going to get the true picture of events!! We as a customer could have and should have had our chances in court and the banks should have been made to reveal their true costs incurred, that this matter would have been resolved after all not one of the banks intended to argue their case and now they are behind closed doors with limited reporting details of the case. Oh my how they are all rubbing their hands with glee!!!!!

Oh well I guess we can all live in hope eh It sure would have bin nice if it were true though

Hiya Lula, Oh well it was a nice dream for all five minutes while it lasted eh Lol

Hi Everyone Does anyone know anything about the OFT telling the banks they have to repay all charges they have claimed from their customers going back 6 years without argument or face a £25 million per day fine! with effect of this wek!!!! I have searched everywhere to see if there is any clarification on this and cant seem to find anything so I dont know if it true or just some word of mouth spread and got bigger as it went round. I was told it was a story advertised in the "Metro" freepaper here in the northeast which how I found about the first paragraph, but before I get my hopes up on all this coming to an end I wanted to find some clarification to see if anything was true, but I have been unable to find anything, so I thought I would anyone in here if they have heard anything. If you have please feel free to share. Many Thanks Ladidi P.S A very merry christmas and a very happy new year to you all

Hmmm, You got a point there. Although as for appealing under financial hardship, although they tell you to appeal and send in all information they dont bother to acknowledge the information given or said, I think the important bit they are forgetting is that when they banks took the monies going back 6 years they have already caused the financial hardship and therefore should make the payouts owed without any more undue stress to the consumer they have already caused. After all people wouldn't be making the claims if they hadn't been ripped off in the first place. They and the government and everybody else for that matter have known for a long time what they was doing wrong. And now we are all doing something about getting back what is ours, hell they say, sod that we will all go to court and make em all wait a bit longer so we can invest the monies owed and still have massive gains on the backs of the mugs who bank with us. After all if the banks are arguing that they are fair and entitled to the monies they have taken then why? have they paid out the vasts sums to the consumer they are stating they are fair and just. They dont have a case to answer and they dont have one to win. The whole damn thing stinks to high heaven from start to finish. I am owed a fair amount of money and I have to wait for god knows how long to get back what is mine which would come in handy a pay off a few bills and allow me to debt free. Yet if I owed the bank you can be sure as hell they wouldn't be waiting as long as they making me wait and they certainly wouldn't put up with all the pathetic stalling tactics they have laid in my way since day 1 week 1. God I sure as hell hope I win the Lotto one day then I can get out of this god forsaken pathetic country they call "great Britain", they only thing "great" about living here is all the money you earn dont make no plans for it cos between the governments and every day living and the banks who sure as hell love you to put your wages into your account just love taking it back off ya to pay for their lives of first class luxury and high inflated salaries and exspenses etc etc just about anything they can think of to get their hands on your hard earned money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!