Thanks GuidoT very complicated indeed. Have read it all and at least 50% flew straight over my head lol. I think as I cannot get my head around it its safer for me to stick to the 6 years claim.

Thanks Guidot I will do that as I have some time to play with I don't supose someone can explain to me why there is a limit of reclaiming only 6 years charges for an active account as for example if I ran up a credit card bill in 2000 to the limit then just spent the last 8 years trying to repay before defaulting wouldn't they still chase me for the old debt even though the spending was over 6 years ago (this is as an example as I havent actually done this)? This is all very confusing for the average person! Thanks P.S. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone on here for the helpful advice, it gives the average person the information to be able to fight back whereas all bank documentation is highly confusing!

i didnt i used it from mse which only asked for 6 years and to be honest im happy with that as after will take me above £3000 and i wont be able to afford the court fee for even longer if I have to pay a greater amount! Thanks for the advice I think I will still write to request a reduced settlement without prejudice just to fill in some time between my communication and when I submit to court. When I get to the submit to court part I will probably need more advice but will continue to read around this site cause its full of lovely info!

Sorry as this was a general sort of enquiry I thought I would just add it to this post so as not to start threads all over the place. I've started my own thread here on your advice http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/alliance-leicester/126699-pls-advise-re-bank.html#post1326014 Thanks in advance

Hi, as advised by GuidoT I'm starting my own thread as I'm in the process of trying to reclaim bank charges from A&L. A bit of background - Around 7 years ago I split with my partner but tried to continue to run my home on my own therefore for a couple of years I regularly raked up excessive bank charges due to failed direct debits or going over my overdraft limit (although having received my statements it rarely if ever seems to actually go over my overdraft limit). Using templates from MSE I wrote the first 2 letters and requested my money back (I chose to include interest @ 8% in the hope that would get them to settle early). I received a letter on 10th (4 days before the 2nd letter deadline) saying basically that because of the test case they would not be dealing with my complaint until after it was settled and if I applied to court they would apply for a stay. They state they will resolve my complaint as quickly as possible after the test case is completed. As alot of my charges are approaching 6 years I am thinking that the best idea for me would be to get it into the courts system even though it will be stayed. Unfortunately as I'm on maternity leave for another month I cannot afford to do this until March as the charges are quite steep to place the claim! I am also considering writing to the bank and offering them the chance to settle for a reduced amount if done within 14 days just in case that works(and know I need to include without prejudice). What I want to know is can I issue another SAR to my bank requesting confirmation of when my account was opened with the bank, a copy of my original contract (or application) and a copy of the original terms and conditions as were at the time of opening the account as I think I will need all of this info if it does have to go to court? I have checked here but I opened my account 12-13 years ago so the closest on this site is for 1998 which I presume would not be good enough? Or would this be a waste of £10 and should I just write and request the info without making reference to a SAR request? As I can't submit this to court due to finances for a couple of months I have a little time to play with anyway. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

sorry i dont want to start another thread but i have another quick question. can you use a S.A.R request to request the bank sends details of when your bank account was opened, to get a copy of the signd contract, to get a copy of the t&c's active as at the time the account was opened (as i opened my account at least 12 years ago and have none of this info?) also are you allowed to make moe than 1 request as I already S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) to get my bank statements going back 6 years?

Just had to check. Thank you for the very quick response

Hi, I'm fairly new but have been reading lots over the past few weeks. I have a question about interest which I can't find the answer to (although its probably somewhere here and I'm just missing it). If you submit a claim to court for bank charges and then it is stayed (as most seem to be) will the 8% interest be calculated as at the date you win the court case even if it is years down the line. for example if I have some charges that are 6 years old and the test case takes 1 year to complete and then I win my case would the interest be 8% for 7 years on the old charges? Hope that makes sense?

Thanks Sidewinder - Most is in writing (and duly filed for future note) and just waiting for confirmation of our meeting yesterday - however I also had a colleague present who made notes thoughout the meeting just in case it was needed. Heres hoping for a stress free future! And now I can return to enjoying my maternity leave with my young son for the next month

Thanks Saffronflowers And without mentioning names I work for a national family run firm - you'd expect better from a large company! I had given up all hope on my flexible working and was just fighting to keep my job but now its all worked out well and probably better in my favour than would have happened had they not employed my cover full time instead of temporarily. Of course had they followed my legal rights initially I wouldn't have spent all of christmas and the new year worrying!!!

Well it appears that they have realised the errors of their way and at the meeting they backed right down and agreed most of my flexible working requests I was all ready with a long list of difficult to answer questions as there was alot of evidence that their decision was based purely on my maternity leave but I didn't have to do any of it. They didn't even argue my requested reduction in hours and even said I could reduce them more if needs be (I believe this is only because they now have 1 extra member of staff thanks to them employing the other lady full time). I still feel I have been treated very badly by my employers though and it just goes to show that even as a long term loyal employee employers are still willing to try to discriminate against new mothers!! If I hadn't continued to argue my case consistently the outcome could have been very different so to anyone in similar circumstances I strongly advise you not to give in!

Can't believe what I have just read your poor great aunt!! Glad at least the payments have stopped!

Sorry forgot to add that the person taken on to cover my accounts was hired full time not temporarily which adds to my suspicion that there was never an intention to have me back in my position as I fail to see how there will suddenly be work enough for 3 people when 2 are currently doing it and they are not looking to get rid of the new member of staff. I am very upset about this whole thing and hopelessly confused

Thanks for the response. I have requested a copy of my signed contract on 17th December but as yet have not received this. I plan to bring this up in my meeting as well. I originally worked at just the Brighton location but with the agreement of a payrise and transportation provided (which is usually my train fare paid and picked up from the station) I agreed to work within Brighton & Crawley this was at least 6 years ago. I dont believe any of this is actually in writing though. They have not offered to also arrange my transport or offered any details of the relocation other than my position will be based there and they have not provided any incentive. To travel to Portsmouth will increase my travel time by around 2-3 hours per day and the cost will also greatly increase therefore this is definately not an option for me. I would also point out that other Accounts departments still run in other branches and they are not being asked to relocate to portsmouth. They are employed in the same capacity as me except most are not required to travel to 2 locations and instead do the various accounts from there closest branch. Their situation is therefore no different to mine except they have not gone on maternity leave. The company also gave me a small annual payrise effective 1st January confirming my continued hard work and dedication so there is clearly no issue with my work. They have not offered any other position and keep stating no decision has been made about redundancy (although my boss did say my position was effectively redundant but "they were not going to screw me over" which in my experience means just the opposite with my firm!) As I have already turned down the relocation and am in the middle of disputing it yet no other position has been offered and no redundancy has been offered I honestly don't know where this is going to go. They do seem to be stalling this whole thing though even rearranging this meeting from last friday with less than 24 hours notice. I agreed because I wish to have a colleague present who could not make it on Friday (as my boss has denied the redundancy mention and completely blanked the requests for info on the other position he mentioned last time so this time I want a witness!). I am worried that once I raise a formal grievance they have 28 days to respond but that will take us past the date I am due to return to work.

Sorry if the discription is vague I really didn't know what to title it and I would be very grateful if you could all be easy on me as this is only my second post. I am currently in dispute with my employers and would be grateful for any advice (unfortunately this is complicated and is likely to be a long post). Starting with the background of my employment and position - I have worked for my employers for around 81/2 years and am employed permanently and full time. Before I left for Maternity leave I was working 2 days at our Brighton Branch and 3 days at our Crawley branch within accounts (being the only accounts person for both locations) and also assisted our spanish branch with any problems they had. 2 days before I was due to begin my holiday which led straight onto my maternity leave I provided all necesarry paperwork and explanations to hand over my accounts to a lady from our head office accounts. She told me she would be going to our Portsmouth Branch on the Monday to hand this over to the new employee down there (who was employed a few months before I left). I have already confirmed to my employers that I will be returning to my post after completion of the ordinary maternity leave and (as agreed by them in writing) would have my 1 week and 4 days holiday from 2007 tagged onto the end (as I gave birth 3 weeks and 4 days early and was therefore unable to complete my holiday for the year). They have also agreed for me to take 1 weeks holiday from 2008 and therefore I will be returning on 11th February 2008. They wrote to me at the end of October and requested a meeting to discuss the changes at the Crawley Branch. As I knew most of the staff I worked with had left or moved branches I thought this would be the nature of the meeting as no detail was provided in their letter however when I got there I was informed by my Boss (the area manager) that they were considering not moving the accounts back to the Crawley or Brighton locations and therefore I could come back to my same position but it would be in the Portsmouth location. I immediately declined this as I pointed out the travel time was too great (being more than 40 miles from my home in Brighton and being 2-3 hours additional travel time each day). He told me that there was other work that still needed doing at the Brighton and Crawley branches and that as this was only a proposal at present he would put everything in writing to me the next day. I also informed him I would be requesting flexible working to include being based at the Brighton Branch full time and as the new accounts (put in the first day after I left) was fully accessible from any location so I couldn't see how this could be a problem. The letter turned up over a week later and had no mention of anything discussed except 1 line stating they were proposing not to relocate the accounts back from the Portsmouth branch. I wrote back requesting information on everything discussed and suggested that because this situation arose because of my leave it was therefore discrimination. He strongly denied this and slowly over several letters he has finally confirmed that the reasons for relocations are:- * To reduce costs due to the economy of scale * To ensure holiday cover and sickness cover without a need to hand over. I do not agree with the economy of scale argument as neither of the 2 branches are closing down, the accounts are charged per user not per location and therefore the only cost involved is my wages that they would still have to pay if I relocate to Portsmouth. Although I agree that there would be holiday cover for me at Portsmouth with no need to hand over they are not requesting that all of the accounts departments relocate and are only asking me to do so therefore other branches also do not have holiday and sickness cover. I had also requested why I had not been informed of this before my departure and was informed that moving the accounts to Portsmouth was initially as a temporary measure to cover my maternity leave but as they liked the way it was running they were now looking to keep them there. He also wrote in his last letter that he was expecting me to relocate to Portsmouth even though I rejected this verbally in our meeting which he confirmed in his next letter. I have a meeting with them on Wednesday which will be about my flexible working request (which I expect them to turn down) and at my request to further discuss the relocation of my position. Even though our meeting was at the beginning of November they have still not confirmed that they have definately decided to relocate my position and they have offered me no alternative. I have to admit that it seems to me that they have brought in a less experienced accounts person to work along side a long term member of staff knowing that if they asked me to relocate I would refuse and therefore they are looking to replace me with a cheaper employee! I really don't know where to go from here as I am due back at work in a month but cannot travel to Portsmouth and the time and cost is too great so I don't know what I am supposed to do. I have been advised to request them to confirm that when I turn up for work at Brighton what position I will be doing and if they insist on relocating me to portsmouth to warn them that I will be raising an official grievance and to give them 14 days to respond. I'm confused though, the official grievance will take more time than I have before I go back to work so what should I do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as this is all causing me alot of stress and concern

I've got a bit lost and this is my first post but I wanted to let you know that I have just emailed Celia Barlow, Hove. (sorry if this is in the wrong place!)