Caroline That is the standard FOS response - the bank should agree to pay as a gesture of goodwill - it only took a couple of weeks for me to get my cheque. Good luck!

Thanks, As I've said before, I'm not sure why people are going down the court route first. A couple of letters to the bank and one to FOS should do the trick and you can sit back and relax without the stress of litigation.

WON!!!!!!! Cheque for £1,100 received for "full & final settlement" Would a kind Mod please move my thread. Will make my donation once cheque clears! Many thanks to everybody who has helped me.

A quick update: FOS returned my complaint a couple of weeks ago as they said that I had to wait 8 weeks - this contradicted the information that I was given by their consumer helpline. Anyway, 8 weeks have well and truly passed and I will post it this afternoon. The only additional correspondence I have had from CB is a letter saying that my complaint has been reopened - that was 3 weeks ago! Eight weeks is more than enough to issue a response and if my experience is indicative of others (which it certainly appears to be) then the FSA/FOS really should be taking this bunch to task about it. If other banks can resolve these complaints then there is no reason that the CB can't. FOS allow eight weeks as some complaints can be extremely complicated and require investigation - my complaint contained all the relevant information and, in my opinion, the CB are deliberately abusing the complaints' process to try and frustrate their customers. I have also received a letter saying that my overdraft is being reviewed. I have never had a letter like this before as the overdraft is standard with the account - a coincidence?, I think not!

Caro I have sent another copy to BankFodder and he has also given me an address in Warwickshire to post it to - which I presume is you! Hopefully, you should get it tomorrow.

caro I don't have access to a scanner but I sent a copy to Bankfodder. Perhaps he can get a copy to you. Alternatively, PM me your address and I can send you it.

Write to the bank detailing your grievance and clearly mark your letter "Complaint". If the bank give you a final response that you still don't agree with then take it to FOS. Have a look at their website, it explains the process very clearly.

I would list all your complaints to LLoyds. You tell lloyds how much you want to claim, if they don't pay then refer it to FOS. If the bank do not offer to settle (i.e goodwill gesture) then the ombudsman decides whether to uphold your complaint - if he does agree you have been treated unfairly he instructs lloyds to compensate you as he see fit. Have a look on the FOS website, it has examples of claims and the type of compensation awarded if successful.

No, you can't claim interest. They have awarded compensation for inconvenience, stress etc in other cases. I'm unsure if anybody has tried adding this to a charges complaint- give them a call, they are extremely helpful and will give you guidance.

When I spoke to FOS a couple of days ago they said that as long as I had a reply from the bank mentioning that I had the option to contact FOS then, due to the high no. of complaints they were receiving, there was no need to wait for the 8 weeks to have elapsed. I don't think it will take longer than going to court looking at some of the times that people are waiting to have their case heard. Also, if you have been to court & lose you cannot then refer it to FOS, however, if (for some reason) the bank do not refund due to a FOS complaint, then you are still able to take the legal route.

I am at the same stage as you. If you haven't already, take a look at the link on my signature which will give you more info about the ombudsman. It also costs the banks £360 for every complaint that somebody makes to FOS (whether they win or lose). They must just hope that people are put off taking it this far - don't be! Perhaps somebody could let me know why people (whether here or in England) are going down the court route. All the banks have paid out on a goodwill basis when referred to FOS and (as yet) the Ombudsman has not been required to make a ruling.

Take a look here: FAQs - complaints about bank charges The Ombudsman takes rather a dim view of this practice.

I received a letter dated 27/3/07 - 'We refer to your letter dated 18/2/07............and write to advise to enable the Bank to carry out an investigation on your above account a standard fee of £10 is required.' My letter was simply claiming a refund with an attached schedule. I had already had a SAR and paid £10 last year. My request made no mention of the Data Protection Act and neither did their response - I can provide a copy if necessary.

Well it has been a while, what with one thing and an other but the ball has been rolling (since February!) I decided to go down the FOS route as I have had some experience of them through my job and they are always helpful. Here is a quick update: - I wrote to the bank and recieved the "we want £10" to investigate letter - what a pile of tosh! - They lost my schedule of charges - The reply from their Advice Quality Unit was addressed to the wrong house no. (which may explain why their initial reply went missing!) - Despite 4 letters asking for a final response, I am still waiting after 5 weeks for it. My last letter was to Client Relations (following advice in their complaints leaflet), I called them to check that it had arrived and was told that they couldn't help as it had been sent to the Advice Quality Unit (who have already said they are unwilling to refund). I have had enough of their incompetence and phoned FOS, they said that I did not have to wait for a final response or 8 weeks to have elapsed and they logged my complaint. I have completed their compalint form and written a letter asking them to investigate the lack of final response and the potential breach of privacy. I hope the ombudsman takes as dim a view as I do of the above events.

Thanks ozzy I became confused because the spreadsheet shows 2 places to enter interest - the judicial rate you refer to which I know only gets added if it goes to court and another which states - "The first interest rate is for interest on unlawfully deducted items up to the date of service. You can use almost any rate you see fit, or are brave enough to claim, i.e. 2% above base rate, 8%, contractual rate, etc. Obviously you may have to justify the rate you use in court." I don't remember this being mentioned before as I always thought you didn't add interest until the small claims stage and certainly not twice. Any clues? Thanks