This topic was closed on 09 March 2019. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

This topic was closed on 03/06/19. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

This topic was closed on 03/06/19. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support their. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

This topic was closed on 03/05/19. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support their. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

Hi everyone, I just wanted to know (and I know the this will have been answered 100's of times already but I am a time strapped student and don't have the time to go rifling for the answer so if someone could answer or post the link to the answer I would be most grateful) - for those peeps that have not yet even sent the initial letter to the bank asking for a refund of charges - is it worth still sending the letter or should it wait until after this test case has gone through? This is because several of my friends who I couldn't convince to reclaim their charges when I reclaimed my own over a year ago have now decided they would like to start the process having seen all the media attention. Cheers

Hi, my mum's just received her cheque from Abbey today - they settled in FULL (charges, costs and interest) and sent mum a cheque for over £4770! Go with everyone - you get there in the end!

Right - just to let you know, Mum got a phone call on Weds from shAbbey suggested that she settle as going to court will be really stressful. Court date set for early March. They offered her £3200. Mum said no and told the guy (in the legal dept) that she didn't mind going to court as she'd never been before and it might be interesting!!! Anyways, she said she wanted the full amount, plus costs and interest. He told her it would be 'very difficult' for them to do that. That was that. So today mum calls me out (I'm asleep!) and says I'll be happy she called as she's just received a cheque through from Abbey for £4770 odd! YAY! Keep going everyone - you get there in the end!

Hi, can someone tell me abbey's registered office so I can send them their court bundle? I have the Triton Square, London one - is that it? Thanks Carly

Happy New Year everyone. Just to update you all: we got a court day through from the court, for 6/3/07, and need to have the court bundle back to the court by 9/1/07, which is mostly in hand, however I have a couple of questions... 1) A copy of the bundle has to go to Abbey - who should that go to and what address? Should it go to their solicitor...? 2) I've put together the bundle from the site - however on the zip file that is in the library - there appears to be bits missing....for example, on the one I printed out the other day there is no OFT statement summary and there is also bits missing in the the text (I don't know if they are supposed to be missing) e.g. page 26 (when nothing has been added) about a third down the page, it just says 30 ... and nothing more until it gets to 31. I hope this makes sense... Would be greatful if someone could advise asap as I would like to post these bundles today. Carly

Righto peeps We did the AQ and handed it in to the court with the fee round about the 10th Nov. When I look on MCOL it says that it has now been transferred and no more can be done online - so I am guess we have to wait for the court to set a date? How long will this take? The date the AQ had to be in by was 15/11. We've not heard a thing from abbey recently. Thanks - Carly

Right, I have received the allocation questionnaire - is this anything to worry about? It looks pretty straight forward. In section G - Other Information section, do I need to write anything in there? It's a £100 fee for filing this - that's normal, yeah? Any advice would be great guys as my own claims didn't get this far. C xxx

anyone got any advice...?

Right have copied and pasted this from southerner's thread cos it's exactly the same and she's done all the hard work already with copying it onto the computer! Looks like the 25th & 26th last week were busy days for Abbey's solicitors as lots of other people on the site got it too - which I have to say makes me feel better and I'm not the only one. FROM SOUTHERNER: Claim No xxxxxxx BETWEEN xxxxxxxxx Claimant -and - ABBEY NATIONAL PLC Defendant DEFENCE 1.Save as is specifically admitted in this defence, the Defendant denies each and every allegation set out in the particulars of claim. 2. It is admitted that the Claimant has current bank accounts with the Defendant, account numbers xxxxxxxx ("Account") 3. At all times the Account has been subject to the applicable terms and conditions ("Conditions"), which form part of the contract between the Claimant and the Defendant and to which the Claimant agreed when he opened the Account. The Defendant will refer at trial to the full Conditions but for the purposes of this Defence will refer to the following extracts: (1) "You can apply for an overdraft on your Account. If we give you an overdraft we will tell you your limit and the interest rate applicable." (2) "An unauthorised overdraft occurs if without our agreement you overdraw your Account or exceed the limit of an overdraft which we have agreed." (3) "If you have an unauthorised overdraft, you will be charged fees as set out in our Tariff of Charges or specified to you and these may include fees for transactions we are unable to process due to lack of available funds in your Account." (4) Throughout the period that he has had the Account, the Claimant received a number of copies of the Conditions and of the said Tariff of Charges as they were amended and updated (though there has been no material amendment to the Conditions extracted in paragraphs 3(1), (2) and (3) above). (5) Any overdraft facility on the Account was (and is) subject to the Conditions. (6) The Claimant has overdrawn or exceeded authorised overdraft limits on the Account on a number of separate occasions, full details of which will be provided on disclosure. Therefore by virtue of the Conditions referred to in paragraph 3 above such overdrawing was unauthorised and in breach of contract and the Claimant became liable to pay fees to the Defendant in accordance with its Tariff of Charges applicable at the relevant time. In- accordance with the Conditions, such fees were debited to the Account. (7) In view of the facts and matters referred to in paragraphs 3, 4,5 and 6 above, the Defendant denies that the amount of any other amount, was unlawfully debited to the Account and the Claimant's claim for the repayment of that amount is therefore denied. (8 ) The Claimant's contention that the said fees are unenforceable and/or are "penalty charges" is denied. The fees reflect and are proportionate to the Defendant's administrative expenses incurred due to the Claimant's breach of contract and are a genuine pre-estimate of the damage suffered by the Defendant. (9) Further or in the alternative, even if the said fees are not proportionate to the Defendant's administrative expenses incurred (which is denied), the Claimant remains liable to pay such fees as may be found to be proportionate and the Claimant is not entitled to claim repayment of the full amount of each charge made to the Account. (10) No admissions are made as to the amounts claimed by the Claimant and the Claimant is put to strict proof of the same. The Defendant believes that the facts stated in this defence are true. I am duly authorised by the Defendant to sign this statement. Full name Inga Kirkman of Abbey National pIc signed position or office held: Legal Officer Date: 26 October 2006 Mum phoned me on Tues to say that she's had the allocation questionnaire too. So that needs to be filled out and submitted - what happens then? More importantly how long is it likely to be before we see the cash.....?

And my mum!

Great - that's fine then, just wanted to know that they're just going through the motions til they give in. C xxx

Hi all again. Mum's had a letter (not sure if it's from the court or Abbey) but Abbey are intending on filing a defence. Just checked moneyclaim and it says 'defence' now...is this normal and what happens next? Sorry for the questions, just now I'm back at uni I've not got so much time as before. Thanks - C xx

Well, the charges for Oct 05 - Sept 06 come to more than £380 so they got their calculations wrong. They ignored the letter back telling them we would pursue them for the outstanding amount - so have now just completed moneyclaim.

Sent off the LBA, and received a standard response for the prelim letter the day after they should have responded by - telling us they'd get back to us in 4 weeks time. Yeah right. Mum received another letter from Abbey yesterday in response to the LBA, offering her £380 for Oct 05 - Sept 06 - haven't gone to check if this is even the correct amount for that time period. So, it's a 'thanks for the £380, but I am still going to claim for the rest letter'. Dontcha just love all this game playing?

My mum yesterday had that very same letter, and they offered her £380 of a £3840 claim. They don't seem to have a universal approach to this....

Yeah, I hope so too! Well, she posted off the letter via recorded delivery & it cost her £4 odd with the new postal charges . I'm not sure she asked for the right thing mind though, as I did let her go and do it on her own. Anyway, Abbey have not responded to the prelim and giving them ample time in which to respond - don't know if this is typical behaviour of them. The LBA is all filled in and ready to send. That's all from me for now. C xx

Hi everyone, just a quick update. In the end Abbey didn't send out the statements (surprise, surprise) so we did the DPA request and sent the £10. They all came through within about 3 weeks, even the ones on microfiche. Has taken ages to go through it all but have now worked out that Mum is claiming £3840 for past 6 years. There were some days (yes, days) that she was charged 8 times at £35 a pop for dd's bouncing or whatever. I've got the prelim all ready to go. I've done the 8% interest calculations (for when it gets to putting in a court claim) and it works out that if it gets to putting in a claim then Mum can then claim a further (almost) £900! So, here we go Carly

Dear the bailiffs name (not firm), Re: Your Reference I write in question of the fees on the above account. Firstly I would like to make you aware that I am aware of my rights and you will not gain entry to my home under any circumstances to levy goods. I am also aware of the fees allowed under statue and when which fees can be applied. You have demanded fees on the above account of £200, I dispute the level of the fees. The fees for collection of Council Tax are set down in statue (The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 45.(2)(b)) and where no levy has been made the most you can charge me is £22.50 for the first visit and £16.50 for the second visit and where no levy is made no further charges can be made. By the above calculations and since no levy has been made, in my case the most you can charge is £39 which I enclose with this letter. Please forward a statement of account to myself within 3 working days. Please ensure that the statement is itemised and shows clearly payments made by me and the charges applied by yourself. Please be aware if the statement of account shows fees that differ from that set down in statue or the information is not forthcoming I will on the (Insert day 4 workings days away) apply to have the matter taxed as set down in The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 Regulation 45(2)(b) SCHEDULE 5 by the County Courts. In addition as the costs claimed on xxx differ greatly to the amounts you are entailed to charge. I put you on notice that I believe you are unfit to hold a certificate from the courts and will be making a formal complaint to the courts, I require your certificate number and the name of the county court that issued your certificate. Since you will have both of these on hand and I would be grateful if you would forward them within 3 workings days. If the information is not forthcoming I will contact the Court Service Headquarters to obtain the details. You should be aware if that happens I will also send this letter with the complaint. If the correct fees are charged and statements of account arrive within 3 working days I will not make a complaint to the Courts in regard to your certificate nor will there be need for a Tax hearing and we can both consider the matter resolved and closed. I am sending the council a copy of this letter and requesting that it be filed with my account for further reference. Thank you for your help in resolving these matters and I look forward to your timely reply by letter. Yours faithfully, Send this to Equita offices, FAO of the bailiff. If you look on the national debtline website there is a list of charges that bailiffs are legally allowed to charge, in your case it's about £22.50 (can't remember exactly) but you'll probably find it easier if you pay the debt first, otherwise they might still chase you and thus try to push up more charges.

I am unsure if entry to the block of flats constitutes entry to your property - I highly doubt it besides he has not been into your flat to do a levy - ie make a list of goods that he is going to take. If I was you, I would pay the council tax debt, in your case £360 (you can call the council tax dept to double check how much you owe directly to them) if you can get the money together, and then send this letter that I will post in the next thread. I sent mine on Monday, by Friday mum had a letter saying 'you owe us £0' - the bailiff we were dealing with was also very vague.

Just to let you know, called Equita - couldn't get through to speak to anyone because automated message "our records show that your case is now closed. Goodbye" thanks so much zooman! My mum is soooooo happy now, she doesn't have to hide anymore and stress!

Hi all got a phone call from Mum this morning. She has received a statement from Equita stating that she does not owe them any more money and the statement read £0! I'm going to double check this with them and make sure they won't be sending around the bailiff anymore. Thanks for all the help - Carly