I have just done MCOL and then I read the thread where another forum member has been stung for over 4.5k charges by Kensington. I really feel for you. I can in no way afford such a charge, so do I now cancel MCOL? Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks

I can't actually recall whether I signed an agreement for the original o/d, but just recently my current bank sent me a letter saying I now have authority for a £1000 o/d, and I don't have to do anything or sign anything - just start spending! I am not going to take advantage of it because I would just end up in the same mess with them, but I think it's a bit odd that you can apparently borrow lots of money without actually signing anything! I reckon that's probably what happened with Barclays.

Hi all, I would welcome some advice on the following; I had an agreed overdraft with Barclays of £3,750, and the charges were becoming too much so I opened an account with another bank. I offered Barclays £10 per month, which was actually more than I could afford, and they ignored the offer. Debt Managers Ltd are now chasing the debt and it is over £5k. I wrote to Debt Managers asking for a copy of the original agreement, because I had forgotten it was an overdraft, not a loan. They have written back saying that there is no agreement because it was not a loan. I don't know whether it is best to go for getting the charges reduced, or try to have the debt written off because there is no agreement. The charges are almost half of the debt! But should there be an agreement if it is an o/d? Thanks in advance.

OK, all my templates are on my home pc and I am at work at the mo, so I will email you it tonight.

Hi The 1987 and 1995 act add to, but do not replace the 1985 act, so that one is current. Do you want a basic inventory template also? Cheers

Just sent it. Regards thehomee

I used to run my own letting agency, so I have a template you could use. PM me if you are interested and I will email it to you (free).

Haven't claimed bank charges back yet, but Barclays are way up on my list! Thanks for your advice and Happy New Year...

Thanks for that. I'm a bit worried about stumping up 250quid 'cos I can't be sure I'll win, and 250 is a lot of money!

I have completed the MCOL form but not submitted it. There is a section that asks if you wish to claim interest, then it tells you to add 8 percent per year. Once I did that it calculated the total to be over 5k, so it automatically adjusted the fee accordingly. Without interest it is 4,606.57, but with interest it is over 6k! Mebbe I've done something wrong with the interest calculation? Cheers

OK. thanks again for your help.

I have discovered that other people on this forum have replied to such letters as this before actually taking court action. I have completed MCOL and added 8% interest. The interest adds on another £2000. I can only claim interest if it goes to court, so does this mean that I have to reply to their letter (see above) to give them a chance to settle out of court without them having to pay interest, or should I go ahead now, pay my £250 court charges, and claim interest? Thanks in advance for any help. Happy New Year all!!

OK, sounds like good advice! I seem to remember seeing a very similar letter somewhere on this forum, but I can't find it now. Still, I'll let 'em have a nice Christmas and go for it in the New Year. Thanks again for your advice.

Hi all. Northern Rock charged £4,606.57 erc for a 66,000 mortgage in 2001, so here I go... Sent prelim letter 4th December. Received no reply, so sent LBA 20th December. Today I received a reply dated 18th December. I am not sure how to respond, so have posted their reply in the hope someone can advise me. Here goes............. Thank you for you letter dated 4 december 2006 referring in particular to the redemption fee in relation to your mortgage account. Your comments have been referred to me for reply as a senior manager within the mortgage review customer support team. I am sorry to learn of your dissatisfacton with Northern Rock plc and note your comments regarding the redemption fee incurred on your mortgage account. Northern Rock plc refutes any suggestion that the redemption fee applied to your mortgage account represents a penalty. In redeeming your mortgage early you are not in any way in breach of contract. As a matter of law the courts will only find that a contractual term represents a penalty where, on breach of contract, that term provides for a measure of damages that is not considered to represent a genuine pre-estimate of loss. Because there is no breach of contract the issue of a penalty does not arise. You make reference to a regime that is 'unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent consumer regulations' without identifying the common law, statute or consumer regulations or indeed the specific sections or regulations you seek to rely on. Further, you should specify with particularity any conduct on the part of Northern Rock plc that you consider has been unlawful or has not complied with UK law. Northern Rock plc also disagrees entirely with the suggestion that the redemption fee applied to your mortgage account is either a penalty or is unenforceable under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 ("UTCCR"). You should be aware that Regulation 6(2) of the UTCCR sets out that the UTCCR do not apply to core terms of the contract and nor do they apply to the adequacy of the bargain between the parties to a contract. The redemption fee applied to your mortgage account is an express term that goes to the heart of the contract between Northern Rock plc and yourself and, in addition, very clearly goes to the adequacy of the bargain between it and you. For these reasons, in accordance with Regulation 6(2), the UTCCR are not applicable to the early redemption charge applied to your mortgage account and nor is it an unfair term. You also make reference to the OFT report dated 5th April 2006, in which high levels of penalties were considered to be unfair. This pronouncement was in relation to default charges on credit card accounts and not early redemption charges, as is the case here. As an aside, it is for the courts rather than the OFT to decide what is or is not unlawful. In summary, the redemption fee applied to your mortgage account represented a core term of the contract you made with Northern Rock plc. It went directly to the heart of the bargain between you and Northern Rock plc. It did not represent any form of damages for breach of contract and was simply the agreed charge for early redemption of your mortgage. You were clearly and unambiguously notified of the charge, as an express term, prior to entering into the mortgage agreement. Furthermore, please set out in detail the amount and nature of the fees in question in order that Northern Rock plc may respond accordingly to your request. With regard to the threat of court proceedings, Northern Rock plc looks forward to receiving your substantive response to the legal points raised above, prior to the issue of any proceedings. For the reasons set out above, Northern Rock plc does not consider that your letter 4 December 2006 discloses any reasonable grounds for bringing a claim against it, and nor, if such a claim were issued, that it would have any prospect of success. In the event that proceedings are issued without your having provided a substantive response to the legal issues raised, Northern Rock plc reserves the right to bring such failure to respond and the content of this letter to the attention of the court in relation to its costs. If you are in any doubt as to the meaning of any of the above it is strongly recommended that you seek independent legal advice. I hope I have resolved matters fully for you. I have enclosed details of our internal complaints procedure which explains what you should do if your complaint has not been resloved satisfactorily and identifies the timescales for dealing with complaints. NB This was not actually enclosed! If you remain unhappy please contact me as soon as possible with any queries or concerns. Alternatively, if I do not hear from you within eight weeks from the date of my letter I will close your complaint for you. I suppose my biggest question is this; does anybody know whether I actually have to respond to this letter, or can I just proceed to court after the 14 days after LBA has passed? Thanks in advance all - and MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!

Hi. I am also interested in how you got on with NR as I have just started a claim against them. Thanks

Hi. I had an erc of over 4.5k on a 70k mortgage in 2001, so I have sent them a similar letter. I sent it a week ago, but have had no reply as yet - will keep you informed! Your letter seems ok, and we'll have to wait and see if they respond to either of us!

Well, it was over 5

I had a mortgage with them from 1999 to 2001 and when I sold up they hit me with a massive Early Redemption Penalty. Having found this site I have now started the first step on the road to trying to get them to refund it. I will let you all know how I get on...

I agree regarding KeConnect - I am IT Manager of a secondary school and they supply us. They are excellent and I am going to change my personal broadband to them when my BT contract expires.

OK, thanks for your quick response. Just written the SAR and will send it today. I will let you all know how I get on.

Hi All Just joined and can't believe how many people there are at last making a stand against the financial institutions. I paid a large redemption fee to Northern Rock in May 2001. I have two questions; 1) Is it now too late to claim it back? 2) I can't find the paperwork, so can't find the account number! How can I prove to them that I am who I say I am, so that I can ask them for the account number and then hit them with the claim for my redemption fee back? Thanks in advance for any help. I am also being chased by numerous dca's, but that's for another topic!