The courts may give them an extra day or two to file their defence, but it is extremely unlikely that they will respond. In that case, you will win default judgement and it all goes in your favour and they have to pay you in full. I would expect they will get in contact with you in the next couple of days to offer a full amount so you drop the case. Keep us posted!

Ignore it, because it's you who decides the time scale. Carry on as you normally would, they are just trying to stall you.

Don't panic!!! This happens a lot, usually because Royal Mail are a bit slow updating their info. It's more than likely that Helifax have got your letter, if you sent a cheque, have a look to see if it has been cashed. Keep onto them, but don't worry!

Nice one Flipster, another success story! Just out of interest, how are they going to pay you as I remember you had issues about them paying straight into your closed account etc?

Right, just about to send my Prelim, got a few questions: 1) As discused with Survivor, can anyone shed any light on whether we should be claiming the 'interest debited - notified last month' and adding it to the spread sheet, because it makes a big difference to my claim (extra £396). 2) The account was shut over a year ago with -£1,250 balance, this amount was included in my IVA, so if I am successful, this refund will go to my IVA to help me become solvent. How will I get the money from Halifax if my account is closed? Thanks!

Yes! Yes! Yes!!! Always stick to your timescale.

I too was wondering about this. If we were to claim the interest debited, could that be the contractual rate rather than the statutory rate?

Woohey! Go for it and keep us posted!

WOOHOO!!! Well done! Almost there, not long to go!

Hi there and welcome to the forum! You are on the right tracks and yes, it's you who decides the timescale, not them. Your next move is to send an LBA letter (Letter Before Action) giving them 14 days to refund your charges or you will file a claim in court. There is a letter in the `letter templates', use that one. Best of luck, although you won't need it. Keep us updated too!

Always worth asking though isn't it, I know I do all the time! Go get them!

I would guess that you have to start with the prelim letter, LBA and then court because you have to show that you have given them a fair chance to pay the money back, court is only a last resort.

Yep, that's the spirit, take back control! They are not the government, they are private companies who are charging massive amounts without even bothering to prove how much it really costs them. Hopefully you will have no problems getting your money back (I say that because you won't have any problems, but one never knows). Just stick to your timetable, do not let them stall you, don't believe it when they say they have 4 weeks to respond, push on with your claim! Oh, and don't let them bully you either, come to us and we will give you loads of support and advice!

Well done, every penny counts!

YES! There is no reason why you can't reclaim your `unfair' charges as they are disproportionate! It doesn't matter what the state of the account is or the history, if they took the money from you, ask for it back, so get on with that SAR! Again, send SAR's to both HSBC and Capital One and reclaim your charges, then tell the DCA that the account is in dispute, then use the money that you have got through your reclaimed charges to clear some if not all your debt.

Standard response sent out to thousands of unhappy customers claiming their charges back. Yes they are going to give you your money back, but not until you file it in court. Carry on the process, when the LBA time is up, file your MCOL, don't rise to the bate, they are just bullying.

Good luck, even though you don't need it! P.S. Do you claim the 'Interest debited - notified last month' amounts as well?

Can't argue with that! Just out of curiousity, having now added up all my charges totalling £2,995 plus £616 (the statutory 8% interest to be added at court stage), there are also £316 in `Interest debited - notified last month', which is probably due to dipping into my overdraft. Can I claim this as well?

Yeah, you have good reason to sleep well, you are standing up to the bullies and taking control! It can only get better from now on!

Can't add anything more to what has already been said - stick to your timetable.

Hi there and welcome to the club! I doubt it will affect any arrangement if you claim the charges back, but everyones situation is different. I have an IVA with Halifax at the moment and it isn't stopping me claiming as all my money will go into the IVA to clear my debt. My arguement is that they want their money back, so I will do all I can, ultimately they will end up paying themselves, but it is my money. I say go for it, don't worry!

I would say that the chances of you appearing in court is as likely as Elvis becoming prime minister! Okay, it is possible that you could appear in court, but extremely unlikely, and if you did, then it is usually at a time and date when both parties can attend. As far as I am aware, most of the process is conducted behind closed doors, so don't let it stop you going for your new job!

Write back to them stating that you will respond no later than 4 weeks, just like they do with us. If they telephone, tell them that you will only deal with them in writing, not over the telephone as you have no record of your conversation and that puts you at an unfair disadvantage. In 4 weeks time, you should be well into your reclaiming process, then you can claim that the account is in dispute - when the money is paid back to you, clear the overdraft and they have nothing to complain about! Just my advice, not saying that it is the best things to do, but stalling them as much as you can at this stage would be the best thing as it is blatently obvious that they are trying to make things more difficult and drive you into more debt. Be careful that they don't hand it over to a debt collection agency because they will add their charges to?

Yey, go for it girl!!!!! We all have to have a drink to celebrate remember!!!

Hi Harrythehawk! Welcome to the forum and top marks for starting the process, you will win! Best advice I can give is read everything! Read the FAQ's, read other peoples threads and have a look at the templates. Oh, and keep us updated too!