count me in.

[mao]

hello all!!

 

firstly i'd like to say thank you for your rather marvelous work here!!! after reading some of the posts i have today applied for my partner and my bank statements for the last six years ( paying £10 each) i fully expect the charges we have paid to come to around £3000 each, so being able to have this mony paid back to us would make a real difference to our lives, charges have been a plague for us as a low income family and i have long thought that they could not possibly be justifiable.

 

i must admit to being a bit daunted though, the hsbc has a lot more money than me, so im hoping for some reassurance? what is the worst case senario? i have opened a halifax current account just in case!

 

many many thanks to you all and i will most certainly post here on every step i take, thank you m x

[BankFodder]

I hope that you mean £10 each request under the DPA - not £10 per sheet!

 

The worst case scenario is that you have to go to court. They defend and you lose. In which case you will have lost your chance of recovering the charges and also the summons fee - about £250.

 

That's it.

 

You are right to open another account. A very good move. Not enough people do it. Open a couple. It won't hurt. Keep them dormant just in case.

 

Make sure that you keep on coming back here at each step and get people's opinons and advice as to how to proceed.

 

Do remember though that this is not a formal advice or consultancy service. It is informal, unpaid and at the end of the day you have to count on your own judgment. No liablility attaches to us.

If you have any serious doubts then you can consider going to a practising insured solicitor.

I am sure that you realise that I am saying all of this because if anything went wrong we wouldn't want you or others to come back at us.

 

This site is run as a goodwill gesture only.

You may have had goodwill from your bank. Now here's some goodwill from us. You decide which you value the most. 8)

[Russe11]

an there was me thinking I am the only one dealind with hsbc bank atm, LOL....... its certainly seems the way they are treating me.

 

please keep us upto date all proceedings, but my first bit of advice is that once you have to chase up your letter (they will be knocking around in a place known as "central credit services") these people know the score.....Expect for some member of staff to say 'we are entiltled to apply these charges etc etc' +I would advise you to record your calls to this department+

 

good luck

[mao]

thank you for your kind words!

i think its worth the gamble, after all whats £250 but two to three months charges! am i right in saying though that as yet no one has been to court to set a precident?

another quetion i have is my partner and i have had a joint account for the last 3 years, previously we had sole accounts, how should we tackle this an one, two or even three claims?!

also surely if the bank freezes your account or puts a black mark on your credit rating this would be frowned upon by the courts as 'bullying' especially as the balance of power is so tipped in their favour?

thanks again, m x

[Guest stephen]

When you send the letter to the bank requesting your charges back lets us know there reply. Also if your on working family tax credit or some other benefits you may not have to pay the court fees. So then, your worst case scenario is £20.00

 

Please note that the Small claims track is for cliams of no more than £5000 so if you are right, you, and your wife’s claim would be for a total of £6000. Therefore, I would suggest you put in a claim in separate names and not a joint claim

[gothicf0rm]

or make one claim for last year, then when you win make a claim for the year before, one claim for each year... nice extra costs for your bank.

[mao]

hi thanks all!

just got some statements through for the joint account held for the last three years and charges come to £1600, i am going to use one of the templates in the library but my printer is nackered , i was going to hand write it but not sure? the other thing is that the statements for the previous 3 yrs havent arrived? on the phone the lady was perfectly helpfull said she would request them for me, but should i suspect that they wont arrive and or how long should i give it? also if i go as three cases can they run concurrently or do i need to end one to start the next? any help much apreciated! mx

[mao]

thanks dave, the reason im wondering is that one of the sole accounts on which im awaiting statements has a lot of juicy charges on it from nearly exactly six years ago so really i would like to have dealt with that one first also as it is a closed account it fells a bit safer to do first! wimp i know! m x

[mao]

hello all,

im back, well, i never went away really!! congratulations all on your hard work the site looks really great and the sucesses are really starting to roll in now! fantastic!!

 

in the end decided to get my act together and send the prelim letter for our current account, i had wanted to wait and start with a closed account, but they were taking ages to get the statments, and, in the end couldn't wait any loger, so i sent the prelim letter for the current account thinking..

a) all the charges together for the closed accounts would be more than 5k

b) it could take forever so i might as well start,

well lo and behold on the day i get the standard respoince back from Phil (!) the statements arrive!

what should i do, they amount to less than 5k, just, i was thinking of sending another letter amending the amount claimed for, them giving 2 weeks till i send the lba, do you think this would be ok, or should i carry on down the original path and do two seperate claims being as how i've already started.

btw phills letter containd a number of typo's, he got the dates wrong as well as the amount by 800 quid, i think we should keep an eye on poor phill as i feel he may well be overworked! Thank you, mao.

[mao]

hi all, firstly, ive used the faq's ans the search facility!!!! but i am quite thick!

i would really appreciate if someone could give me some pointers. I have followed the instructions step by step and have ended up, as predicted filing the moneyclaim form online, surprise surprise!!

however as i really dont want to cock this up can someone confirm a few things...

1. is it ok to claim with my partner, and put both our names on the form?

 

2.This is what ive put as paticulars......We have a contract with the HSBC,which is conducted on their standard terms and conditions. We are claiming the return of money taken by the defendant in the way of charges over the last 6 years. The bank's charges are a disproportionate penalty and therefore unenforceable as they are contrary to common law. Further, as a disproportionate penalty they are invalid under the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977 s.4 and under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Para.8 and sch.2(1)(e). In the event that the charges are not a penalty then they are unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15.

We have repeatedly asked the bank to justify their charges but they have declined to do so.

 

3. does it matter which address for the hsbc? ive put the address for customer services in leeds.

 

4. how long till i see the money????!!!!!

 

cheers all x x x x

[barracad]

1) Is it a joint account?

 

2) Sounds fine to me. But if you are also claiming the 8% interest you will need to add the wording for this on the end - see the FAQ's.

 

3) I would have put the Registered Office address, but any should be fine.

 

4) How long's a giraffe's neck?!

[mao]

thanks for your reply!

1. the claim is for 3 accounts our joint account and our, now closed, sole accounts

2. will do!

3. will change to canada square address

4. not that long hopefully!!

 

ive now got a five!!! is that ok??!!

5. when it says court fee it's £250.00 eeekkk!!! i belive there is a discount if your on benifits, how do i put this in and where do i find out how much i can get?

 

ps this claim is for 5 1/2k after intrest, eeeekkk indeed!!!!

 

pps thank you very much!!

[barracad]

thanks for your reply!

1. the claim is for 3 accounts ...

 

this claim is for 5 1/2k after intrest, eeeekkk indeed!!!!

 

 

I think it would be wise splitting the claim into 3 seperate claims (1 for each account). This would then keep the claim allocated to the Small Claims Track. You wouldn't be able to issue all 3 claims at once, as they could request they could be amalgamated.

 

I believe there is a discount of some sort for people on benefits, but I don't know how that works. Hopefully somebody will be along soon who can answer this, in the meantime you could try searching the forums for further details.

[mao]

haia, thanks for getting back to me, the amount that can be claimed on the small claims track is 5k before interest or court fees, i actually checked this on moneyclaim so im ok! i just hope its ok to claim for two people? i found some info about exemption for people on benifits so i will sort that out tommorow, thanks again m x

[skyrocket123]

Are you sure it's 5k before interest? It would definately change my claim if thats the case. I thought it had to be 5k including the 8% interest

[jonni2bad]

Yes, it is before interest, and if you are asking it MUST mean you haven't read through the FAQ section properly.

 

Likewise, there is a template for the PARTICULARS OF CLAIM - there simply is no excuse for not reading the information posted, which is entirely for your own benefit.

 

If this sounds a little harsh, then GOOD. The people who spent hours on end of their own time, without payment, to list all the things you'll need to get you through this safely would certainly not appreciate the above questions.

 

People must be clear on this - you are taking a bank to court for potentially thousands of pounds - this is not to be taken lightly. I'm sure that banks are reading claims very carefully to find someone that has not taken the time to understand the process so that they can pounce and fend you off successfully.

 

It will only take ONE event like that to put 100's, if not 1,000's, of other users off and do great harm to our campaign.

 

I repeat, once more;

 

NO EXCUSES

READ THE FAQ's

[skyrocket123]

I was recently told by Alanfromderby that the limit for 5k was including the interest which was why I queried it. I wouldn't mind you b%"*^cking me if I hadn't read the FAQs but I have.

Also in the Lawpack booklet it says 'The amount of interest forms part of the £5000 small claims limit. So if you were claiming £4850 with interest of £225 it would take you outside the limit.'

[jonni2bad]

Sent you a PM regarding the above.

 

If that is stated, I'm afraid it's wrong. The limit is not based on interest, just the basic claim value.

 

The only time this would change if if you were to press for a rate of interest higher than 8% (like the contractual interest on a credit card for instance)

 

My overall point was more aimed at the opening post - although partly to you also - but your explanation would suggest you have not done 'wrong' and you can certainly count yourself out of that particular wrath!

[skyrocket123]

Have pm-ed you

[mao]

jonni2bad. frankly i'm offended. this is a public forum and there is no need to be so rude. i have been following this issue for some months now, my first post was on the 3rd of february, it has taken me a long time to work up the courage to try and reclaim what i feel is mine. last night i was trying to complete the moneyclaim form online and i needed reassurance, not berrating. if you read the thread you would see that i knew that the claim limit is 5k net of interest and costs. i am very gratefull to the people who take the time to help people on this forum but there are some questions not in the faq or found using the search facility, such as my original point , is it ok to claim with my partner? surely asking questions and asking for reasurance is the whole point of a forum.

[jonni2bad]

Firstly, the details on the claim limit were not in relation to your post- if YOU read down the list you will see what I referred to.

 

Secondly, your inability to read the FAQ section in full, despite (in your own words) being here since 3rd Feb is shocking. It is a time consuming job just keeping up with 'real' questions - i.e. the one's that haven't already been answered for you.

 

As such, I'm not in any way concerned that my post may have offended you - in fact to a degree I hoped it would. If you think that being nervous about taking action against your bank is reason enough for not following the very clear and well laid out proceedures shown, then you are very much mistaken.

 

There is a template for Particulars of Claim and that is precisely the point I was making - if you used the things we supply there would be no need to check!

 

Now go and direct your anger towards your bank, and reclaim your money.

[Don Quioxte]

Now go and direct your anger towards your bank, and reclaim your money.

 

Mao rudeness does not come into it. We are not a book club or a James Blunt forum. The purpose of the BAG is to galvanize people into retrieving monies that were unlawfully recovered from them by way of unfair charges.

 

This is a legal minefield, and requires an intimate knowledge of financial and consumer regulations, as well as the Statute and court process. We all have a responsibility to ensure that as individuals we take ownership for our journey, and make pertinent use of the resources and knowledge available to us - because the BAG unfortunately does not have seven-figure salaried legal teams at its disposal just Bankfodder and Dave along with a core of hard-working individuals who are willing to take on the banks in their own territory.

 

Therefore it is imperative that you totally engratiate yourself with the site and the process/legalities involved - rather than effectively expecting other people to share what can only be your burden of responsibility. I commend your courage in stepping up to the mark, and taking on such a large financial institution, but do not be offended by some succinct and curt responses as this serves as a timely reminder of the fact that we are not a James Blunt forum, and prepares you for what may ly ahead - in a positive way.

 

I wish you much success - all your concerns have been addressed correctly previously so I need not dish out any more advice - other than to say, I hope to see your number of posts skyrocket from 11 (since February!!) as you realise the need to get involved as part of your preparedness!

 

Best of luck.

[mao]

right, ok,

 

regarding the claim limit

My overall point was more aimed at the opening post

can you see that as the op i felt that you directed your post at me.

 

secondly i have read the faq's, i still cant see anything about claiming with my partner, this might be the stupidest question in the world but the answer is not there.

 

so i used the text in 'guide notes for completing moneyclaim' insead of the 'hard copy' as i clearly fits better into the space, there are several posts from mods saying, if your unsure its better to ask than to f@@k up, i asked, unnecassarily as it happened. i should have had more confidence in myself.

 

i appreciate the effort and hard work that have gone into this site, i understand your frustration with people that post without thinking, i have read some of those posts too.

 

realise the need to get involved as part of your preparedness!

 

that was what i was trying to do in the first place!

 

mao sighs and hopes someone will tell her if it was ok to claim with her partner.

 

thank you

[Bookworm]

Yes, it is, as long as it's a joint account. If not, and you're the one doing the talking, you'll have to be his litigation friend in court. Don't worry about that right now, just make sure you have authority to speak/write on his behalf, or they'll use the DPA to stonewall you.

[Don Quioxte]

 

mao sighs and hopes someone will tell her if it was ok to claim with her partner.

 

ya tis fine Mao.

 

Claim away. You have joint authority on the account. Any remittance with regards refunds, or county court judgments (should it actually get that far) will likely be paid by crossed cheque in the name of both of you.

 

Bear in mind that you may well need a parachute account in the name of both of you to credit any remittance.

 

But don't worry, yes you can claim on the joint account as per your intentions.

 

Good luck. No need to sigh!