First Direct - taking the proverbial!!

[bwfcboy]

Hi alll,

I sent my first letter to First Direct this week after receiving an excess overdraft fee of £80 for one month. They never even told me i was beyond the limit. I noticed myself and moved some money from another online account I have with them yet they still say the charge was for `administration costs`

How does that work???

 

Made me chuckle when I spoke to them on the phone.

They started their drivel about me breaking the terms of the contract, `actually` I said, `I think you `ll find that it is you who has broken the terms of the contract as it is an implied term of that contract that you will behave in a lawful manner, bla bla bla`.

Oh! she didnt like that at all!!!

[bwfcboy]

to update, I have NOT been charged for 6yrs worth of statements. They sent them by DHL in less than a week.

 

I wonder if the length of time you have had your account and the amount of use you give it has any bearing on their decisions?

[bwfcboy]

Astonishing yet true!!!!!

 

I haven`t even collected my bank statements from the DHL Office yet and I received a letter offering me a full refund to the tune of almost £600.

 

Thats off the back of one phone call and one letter!!

[bwfcboy]

to update again.

the person who I contacted and who offered me a refund at First Direct was Robert Kernaghan - Customer Relations Manager.

[monkey_uk]

to update again.

the person who I contacted and who offered me a refund at First Direct was Robert Kernaghan - Customer Relations Manager.

 

I'll move this to the right section of the forum...

 

So, can you confirm, you SPOKE to this Robert chap? I'm beggining to wonder whether he exists, or is just a myth of my imagination (much like Mr Kettle of Halifax!).

[doris]

robert kernaghan was the person who signed my letter too. in pen. apparently.

[bwfcboy]

I'll move this to the right section of the forum...

 

So, can you confirm, you SPOKE to this Robert chap? I'm beggining to wonder whether he exists, or is just a myth of my imagination (much like Mr Kettle of Halifax!).

 

 

Hi,

No! I didnt speak to him but when I spoke to the Section Manager on the phone she told me to address the letter to him and he signed the offer letter in pen.

 

Keep up the good work!

[chriszammett]

another success for sub-£1K claims. Hope Robert is as kind with my request.

 

Well done.

[su322wr]

Well done I hope they are as quick to help me out, I could do with having a Christmas this year.

[jobloggs]

Perhaps they are finally wakign up to the fact to do any other than pay upealry is a waste of time and only incurs more costs.

No DG's wont be too happy at the dissapearance of money out of the gravy train, but hey ho.

[blueberrys]

Have just received an offer of £1112 against my claim of £1358 with First Direct, naturally they accept no wrong-doing on their part but wish to avoid costly legal proceedings so want to pay me as a goodwill gesture!! Guilty as sin, I think, if they are prepared to go that far. Have said I must write to the mysterious Mr Kernaghan too if I want to claim more than their 'generous' offer. Will I do it? You bet!!! LBA with acceptance of part payment only in post today!!

[joebloggs]

I'm not beign picky on purpose, but did they actually say they wanted to avoid costly legal proceedings?

 

I find that interesting if they did as it seems to be a shift from the standard for commerical managemtn reasons blah blah blah

[blueberrys]

Hi

 

actual response was:

 

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

 

Dear Mrs & Mrs BXXXX,

 

Thank you for your letter dated 4 October requesting a refund of £1358 bank charges.

 

In circumstances where you have authorised a payment that would, if met by us, lead to your account going overdrawn or to exceed an agreed overdraft limit, we have to consider whether to make this payment. A fee is payable for this service provided by the bank, details of which are clearly set out in our published tariff. The circumstances in which the fee will apply are clearly set out in our Account Terms and Conditions, a copy of which was provided to you when you opened your account. We are confident of our position and believe that if your claim for a refund proceeded to Court, we would successfully resist any legal challenge in relation to these fees.

 

first direct is, however, mindful of the management time and irrecoverable legal costs we may incur in relation to such a claim. For those commercial reasons alone, and without any admission of liability whatsoever, first direct is prepared to make a payment to you in the sum of £1112.00 in full and final settlement of this matter, which I believe is a fair and reasonable offer.

 

If you accept our proposal please sign and return the enclosed declaration to us in the prepaid envelope provided and we will arrange for a refund to be made to you. This offer will remain in place for 10 working days from receipt of this letter.

 

However, should you wish to escalate your concerns to the next stage, you may write to Robert Kernaghan, Customer Relations Manager, at the above address.

 

Complaints we cannot resolve may ultimately be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service, further details of which can be found in our 'listening to your comments' leaflet.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

John Ruane

Customer Relations

 

(letter signed by him in pen.)

 

The legal costs bit sounded to me like they were trying to avoid going to court, but I thought it looked pretty much like other letters people have posted. Also, the 'If you wish to escalate...' suggests that they know you will go further!!

[joebloggs]

Just the standard blurb then.

Cheers for posting.

[bwfcboy]

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