Refusing to pay charges

[stuart65]

I have been charged by Abbey for going over my agreed overdraft limit by £15. As I believed the initial charge of £20 was unreasonable I refused to pay it, and consequently have incurred a £20 charge every month since. They now claim that I owe them £129. My tactic has been to continue refusing to pay and watch the original unreasonable charge accumulate into a ludicrous charge. I have explained to Abbey that I have no intention nor means of ever paying the charges but have been willing to pay them the £15 from the outset.

 

Im guessing this is not the recommended approach and maybe I should pay the charges and then try to reclaim them. As it stands, do I have any grounds to start legal proceedings against them?

[stuart65]

I am currently overdrawn by £129. My overdraft limit is £0.00.

 

I already have several other accounts so I am not worried about being unable to use this one.

 

In response to phone calls I have made I have recieved a letter from Michelle Tollerfield from Sheffield Customer Relations Team saying 'As they (the charges) have been applied in line with our current tariff of charges and have not arisen as a result of a proven abbey error no further refunds will be applied.'

 

I look forward to her response when I explain to her that their charges are unlawful. Many thanks for your advice.

[sportbeth]

I did this exact same thing with the Woolwich. they sent me into an unagreed overdraft with their charges and kept adding to them. After that they sent the account to a Debt collector (whilst the charges were in dispute which is against OFT regulations)

 

I told the Woolwich to take me to court (Knowing they would lose) or forget the whole thing.

 

They scrapped the charges, opened my account again (at my request) and removed the default info on my credit file

[Spiceskull]

...My overdraft limit is £0.00...

 

With a limit like this, I'm surprised they offer an overdraft in the first place. I'm reminded of those cheques that used to be sent by the DHSS for £0.00, and appeared in the papers for amusement...

[stuart65]

I wrote to tell them that the outstanding amount is in dispute because it's made up of unlawful charges. However they were unmoved and have continued to claim that I owe them the outstanding amount.

 

I have just recieved a letter from a debt recovery agency, (£15 has now become £197.59.)

 

Any suggestions as to how I should proceed?

[Glenn UK]

I guess you should counterclaim using the prelim letter and add an additional section about the account and the charges appiled being in dispute.

 

In the event that they dont accept the dispute argument, which seems counter to the FSA protocols on bank accounts or debts in dispute (think i got the right abbreviation there?), then you have opened your claim agaisnt them for unlawful charges.

 

one thing I would say is that i know there may be circunstances where not responding to a creditor is the right thing to do.

 

However, where you do enter into discussiosn then its my belief you have to act in good faith and not do anything which increases the debt or stops you from reaching a negotiated settlement.

 

im not sure if am getting the right end of the stick here but i would suggest being careful about how you deal with the creditor in case it does end up in court. you want the court on your side as much as is possible and dont want to be seen as a trouble maker who could have resolved things months ago.

 

JMHO

 

Glenn

[stuart65]

This topic was closed on 03/07/19.

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