should I accept their offer?

[SPARKY100]

Bankfodder,

 

Please help.

 

I went to my branch on Monday and paid the £10 to arrange for my statements, after issuing a DPA request on Feb 18th. It has taken both the branch and HO this long to confirm my complaint. It meant they only had 9 days to send me my statements, since i made the request. I asked HO if they would be able to comply with the request, and they were less than helpful.

 

On Tuesday I had a call from the Halifax Customer services team apologising for the delay in responding to my request, and offered to refund the £10 I had been charged for the DPA request and offered £187 in settlement for charges totalling (according to them) £361 over the last 6 years.

 

I asked for more, but they called back and declined. This was their offer. I cannot confirm that the charges total £361 because they have not sent my statements. I was told I had 27 charges, but the charges levied seem small in comparison to the number of charges on the account.

 

Should I accept the offer of £187, or do I push for the full amount. They haven't told me the mechanism for the calculation. Should I also ask for this?

 

many thanks

[richardc]

Accept neither offer. Tell them that they have 6 days to comply with your DPA request and unless they comply you will report them to the Information Commissioner. Do this in writing. If you don't get your info, come back and we can discuss your options.

[ispartacus75]

Accepting is up to you but I would say it is not an acceptable offer.

 

27 x £35.00 (avg charge based on increasing amount over the years)=

 

£945.00

 

As far as them not complying with the DPA you must report them. This kind of action on their part is completely unacceptable.

 

How long till they just start telling customers to F*&^ ^FF?

 

I would personally reject their offer and tell tehm how many days they ahve to comply with the DPA request.

[tania richardson]

Dear Sparky100

 

I was surprised to see that the Halifax wanted to charge you £10 for your statements. I was charged £5 for 5 years worth. Do they think of a number and double it to justify the charges?

[BankFodder]

SPARKY100

 

 

You have to decide how badly you want the money - so at the end of the day it is a personal decision for you.

 

However, I don't think that it is acceptable that they appear to be holding you to ransom over your DPA request. I think that this would be worth a complaint to the IC on its own. If they are able to come up with a total it is clear that they have access to the data which you require and yet they are using it against you and failing to disclose it to you as they are required by law.

 

This is a nasty trick.

 

I would at least tell them that you require your list of charges immediately and that they have a fiduciary duty to you to supply you with information and also not to mislead you as to their charges.

 

Perosnally, I would tell them No and concitnue, but as I have said it is your money and your risk and you have to make the decision.

 

I think that you should call them - confirm in writing - that as they clearly have come up with a figure for charges (which you do not necessarily accept), it is obvious that they have access to the date which you have required and it is also obvious that they are trying to make use of it while denying it to you.

Tell then that this will be reported to the IC as "unconscionable behaviour" and that it will be included in your claim when you file the matter with the County Court.

Tell them that if they want to minimise the trouble for themselves that it would be in their interests to let you have the information pronto.

Tell then that they are violating their fiduciary duty towards you by playing games with your personal data like this.

 

If you can't say that lot on the phone then put it in writing and send it special delivery ASAP - meaning NOW.

[SPARKY100]

Dear Bankfodder,

 

Thank you for the advice.

 

is it also worth asking about how they arrived at the figure of £178? Is their some mystical calculation I should know about?

[SPARKY100]

tania,

 

Thanks for the question. I also challenged them on this, stating that there was a raft of different charges from 0 to £10. HO stuck to their guns, but the local Bank Manager said the charges were negotiable for such a large slice of info. They are certainly not cohesive!!

[SPARKY100]

dear richard C

 

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm entitlked to a further explanantion on how they arrived at £178. Overall, it's not a huge amount of money to get back, and I'm dubious about the full charges, as i can't confirm them. This is a matter of principle now.

 

By rejecting, do you believe this would go against me in court, as not accepting an offer made by them?

 

I will call tomorrow and request the full info while i consider my position, as well as put the request in writing, as per bankfodders advice.

 

thanks again.

[richardc]

No, you are entitled to make your clai - you do not have to accept any offer that is less than that which you are claiming. You can point out to the bank that if you make a claim in the County Court you will add interest and the court fees to their costs.

[SPARKY100]

Dear Richard C,

 

Many thanks. All told this could exceed £500. A more interesting figure.

 

Perhaps they might reconsider.

 

I'll keep you posted.

 

Thanks again

[SPARKY100]

Called up the Customer services team armed with the advice from Bankfodder. They're standing firm on the offer. I' ve asked for the info regardless, and they will comply with the DPA request.

 

I asked them about the formula to calculate the offer. They said there isn't one. It's an arbitary figure given in offer to the highest most recent charges (the last 6 months was the scope). I'm interested to see the last 6 months, because i know for sure the only charges in the last 6 months have been in February, and these totalled £90. They will still refund my £10 for the DPA request, because they want the information to be provided on an "informal basis".

 

I'll consider accepting when I receive the info to confirm the figure of £361 in charges.

 

Given some of the comments in the last few days, they may be gearing up for court in a more organised fashion, and I'm not sure i want to be the one they test against.

[BankFodder]

It is unlikely that they will go to court.

 

I don't think that you should give in to this kind of pressure.

 

Send them a 7 day LBA and tell them that not only will you be claiming your charges but also youwill be claiming for their contractual failure to provide the data an that you will make it clear to the court the way that they have used your data against you without providing it for your own use.

This is scandalous abuse. Don't be browbeaten by it.

Actually by committing themselves to such shameful and dishonest behaviour they have in my view rediced their chances of success once the story is made known to the court.

[SPARKY100]

Hi Bankfodder,

 

What if the data arrives under the DPA by the time the 40 days expires? Is the position still valid that they used the data against me to base an offer, before I had chance to check the charges under my DPA request?

 

Sorry whats a 7 day LBA?

 

What value do you attach for contractual failure? They may not fail in their contract to supply the info by the end of the 40 days. Would this still be valid?

[SPARKY100]

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