Whizzkid v Abbey - Round 2

[Natasha]

well done mate and best wishes

[Beaker_smiles]

You could probably make a fortune selling the film rights to your story.

 

I know I'm sitting on the edge of my seat, eagerly waiting the next installment.

 

Will the Abbey pay up?

Will the Bailiffs go in?

And who is the mysterious hooded paymaster?

 

LOL!!

[thegoodsamaritan]

I'll put the date in my diary and watch with eager anticipation!

[dinghy]

Don't know if this might help at all... Article in last Wednesdays Mail...

 

Copyright 2006 Associated Newspapers Ltd.

All Rights Reserved

Daily Mail (London)

 

April 19, 2006 Wednesday

SECTION: ED 1ST; Pg. 46

 

LENGTH: 667 words

 

HEADLINE: One overdraft charge led to a spiral of debt;

MONEY MAIL

 

BYLINE: JAMES CONEY

 

BODY:

 

 

ABBEY sent a 19-year-old into a desperate spiral of debt after taking more than Pounds 700 in charges from her account in just one day.

 

Andrea Beaton, who earns Pounds 800 a month as a shop assistant, is facing a bill of more than Pounds 1,320 because she cannot cope with mounting bank charges.

 

The charges have been climbing since August last year, when Miss Beaton went overdrawn accidentally. Each month since then, charges have been added to the account, leaving her less and less to spend the following month.

 

Abbey claims that every time a charge was applied, someone monitoring her account approved it. Yet at no stage was she warned about the growing problem. Nor was her account frozen.

 

Miss Beaton, who admits to knowing little about financial matters, overspent in August 2005, but was not charged a fee because her account was normally well managed.

 

However, when she went overdrawn again in October, the bank imposed a Pounds 35 charge. This led to her going a few pounds overdrawn again in November, costing her Pounds 70 in charges. By December, her budget was so stretched the charges had climbed to Pounds 140.

 

Miss Beaton realised how serious the problem was only when she received her statement in January. She contacted Abbey asking for an overdraft so she could get back on track.

 

But her request was turned down and instead she was advised to contact Abbey's debt management team.

 

Meanwhile, charges were piling up, with another Pounds 365 added in January.

 

Miss Beaton, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, contacted the debt management team and offered to repay Pounds 50 a month. This was rejected and she was threatened with legal action and debt collectors being sent to her home unless she paid back Pounds 300 a month.

 

The debt adviser knew this was almost half of her monthly salary. And while she was discussing repayments, her account was still collecting charges. A staggering Pounds 710 of fees were applied in February.

 

When Money Mail contacted Abbey, it said if Miss Beaton was struggling, she should renegotiate the repayments.

 

She says: 'Each time a charge is made I go more into debt and it makes it impossible not to go overdrawn. No one has offered any help. All Abbey wants is the money.' Like all High Street banks, Abbey charges customers every time they go beyond their authorised credit limit. For unauthorised borrowing, the interest rate is 28.7 pc, there is a monthly unauthorised overdraft fee of Pounds 20, plus Pounds 30 for every transaction while overdrawn and Pounds 35 for bounced payments. Under banking rules, charges should only cover the cost of overseeing the transactions.

 

Abbey says that when a customer exceeds their credit limit and a transaction occurs, a cost is incurred because the credit status of that customer has to be reviewed and a decision made on whether to allow the transaction, bounce it, or freeze the account.

 

This implies someone at Abbey had to be monitoring Miss Beaton's account, allowing her to get deeper into debt and approving the charges every month.

 

Abbey says it was Miss Beaton's responsibility not to go further overdrawn, but she argues she spent only to cover basic living costs.

 

The bank says the charges were implemented correctly and Miss Beaton had been warned about how to manage her account. It adds that the person authorising the charges would only have seen she had a positive balance at the end of each month because that was when Miss Beaton's salary was paid in.

 

j.coney@dailymail.co.uk

 

HAVE you had problems with Abbey?

 

Email or write to us at Problems With Abbey, Money Mail, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT.

 

HOW THE CHARGES ADDED UP

 

STATEMENT CHARGES VALUE

 

Aug 26, 2005 1 unpaid transaction Pounds 32 (refunded) Oct 26, 2005 1 unpaid transation Pounds 35

 

Nov 27, 2005 2 unpaid transactions Pounds 70

 

Dec 27, 2005 4 unpaid transactions Pounds 140

 

Jan 26, 2006 3 unpaid and 8 paid

 

transactions plus unauthorised

 

overdraft fee Pounds 365

 

Feb 26, 2006 6 unpaid and 16 paid

 

transactions plus unauthorised

 

overdraft fee Pounds 710

[dinghy]

Perhaps a few emails to j.coney@dailymail.co.uk pointing them in this direction might be in order ???

[dinghy]

BTW meant to say... Best of luck Whizzkid...

[gumbodave]

Keep up the good work, Whizzkid! We're all behind you and await a positive conclusion that results in humiliation for Abbey and a bit of cash for you! Good luck.

[dave]

When is the hearing?

 

Good luck by the way - regardless of what happens, I truly believe you will get your money!!

[whizzkid001]

2nd June Dave. Just having a good scoff at their....'defence' lol

[dave]

Yeah - considering that most of these 'defences' are compiled by trained solicitors - they are laughable so far.

 

The only serious one is Lloyds so far - and that's sewn up too.

[Spiceskull]

Good luck Chris. Another five weeks for the banks to slip up and provide more ammunition for you...

 

To see the steps I took to recover unfair bank charges with the help of Consumer Action Group, please read my thread Spiceskull v HSBC.

[dave]

...and slip up they will.

 

Abbey take incompetence to a higher level.

[vogelrok]

hope all goes well for you.

[djweeble]

Just think of the extra 5 weeks interest

 

Go for the jugular whizzkid

 

Good luck, I'm sure you DON'T need it

[whizzkid001]

Well folks....I am stunned & almost speechless here......I have just rang the court, as you will all know, I'd been waiting for a set aside hearing in early June but I wrote to the judge last week, telling him why their set aside should be struck out and......HE HAS STRUCK OUT THEIR APPLICATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have finally WON against the Abbey!! I will be instructing bailiffs first thing Monday to execute my warrant!!!!!

 

Whoooooooowoooooooooo!!!!!!!

[lickthewallfatboy]

Well folks....I am stunned & almost speechless here......I have just rang the court, as you will all know, I'd been waiting for a set aside hearing in early June but I wrote to the judge last week, telling him why their set aside should be struck out and......HE HAS STRUCK OUT THEIR APPLICATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have finally WON against the Abbey!! I will be instructing bailiffs first thing Monday to execute my warrant!!!!!

 

Whoooooooowoooooooooo!!!!!!!

 

you must be laughing all the way to the bank (literally)

 

top kudos to the judge!!

[bram stoker]

Congratulations. You must be relieved. Celebration time. :D

[Chardonnay123]

Fantastic!!!!!!!!!

 

Well done!!

[Guest Lueeze]

Well done! Hey you are a legal mogul!

 

*do a little dance*

[fallen404]

Prepare to be summoned as an "expert witness" for every case that reaches court, whizzkid...

[whizzkid001]

lol. Well I reckon mine must be the longest-running waiting for them to pay up, the sheer frustration of seeing dozens of people get settlements who'd filed claims months after I had! I tell ya, wouldn't want to go through this again!!! Judge was spot on, saw right through them after the evidence I presented to him! Justice has definitely been served!!

[NeilP]

Whizzkid001 - Well Done. Now, don't spend it all at once!!!

 

Neil.

[monkey_uk]

omfg, well done!

 

Contact the press and make sure they're there!

 

If the bailiffs do go in (i.e if they don't pay up over the weekend) this will be fantastic publicity!

[Seminole]

Woo Hoo!!!!

[alanfromderby]

Excellent News!!

 

Just the pick-me-up I needed today, as Abbey have decided to force me to take them to court under the DPA!