Harrison v LloydsTSB

[darcyharrison]

Went into my local branch (Peterborough) and asked the (very helpful) chap at the desk to do an intenal memo to the DPA team on my behalf requesting last six years charges and any manual adjustments.

With a twinkle in his eye he asked if this was anything to do with recent media stories and tried the usual "there may be a charge for this". Thankfully I was forearmed having read the FAQ's and was able to quickly get past that nonsense telling him £10 was the maximum under DPA, and that includes statements.

 

He typed the memo there and then and I signed it having handed over a cheque for £10.

Saved me doing the recorded post thing (though I realise I was taking a risk).

 

that was two weeks ago and I'm happy to say that my charges list arrived today.

 

Having just tott'd it all up it looks like I'm owed £1017.

 

I'll be sending my letter today to warn them of impending court action.

 

Will keep you posted

 

PS - Great site - consumers need more champions like you guys.

 

He

[Bookworm]

 

And thank you for your comments. We aim to please, lol. Well, not to please the banks, obviously...

 

Keep us posted, great start.

[darcyharrison]

I got the standard reply from David Just at Lloyds on 7/4/06,

-----------------------------------------

Dear Mr Harrison

[snip]

I understand that;

 

You feel that the charges you have incurred are unlawful

you are unhappy with the amount of charges.....

You have request that all charges incurred should be refunded.......

 

[snip]

Accordingly I am unable to agree with your request.....

-----------------------------------------

 

So I'm sending this today

------------------------------------------

Wednesday, 12 April 2006

 

David Just

LloydsTSB

Customer Care,

Lloyds TSB,

125 Colmore Row,

Birmingham B3 3SF.

 

 

Request for repayment of charges

 

Dear Sir,

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXXX

 

Thank you for your letter dated 6th April 2006.

I was disappointed that you did not agree with me in concluding that the charges you have placed upon my account are unlawful, particularly as the Office of Fair Trading has recently concluded the same.

 

As previously stated, I will give you a further 14 days to consider my claim.

 

If you do not respond, or do not respond positively to my request to refund £1017 by 26th April then I will proceed to take action through the courts.

 

 

Sincerely

-------------------------------------------------------------

[jmcdyre]

alright there, I'm claiming about the same amount as you.

did you not bother waiting the 14 days given in your first letter seeing as they replied before the 14 days was up? was wondering whether to do the same, but have been advised not to by another user.

good luck

[darcyharrison]

Got another letter from lloyds acknowledging my final warning but stating that they could do nothing else.

 

So today I lodged my claim with the court through moneyclaim

 

£1017 plus £120 costs

 

Lets see if Lloyds acknowledge the court case.

[Dappa44]

Good on ya m8, cant wait till my claim goes this far, greedy swines owe me more than £3000.

[Loula]

Please can you wait the 14 days you have given them in your letter?

 

I know it is only a couple of days, but if the process is to work and if you were to end up in court you have to be seen to have taken the correct and appropriate steps.

 

I am sure you would not wish you jeopardise your claim over a small technicality.

 

Many thanks

 

LOULA

[darcyharrison]

Surely the fact that they have not responded positively within the 14 days is sufficient for me to continue the process as stated in my earlier correspondence.

 

After all, this is precisely what was stated in the letter and is therefore the course I'm following; i.e.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

snip

-----------------------------------------------------------------

As previously stated, I will give you a further 14 days to consider my claim.

 

If you do not respond, or do not respond positively to my request to refund £1017 by 26th April then I will proceed to take action through the courts.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

snip

-----------------------------------------------------------------

As they have responded _negatively_ within the 14 days I assume this allows me to proceed to court immediately.

I've since had no further correspondence and the 26th has now passed

 

 

Or am I missing something?

[darcyharrison]

I have today received an Acknowledgment of Service fromNorthampton county Court

 

It tells me that the defendent has 28 days to file a defence.

 

The claim has been signed by a partner in Martineau Johnson and has a tick in the 'I intend to defnd all of this claim' box

 

I'm assuming this is the standard delaying tactic.

[darcyharrison]

23/05/06

 

Recieved a copy of Martineau Johnson's standard defence filed at the court.

 

Standard scare tactic.

 

So pretty soon I should be getting my allocation questionaire I guess.

 

Not much longer before I get my money back.

[elsinore]

Standard scare tactics for sure. But 'standard' defence? Is there one? May I suggest you post the defence so that we can compare it with others.

 

Onwards and upwards

 

Elsinore

[darcyharrison]

I filled in my allocation questionnaire a few weeks ago and on 22 June I received a General Form of Judgment or Order from the local County Court, stating:

 

It is ordered that

1. The claimant to provide further details of his claim as the the basis upon which he claims the defendants charges are a "disproportionate penalty", by 7/7 in default of which the claim can be struck out.

 

I'm really surprised by this response.

Is this an attempt by the court to lower its workload?

Has they not been reading the press?

 

I've also received two letters from M/J both of which appear to be standard affairs.

The first starts 'We have been passed copy.....will be defending etc.

The second is their offer to settle within their terms.

 

Since their offer does not repay any court fees I'm tempted to write back and state;

 

1. I'd like the court fees repayed also

2. I will not agree to confdentiality

3. I want additional charges, made since the original claim refunded also.

 

Any advice before I do so?

[reload]

It might be worth contacting the county court and finding out what prompted this motion to have your case struck out. I'm 99% betting it's Martineau Johnson pushing for a delay because you didn't send a schedule of charges to Lloyds along with your Prelim or LBA letters (Did you, for that matter?)

 

Likewise, it may be that the courts just want to see your schedule of charges to confirm the details.

 

You're perfectly correct to write back and apply the court costs to your refund, as well as reject the confidentiality and recent additional charges. It may be faster to phone Martineau Johnson and discuss this with them, but make sure you record the telephone conversation if you do!

 

In either case, in terms of the negotiation with MJ, it'll be worthwhile phoning the county Court and notifying them that MJ have entered into negotiation for settlement at the same time as querying the reason for the motion to have your claim struck out.

 

Edit: Just another quick thought. Did you use the standard template when filling out your Particulars of Claim? If not, it could be that they're asking which statutes you're basing the 'disproportionate penalty' claim on - IE: The UTCCRs, etc.

[darcyharrison]

You're probably rigght - I didn't send a schedule of charges to Lloyds or the court.

I did use the standard template for the prelim and follow letters though.

 

In the second recent correspondance from M/J they state 'You allege that the imposition of charges is unfair under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 bu this legislation is not relevant to this situation. However, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 do apply in curcumstances such as these, that is, where the terms of a contract have not been individually negotiated......"

Could this have a bearing?

 

I will as you suggest contact the court and M/J tomorrow.

thanks for the advice.

[darcyharrison]

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