Ive won *£6494.93* Ive won (LIP v Abbey)

[lostinparadise]

Hi All

I’m a newbie and here’s the beginning of my story......

I like many on this forum have allowed charges on my bank account for a number of years without questioning why they have been so high. I never questioned them before as I had always thought they were lawful and that I was in the wrong. Sometimes Abbey have even taken out about £300 of charges from my account in one month alone which obviously had a knock on effect to payments of subsequent bills. These have occurred on a regular basis for the last 6 years and I just accepted them.

I was very anxious at the thought of having to challenge a bank, I even began doubting whether I should go through with this or not.

All I can say is that I’m very grateful to this site for providing such an in depth explanation of the current situation.

I have read and re-read many of the threads and the more I read the more I can’t believe I’ve accepted the theft of my hard earned money.

So…..after a few hours of conversation with a friend (who has challenged 3 banks and so far received full refund from 1), I sent my DPA letter on Friday, special delivery (It cost me £4.10. Recorded delivery is a lot cheaper) with the £10 fee for the information.

This should arrive at their offices on Monday 10th April, so I guess as soon as they sign for it the 40 day countdown begins.

I guess my advice to anyone who is feeling nervous or apprehensive at the thought of claiming back YOUR MONEY from the banks, is to read all the FAQ's and as many threads as you can before making your decision to proceed and prepare yourself for plenty of bulls*it from the banks!!!

Ill keep you all posted on any developments.

[lostinparadise]

Hi All

 

I called Abbey today for general banking business.

 

Whilst i had a customer service representative on the phone i asked if they were dealing with my DPA request. She said there was no record of a request and this may be because its on its way to the relevant department. I checked if the cheque sent had cleared but it still hadnt.

 

She said she could put in a request now for all my statements for the past 6 years so i said OK.

 

Im just wondering if now that this request has been put on my account, will my original DPA request which was sent with a £10 cheque be ignored and treated as a general request for statements? I used the letter in the library which also requests details of manual intervention.

 

I hope i havent given Shabbey an excuse to stall!!

 

LIP

[lostinparadise]

Hi Lueeze,

I checked with the Royal Mail on the 10th April through track and trace and it did get there. The electronic copy is not available online yet.

[lostinparadise]

Hi

 

Can anyone answer my question - If i have sent a DPA and £10 on 10th April, then speak to an advisor on the phone and she requests a set of statements for me, does this mean that my original DPA will be ignored and the requet treated as a normal request for statements?

 

Thanks

 

LIP

 

P.s Can my thread title be changed to LIP Vs Abbey

[lostinparadise]

Thanks for your reply.

 

Its seems as though its gonna be a long wait.

 

Im really curious to see just how many charges they put on my account. They basically occurred on a monthly basis over the last 6 years. I did think they were very high but just shrugged them off as i thought they were my fault and i had to pay the consequence.

 

Im really glad to know they are unlawful and have a feeling my claim will be a biggie. Something to look forward to!!!

 

So im gonna stick to the original 40 day deadline, calling them had no effect on this and will keep everyone updated.

 

The suspense on some of these threads just keeps me reading......

 

Good luck with your next stage.

 

LIP

[lostinparadise]

WOW.....if that message wasnt a kick up the wotsit i dont know what is.

Well im just waiting a couple of days to see if my statements actually arrive as they said they had ordered them.

...then ill become the rash that just wont go away......heeheehee.

[lostinparadise]

Just checked my bank account with grABBEY and the £10 cheque cleared for the DPA request on the 20th April.

 

However still no sign of the statements.........watch this space.

 

LIP

 

p.s Can the kind Mod's change my thread title to LIP Vs Abbey. Thanks!!

[lostinparadise]

Ok I have now become the rash that wont go away!!!!

 

Rang grABBEY today and spoke to a very helpful Rep to ask where my statements are that ive requested.

 

I gently reminded him that the clock is ticking, that they have 16 days in which to provide this information and that they have cashed my cheque....so where is my info??

He checked with the 'checking Dept' to see if there was a backlogue:?, anyway he said that the request was noted on my account on the 18th April and that the statements should be sent out today. I should have them by the end of the week and that it normally takes 5 working days....blah blah blah.

 

 

Nothing interesting here....just thought id update my step by step online diary entry.....

[lostinparadise]

..... it could be 'Check in' or 'cheque in' or 'chucking up' dept, Im not quite sure:lol: LOL.

 

Maybe theres no such thing and he went off to do his nails!!

[lostinparadise]

Hi All hope you enjoyed the long weekend.

 

So I contacted shABBEY on the 28th April. I was put through to the Banking centre. I asked where my statements were that I had ordered via DPA on the 10th April. She said they take 6 weeks to come through yadda yadda yadda. (even though if you read in my previous posts I’d been advised by a member of shABBEY that this request was fulfilled on the 18th April and that I should of received my statements 5 days from then). She said that data had been archived to microfiche and it takes time to retrieve this information….yadda yadda yadda. She asked me who id spoken to and I hadn’t taken his name but told her that it should show on my account who I’ve actually spoken to. She said it didn’t.

 

I told her that she has 40 days from receipt of my letter to provide me with this info under the DPA, and furthermore if I did not receive this information then to be aware that I will be taking this further. She said that she didn’t know why I kept quoting the DPA….and I said that it is my information and that I am legally entitled to it. She also said 40 working days is what I should be working with, and I replied to her that shABBEY take charges from accounts on the weekend so my 40 days include weekends. (Basically she was pleading ignorance when she in fact knew exactly what I was talking about).

 

I told her that I have E-banking and it would be easier if they would just make these statements available online. She told me they couldn’t let me see more than the last 200 transactions on my account. I asked her how many she could see and she said a years worth. I then said well if you can see a years worth why cant I, the data must be live data and not archived, its just not logical. She said that the system I use and the one she uses are different and that she can’t do this. The conversation kept going round in circles. (In hindsight I should have asked to speak to someone who actually did know why I was quoting the DPA, I’m sure ill have other opportunities for this though in future conversations). She told me that if I had any enquiries about E-Banking then I had to speak to that team.

 

Basically she was just trying to fob me off.…....but don’t worry it didn’t work!!!!

 

I called the E-banking team and they said the same thing about having different systems, they also said that if I have made a request for my statements they normally take up to 3 weeks to arrive. I said that’s funny I just spoke to another of your reps and they said 6 weeks. You are contradicting each other!!

 

I apologise for all the “she said, he said” language in my story but im just trying to show how annoying and evasive they are being.

 

I was so angry with these responses that I forgot to take her name!! So if anyone is reading this then DON’T FORGET TO GET THE NAMES OF THE PEOPLE YOU SPEAK TO!!!

 

ALSO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE READ ALL THE INFORMATION POSSIBLE IN TERMS OF WHY THEY NEED TO PROVIDE THIS INFO, TO DEFEND YOUR POSITION WHEN SPEAKING TO THESE PEOPLE…I ASSURE YOU THAT MANY OF THEM HAVEN’T.

 

I’ve been reading about shABBEYS stalling tactics for a while on this forum, and its only when you are faced with this directly that you can understand how frustrating this is.

 

I am extremely angry about the whole incident and its only made me more determined to see this through!!!!

 

So 2 fingers up to the shABBEY and if any of the shABBEY team are reading this ……”I’m coming to get whats mine….tick tock tick tock…..19 days and counting”.

 

By the way I start a new job tomorrow and have applied for an account with Alliance and lesceister online and have been accepted. All my wages and transactions will be going through this bank. So my parachute is here and has been deployed!!

 

I can now afford to purchase a recording device for all my telephone conversations. I’m going to do this ASAP as the conversations with shABBEY seem to be getting more and more intense.

 

shABBEY have definitely lost my business, I haven’t got a mortgage, ISA or any of the possible things that I could and WILL be acquiring in the future so they have lost the chance to provide me with these.

 

I apologise for the waffling but Im sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo angry!!!!

 

LIP

[lostinparadise]

Hi All

 

This post will be shorter i promise!!

 

So i received 8 sets of statements yesturday and 4 statements today. In total i have received 12 statements covering a period of 13 months. (One month in this period is missing). It seems i should have received 14 in all, so maybe 2 will turn up tomorrow...this seems to be shABBEY's routine.

 

Ive havent had any letters from shABBEY, ive just received these statements.

 

So far I have calculated £819 of charges during that period.

 

Ill give it a couple of days and will post a letter similar to Beaker_Smiles reminding them that they have 7 days to respond before the DPA period is up and i report them!!!

 

Will keep you all posted.

 

LIP

[lostinparadise]

...so today i received a further 2 statements from shABBEY accompanied by some printouts. Altogether I have received information covering 28\01\05 - 03\05\06.

 

The total of charges for the last year alone stands at £1069!!! Im shocked.

 

The printouts came from Department C, Prescot Street, London.

 

Hmmmm what does the C stand for....Crooks, ??

[lostinparadise]

Hi Beaker Smiles

Ive been on holiday the past week so sorry for not replying sooner.

Well once the 40 days were up, i sent a "Letter before Action" letter on the 20th May, giving them 7 days to respond with the requested info.

I have not received the missing information or any response.

I have been scouring the site for help with my next step.

So these are my next steps:

1, I am making a complaint to the Information commissioner

2, I will now start my claim through the courts. I am filling out the spreadsheet for an estimated amount of £5000 (would have multiplied the years worth of info i received by 6 but that would have taken me over the 5K limit for small claims). I will be adding 8% interest on this and just wait and see.

Just one question about this how do i fill out the spreadsheet for an estimated claim? Its very confusing.

Its beginning to get a bit confusing so i would be grateful if someone could confirm that i am doing this correctly.

Thanks

LIP

[lostinparadise]

Thanks Seminole.

These were the original templates i have been working with. Once my 40 days expired i sent the LBA letter (template 2). The 7 days are now up for this too so this is now where im confused.

They havent responded. Sorry im not sure where things are different on this link to what ive sent already.

LIP

[lostinparadise]

Hi Seminole

 

Ok ive read "DPA Non-Cmpliance - Particulars of claim, posted by AlanfromDerby and also had a look at the N1 claim form.

 

I have a couple of questions to clarify things.

 

* N1 form

 

Does this information (particulars of claim) get entered on the N1 form under the “brief details of claim” section?

 

Do I have to hand this in person? Could someone else hand this in for me? (very difficult to get time off work)

 

How much will this cost?

 

When this is handed into the court why do I need to argue that they should accept it, what is the reasoning behind it?

 

* Letter - Preliminary approach for repayment.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=671

 

I understand from what I have read that I need to send this letter off to the bank as at the same time.

 

Under this section:

 

What I require

I calculate that you have taken £XXXXX plus £XXX which you have charged me in overdraft interest for the sum which you have taken. Total £XXXXX

 

Do I change the wording to say “ In the absence of information requested under the DPA subject access request, I calculate the estimated amount you have taken in total to be £5000…….?

 

And delete the …plus £XXX which you have charged me in overdraft interest………..(as this is difficult to work out)?

 

Sorry if my questions are repetitive but i really want to get this right.

 

Thanks for your help

 

LIP:confused:

[lostinparadise]

Thanks for this. Ive had a read and will sort it all out tomorrow.

LIP

[lostinparadise]

Good Luck Sharont1!!

So this is the Preliminary approach for repayment letter i will be sending next week:

Request for repayment of charges

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXX

 

 

My request

I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges which you have levied from my account over the last 6 years.

I now understand that the regime of fees which you have been applying to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent consumer regulations. If you say that they are not, then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put by as a result of my breaches, in order to reassure me that your penalties really do reflect your costs.

Additionally, it has now been confirmed that your particularly high level of penalties are considered to be unfair per se by the OFT who reported on the 5th April 2006 and are therefore presumed to be unlawful in the absence of specific proof to the contrary.

 

Your responsibilities

I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

 

I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary.

I consider that your repeated representations that your charges are fair and reasonable are deceptive and that they have deceived me into agreeing to pay them.

Your concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now.

 

What I require

In the absence of information requested under the DPA subject access request, I calculate the estimated amount you have taken in total to be £5000 + interest + court fees + all costs related in bringing this matter to your attention.

 

My targets to resolve this matter

I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will actually respond than merely sending me leaflets.(i havent received any letters from Abbey standard or non standard).

I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

 

If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.

 

After that, there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline.

Your refusal to adhere to the terms of section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 has prevented me from being able to discover the full extent of your unlawful charges. Therefore, please be advised that today I have commenced an action against you, at XXXXX Court, under section 7 and section 15(2) of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Yours faithfully,

The red bits are what ive added to the standard letter in the library and taken from Alanfromderbys paragraphs posted on his thread. I really dont feel comfortable with this!!!! Please let me know if this is OK. My friend will hand in the N1 to my local court on the same day this letter is sent.

Thanks all

LIP:confused:

[lostinparadise]

Hi all

Im glad it wasnt just me that was confused on reading my letter...lol.

Im receiving mixed feedback.

Seminole suggested i take shABBEY to court over non compliance of the DPA and send the preliminary approach for repayment. If i follow this path then i will separate the 2 actions in 2 separate letters to shABBEY. Ill send a preliminary approach for repayment and file the N1 for the DPA in court.

What you guys are saying is to just put a claim in straight away. Not give them what in effect will be a further 28 days.

Can someone clear this up once and for all!!!!

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaseeeeeeee.........................

By the way my parachute account with the alliance and leiscester was opened a little while back and my salary and all banking are being conducted through this account, so i know shABBEY are not the only bank around!!!

Thanks

LIP:confused:

[lostinparadise]

Ok one more question then ill definitely get these documents off....

 

On the N1 form Under this section:6. The damage caused is:

 

Extra costs incurred in addition to court costs, due to the Defendants failure to comply - this includes the cost of additional correspondence and time spent preparing documents and seeking legal advice, I estimate this cost to be £xxx.

Im not sure how much the court fee will be so im just going to claim for £8.20 for the special delivery of 2 letters, £10 DPA fee and estimated £130 for court fee.

Anyone have any ideas about how much to charge for time spent preparing documents and seeking legal advice??

Im just photocopying both my letters, bank statement showing the deduction of £10 for the DPA request and the special delivery receipts to attach to the claim.

LIP

 

 

 

[lostinparadise]

I guess i shouldnt really put any monetary value in this N1 claim then. When i send in my monetary claim for charges i guess i could claim for all expenses then?

What d'ya think?

LIP

[lostinparadise]

Thanks Alan. That totally clarifies the costs issue.

Ill keep you all updated!!

LIP

[lostinparadise]

Hi Just an update,

Ive sent a preliminary approach for repayment by special delivery which should reach shABBEY tomorrow before 1pm. The 14 days for this will be up on the 20th June.

My friend cant get to the local court and i cant take time off work so im looking for a county court near Liverpool Street in London (near where i work) and will put in the N1 DPA claim in my lunch hour if possible.

Someone mentioned that there may be a county court in Bank...which is close to Liverpool St...now how ironic would that be!!

Let you know what happens.

LIP

[lostinparadise]

Thanks Barracad and Seminole.

Ive found one very close to where i work and....Ive been trying to change the title of my thread for ages, thanks for that too!!

 

LIP:)

[lostinparadise]

Ok So i went to see the whereabouts of this court today. I cant believe how scared i was just to have a look.

Had a chat with the clerk who tried to give me a N22 form. I was very nervous and dont think i explained myself very well.

Anyway ill go back tomorrow with all the relevant documents and a better explanation.

Didnt think i'd be like this....but then again ive never been to a court!!!

LIP:cry:

[lostinparadise]

Hi

 

Please dont all shout at me at once!!!!

 

I visited the court and tried to get them to take my N1 form and they are not budging.

 

I told them that:

 

1, The Information Commissioner has said that this type of claim can be submitted on an N1 form and go through the small claims track

 

2, That i am a member of the Banking Action Group and am aware that a number of people have successfully put in a claim on an N1 form to force the banks to comply with their subject action requests.

 

They insisted that i should fill out a pre-action application and i insisted that it should be submitted on a N1 form.

 

She then went on to say that for an injunction i need to use an injunction form and i insisted that it should be submitted on an N1 form.

 

She then said a claim with no monetary limit would cost 1700:o

 

So the Customer Service Rep asked the following questions:

 

1, How do they calculate the court fee

2, Could i provide them with a court name and case number of a similar claim submitted on a N1 form

 

They will then call them up to find out how the claim forms were processed, as they have never had anyone submit this type of claim on an N1 form.

 

(Just as an aside, on the form in the brief details of claim i wrote " I am seeking a mandatory injunction that the defendant fully complies with my subject action request". I left the "Value" bit blank. The rest is as per template). Hope thats ok!!!

 

 

Can anyone who has successfully handed in the N1 form (ALANFROMDERBY/SEMINOLE) provide me with a court and case number via PM.

 

Thanks loads

 

LIP