Paragon charges to be claimed back

[dontgetshafted]

Brief outline: I did an SAR on Paragon in January and have gone through it again today. I have noticed several amounts added for 'Admin Charge' ?, 'Cost's '? , Arrear Letter Fee, etc.

I have added these up and although only around £120, i did a calculation on the interest at their rate (28.9%)at the time ( 1995) and the total comes to around £3k.

Any advice on how to put a claim in for these charges and interest?

 

thanks in advance

DGS

[ims21]

Send a preliminary letter of claim to them. There are templates in the CAG library which you can amend to suit.

 

Given that you are going back further than six year it is likely that you may have to sue to get the money back.

[dontgetshafted]

Thanks ims21.

I had a look but i wasnt able to find one.. Any chance of a link to the template.

Also, what do you think my chances are?

 

cheers

 

DGS

[ims21]

Here you go. You will need to amend it to suit.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?605-Credit-Store-Card-Letter-Template.

 

Chances are as good as anyone else's. There are no guarantees.

[dontgetshafted]

Thanks very much for your help. I will let you know how i get on.

[dontgetshafted]

Update from Paragon:-Sent prelim letter and received an acknowledgement that states to read the enclosed leafletr on how they will deal with my complaint.It states: We will respond to your complaint within 4 weeks, if we are unable to provide a response we will advise you that it will take a further 4 weeks. If by then we do not have a response we will provide a 'date' that you will get a response.This is obviously a load of rubbish so what would be my next plan of attack as i gave them 14 days to reply.ThanksDGS

[ims21]

Up to you but you control the timescales, not them.

 

You can send an lba after the 14 days you gave them is up and put them on a further 14 days to court action. Then you can issue.

 

Only threaten court of you intend to go through with it.

[dontgetshafted]

Received a leter today from Paragon:

They are not upholding my complaint as they advise that the charges are within the Ts&Cs of the loan agreement. (Doesnt mention any figures for charges in the agreement).

Any advice on my next step? is it court or the FSO?

I can email the letter if anyone wants to view it.

 

thanks

DGS

[ims21]

The fact that they are mentioned in some way in the T&Cs is not relevant - they are a penalty.

 

You now have to decide whether you want to go all the way and go the court route or whether you are going to get fos to deal with it. Fos tend not to be interested in charges claims in general though and you may find that they side with the lender.

[dontgetshafted]

Ok thanks ims21. Can you point me in the direction of any links for court proceedings and what the stages are?

 

cheers

 

DGS

[ims21]

First thing would be to issue them with a "Letter Before Action" giving them 14 days to refund.

 

Your LBA is the same as your preliminary letter but headed "Letter Before Action" and with a final paragraph telling them that you will issue in court after 14 days without further recourse to them.

 

You should enclose an up to date spreadsheet showing the amount you are claiming and including the interest. Have you done a spreadsheet yet?

 

If they still fail to refund then you issue in court using form N1.

 

Have a read around the bank forums as there are many threads which will have details on how to go about issuing.

[dontgetshafted]

Ok thanks.

I have done a rough spreadsheet but i will get one from the library to confirm the numbers.

I applied the APR of the original loan to the charges then applied 8% from the date the account was closed. Is this correct?

 

thanks

DGS

[ims21]

Use this spreadsheet

 

CISheet v101.xls

 

You could claim at their rate right up to date if you wish.

 

Have a read of the interest tutorial linked in my signature.

[dontgetshafted]

Just had a go with the spreadsheet you sent me. The figures have now come out at £10,800.11pence......Is this correct?? The total charges were £340. I have based the dates from the start of the original loan upto yesterday 25th Nov.As with most people when they are in a position of going to court or not, you start to get a bit apprehensive about it. What are the cost's involved in going to court whether you wion or lose?Any help much appreciated....

[ims21]

Can you post up the spreadsheet please (Minus Any Personal Identifiers)

 

Sounds like a lot to me.

[dontgetshafted]

Thats what i thought. Having problems attaching the sheet?DGS

[ims21]

Select "Go Advanced" -> "Manage Attachments" -> "Add Files" -> "Select Files" and select the spreadsheet file from your computer.

 

Then select "Upload Files".

 

All you need to do then is drag the file to the lower "Attachments" pane and hit the "Insert Inline" button.

[dontgetshafted]

When i select up-load, i get an error file message at the bottom lefct of the screen. Can i email it to you?

[ims21]

Have PMd you

[ims21]

Ok Here's the spreadsheet

 

[ATTACH]39650[/ATTACH]

 

This goes back quite a way then

 

So yes the figures are correct.

 

However, the costs of £200 should come out....they were probably costs for legal matters?

 

This will still bring your claim to over £5,000 and what I would do is adjust the interest rate so that it comes below the £5k mark for small claims court if you have to go that far.

[dontgetshafted]

I have ammended the spreadsheet and it is now below the 5K mark. The letter i received says theydo not uphold the claim because the tarrif of charges was given to me when i signed up for the loan (it wasnt). If so shouldnt this have been enclosed with the SAR ifo?Also they say the charges were explained in the corresondance they sent when advising me of late payments etc. Im assuming these letters should have been included in the SAR (they were not).So I have drafted up a LBA and will send today. Can someone explain the court costs involved?If someone would like to view it first and advise me of any errors then i would be greatfull.thanksDGS

[ims21]

I believe for a claim between £3k and £5k at MCOL is around £100 but you might like to check on their website.

 

I thought you had already done an lba?

[dontgetshafted]

No, I did a prelim letter as you suggested but it didnt say Letter Before Action.( Maybe i should have done)

Sorry for the ignorance but what is MCOL?

[ims21]

Before issuing any court action you should issue a Letter Before Action but only threaten court of you intend to go through with it.

 

MCOL is Money Claim On Line - easy access to the court system for issuing claims

 

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

[dontgetshafted]

Thanks very much