James31 vs Abbey

[James31]

My stage 1 letter is ready to send in the morning, requesting statements.

 

It's going to be a rocky road ahead but hopefully well worth it as I have struggled for years and I estimate my charges with Abbey to be around £10,000.

 

It's probably even more than that... last month they took around £750, this month is was £1250 odd and next month will be around £700. I'm also arranging a debt management plan in the near future; I need to sort myself out once and for all.

 

A refund of the charges would go a long way towards clearing my debts.

 

I have a seperate bank account at the ready.

 

Also, I had an interesting conversation with a member of the debt-management team at abbey this evening. She was very rude - she said, and I quote:

 

"Abbey is a business, we're here to make money. People like you that consistently go over your overdraft limit and incur charges are the reason that we make that money. If we didn't charge anybody then we wouldn't be making money, would we?"

 

I couldn't bevieve my ears - but I swear to god that was it, word for word. There was I practically begging just for the money back that they took today (£1,250) and she has to put together a speech like that. This has made me determined to get the whole lot back.

 

James31

[bish]

Every business is there to make money and profit, as long as it is within the law, and that business abides by the very rules and regulations layed down to protect both the consumer and the business. I think this site and the thousands of claims now within the court system, some what undermines that womans comments. Perhaps you should ring her back and ask her to provide, a detailed break down of the charges applied to customers such as yourself, when you breach your contract, so that you may satisfy yourself and many other customers that, such charges do indeed meet the requirements of the relevent legislation. I would not be rude, just condisending. Sorry about the spelling, not my strong point.

 

Regards bish.

[gizmo111]

Also, I had an interesting conversation with a member of the debt-management team at abbey this evening. She was very rude - she said, and I quote:

 

"Abbey is a business, we're here to make money. People like you that consistently go over your overdraft limit and incur charges are the reason that we make that money. If we didn't charge anybody then we wouldn't be making money, would we?"

 

Shame you didn't have that recorded.

 

Good Luck with claim looks like it is going to be a big one.

[James31]

Finally got the S.A.R. request off today after a long delay in finalising my new bank account.

 

Here's to getting my statements in a timely manner!

[caj123]

good luck james. i am the same as you with these bloody bank charges. the month of november i was charged £900 and the month before i was charged £300. and god knows wot i've been charged in the last 4 1/2 years. i have my morgage with abbey though and was wondering whether this will be affected???

anyway am i right in thinking that for bounced cheques and missed dd the charges are wrong? and for going over my agreed overdraft? i have sent off for my statements about 10 days ago by recourded delivery. i have never been so bloody organised???? lol

[Guest beedydad]

Hiya

 

and good luck

 

I have the same where the level of charges being taken is escalating rapidly.

 

The other point that seriously bugs me is that we and you have agreed overdrafts. How come that they will stop any DDM, cheque, etc should it breach the limit.

 

HOWEVER, it remains within Abbey and no doubt other banks, choice to keep taking their ever increasing charges regardless that it takes you way past your limit!!!! compounding the problem even more

 

Beedydad

[NuttyTart1]

Hi James,

 

Good luck with this one... definitely sounds like a big one, and like it will make a big difference to you to win it!

 

i have my morgage with abbey though and was wondering whether this will be affected???

My Mortgage is also with Abbey and they have done nothing to it... although I have not used my current account with them since I started (other than to pay the court costs ) and so no charges etc have been gotten since then.

 

Also, I had an interesting conversation with a member of the debt-management team at abbey this evening. She was very rude - she said, and I quote:

 

"Abbey is a business, we're here to make money. People like you that consistently go over your overdraft limit and incur charges are the reason that we make that money. If we didn't charge anybody then we wouldn't be making money, would we?"

 

It really is a shame that there was no recording of this... there are a lot of people who could have used this in their bundles!!!

 

Anyway good luck and keep us posted

[caj123]

hiya to u 2

 

i've just recieved a letter this morning from abbey teling me that i no longer have the overdraft and that all the amount is now being charged at the premium rate. lol well thats all i can do really is lol x x

at the moment i owe £1,250 (plus interest and charges) my agreed OD was £550 and because of alot of small cheques and DD being missed in 1 month the charges have gone through the roof (£900) they did reduce this by £300 with a lot of begging so it just goes to show that the charges are not set in stone. they are making me have bloody sleepless nights worrying about this. i've just emailed them and asked to pay it back at £20.00 a wk so they won't send it to a debt recovery company.

i can't wait to find out how much THEY have stole offf me in the 41/2 yrs i've been with them.

i hope this anger stays with me so i can fight them all the way x

[caj123]

i can't believe how helpful this site is. just to be able to tell some1 about my money woes without being ashamed lol

it's a never ending spiral when it comes to charges

1 you forget about a dd

2 you get charged £35

3 you still have to pasy the DD

4 but now you have to remember about the charge

5 you pay the charge

6 you don't have enough money to pay for your DD again (and maybe not another)

7 your skint and paying the wages of the banking staff!!!!

 

and not only that they look at you like it's all your fault!!!!!!

 

lol well i hope every one gets their rewards and the money that has been stole off them good luck to all who dares

[Guest beedydad]

hI James and CAJ

 

Abbey are shabby if not worse!

 

I had a letter hru the post toda saying...

 

"I'm writing to let you know that account overdrawn over your authorised limit by £300 +

 

you need to put in enough to clear this amount within 7 days ... give us a call and we can do all we can to help

 

you should be aware we pass info on to CRA's about how you run your account"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Wonderful, they have taken over £1,000 in unlawful charges which I requested back also stated they managed to still take there charges, which is why £300+ over o/draft. Asked them to speed up process to give back.

 

Instead they computer generate this type of c**p BUT give you only 7 days to sort it out !! or what i wonder?

 

We give them according to CAG etc 14 days Is this new tactics to bu**er the process that James etc is trying to sort out - watch out for this

 

Beedydad

[bish]

Hi

 

Once you start your claim you can request that abbey stop further charges and interest on the account until the dispute is settled. Stop using the account and get a new one with a different bank, rid yourself of as many DD's as you can, they are only useful if you have the money to pay them and are not in overdraft. Most if not all transactions can be done on the internet, so pay the bills when the money is there. I know it is a pain but worth it, I have only had £60 in charges since doing this 6 months ago, and I will be claiming that back as soon as I have sorted abbey. The system is set up for the benifit of the banks not the customer, we have all be brainwashed into their way of doing business, which is to relieve you of as much money as they can. Get out of the system and take control of your money. I have not paid a penny to abbey since starting my claim, just let them default me and I will see them in court.

 

Regards bish.

[caj123]

HELLO EVEY1

 

WELL WELL WELL:

I SENT SHABBEY A CAG 14 DAYS AGO (INCLUDING WEKENDS) AND LOW AND BEHOLD 1 YEARS SUPPLY OF BANK STATEMENT FELL ONTO MY MAT THIS VERY MORNING.

HOW SCARED WAS I THOUGH BECAUSE IT WAS A CASE OF REALITY.

I HAVE DONE A SPREAD SHEET WITH THE BUNDLE I GOT AND UP TO NOW IT TOTALS £1950.00 NOT INCLUDING INTEREST FOR BEING OVERDRAWN.:-|

GOD KNOWS JOW MUCH I'LL HAVE IN TOTAL WHEN THE REST COME!!!!!!!:o

DO YOU THINK ABBEY HAS SENT THESE EARLY TO GET OUT OF THE 40 DAY DEAD LINE?

AND DOES THE 40 DAY DEAD LINE STILL COUNT FOR THE REST OF THE STATEMENTS?

HOW ARE YOU GETTING ON JAMES??

[caj123]

Hay Beedy Dad How Are You??? How And Were Are You In Terms Of Your Claim Against Shabby??

[James31]

No response from Abbey as yet.

 

They haven't cashed the £10 cheque yet...I hope they don't leave it too long else it might bounce.

[caj123]

they have sent me the whole lot of statements through soooo soooo quick

might not take your money as i've heard from a few people that they are doing it free of charge:confused:

[James31]

Well, received 10 statements this morning, no actual letter yet, just the 10 statements.

 

Maybe tomorrow....

[James31]

I have added the charges for the statements I have so far and the total is just over £5,500. This is between Sep'05 and Jan'07. (I had a few old statements as well as the ones I got today in the post). I'm missing March'06 though...

[Guest beedydad]

Hiya

 

Good luck to both James 31 and caj123.

 

My latest position is that Abbey asked for £10 for statements that I am missing from January 2001 - December 2003. Not got a bean to pay it!

 

Reason is that, as you guys have stated earlier, it is the nightmare that Abbey put you in when charge after charge compounds the situation...long before they ever bother to resolve the request to refund their unlawful charges.

 

I have just got my last bank statements from them - I couldn't get to the post quick enough as I was so eager to open it!!!

 

What did I find? Bloody nightmare as charges for the month total £450 odd!!!-(they don't inform you on each and every occasion that they charge as it happens - so was really surprised at the total!)

 

Just totalled my unlawful charges fro period 1.1.2004 to date and now amounts to over £1,300 (without any interest!) so have to revise my LBA which definately goes out tomorrow without fail. Of course it will be sent with all my heartfelt lurv!!!!

 

Beedydad

[Mad Nick]

James, one option is to claim for the "missing" period by estimating the amount of charges based on charges during the period for which you do have statements (ie work out the average charge per month). Lots of other people have done that. It'll either encourage them to find the actual information or they'll just pay up. Only risk is if that was a particularly bad period for your charges - it would mean that you would be underclaiming. Regards Mad Nick

[James31]

I will wait for the remaining statements rather than estimate and change later, I'll give them the full 40 days.

 

Slightly concerned that I haven't had an actual letter with the usual "here's 12 months, the remainder will be under seperate cover". I assumed that letter would come with the first batch of statements.

[caj123]

no no no!!! james this is what has happened to me. about 1 wk after the propper duplicate statements come the microfiche came with the letters!!!! i recieved 2 envolopes. i have, however discovered there is a couple of months missing!!!!! hang on for a bit before you bagger them. i think you are at the same point as me. keep up the good work!!!

[James31]

Thanks, that's reassuring to know. I'll sit tight. They missed March'06 from my initial set, and the first two months of the 12-month set I happened to have anyway, as they've missed those.

 

Good luck.

[caj123]

they are a bit sly. but we are talking about shabby eh!!! i think i've got about 4 months missing. i'm going to estimate it i think! we'll see! i sent my 2nd letter asking for the returns on friday last week so i'll let you know what they say and how long it took them to reply!!

[Guest beedydad]

Hi ya

 

May be I am a bit ahead of you both CAJ & James31.

 

Decided that as already had 3 years statements would do schedule and send of Premlim letter. I had already spoken to their so called "customer services/complaints" dept and had allocated a reference number.

 

However, just got a letter from the Banking Specialist Team - who seemed to decide that they have "reviewed" my complaint based on the tele conversation.

 

They state... bla bla etc but they quote..." theyare satisfied that the charges do not contravene the UTCCR 1999 and that they also comply with the OFT!!!!"

 

Meanwhile as we did have a goodwill offer paid to us in June 2006 they are "unable to refund any further!"

 

Actually my GOGW was in regard to us complaining to the local branch as to their incomprehensible method and unfairness in taking/applying charges on the account, let alone that they do not inform you in writing which we understand they should - it only now seems to appear on their next monthly bank statement - thats when the shock comes!

 

so not the same.

 

Have now sent off an LBA instead with list of charges - this speeds up the process as set out known charges and put in estimate of past charges but added that as and when get SAR will expect a settlement in specific terms.

 

Cheers guys and good luck ....keep the presure up!

 

Beedydad

[James31]

Received reply to S.A.R. request today from Pam Speed. Usual standard letter, no frills.

 

Now I await the arrival of the microfiche data.

 

James