Need Some Advice Please.

[RCR50]

Elsinore hi

 

Can I ask you a question please - just incase you come across this thread.

I have just read freebirds thread - Phew! - well, as much of it as I could - poor girl - weren`t you just rooting for her. I noticed you were there every step of the way with good advice.....Elsinore, did she have to close her a/c in the end ......I read some of her story randomly but didn`t come across what ultimately happened regarding this.

 

Thank you!

[elsinore]

I think we were all so pleased for her when LTSB finally coughed up, we maybe forgot about the detail. I know that, at one stage, Freebird put the frighteners on her bank manager and I suspect that she came out of that side of things OK.

 

Freebird is very approachable. If you post on her thread she will get back to you. I thinl FB is having a break at the moment so you may have to be patient.

 

Elsinore:)

[RCR50]

Thank You!

[RCR50]

Hi guys

 

I wonder whether anybody could advise me please.....I know that I constantly change my mind over this whole issue, etc.....However, as I am now in a position to clear my authorised overdraft with LTSB I am not `quite` afraid of claiming contractual interest.

 

Several things that I cannot quite clarify from reading the posts here.....Do I add interest at the unauthorised borrowing rate - which for lloyds is an outrageous 29.8% and do I use this rate for claims in say 2001 when the interest rate was not that high.......basically do I just add this one rate right the way through.

 

Has anybody else here claimed interest at this high rate??? and indeed has anybody won yet using this high rate......I understand about adding the additional 8% when submitting a claim but is it true to say that many people here have actually added contractual interest.....are there different rates of contractual interest - i.e. has anybody added the 18.9 `authorised` rate for instance.

 

I am still pretty scared about all of this - simply because I have never done anything like this in my life before! and certainly without you guys (big thanks to RedDeath and Elsinore especially) I would not even attempt this....well, maybe I might ask for straightforward charges back but not interest.

 

Also - when we send the preliminary letter with our list of charges etc - do we actually add in the letter that they have taken ****in charges and say additionally that I have calculated that you owe me******in `contractual interest`....How should that be worded exactly.

 

I would be so grateful for any help please. Thank you

 

Hope everybodies claims are going well and to plan.

 

Best wishes

 

ps - I am just doing some calculations at 29.85% and on one account for the year of 2001 - just on around £200 of charges the interest alone works out at over £500 - can this possibly be right at all - it seems far far too much. Perplexed - bothered and bewildered!!!

[GaryH]

You can claim contractual if you want to, but there are extra complexities and a significant element of risk. Make sure you know the issues and the principles first, and be prepared to argue them in court.

 

Nobody has won a claim with contractual interest v Lloyds yet as far as I'm aware, although M&L are due in court in a couple of weeks so that'll have to reach its conclusion one way or another soon.

 

Whether you claim the higher U/A rate or the lower authorised one is up to you - I personally favour the lower authorised one as there is more chance of it being perceived as reasonable and it better supports the 'unjust enrichment' arguement. There are other views though.

 

In any event, you can't claim contractual interest and 8% as well, its one or the other. You can however claim contractual and then request 8% in the alternitive, if the court finds that the contractual rate is not applicable.

 

Have a good read of the threads covering the issue on the 'general' forum.

[RCR50]

Gary hi

 

Many thanks for your message and for your help.

 

I can see now why it takes time to read and digest and think things over before claiming - I have been `faffing around` for want of a better expression for over a month now and my stance and what I think I should do has changed constantly....

 

However, to ask for contractual interest or not is now the problem. I am sure that somebody - Notlam - won LTSB and doubled his charges with the interest claimed. Certainly I shall not be claiming unauthorised interest - I am not that brave.

 

Lloyds have 11 different levels of interest on authorised borrowing depending on which account you hold - they range from 9% to 18.7% - I think that I just have a basic current a/c and therefore pay 18.7%.

Gary if you are saying that nobody has won claiming contractual with LTSB then I am assuming that absolutely nobody has claimed it at all - because nobody has actually lost....It will be interesting to see what happens with M&L (I wish them lots of luck - maybe they will be the very first to win then.....because they are not going to lose!).

If I do claim the authorised rate (a big IF) do I claim todays rate from 2001 - I feel that I do.

I have read and re-read threads and although it is packed with info I often still come away slightly confused....Gary, did you claim any interest at all.

 

Anyway - many thanks for your help.....as you can see....I am still faffing around.....

 

Best wishes.

[GaryH]

I claimed the statutory 8% in my LTSB claim, although I've won contractual interest from 3 other banks - HSBC, Halifax and Capitol One.

 

I'm personally not aware of anyone who's taken contractual interest off of Lloyds yet. They will offer you the charges and 8% and at that point most people who've claimed contractual have taken the money and ran, which is probably why there are no stories of contractual victories. Its here that there is a contentious issue. If you refuse a settlement of the full amount in charges + 8% statutory interest, there are possible costs implications of taking the claim to court solely for the contractual element. This is why you need to be 100% sure of what you are doing.

 

Its also possible of course that people have won it and then agreed confidentiality.

 

If you claim it, ensure you claim the exact same rate that is applied under the terms of your account's overdraft. Use the present rate.

 

Think about it first and weigh up the pro's and cons. Remember that they won't pay it without a fight - and also, the legal basis for claiming it is hardly what you'd call sound. You must be sure of your arguement and be prepared to put it to a judge.

[RCR50]

Thank you Gary

 

To be honest I know that I am not big enough and brave enough to add contractual interest....I was quite happy to just ask for my charges back but I spoke to a lawyer one day (I met him at work) and told him of my intentions and he told me that if it was worth doing I should do my homework, cover all eventualities and then do it properly taking them for every penny possible......but its not me and I could never justify completely what I was doing if I attempted that. Just looking at figures anyway 8% interest is practically a quarter of the total charges.....It makes you wonder why they do not pay up quicker to save themselves a little bit of money - I certainly hope they do not pay me back before I put in a proper claim!

 

Anyway - thanks Gary for you help and advice.....Well done by the way for you successful claims. It is good of you to stick around after the deed to help others. Thank you.

 

Very best wishes

[GuidoT]

Hi RCR - I have claimed contractual interest (and pre 6 years) but I am hoping using the new AQ strategy to succeed by default, see the latter posts on my thread for the story.

 

Whether you claim contractual or not depends to a large extent with how comfortable you feel taking on the banks.

[RCR50]

Sorry - me again - being a nuisance.

 

I could not find where to post this particular question so thought I would ask on this thread.

 

Guido T thank you very much for your message. I now know that I cannot claim contractual interest - I am not big enough and brave enough and I know that my mind is settled as to what to do now.....Thank you anyway - I shall read your thread.

 

I am trying to calculate my figures etc but what is troubling me is the part about claiming back the interest they took from us as a result of their charges.....Again, the figure that I come up with seems too high....Also - Supposing I am charged £35 in interest one month and I am - for arguments sake £1,300 OD with an authorised OD limit of £1,000 but I have incurred charges that month.....I cannot put the £1000 in as an `interest free` overdraft and obviously I shall be paying an authorised rate of interest on anything up to 1,000 and unauthorised above that - also I obviously am not overdrawn just because they have taken £60 out of my a/c in charges for being ODE - therefore I am completely confused as to whether it is fair to reclaim approx £10 which is what the spreadsheet might give me in interest they have taken......I don`t quite understand - do we just put the date of the charge - our balance - total interest charged for the month - (and in interest free overdraft bit - do I put my overdraft limit - it is not interest free but I do not feel that I should be claiming back the interest they charged me on an authorised overdraft facility - very confusing) - also - although I have my paper statements for my old business account, I only have one year of paper statements on my current a/c the rest of the figures I got online - they go back to the middle of 2002 - but obviously I cannot access what my authorised overdraft facility was at any given time...I must confess that I have nearly always ran my accounts within an overdraft facility so most of the time I have actually been overdrawn...It is confusing. If anybody can actually understand what I am trying to explain (sorry!) I would be most grateful........Would I simply put in the spreadsheet for calculation - the date - the amount of interest charged - my account balance at that time and leave `interest free overdraft` blank...as my OD facilities are not interest free - also I have to say there is no way for instance that I could argue that I am £1,500 OD (for instance) - £500 over my OD limit because they have charged me £90 that month in penalties. I am confused because some of the interest would have been for the authorised OD - but I have no way of knowing online what my facility amount was and when......This must seem so confusing and probably extremely niave.....and incredibly looong.

Many thanks!!!! Anybody!!!!

Best wishes

[GuidoT]

That was a hard last post to read, I hope I have understood your point(s).

 

For the avoidance of any doubt, I am taking it that you are okay with your normal statutory interest calculations on each charge.

 

The difficulty you seem to be having relates to separating out and calculating the interest the bank have charged you for their charges.

 

Personally, I would not bother with it, it is quiet complicated (as I see you are realising) and more importantly it does not really amount to much money.

 

If you are uncomfortable with claiming contractual interest as oppose to statutory (the 'normal' and easy to calculate interest), then I advise you to stay away from claiming back the interest that the banks have charged you on your charges.

 

It can be confusing - I have the above makes it a bit simpler.

[RCR50]

Guido T hi,

 

Many thanks for your reply. So sorry about very long and waffling post - just an indication really at how confusing some of this stuff can be (to me anyway!).

 

You have been a great help and I have decided not to bother with the interest that the bank charged me on my charges.....I am absolutely fine with the statutory 8% and I understand that I do not ask the bank for this simply for my charges back.

 

I am very grateful for everybodies help and for putting up with me - I will probably send my preliminary letter off within the next couple of days.

 

Very good luck with your claim Guido - you are very brave and deserve to win.

 

Thanks again.

 

Best wishes

[GuidoT]

Hi RCR - you made me laugh with your brave comment - I think you are getting a bit dramatic here.

 

Nearly as funny your BBC days when you were a man (post 3 and 6 of your thread).

 

I have read you entire thread and I get the feeling you are now ready to issue the preliminary letter.

[RCR50]

Guido T

 

What are you like! Your post made me laugh!

 

All typed and ready to go!

 

Thanks again.....(You `brave` person!).

[Mindzai]

Personally, I would not bother with it, it is quiet complicated (as I see you are realising) and more importantly it does not really amount to much money.

 

Fortunately there are spreadsheets that do it for you Try the one in my sig, or I would think one of the one's in Vampiress' chambers does it.

 

The amount may actually surprise you. It amounts to about £130 for one of my accounts if I remember right, and my claim isn't large in comparison to some. Besides which it's the principle as much as the amount. Why should they take your money and then charge you interest for the pleasure! Get back what's yours!

[RCR50]

Mndzai hi

 

Thanks for your message.....I did do a quick claculation on the spreadsheet......somehow I feel that £67 seems too much for the modest claim of £780 on my business a/c (I closed this a/c in 2003 and because I have been messing around trying to decided what to do etc - I have lost out on a month of charges.

I do not want to submit a claim for the wrong figure....would £67 seem too much to anybody???

Anyway - thanks to all.

Very good luck to you Mindzai - things should be winding up for you very soon - hope all goes well.

Best wishes

[Mindzai]

Hi RCR50 - if that's what the spreadsheet says, you can rely on the figure to be pretty accurate. I've got a claim thats about double that and the interest incurred due to charges is also about double so it sounds like it's about right to me. That's £67 of your own money that you are entitled to get back. Don't let them keep hold of it!

[RCR50]

Thanks Mindzai!

 

I think I shall just submit it and if it is wrong I am sure they will tell me.

 

I am a little unsure of one thing however....on the spreadsheet there is a section which says interest free overdraft - and we should put + and the figure. I have nearly always had an authorised overdraft facility but never an `interest free` one and therefore I just left this section blank. If I did actually put in the amount of authorised overdraft facility (authorised interest rate) when I did my calculations - it always came out at zero....so I just put in the amount of interest charged and the date and my balance at that time....Hope that is okay - I do feel that if I don`t send them absolutely accurate info they will stall and mess around for ages.....(sorry - another waffling and confusing post).

 

Once I get this bit of confusion sorted I really am going to send off both claims and prelim letters. (Thank heaven for that I hear you all cry!!).

 

Thanks again.

 

All the best.

[Mindzai]

Yes you should just leave that column blank. Remember you are not expected to be an accountant, the figures generated by the spreadsheet are more than what is expcted of you as a layperson and if the banks disagree, it's up to them to provide more acurate figures.

[RCR50]

Thanks so much Mindzai.

 

I am really very grateful for so much advice here......I have just recommended the site to somebody else.....It will be a pleasure to make my donation once things are settled.

 

I must catch up with your thread - from what I have read so far it has been quite a journey (sorry Guido - getting dramatic again).

 

Thanks again Mindzai and best wishes

[marklamar]

Can Some1 Please Tell Me Do I Need To Send A "draft Order For Directions" With My Aq N149 Form Or Send That At A Later Date.

 

Please Help!!!

[GuidoT]

Yes send with AQ

[marklamar]

Thanks Guidot!

[RCR50]

I sent in my very first letter on 9th February for one claim without interest added. (my old closed business a/c) Natuarally and as expected there is no acknowledgement and I am sure there will not be...however, I wish now that I actually had asked for contractual interest at the authorised rate 18.9 - can I do this now at this stage.....If I can - how would I approach them please - should I just send in the second letter with the interest added saying that I shall give them 14 days and then another 14 days to reflect.

 

Many thanks.

[nevos]

I sent in my very first letter on 9th February for one claim without interest added. (my old closed business a/c) Natuarally and as expected there is no acknowledgement and I am sure there will not be...however, I wish now that I actually had asked for contractual interest at the authorised rate 18.9 - can I do this now at this stage.....If I can - how would I approach them please - should I just send in the second letter with the interest added saying that I shall give them 14 days and then another 14 days to reflect.

Hi, if that was your first letter you can add the CI later at the claim stage no need at this moment remember you can't get both CI and S69. You do not need to add the interest in your pre-lim letter. You can always send an updated schedule if for example you find more charges.