ArohemQ vs. American Express Europe

[arohemq]

Have all statements since account opened in 2001 so did not need to request them. Account is alive & kicking.

Claiming default charges of £270.00 (none beyond 6 years).

Plus s69 Statutory Interest as at 28/04/07 of £94.68.

 

04/03/07 1st Letter sent.

06/03/07 Amex acknowledged receipt.

26/03/07 Amex tell me they disagree. Offer of nothing.:o

19/04/07 Rejected kind offer:p, sent 2nd Letter.

 

Been on holiday and a bit busy at work but am now back.

Of all the banks/CCs I'm pursuing, this is the only one to offer diddly squat on the 1st round. Hmph!

 

I am also seeking default charges from :

• MBNA: £380 + s69 £132.11
  
• Barclays Bank: £855 + s69 £334.02
  
• Barclaycard: £140 + s69 £48.72
  
• Halifax: £165 + s69 £60.40

[steven4064]

You may want to look at the interest bit. You can't charge s69 until you make a claim in court. You should be charging the same rate they charged you at this point. I don't know what Amex charge but most credit card companies charge between 15% and 19% (store cards 29.9%).

 

Steven

[arohemq]

You can't charge s69 until you make a claim in court.

Steven

 

Hmm, yes, so I understand now which is why, after discovering the CI threads, I had been hoping to change over to requesting contractual interest mid stream(see my Barclays & Barclaycard threads).

Previously my argument to the banks had been that since they had charged me interest on the penalty charges, and since they had unlawfully deprived me of my money, I was going to charge statutory interest. Almost all the banks that have replied to me so far have stated that I can only claim the statutory interest via the courts. I have replied I'm prepared to do so etc.

I've reading up on the ideas of charging CI instead. It's a pity I didn't find this site sooner. Other sites seem to advise charging s69 straight off if one is going to charge interest - which is the route I took.

 

Meanwhile I rang up Amex after being unable to find a T&C doccie on-line explaining interest rates. My regular % rate is 9.9 and cash advances is 25.9%. The person I spoke with seemed confused by my question as regards unauthorised borrowing interest rates.

She simply explained Amex's new charging system sine 2006. Meh, I'll try again later.

[livelylad]

Charging CI is more complicated and the bank will defend the issue vigorously. CI should be asked for from the initial letter and should they offer to settle the claim with SI I advise you to settle.

[arohemq]

Received 2nd offer from Amex dated 18th May:

They are offering to pay back part of the default charges (the difference between amount charged and their current default charge of £ 8)8 ).

They are also willing to pay statutory interest on the difference.

Contrary to what I've been informed here in other threads, this bank seems to be willing to stump up statutory interest, if only in partial settlement, without being obliged to by the court.

Amount offered (and already put into my Amex account): £179.17

£135 = difference

£44.17 = statutory interest @8%

 

Am still seeking: £120 (£8 * 15 default charges)

plus statutory interest.

 

Going to reject this offer. *sigh* Now I have to create a spreadsheet which takes into account partial payment of statutory interest paid on part of the claim