**-- jambofever VS Abbey --**

[jambofever]

Thought I'd check in here, having 'lurked' through the early stages of my claim.

 

I am claiming £2,620 including overdraft interest over the full 6 year period. Didn't want to jinx or complicate matters by attempting to go further back.

 

So far I have extracted full details of charges going back to 2001. I already still had all the statements, so it was useful to be able to cross-reference and see that their systems accurately reflect what went on.

 

I have also sent my Prelim Letter and will be posting my Letter Before Action tomorrow.

 

So far things have proceeded in exactly the manner I imagined, based on other posts here. They did not respond to my S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) in time, and have refunded the £10 to me as a result. So far, so co-operative.....

 

I got a standard 'looking into your complaint' letter following the Prelim, which I have ignored, sticking to the timetable as suggested.

 

Will update when (or indeed if) I get any response to my LBA.

 

Good luck all in the same boat!

 

JF

[enaid]

Hi, welcome and good luck! to you too.

[KnellyK]

Hi jambo

 

You're right, it looks like you've had the same replies as the rest of us! But you've done your homework as well regarding timescales, sadly Abbey seem to let us go through the court system which can be daunting but there's plenty of support, encouragement and advice if you need it, from plenty of others as you say, all in the same boat!

 

Good Luck with your claim!

[jambofever]

OK

 

Time to bring it all up to speed.

 

14th May - sent Letter Before Action, including again my schedule of charges.

 

*** Tumbleweeds ***

 

15th June - Without warning, preamble or any form of communication, £110 of charges are refunded to my account..... the plot thickens......

 

20th June - Submitted claim at Money Claim Online (MCOL)

 

23rd June - Received confirmation of submission of claim from MCOL. Sent two copies of my Schedule of Charges to be lodged with the Court.

 

3rd July - Received Acknowledgement of Service from MCOL, indicating that Abbey intend to defend. No surprises there, then. Sent ShAbbey a further copy of my Schedule.

 

One thing that does worry - the schedule is now incorrect, as they have refunded some charges. I decided to send them exactly what I sent to the court, regardless. Can my claim be adjusted down in light of this refund? Do I need to tell the court that this has occurred now rather than later?

 

Next up - gather as many relevant T&Cs as possible to add to the bundle, which now looks like being required......

[jambofever]

Okey cokey. Now it gets spicy......

 

I received Abbey's defence today, which appears to be the standard one at first glance.

 

They mention me being in breach of contract when I exceeded my o/d limit.

 

They try to limit me to 6 years from date of MCOL claim (21st June), even though I have been chasing their a$$es for this money since February.

 

They deny I can claim interest on the charges.

 

One clause says that 'The fees reflect and are proportionate to the Defendant's administrative expenses' and the following clause promptly backtracks on this by saying 'even if the said fees are not proportionate to the Defendant's administrative expenses incurred (which is denied), the Claimant remains liable to pay such fees as may be found to be proportionate and the Claimant is not entitled to claim repayment of the full amount of each charge made to the Account'

 

The accompanying letter offers a goodwill payment of 65% of the amount claimed through MCOL (nearly £2300 out of the total claim of over £3500). Nothing has appeared in my account, apart from £160 of refunded charges over the past few weeks.

 

Clearly I don't want to settle, but I am taken aback at the size of their opening gambit.

 

A little advice would be useful round about now:

 

Do I simply send the template letter politely declining this and encouraging their full & final settlement? Also, if I understand correctly, the AQ is the next step and may be dispensed with. How will I know if that happens? Will it simply be allocated to a local court for a date?

 

I felt pretty solid in this whole process up to now. The weight and detail of the documentation is now a little scary. Someone tell me I am OK!

[Lula]

ok, T&C's arent really necessary as Abbey admit to there being a breach of contract, just add another line to your schedule detailing refunds (with a minus in so that they subtract from the total) send it to the court and to shabbey with a covering letter, it should be ok

[jambofever]

Thanks for that Lula. I would send an amended schedule, but I have no communication from Abbey indicating WHICH charges they have refunded. I can work out a couple, as they have been refunded the same day as they were taken out of my account. The others are anybody's guess....

 

Can anyone shed light on the AQ issue? Is it a blanket thing that these are now being dispensed with, or does it differ from case to case?

 

Thanks for the help and support offered by everyone here, by the way!

[Lula]

Hi, whilst MCOL might say that they are dispensing with the AQ, alot of courts are still using them, so it really depends on your local court.

[jambofever]

Lula - just read your post again - I now take it to mean that I just put a single line in the schedule saying 'Refunds' (or two as there were two separate tranches on different dates), rather than trying to tie the amounts to individual line items in the schedule......

 

I hope I've got that right - I don't want to give them any excuse to be any more difficult than they already are......

[Lula]

thats exactly what I m eant, it means you get the interest on the amount up until the time they put it back, which, i am sure you will agree is only fair

[jambofever]

I had an offer of a little over £2200 on my £3500 claim.

 

I sent the letter refusing it about 5 days before the OFT thing came to a head.

 

Can I now change my mind and accept the settlement? I understand these offers are usually valid for a month or two.

 

Also what are people's opinions on accepting a settlement now rather than waiting until the High Court case is settled, maybe in over a year's time, with no guarantee of a greater percentage than the current 60% they are offering?

 

I am wavering.

[ohoh4312]

Hi Jambo

 

Oh this is a toughie, and is very much down to personal opinion at the moment, until we know more.

 

From my understanding of the statement on the shAbbey website, any offers already made will be honoured within two months - regardless of the fact that you may have turned it down initially.

 

But, I see this as yet another cop-out; they know "the man on the street" is concerned by the test case, ie us, and are hoping we will bite their arm off for any offer, however paltry it may be.

 

Why would they make ANY sort of offer, if they were confident that their charges were legal and not punitive??

 

I don't know what to advise - it is very much a case of do we, don't we - lord knows I am wobbling too, and I haven't even had an offer!!!!!

 

I would say hang fire for a bit, unless you are happy to accept the lower offer. They should write to you confirming the offer, which gives you thinking time, and then decide.

 

Sorry, this is not very helpful - just my take on the situation. :o

 

Best regards

 

Jo xx

[jambofever]

Thanks Jo for your comments. I'm glad it's not just me wobbling!

 

shAbbey already put their offer in writing (it came along with their defence, how we laughed..... ). It was complete with a disclaimer to sign and return, one easy payment and no blame accepted. Call now on 0800 WE CARE A LOT.....

 

I wrote back using a template letter and clarifying at least twice that I wanted the full amount.....

 

If the two month thing is right, I may hold off for a week or three and see what transpires. Maybe things will be clearer then, although I suspect not.....