Mrs broke dave v Barclays

[broke dave]

Just about to start on Barclays on behalf of Mrs broke (I'm already taking on LTSB).

Got list of charges (£425). Was going to send first letter today but Mrs broke popped into local branch to discuss her current o/d. Nice lady there took details of her charges and passed them electronically to the complaints department. She said they would reply within 4 weeks and finalise in 8 weeks. My concern is that should this go to court we have no proof of the initial complaint as this was dealt with in branch.

Has anyone else come across this? I am used to LTSB delaying tactics but need advice when dealing with Barclays.

 

broke dave.

[oneofakind]

Send the letter anyway, giving them 14 days to reply, then send the next letter exactly on time. Cardinal rule is not to let the bank dictate the pace of the claim, or you'll be waiting as long as they can get away with.

 

YOU are in control here, not Barclays.

 

They willl delay at every opportunity; you'll hear nothing constructive for 2 months at least if you let them to their own devices.

 

[broke dave]

Thanks. Exactly what I thought. Let battle commence

[broke dave]

Due to the time spent on my court case against Lloyds I have been a bit slow on this one (much to Mrs. Broke's annoyance).

Anyway, have received letter from Barclays offering GOGW payment of £355. Original claim was for £435; since then at least another £120 has been taken.

All of my experience so far has been against Lloyds; so a couple of questions.

1. Should we accept and walk away (not really keen on this but money would be useful.)

2. Accept payment as part settlement and start court claim.

3. Ignore them and start court claim regardless. If we do this are they likely to pay the GOGW anyway?

[welshcakes]

Hi broke Dave

 

My guess is that if it wasn't for the fact that "money would be useful", you wouldn't be undecided. Only you and Mrs BD can decide which way to go on this one.

 

Things to think about are that if you do write back accepting it as partial payment only, Barclays may well withdraw the so called GOGW anyway. The up side of this is that you can go straight to claiming and instantly get 8% APR added to the entire claim.

 

If you are going to do this, I suggest that in your http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/25716-rejecting-offers.html you add to the letter something like

"I draw your attention to the fact that since xxdatexx, you have applied a further £xxxx of charges bringing the total amount or repayment sought to £555".

 

That way, you have advised them of the total amount they should be returning.

 

Sometimes, it helps to download the Schedule of Charges spreadsheet from this site and fill it in anyway so that you get a true picture of what you would be awarded in court once the 8% is applied. It may help you decide what is most appropriate for your circumstance.

 

Hope that helps a little

[oneofakind]

Hi,

If you accept the offer as part-payment, they'll withdraw, and you'll have to take it to court. They WILL settle eventually, but Barclays really drag things out as long as possible, and a bit more for luck. you could be waiting several months, depending on court workload.

 

Sorry to sound negative, but I think I'm just being realistic.

 

At the end of the day, Welshcakes is right; the decision on settling is for you and you alone.

 

[broke dave]

Well it took me the best part of 4 months to get the money from Lloyds so I'm used to the long haul. Let battle commence. Could be in time for a happy Christmas

[slick132]

Go for it Mr and Mrs Broke Dave and good luck,

 

Slick

[broke dave]

Having discussed this and looked at our options we are thinking of accepting the GOGW. We will then start the process again for the additional charges.

Just one question, would the fact that they have part settled on clain have any affect on a second claim?

[oneofakind]

would the fact that they have part settled on clain have any affect on a second claim?

 

No, but you must make sure that the acceptance letter contains no conditions that prevent you making another claim. Make sure you're agreeing to 'full and final settlement of THIS claim'. Alter their letter if necessary, and initial any alterations.

Obviously, you can't claim the SAME charges again, but there's nothing to prevent you making another claim for newer charges!

 

HTH.

 

[broke dave]

The letter says,

 

"I accept the sum of £xxx.xx in full and final settlement of my complaint with Barclays."

Think I will change the 'my' to 'this'. Should stop any confusion.

[slick132]

Hi Broke,

 

I would specify the date up to which you accept the offer leaving no doubt as to the period of claim for which you take their offer.

 

"I agree to accept your GOGW offer of £355 in full and final settlement of my claim for repayment of bank charges totalling £435 set out in the attached list covering the period (date) to (date)."

 

This defines the period of claim and leaves you the option of reclaiming any subsequent unlawful bank charges, either by negotiation or through the Court process.

There is a risk B's may not agree to your terms and you'd have to settle on theit terms or take the Court route.

 

Good luck in any event, Slick

[broke dave]

Well I didn't expect to be back on this forum again; but last week brought one hell of a shock! I have received a letter from a company called mackenzie hall of Kilmarnock.

They are chasing a debt of £350 on behalf of Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd. Having never heard of this company I rang mh to find out what all this was about.

They informed me that it was a Barclaycard debt which defaulted in October 1997. A couple of things at this point:

1. I did not have a barclaycard in 1997.

2. I was not banking with Barclays in 1997.

3. I did have a student account with them and a barclaycard way back in 1988. This account was closed in January 1989 when they received my grant cheque. They paid of my debts and took my cards off me. I remember this happening because it left me with just a couple of hundred pounds to live on for the rest of that term. The Bank Manager at the time thought this was highly amusing.

4. The only other time I have had a Barclays account was a couple of years ago when I approached them for a business loan. This account did not come with a barclaycard.

Questions:

1. Has anyone heard of either of these 2 companies?

2. Has anyone else been chased for a debt going back 10 to 20 years?

3. If, in fact, this debt does go back to January 1989 why has it taken so long to come to light? Why did it take 8 years and 9 months to go into default?

The nice lady at mh has suggested that it might be credit card fraud. If this is the case, why have I not heard anything from Barclays between 1997 and now? In fact I have never heard anything from Barclays.

Should I report it to the police or just fight them on my own?

Sorry to ramble on. Any ideas anyone??

[saintly_1]

Ok i think you might be better posting in the general debt forum with this http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/ you will get more advice there

[broke dave]

Thanks for the advice. New thread started here if anyone wants to follow it:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/112104-broke-dave-barclaycard-possibly.html

 

bd

[slick132]

Hi Mrs BD,

 

MH are well known over in General Debt - I've been reading over there recently helping a pal who's getting hassled over the debts of others.

 

I'll keep an eye out for you on Gen Debts.

 

Slick