Sorry guys....

[fruitycar]

If I'm posting in the wrong forum please be gentle...I've just been through my BOS statements since Jan 2004 and have over £1400 worth of charges, I have several months missing so this will probably rise. I cannot differentiate from the statements what the charges are for apart from the over O/D ones. Do i need to get a DPA to specify the cause of each of these charges or can I reclaim all of them regardless? Also, as I am in Scotland I will fall foul of the £750 small claims limit, any ideas?

I am trying not to get anxious about following this through, but the thought of further charges brought about because of already applied charges using up my limited income makes me want to get out of what is becoming a downward spiral. grrrrrr

[Bookworm]

Welcome. I'll be gentle, can't guarantee BankFodder will (but you started well, you started your own thread )

 

DPA request, I'd suggest. First, it will fill the missing gaps in your statements. 2nd, it will have all the info pertaining to your account, so if the bank tries the "2 people to manually intervene" approach, and if they are telling the truth ( god, I'm funny this morning! ), it will show on your file. On the other hand, if it doesn't, then maybe there wasn't 2 people poring over each transaction, and there goes another flimsy defence...

 

Scotland law, no can help. sorry. But I'm sure someone will be along shortly who can.

 

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

[fruitycar]

Once I get my hotlittle hands on te DPA,is there a time limit within I have to act on it?

[Bookworm]

Nope. You can sit on your hot little hands for as long as you like... but where would be the fun in that?

 

Only thing to keep in mind is the 6 years limit. So if part of your claim is likely to be close to that, you want to get a move on, as every day could mean older charges falling by the wayside.

[fruitycar]

I am only going to claim from when BOS were taken over by Halifax as prior to that we had received excellent service fromBOS. Delivering DPA letter by and to branch today, doI need to send when toHead Office tooat this point?

 

n.b apologies for any typos,I appear to have a dodgy space bar and dont always re-read properly before sending.

[fruitycar]

As there as been a marked difference in the way my account has been handled since BOS was taken over by Halifax,I am prepared to only claim from the time of takeover.however going through my paperwork I cannot identify when exactly this was,any clues anyone?(of course I could go off and google it,but it feels good to be communicating here!)

[fruitycar]

hope this is not bad form, replying to my own post, Hbos merger was September 2001, Thanks Google

[fruitycar]

DPA letter delivered by hand to branch today, like Woodyptk feeling a little out of my depth, but prepared to follow through to the bitter end....

courage, mon brave !

[fruitycar]

just received first batch of print outs in post, only back to April 2004, as that is when account was transferred onto HBOS system from BOS, rest are due within 10 days.

[Bookworm]

Cool. Hope you got a highlighter!

[Robertxc]

Hello fruitycar, I just got back £436 from HBoS for my wife - they didn't put up too much of a fight actually.

 

There will be a fairly straight forward chain of events.

 

1. You will write to them demanding your cash back

 

2. An incredibly condescending woman will phone you and call into question your sanity for having the temerity to challenge them. In the nicest possible way of course. Her task is simply to try to convince you that the only people who think they can get their charges back are crackpots and loons, so don't even bother trying. She may offer you half of your charges back.

 

3. You will submit your claim to your local Sheriff Court. This is where it begins to get scary if you haven't done it before. The good news is that nothing bad can happen to you. If you have any questions about the procedures or forms or anything like that, you should speak to the clerk of court. I've dealt with them many times and of all the public servant I've ever encountered they are by far the mst friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. If your claim is for more than £750, there is a simple solution. Add up all your charges and then use the spreadsheet which is available on this forum to add the interest. Now, start with the earliest charge and add them up until you get to £750. This will be your first claim. don't worry, the rest will be dealt with later.

 

4. About three days after submitting your claim, you will get the forms back from the court with a return date for about 6 weeks later. You have to serve one of the documents on the Defender (the bank), which you do by registered post. Then you wait...

 

5. Sometime about a week before the return date, you will get a letter from Halifax offering the charges, but not the interest. You will tell them to get lost.

 

6. You'll get another letter offering settlement in full. Now, this is where they will try to be tricky. They will almost certainly ask you to sign an agreement saying that this is settlement for all claims ever. They will do this because they will realise that while you are only claiming for £750 today - tomorrow you're going to come back for the next £750.. and so on. this is where there will be a bit of negotiation. When the cards are on the table they may just offer you all your charges back in one go to get rid of you - which is what you want.

 

7. They'll give you back your dosh, and probably close your account.

 

Have fun.

[fruitycar]

very useful reply, thanks. Do you think its worth moving up one level to summary cause?

[Robertxc]

Probably not. Things definetly get more complicated in Summary Cause, and you won't be protected from paying costs if you lose, and those could be well into four, if not five, figures.

 

In my experience, the Sheriff will give you a lot of help in Small Claims, because it's intended for people who are representing themselves. Summary Cause is intended for lawyers, so you will find the Sheriff much less tolerant if you get the procedures wrong. The risk of having your cased kicked out is much higher in summary Cause. Also, bear in mind that one of the main reason that the banks don't defend these actions is because there is no way for them to recover their costs if they win (in Small Claims). If you do it in Summary Cause, then that disincentive no longer exists...

[fruitycar]

ooohhhhh, thank you, thank you, thank you !

I thought this looked like the way to go as my claim will be more than £750, your comments have clarified things for me, looks like the Sherrifs court for me.

[fruitycar]

sorry this was supposed to be a reply on another thread and cant work out how to delete it or move it !

 

 

I've since had this reply from Robertxc

 

Probably not. Things definetly get more complicated in Summary Cause, and you won't be protected from paying costs if you lose, and those could be well into four, if not five, figures.

 

In my experience, the Sheriff will give you a lot of help in Small Claims, because it's intended for people who are representing themselves. Summary Cause is intended for lawyers, so you will find the Sheriff much less tolerant if you get the procedures wrong. The risk of having your cased kicked out is much higher in summary Cause. Also, bear in mind that one of the main reason that the banks don't defend these actions is because there is no way for them to recover their costs if they win (in Small Claims). If you do it in Summary Cause, then that disincentive no longer exists...

 

not quite as straightforward as I first read it to be.

[Robertxc]

The whole thing sounds horribly complicated, but it's not really. As I've said before I strongly urge you to go down to the court and have a chat with one of the clerks if there's anything about the procedures you'e not sure about. They won't help you with your actualy case, but they know everything about the procedures.

 

It is most unlikely that you'll actually have to go to court to try your case, but if you do, remember that the Sheriff has a duty to help you with your case - especially if you're on your own and the other side have a litigation specialist. He will not let the other side give you a kicking, and if he think there's something you should do to help or improve your case, he'll tell you. Also, forget any ideas about coming up against Rumpole of the Bailey. Remember, going to court is HORRIBLY expensive for your bank. If you think your lawyer charges you a lot, you should see what he charges a bank! Never underestimate your bank's desire to stay well way from Small Claims procedures.

[fruitycar]

how far down the chain of events did you have to go?

[Robertxc]

For bank charges you almost certainly won't go beyond stage 5. Certainly no one on theis forum seems to have gone beyond that poimt

[fruitycar]

what a busy hi-lighter I have ! just finished the trawl through 6 years of statements and print-outs and arrived at a sum which will involve 3.68 claims to resolve, just about to parcel up the first £750 worth and send of the first preliminary letter tomorrow. I used the excel spread sheet to total up the amounts, then its all ready to go for the next step

I have decided to ignore the o/d interest as I was not clear on how much it was, although there is a seperate notified 'debit interest' debited from my account each month that increases relative to the amount of charges, could this be it? Might hold off the letter for a day if someone could clarify this.

[fruitycar]

prelim request letter being hand delivered to branch tomorrow. Deep breath, here goes....

[fruitycar]

I am getting confused over the time limit of claims for Scotland, I have seen 5 years stated in several posts. My prelim letter has been sent and tomorrow is the date for the LBA to go in, however my claim goes back 6 years, have I made a mistake and fallen at the first hurdle?

[Arwen]

Hiya- Statute of Limitations is 5 years in Scotland, however most Creditors dont know the difference between Scots and English Law, and if it has to go to Court, most Sheriffs arent 100% up on the Statute of Limitations either. I work in the Money Advice industry, and the only time I would EVER remind a Sheriff of our beloved Statute of Limitations Act is if YOU were the defender and not the pursuer. I would go for it anyway.

 

If you need 100% clarification, why dont you have a chat with Mike Dailly in the Govan Law Centre, they seem to be doing a lot in this filed of getting Bank Charges refunded.

[fruitycar]

just had a phone call from BOS Customer relations- they have looked at my account and the charges are legitimate and basically offering me £150 in full and final settlement ! I pointed out to her that as I can only claim £750 this was the first of several claims and that the total was £2760 and so £150 fell far short of the mark. She said "I take it you are not going to accept this then" "no !" she said she will put this in writing and I then pointed out that I will be sending them a letter before action as I intend to raise a claim and that it will then also include 8% interest plus costs.

[fruitycar]

Lba ready to be delivered this evening, but still time to adjust it if you think this incorrect.

I am making a first claim of £740 and have indicated in my letter that the total amount is £2760 and that I will be making further claims to refund this. Or do you think I should leave this out and just make the first £740 claim. I'm slightly concerned as some posts seem to imply that this is playing the system and could be frowned upon. Also I would be happier to get it all back in one fell swoop.

[kath30]

Hi there i too am claiming in 2 separate claims and they offerd me £350 for both claims (total being £1250) which i refused and sent two letters to indicate this. I think you need to just stick with the first amount of £740 and not mention the rest yet