Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

[Snakebite]

Hi everyone,

Im going to send a letter to LTSB regarding claiming back the illegal charges they took from my account.

They recently sent me a letter stating:

"I have broken the Overdraft agreement, its the right of the bank to request immediate repayment on demand.

I must pay back the amount by April 6th plus interest.

If you do not pay - We will refer your account to our solicitors and claim through the courts and register your details with credit referance agencies."

They also keep trying to phone me on a daily basis to which I just ignore and dont pick up the phone.

It seems like an intimidation strategy to me and I will not buckle, seeing as though the amount the want me to pay is less than the amount they owe me in charges!

I will send off the claim letter and wait for a response...

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

Firstly let's get them to stop calling you.
Legal Beagles

We then need to throw in a Subject Access Request
Legal Beagles

[Snakebite]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

Hi thanks for the reply,

I sent a letter of PRELIMINARY REQUEST FOR REFUND yesterday as I got all the data from my internet account and totted up all the charges from the last 2 years and attached a Statatory Interest chart along with it.

Regarding the bank phoning me; I know the number they use so I just dont pick up when they call. The dont have my home phone number anyway.

In the letter I also offered them to pay me a goodwill offer, of a 20% decrease in the total amount for a quick settlement. Hopefully they will bite and accept.

Cheers.

[Snakebite]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

Hey!

Just a quick update of the situation, I am in a bit of a pickle with what to do next.

They sent me back a clown***** letter stating: "We will expect to complete our enquires and provide you with an answer within four weeks - but will do our best to respond sooner if we can"

So about three weeks after recieving the preliminary letter I got another letter from LLoydsTSB's solicitors saying:

"This letter makes formal demand on you to repay the balance as quoted plus interest which is accuring on a daily basis.

If payment is not recieved by our client within 14 days from reciept of this letter, legal proceedings may be issued against you wihtout further reference."


I find it ridiculous at them threatening me with court proceedings as they know the charges are unlawful. The overdraft amount they expect me to pay back is less than the charges that they took out of the account anyway!

Are they just playing hardball and making it difficult for me? Or I am in a little mess here?

Cheers, SB.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

Hey!

Just a quick update of the situation, I am in a bit of a pickle with what to do next.

They sent me back a clown***** letter stating: "We will expect to complete our enquires and provide you with an answer within four weeks - but will do our best to respond sooner if we can"

So about three weeks after recieving the preliminary letter I got another letter from LLoydsTSB's solicitors saying:

"This letter makes formal demand on you to repay the balance as quoted plus interest which is accuring on a daily basis.

If payment is not recieved by our client within 14 days from reciept of this letter, legal proceedings may be issued against you wihtout further reference."


I find it ridiculous at them threatening me with court proceedings as they know the charges are unlawful. The overdraft amount they expect me to pay back is less than the charges that they took out of the account anyway!

Are they just playing hardball and making it difficult for me? Or I am in a little mess here?

Cheers, SB.

Threatening you with court action is actually a very good thing. How much are the charges since July 2001(you can claim from then)? How much is the amount they want to take you to court for?

[Snakebite]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

Threatening you with court action is actually a very good thing. How much are the charges since July 2001(you can claim from then)? How much is the amount they want to take you to court for?

Hi Nattie,

Off the top of my head the charges Im attempting to claim are around £1400.

The overdraft amount they want to take me to court for is around £920.

And why is them threatening me with court action a good thing?

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

cos you will counterclaim for the bank charges. Now do you think they will want to take you to court now?

[Snakebite]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

cos you will counterclaim for the bank charges. Now do you think they will want to take you to court now?

Evidence suggests not.

So, I think I have this right... I sent a PRELIMINARY REQUEST FOR REFUND, so the bank counterclaimed my request by threatening court action. So I can counterclaim them to end the dispute?

Is there a template for a backlash letter I can send them, that you know of?

Cheers.

[Snakebite]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

Right, so I got another letter today from LTSB, which stated:

"We believe your complaint relates to the level of fairness or lawfulness of the charges....

We want to help customers if they are in financial difficulty or hardship. We've sent a copy of this letter to our collections team, they can help you review your finances to see if ther's anything we can do to help. They can also discuss a variety of repayment options. (hmmm, no thanks! - btw I'm not a candidate for a hardship claim unfortunately.)

Our unplanned overdraft charges are clear and represent a fair charge for a banking service that is valued by our customers...

...The FSA has agreed we can suspend the normal timetable for dealing with unplanned overdraft charges.

...If you're thinking of making a claim through the courts, please note we will be asking the courts to postpone proceedings about bank charges until the conclusion of the banks proceedings with the OFT."

They are still continuing to charge my account unplanned overdraft fees thus the overdraft continues to increase. So each time they issue a new account charge, should I send them a letter with the updated grand total of charges I wish to claim back everytime?

What should my next step be? They sent me a letter from their solicitors and now this one. Should I send more letters counter-claiming their initial court action against me, demanding I pay back the overdraft sum within 14 days or they will start court proceedings???

Cheers, SB.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

Right, so I got another letter today from LTSB, which stated:



They are still continuing to charge my account unplanned overdraft fees thus the overdraft continues to increase. So each time they issue a new account charge, should I send them a letter with the updated grand total of charges I wish to claim back everytime?

What should my next step be? They sent me a letter from their solicitors and now this one. Should I send more letters counter-claiming their initial court action against me, demanding I pay back the overdraft sum within 14 days or they will start court proceedings???

Cheers, SB.

They haven't sent you a court claim yet have they? The fact that they have acknowledged your claim means that you account is in dispute so I would wait and see. You don't have to keep issuing them a letter but you can if you want to.

[Snakebite]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

They haven't sent you a court claim yet have they? The fact that they have acknowledged your claim means that you account is in dispute so I would wait and see. You don't have to keep issuing them a letter but you can if you want to.

Im not entirely sure what you mean by a "court claim" but no, I've not recieved any letter from a court about the situation. Only a letter from LTSB's solicitor threatening court action if the sum isnt paid within 14 days of reciept of it (which will be on the 29th of April roughly.)

[EXC]

Re: Snakebite vs LTSB (overdraft charges)

Just to expand on Nattie's last post, because the disputed charges make up at least the value of the overdraft the bank is in breach of OFT guidlines that state that the bank shouldn't pursue the debt as the account is in dispute by virtue of your complaint about the charges. Clearly, if the waiver enables the bank to suspend the nornal timetable for OD complaints, the dispute is unresolved and as such the bank should not enforce the debt.