Blueskies v Barclays - **WON**

[blueskies]

I sent my Data Protection Act request on Friday and am waiting for the response. I am claiming from Barclays, Capital one and Barclaycard. It's at times like these that I'm sort of glad I have been irresponsible with financial affairs....it's like a savings scheme....lol....will keep all informed on progress.

[BankFodder]

Did you sent your £10?

[blueskies]

put authority to withdraw from my account on letter

[blueskies]

Have received my bank statements this morning. I have two accounts with Barclays and have a total of exactly £1,500 in bank charges incorporating three different headings. The older entries have UNAUTH O/D and UNPAIDS OUT fees and the newer entries all have PAID REFERRAL fees. It is amazing how much of my life I was able to work out from them. Employer details, cash machine withdrawal locations (holidays etc), also which suppliers I use for gas/electric/telephone etc.

I WOULD ADVISE CAUTION TO ANYONE RECEIVING STATEMENTS FROM BARCLAYS THAT THERE WERE 3 DUPLICATED ENTRIES WHERE PAGES OVERLAPPED AND ALSO 1 DUPLICATED PAGE. MAKE SURE YOU DON'T COUNT ENTRIES TWICE!.

One question I have is that as the banks are allowed to charge liquidated damages (i.e. their costs) in respect of these charges, are we legally right to reclaim all of these charges as opposed to total charges minus bank costs.
My average cost is exactly £25 and am considering negotiating towards a settlement of 4/5ths which is £1,200 (i.e. leaving them £5 per charge). Would this be wise (and reasonable)?

Obviously if they want to push it to court then I will be holding out for the full total plus the £262.73 interest (just tesing the excellent spreadsheet, not quoting that in initial letter).

[Don Quioxte]

i reckon you just go in with the prelim letter attempting to recover the lot.. see what offer they come backwith if any..

at the end of the day it's upto them to prove and justify reasonable administrative costs (whether £5 or £50).. and to be honest the way I read the OFT report - it is unlikely that a court would consider awarding "general damages" to the bank for the administrative costs incurred due to your breaches of contract because they are too remote i.e too hard to quantify and prove... so theoretically any charge is unlawful?

good luck..

[blueskies]

Just a quick update. I posted the prelim letter on the 7th April giving them 14 days to respond. The 14th day is today but I will leave it until tuesday before taking it to the next stage as, because of the Easter break, they have had less working days in which to act. I know this is not necessary but I will be more comfortable in front of a judge knowing I have been as reasonable as possible.

[bashers]

Originally Posted by blueskies

....it's like a savings scheme....lol...

Good point.
My total charges are expected to top £3000 so will pay of my overdraft and then some.
If only these laws allowed us to go back 40 or 50 years. I would be able to claim the charges back on my 65th birthday as a sort of pension!

[Don Quioxte]

Weak blueskies weak...

they have had ample time to at least acknowledge your letter even if it was unlikely to be to your satisfaction... would suggest you prepare a nice, succinct letter before action and post it over the weekend (either way it is not going to reach them till Monday at the earliest... keep the momentum up..

Your claim, your money, your deadlines... either way it is fast nearing the point of no return for Barclays!!

[blueskies]

Just a further update. I received a letter from Barclays Head office saying they were looking into the matter and would contact me in due course. I telephoned back saying that they were already over the time I had given them in my initial letter. They told me that they had a backlog of complaints of this nature and had to take on extra staff to deal with them. I gave them a further 14 days to respond but said to them that if they made the normal 50% offer that it would be rejected. I received a letter from them yesterday.

I refer to our letter of 18 May.

May I say how sorry I am to learn that you feel the bank charges you have incurred are unfair. In your correspondence you have referred to elements which you feel support your claim. Barclays is aware of the information you have drawn to our attention. I must inform you, however, that we disagree with your view.

When an account is opened with us, our customer is provided with a copy of the Terms and Conditions relating to the use of their account; including details of our charges. This information clearly explains our obligations to our customers, as well as their obligations to us. If we make any changes to the Terms and Conditions, we provide details of these changes to our customers in line with the Banking Code. Details of our Terms and Conditions, along with our charging tariff, can be obtained at any of our branches, or via our internet site www.Woolwich.co.uk/Barclays.co.uk.

Despite my comments above in relation to your views, on this occasion, and without any admissions as to the basis of your complaint, I am willing to offer the sum of £730 towards the total amount you are seeking. This is with the cost and inconvenience inherent ina a further dispute in mind and is intended as a gesture of goodwill. If you would like to accept my offer please sign and return the enclosed form in the pre-paid envelope provided. I will then arrange for the payment to be credited direct to your account.

If you wish to discuss this letter, or you feel there are further issues I need to consider, please contact me on my direct telephone number xxxxxxxxxx. If you are dissatisfied with my proposal for resolving your complaint you may ultimately be eligible to refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The leaflet sent with our letter of 21 April explains our complaints process and provides details regarding the Financial Ombudsman Service.

In accordance with our standard practice, iif I do not hear from you to the contrary within eight weeks from the date of this letter, I shall assume that your complaint is resolved and close my file.

Yours sincerely

Karl Voller
Customer Relations Manager

Obviously the standard letter that everyone gets and just under a 50% offer.
Will call Mr Voller on Tuesday and send letter before action same day if there is no further offer.

[brandedcentaur]

Hello Blue,

I am about to start my own thread on Barclay, so I read yours with interest.

With all due respect, I would not bother phoning them. Firstly, because it weakens your case as you do not have a record of your phone conversation - so it cannot be produced to the court as evodence of your efforts to resolve the matter.

Secondly, They have had more than sufficient time. Do you think THEY would allow YOU extra time if they were chasing a debt from you? No sirreee! they would be piling on the interest & firing out letters at £20 a time!

Obviously it is up to you how you deal with these people, but, speaking for myself, everything is being done by letter & I am NOT giving them any more time than is reasonable.

Good luck with your case; I shall be following your progress with interest.

[Don Quioxte]

Blueskies what are you doing?!?

Where has the last month gone?

You were at LBA last time I posted. Now a month later and you are posting about letters you have received, and how you are going to give them another 14 days to respond.

respond to what?

They are not going to respond in the manner that you desire until you show them that you mena business. Just file against them tomorrow in the county court for the £1500.

No more telephone. No more letters. No more months passing without action. Just do it. The letters you refer to, and responses, are standard FSA requirements with regards dealing with complaints. They will use all eight weeks to "deal" with your complaint, and even then it will not be resolved to your satisfaction.

I am amazed to be reading your post, more than a month later? What is going on?

If you want specific help then PM me. Otherwise just get on and file against them.

[blueskies]

Originally Posted by Don Quioxte

Blueskies what are you doing?!?

Where has the last month gone?

You were at LBA last time I posted. Now a month later and you are posting about letters you have received, and how you are going to give them another 14 days to respond.
respond to what?

I gave them that before receiving this letter.

Originally Posted by Don Quioxte

They are not going to respond in the manner that you desire until you show them that you mena business. Just file against them tomorrow in the county court for the £1500.

No more telephone. No more letters. No more months passing without action. Just do it. The letters you refer to, and responses, are standard FSA requirements with regards dealing with complaints. They will use all eight weeks to "deal" with your complaint, and even then it will not be resolved to your satisfaction.

I am amazed to be reading your post, more than a month later? What is going on?

If you want specific help then PM me. Otherwise just get on and file against them.

I have had a lot of personal issues lately regarding my fathers ill health, which is why I haven't had my eye on the ball with this case. Have not sent LBA yet, is this a legal requirement before making a legal claim on moneyclaim?

I feel suitably and rightly chastised by letting this go on this long. Thanks for the ongoing interest Don. Will PM if I need help.

BTW I used a different initial letter to the standard letter but the same information was contained within it.

[Don Quioxte]

Originally Posted by blueskies

Have not sent LBA yet, is this a legal requirement before making a legal claim on moneyclaim?.

Sorry to hear about your dad. wish him well.

The LBA is a requirement suffice that it will demonstrate to the court that you have attempted to maintain communication and resolve the issue without it reaching litigation.

The fact that Barclays are attempting to negotiate with you, but are protracting proceedings and taking this long to resolve the issue to your satisfaction would suggest to me that you could threaten Barclays with moneyclaim within seven days unless they respond positively.

My plan of action would be to telephone Mr Voller tomorrow and say that you accept the £730 in lieu of the outstanding balance, and that they can credit that to your account immediately. Make it absolutely clear that with respect to the outstanding balance you fully intend to file against Barclays 7 days from tomorrow. Have your LBA ready to post and Fax to Mr Voller following your phone call. Explain that they have had more than sufficient time to enter into sincere dialougue with you regarding this matter, clearly they do not intend to respond in the manner that you indicated in your prelim letter, and therefore you have no alternative but to pursue a claim against Barclays for the outstanding balance via the small claims track.

You may be pleasantly suprised by the response you get to a succinct, direct, to the point phone call followed up with a faxed and posted LBA. I wouldn't be suprised if they come back and settle for the full amount prior to the seven days.

Feel free to PM me a copy of your LBA if you want a second opinion prior to tomorrow. I faxed my LBA giving HSBC seven days after they had protracted my complaint/claim - I got a phone call the next day admitting no liability, but offering full settlement (this was from "bog-off" to "£1200" in 24 hours). If you demonstrate that you know what you are doing, you understand due process, and you won't stand for being messed around, they usually pull their finger out.

[blueskies]

Spoke with Mr Voller on the phone just now. Normal story - Bank doesn't agree with our position, will not increase offer. When asked about the standard letter response he said they are not all standard letters and are tailored to the customer but certain things have to be in there. Obtained fax number and sending LBA now by fax followed by post. Many thanks to DQ for assistance with the wording of my letter.

The poor Mr Voller sounded like he was rushed off his feet. He'll certainly be earning his bonus this year!!

[blueskies]

Today is D-Day. Unless I heard back from Barclays by close of business today then I would be launching court action. Well I will let them have til 9am tomorrow morning (when I get up and the money will be cleared in their own bank account for me to pay for it!!!)

I love the irony of using their debit card to pay to sue them!!

Will keep you all informed.