[Hawklord]

I have noticed that my account online hasn't been updated since 23rd March and wondered if anyone else had noticed this. I'm wondering whether they're online service has got issues at the moment?

Suppose I should give them a ring really

[Woodywizz]

Originally Posted by Hawklord

I have noticed that my account online hasn't been updated since 23rd March and wondered if anyone else had noticed this. I'm wondering whether they're online service has got issues at the moment?

Suppose I should give them a ring really

Give them a ring.

Off-topic: Your avatar is interesting, why not post on here.

[Rich]

My accounts up to date online.
Slightly off topic again.........I tried to transfer some money from my account to another Abbey account this week and was informed it would cost me £20 for the privilege

[stevegreen]

Originally Posted by richardl10

Slightly off topic again.........I tried to transfer some money from my account to another Abbey account this week and was informed it would cost me £20 for the privilege

WHAT???!!! I have transfers running all the time on my accounts, hope they are not going to start charging ortherwise I will be broke!

[Woodywizz]

Originally Posted by richardl10

My accounts up to date online.
Slightly off topic again.........I tried to transfer some money from my account to another Abbey account this week and was informed it would cost me £20 for the privilege

If it was a transfer to another persons' account, and you wanted it same day, then they would have to do a CHAPs payment - and a 20 quid charge is usual. If it was not imperative to be sameday then you could have done a BACs payment - which takes 3 days and is free, akin to a one-off standing order payment.

[Rich]

Maybe I didn't explain myself to the person in the bank.
I did it online though (free of charge).

[Peridot]

Originally Posted by richardl10

Maybe I didn't explain myself to the person in the bank.

They were probably just dense. A lot of Abbey's staff seem to be

[Rich]

She was cute, so I'll forgive her.

i hate abbey, im leaving them.

anyone suggest a better bank ?

[krish]

A mate sent this letter (copying and pasting it all - as its on a few websites) to Lloyds TSB, and they reimbursed the charges:

Dear Sir/Madam

Penalty & unfair charges – request for refund for A. N. Other, XXXXXXXX, XX-XX-XX

Recently you took a charge of XX pounds from my account for apparently not having the funds to cover a transaction to my partner. When proceeding with the transaction, using your online banking service, and at the time of submission, there were enough funds to cover such a transfer.

I am of the view that your charges represent a penalty and are therefore irrecoverable at common law. In the Scottish case of Castaneda and Others v. Clydebank Engineering and Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (1904) 12 SLT 498 the House of Lords held that a contractual party can only recover damages for actual or liquidated losses incurred from a breach of contract. This is also the position in English law: Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor Co Ltd [1915] AC 79.

Your charges do not reflect any actual loss, instead they appear to represent a lucrative profit-making scheme. In particular, charges were applied after I entered into a transaction(s) without sufficient funds in my account. However, payment was declined by you, and therefore, actual loss is the cost of automatically sending me a computer generated letter. I would respectfully submit that is valued at no more than 50 pence.

UK banks have recently given evidence to the House of Commons Treasury Committee on how bank charges are calculated: "The costs are going to pay for all the people we have who pursue debt, collect debt, speak to customers and chase payments. The way these charges are arrived at is by taking these total costs and making some assumptions about the volume that is going to come through to arrive at the individual charges" (2nd report, 25 January 2005, paragraph 50).

Accordingly, the charges applied to my account are not a reasonable pre-estimate of the bank’s loss in relation to my account. No-one has had to look at my account or telephone me. No one has had to collect anything. Your charges would appear to represent a device to recover global losses (for example, loan defaulters, bad debt write off, including commercial lending in, and outwith, the UK).

On a separate note, your charges appear to represent an unfair term of contract which is contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (SI. 1999/2083). My account falls within the ambit of Regulation 5 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 as I am a consumer. Your charges constitute an unfair penalty under reference to paragraph 1(e) of schedule 2 of the said regulations:

‘Indicative and non-exhaustive list of terms which may be regarded as unfair - 1. Terms which have the object of effect of - (e) requiring any consumer who fails his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation’.

0n 26 July 2005 the OFT stated that 'a charge is likely to be disproportionately high if it is more than a court would be likely to award if the lender sued the cardholder for breach of contract'. Because your charges include a large profit margin, in addition to actual loss, they are irrecoverable as an unfair term in contract. I believe that your charges require me to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation for incurring a transaction(s) which was ultimately declined by an automated computer system.

In addition, it is unfair to require me to subsidise your global debt recovery costs and debt write-off.

Please refund these charges to my account within the next 7 working days. I reserve the right to commence court proceedings without any further notice.

Yours faithfully
A. N. Other


... This could of course be like that "kid steals baby penguin" true story

[sbowler]

Check my story, they wouldnt give me my own money.
how difficult to get your own money?

[Shoka]

Dont get me started about abbey, worse bank ever.

Ive evidently got some bad credit from somewhere, not sure where though. Ive banked with them for 9 years and they will not upgrade my account, everytime I try they give me a diiferent excuse, you need 6 months without going overdrawn, need more direct debits (5 doesnt seem to be enough) I need to leave more money in there, blah blah blah.

So went in about 2 months ago to ask for an overdraft (never realy needed one before) as I new that my phone bill was huge, I was going on holiday the week after I got paid and both mine and my girlfriends birthday. They said no, so I thought no worries, Ill just have to take it easy, and not spend much. Right at the end of the month my phone bill came out 4 hours before I got paid, and they bounced the direct debit, as it would have taken me overdrawn, i admit it was a massive amount overdrawn (10pence ) and it was ages until i got paid (4 hours) but they were more than happy to charge me £25 for bouncing the direct debit. The funny thing is when I was overseas, they let me go overdrawn by almost £40 (unautherised).

Crazy really.

Anyoying thing is when I tried to move to another bank they dont want to know, as ive got some bad credit from somewhere. So now I have to pay to find out why

rant over

[krish]

Oh yes, I posted this back in October....

Originally Posted by krish72

Have just completed purchase on new house and was going round various banks and building societies with my change of address...

Now all of them used this as an opportunity to try and sell me buildings and contents cover having checked if I had just bought a house - which was fine, as I ended up with a cheaper quote with greater cover from Halifax than with my existing insurer Barclays. BUT then I went to Abbey where the "advisor" spent fifteen'kin'minutes going over the tiresome "Key Facts" and data protection crap and actually making it less clear than it was on the literature she handed over that I read in a couple of minutes. Then she proceeded with the quote preparation - which ended up being double my current premium. I made it clear to her that this was rubbish and much cheaper elsewhere to which she responded "I don't believe you"; and then she said "see what you think, there's a 14 day cooling-off period can I have your bank details". I just burst out laughing and said I'd think about it and I'll read the leaflet and illustration again at home to compare with others - she immediately took back the glossy leaflet ("we don't have many left") and rather insincerely thanked me for my time.

That has got to be the worst highstreet bank customer service I've ever experienced. The whole point of the FSA's laborious "Key Facts" is to prevent misselling, and then this menopausal jobsworth tries to rip me off!