Claims against banks for harassment

[Anthony Reeves]

Many will no doubt be familiar with the debt collection tactics of some banks and other organisations. I am currently taking a major bank to court under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. If anyone in the forum is experiencing harassment then I would happy to assist if I can.
In suitable cases, I will consider conditional fee agreements.
Please get in touch if you need help.

Anthony Reeves
Pinniger Finch & Co, Solicitors
tel. 01373 823791

 

[Esk247]

be prepared for a battle then...surely a big bank will just wrap you up in cobwebs and carry you out of court? unless you get some nice press exposure and promote the work of the little man against the goliaths!

 

[Anthony Reeves]

I am not daunted just because it is a bank. As an experienced litigator, I concentrate on the facts of the case.

Anthony Reeves

 

[Esk247]

well...hats off to you!....i must say that the banks have a lovely way of charging for EVERYTHING...cheque collection is 65 pence apparently and then they conveniently add on lots of other little charges ending up in hundreds of pounds being paid out per year just for handing a few cheques in at your local branch.

 

[Mr_Wizard]

Top man - go for it.

Back in the late 80's early 90's when we were in the last housing price decline I had a long legal battle with a major high street lender, the final number of Court appearances was thirteen and I was doing it myself as I couldn't afford a lawyer. The final Court Hearing was magic - I still remember the DJ's name and his final words to the local lawyer the lender had assigned to attend. I'd picked up this phrase 'duty of care' in a Sunday Times article and decided it was an angle worthy of exploiting.

I've had a more recent one with a 'less than popular' communications company, that was worthwhile too.

The one I really want to go at though is the local councils over council tax charges - that one does seem impossible to crack so I'm open to suggestions.

 

[erikam]

Just want to say that Banks are not charities...it is their money you are so conveniently using when you go overdrawn......most people know exactly what they are doing when they do this , and the genuine ones that make a mistake have the first charge refunded....because of all YOU mis users, everyone is now going to have to pay for bank accounts.....thanks a bunch !
The message is, if you don't have the money for something, don't buy it ! Or priorities.....food and bills before sky television, or shoes, or handbags, or nights out etc etc etc...
P.S I charge £10 per hour for financial help !!! (only joking). It's not rocket science after all....

 

[Esk247]

Just want to say that Banks are not charities...it is their money you are so conveniently using when you go overdrawn......most people know exactly what they are doing when they do this , and the genuine ones that make a mistake have the first charge refunded....because of all YOU mis users, everyone is now going to have to pay for bank accounts.....thanks a bunch !
The message is, if you don't have the money for something, don't buy it ! Or priorities.....food and bills before sky television, or shoes, or handbags, or nights out etc etc etc...
P.S I charge £10 per hour for financial help !!! (only joking). It's not rocket science after all....

although you were in a right mood when you wrote that..it is the way i think about things...

CREDIT CARD - is NOT your money! its a banks money, its a loan, pay it back
DEBIT CARD - without an overdraft etc etc this is YOUR money, you earned it and slapped it in the bank to earn interest, this is money you can spend.

people don't seem to grasp the difference between these two..they assume a credit card is something they own!

i am happy to say (touch lots of wood and peg leg) that i have no outstanding loans and have never had a start-up loan..HOWEVER..i do have a hundred owing on the credit card..i'm paying that off next week! all of it...its a burden and i dont get how people can go in to debts of £5k or £10k..the stress must be an impossible load.

 

[edbk1203]

... i dont get how people can go in to debts of £5k or £10k..the stress must be an impossible load.

What do you class as debts?

Including HP agreements on our two cars, a personal loan and my library of Credit Cards, but excluding my mortgage - I don't view a mortgage as "debt" per-say... come to think about it, I don't actually view the loans for my cars as "debt" either because both our mortgage and cars are necessities - nevertheless, excluding my mortgage balance, my Equifax credit report shows I personally owe over £30k.

I'm not stressed about it at all.

 

[erikam]

I would be extremely worried if I had £30k unsecured debt around my neck..... Interest rates are changing all the time and even 1% extra on a credit card that owes about £5k could cripple you if you were only making the minimum payment.. All banks are changing their charging structures now and one big bank now will charge a daily rate for being overdawn even if it is authorised.. £1 per day.....UN authorised overdrafts are £5 per day... Watch this space....

 

[edbk1203]

I would be extremely worried if I had £30k unsecured debt around my neck..... Interest rates are changing all the time and even 1% extra on a credit card that owes about £5k could cripple you if you were only making the minimum payment.. All banks are changing their charging structures now and one big bank now will charge a daily rate for being overdawn even if it is authorised.. £1 per day.....UN authorised overdrafts are £5 per day... Watch this space....

Agreed... I suppose it's a case of each to their own and their perceived risk etc... for the record my two cars (both HP loans secured on the car(s)) account for about £20k which leaves me with around £10k unsecured.

I'm happy, even with possible interest/charging structure changes on the horizon that this is a comfortable level for me and my income etc - granted I'm not actively seeking to increase it at all, quite opposite in fact, but I'm in no way stressed that I have too much debt.

In any case, I've already paid more than 50% of the total amount payable on the HP Agreement for the more expensive of my two cars which means if the worst came to the absolute worst, I'd just phone the finance company and tell them that I'm invoking my right to settle early by giving them the car back and then have nothing further to pay - in turn I can wipe out a large chunk of my "debt" very easily.

 

[fergywales]

as edbk1203 outlined, minus my mortgage, I have about £45k unsecured personal debt, but, I have the income to pay it off and, should I have to, the opportunity to clear about half in one go if push came to shove.

It's all about affordability. In my way of thinking, If I want it, I'll have it, but only if I can feasibly afford it. If only more people had lived like this in the last ten years, the next 2 wouldn't be quite so painful for the masses.

 

[very_confused]

It amazes me the level of bad feeling the banks have generated over the last 15 years....

 

it does not amaze me ,it just gives me the hump when I pay my monthly charges ext for paying money into the bank, and then see hsbc profits greedy C**** that they are.
I hope folks do take the banks too court too recover charges ext

 

[Esk247]

do you know...i've just checked all my bank and account details and the greedy little wotsits are taking almost 10% of my earnings in the form of payments in and out and credit card charges!!!!!

for every £1000 i've earned they've taken over £80 in charges for cheques e.g. 65 pence for every check plus 25 pence for the cashier to pick said check up and put said check in to a bag.

holy cow

 

[Jenni384]

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." ~ charles dickens