Rejecting Offers

From Consumer Wiki

What Letter To Send

Having sent your request for repayment you may receive a 'full and final' offer of settlement which is likely to be less than the amount you have requested. This may also be with the actual payment itself by cheque, or they may make a payment directly into your account.

If this happens, send letter 1 shown below which will clarify your position of having rejected the sum as a 'full and final' settlement, but at the same time will allow you to accept it only as a partial payment towards your whole claim. It is important to remember that if the offer has further conditions attached then you should use letter 2 below.

In all likelihood, the bank will withdraw their offer or simply not reply - in which case proceed with your claim within the timescales you have previously set. If they have sent you a cheque and you do not receive clarification from the letters below, you should return the cheque to the bank and either tear the cheque in two, or write CANCELED very clearly over the cheque.




If their offer letter arrives very close to the expiry of your LBA (perhaps within a couple of days) and is for less than the full amount you should read this letter very carefully.

  • If this offer is clearly marked as being FULL AND FINAL they have effectively denied your claim. In such circumstances use letter 3 below.
  • If this offer is NOT called FULL AND FINAL then you have a duty to mitigate your losses and continue with negotiations. This might be rather annoying, but you have to be aware of the danger of being seen by a Judge as having rushed into Litigation. In such circumstances use letter 4 below. You should give enough opportunity for the bank to respond to you one final time. There is no set figure that would apply for this timescale so I will suggest a further 10 days from their receipt (count 2 working days from postage). If it is easier for you, just consider waiting 2 weeks.




If an offer letter arrives AFTER you have commenced court action and is for less than the full amount of your court claim simply return the cheque as stated above and use letter 5 or 6 below. Letter 5 is for an offer made directly by your bank, rather than from its Legal Representatives. This may well be because they are behind with the paperwork and have not been made aware of the court action beginning. Letter 6 is where the Legal Representative (Solicitor) acting for the bank makes an offer which does not match the full value of the court claim.

  • Make sure you know what the total should be - charges + Interest + costs + daily interest etc etc)




Please feel free to modify any part of the letters if you don't feel that they suit your own situation precisely. These letters should be viewed as simply a guide for users.

PLEASE NOTE

If you are offered the full amount requested and it is without further conditions, you must accept it. This applies to ANY stage of your claim but be sure that the payment includes all interest and court costs if you have started your action through the courts.

If conditions are attached to an offer of settlement in full (for instance if you are asked to sign a confidentiality agreement, or you are asked to attend your bank for a meeting regarding the running of the account etc) then you are under no obligation to accept - the choice is yours but we see no reason why you should accept ANY further conditions than simply a refund.

Some people will obviously consider confidentiality a small price to pay for getting their refund. Imagine if we had all done this... would you even be on this website now? You should feel free to shout about your victory from the rooftops if you wish to and the bank will still pay you!! Have faith...

Make the bank aware of the need to withdraw those conditions first and await written clarification of this before you make any final decisions.

Letter 1

MS Word Format: RO1.doc

Letter 2

MS Word Format: RO2.doc

Letter 3

MS Word Format: RO3.doc

Letter 4

MS Word Format: RO4.doc

Letter 5

MS Word Format: RO5.doc

Letter 6

MS Word Format: RO6.doc

Page Created By Me01273 02:23, 27 June 2007 (BST)