This year I had my new IBM 600 ThinkPad for the trip which I use to connect to my digital camera via the USB port and to either my Nokia mobile phone or Palm Vx via the serial port. I was able to send and receive emails via the Nokia, and the advice I had from the UNHAV experts proved to be very useful on the day prior to the meeting.

How technology has changed! I am now using a Lenovo/IBM T60 with 80GB HDD and 2GB RAM.

The Day

The HBOS plc (was Halifax plc) 2000 AGM which reviewed the 1999 accounts was again held at the Harrogate Conference Centre, a picture of which is below. It is a luxurious building which is well fitted out and it was an ideal location for the day.

A bank of Halifax PCs ('scuse the pun!) were connected to the Internet and one of the demonstrators was very keen to show me how to access the Internet and see Halifax products. Having had a demonstration, I asked how visible Halifax were on the Internet so I called up AltaVista and a Halifax lady said to a group of shareholders "this gentleman is using a search engine". So, into www.altavista.com I entered "Halifax plc" and guess who was no 2? Well Redoak of course, so I let the crumbling Halifax logo display; thanked the guy for his attention and walked off chuckling to myself.

The AGM Starts

As reported at the last AGM, Jon Foulds the Chairman had resigned and this year we have a new Chairman Lord Dennis Stevenson, and he is pictured to the right with his head bowed.

The issues that came up in the meeting were:

Shareholder concern that the Halifax was supporting the construction of a toll road which was unpopular with local people and that there was a perceived risk of both bad publicity and loss of assets were the construction not be be completed within budget.

Next came some very serious allegations about irregularities; underpayment of interest and bonuses; how a lady had dealt with 35 different Halifax employees; how she had been given misinformation and had been given different answers on the amount owing to her. This was a very sad story and seemed to indicate unacceptable administration. I will now check the interest paid on my TESSA (which I have cashed in now) to see if it was calculated correctly.

Two other people mentioned how they felt the Halifax had lost it's way with small savers and so was becoming uncompetitive.

I was then on, and here we have a scoop. I have an audio recording of my questions and answers and I have converted this audio tape to an mp3 file, and this may be downloaded from here. Enjoy the guy who made his speech before I asked my question. The sound quality of the reply is not very good, but you can hear the words if you download the file and play it using Winamp from http://www.winamp.com.

My first question was:

Last month Halifax plc settled a case out of court brought by a New Zealand member of the former Halifax Building Society complaining that there was no valid reason in 1997 why New Zealand should not have been classified as a permitted territory for the purposes of free share distribution.

Given that there are more than 2000 New Zealand members who were similarly denied free shares as a result of that classification error, is it the intention of Halifax plc to DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THESE MEMBERS AND COMPENSATE THEM ACCORDINGLY or will they too be compelled to field some 2000 odd legal cases with all the attendant bad publicity it means for us.

The response was that the rules had been defined and that it was not possible to retrospectively change them. More details are on the audio file.

I also brought up the letters from Chairman and also the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Securities Commission regarding what appeared to have been incomplete staff work on the part of the Halifax.

Finally I ran through a list of unfavourable Halifax press cuttings including the "1000 Letters of complaint to the Halifax".

The Chief Executive, James Crosby is shown on the left at the AGM did seem genuinely concerned about adverse publicity

After The AGM

We were again treated to a buffet lunch after the AGM which again was appreciated.

I spoke to Lord Stevenson about my late father's Halifax account and how we had been deprived of shares following bad advice given by the Bognor Regis branch, and he has offered to look into my case. He was interested in seeing the eight identical holding letters that had been sent to me. I undertook to prepare and send him a package of documents within two weeks.

Also, I managed to talk to James Crosby about the UNHAV group and how they were genuinely concerned about the unfair treatment they had received. I stressed that UNHAV wanted justice and that I could foresee further "bad press" for the Halifax with further Halifax losses in court. I asked if he could revisit the UNHAV claim, and he agreed to and write to me in due course. When I receive the letter, I'll scan it and forward to Brian.

The Future

In the future, the AGM's will be held in different parts of the country and next year the Venue will be Edinburgh. I've not been to Edinburgh before, though I've often been to Glasgow. I think next year I'll focus on the Statutory Accounts.

As regards the Halifax, they see intense competition in the market place and see the Internet as providing an ideal opportunity to increase shareholder value. Already they have launched a number of Internet business products. If we are avoiding Halifax Group products, we should avoid Esure, Clerical Medical; Birmingham Midshires; and IF (Intelligent Finance) that are all part of the Halifax product and service range.

Our Future

Just as the Halifax sees the Internet as providing the opportunity for growth, so must we use all available tools to obtain justice. We have the capability to create web sites, and with careful indexing we can ensure that our sites are near the top of any search engine results.

I still remain very disappointed that justice as administered through the courts is not always correct, and I am determined that one day, I should be properly compensated for the bad advice received. Likewise UNHAV members, keep pursuing your claims; focus on the New Zealand situation; see if we can get a list of the 2,000 New Zealand members who did not receive their free shares and let's get those court cases rolling, as publicity is good publicity for the cause.

Halifaxian Granite

After I arrived home, Angus, my 11 year old son asked me where I had been, and I mentioned that I went to the Halifax AGM to complain. He offered to draw a picture for me and here it is. Brian will like it.

I don't think "The Granite" has a happy face. But we will keep chipping away at them until they concede they are wrong.

Update

Since the AGM I have exchanged letters with James Crosby and have concluded that the Halifax will not concede voluntarily to any claim from members of the Halifax deemed Non Permitted Territories.

As Dennis Stevenson offered to look into my claim, I sent him a bundle of documents that support my case. I await a reply with interest.

25 June 00 - I have received a letter rejecting my claim. This rejection was based upon incorrect assumptions on the probate process that I followed. I have supplied documentation to support what actually happened at the time, but this has been disregarded. His office, however, later sent me some computer viruses and the details are here.

I may have been naive in expecting an officer of Halifax plc to act in an unbiased way.

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