Janeyh -v- Abbey - I'VE WON !!

[Janeyh]

OK, looks like i'm going to have to file a claim now. Oooh, I feel sick

On Saturday, I received the standard letter from Abbey in response to my LBA, i.e. thanks for your letter, charges are lawful, reviewed your account and can see it's not your first time you have incurred charges (patronising sods), should have raised the matter at the time of the charges (I did, was told "tough, push off"), in fact I've seen word-for-word copies of this letter on other people's threads.

So now I'm going to lodge my claim with the court. I'm going to wait until Wednesday because, according to Abbey, they are going to relieve me of a further £50 from my account for a transgression of £1.97 and I want to include that in my claim. In total covering both my accounts, there are 38 charges in the last six years.

Which is the best way to submit the claim? Moneyclaim online or the N1 form (my "local" county court I think, is Nottingham, approx. 30 miles) ? Is the cost for these two methods different?

Sorry about all the questions but I don't want to get it wrong.

[NeilP]

Janeyh,

the costs are the same for either way. Moneyclaim is easier as it doesn't involve a trip to the court at this stage, but it is more restrictive in the amount of information that you can put on the form.

If you can do a form N1 and take it to your County Court then that is what i would recommend.

Keep us posted & good luck.

[Janeyh]

Hi,

I'm just in the process of completing my Moneyclaim form and am a bit confused about the interest charges.

So far I have put:

"The claimant has a contract with the defendant bank dated 23.5.98 for 2 accounts which are conducted to their standard terms and conditions. The claimant is claiming the return of money taken by the defendant in the way of charges over the last 6 years plus the interest they have levied on these charges. If the defendant is able to establish that the contract between us did contain terms purporting to entitle the defendant to levy these charges, the claimant will contend that they are unenforceable at common law, being penalty clauses rather than being liquidated damages clauses. The claimant claims from the defendant a sum equivalent to the total amount unlawfully debited since 28.1.00 being £1,005.00 plus £68.50 interest charges.

The claimant claims interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year from {28.1.00} to {14.6.06} of £{271.92} and also interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of {what do I put in here ?}.The claimant also claims the court fee of £(don't know what that is until I enter amount claimed)."

Also, do I add 8% interest onto the £68.50 interest charges (sorry if I appear a bit dim but I am )


Thanks guys
Janey

[NeilP]

Janey,

Use the script in the Bank Templates Section - it is a proven text.

Yes i believe you can add the 8% Section 69 interest onto the Other interest that you are charging for. It quotes the bits of law that your claim is based upon. However, you may need to shrink/abbreviate some of it to fit it and the s69 section into Moneyclaim.

The daily rate is calculated by looking at the total claim amount (including charges, interest (not Section 60 interest) etc) and then multiplying it by 8% and dividing by 365. This will give you the daily rate of interest.

Neil.

[Janeyh]

Thanks Neil, you're a sweetie. Maths has never been my strong point

Janey

[Janeyh]

Blimey, that was harder than trying to squeeze into my jeans

Just managed to get it down to 1080 words (but I've had to miss some punctuation out - hope this is OK).

Would anyone cast an eye over this and let me know if I have made any mistakes or missed anything vital out

Thanks guys

I have a contract with the defendant since 1998 that is conducted on their standard terms and conditions. I am claiming return of money taken by the defendant in charges over the last 6 years plus interest levied on those charges The charges are a disproportionate penalty and thus unenforceable as they are contrary to common law. Also as a disproportionate penalty they are invalid under the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977 s.4 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Para.8,sch.2(1)(e). In the event that the charges are not a penalty then they are unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15. I have asked the bank to justify their charges but they declined. I claim a sum equivalent to the total amount unlawfully debited since 28.1.00: £1005.00 plus £68.50 interest charges I also claim £271.92 interest under s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at 8% a year from 28.1.00 to 14.6.06 and interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a rate of 23.6p/day. I also claim court fees of £120

[Janeyh]

Ooops, spoke too soon. Tried to put that text into the Moneyclaim box and it re-formatted it making it 1137 characters

Do I have to put in the text that I am claiming £120 court fees as this is automatically added to my claim amounts ?

[Karnevil]

The court fee is automatically added to your claim ( I think you type it in the amounts bit) so you dont need to get that in the box.

You can do an N1 form and post it to the court - you can get more info on the form and include your schedule of charges and interest with it.

My first claim I put the following but I didnt include 8% interest as it was minimal, so the second claim I have done on a N1 form so I could include interest.

I have a contract with the defendant bank dated **/**/** and which is conducted on their standard terms and conditions. I am claiming the return of money taken by the defendant in the way of charges over the last * years. The bank's charges are a disproportionate penalty and therefore unenforceable as they are contrary to common law. Further, as a disproportionate penalty they are invalid under the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977 s.4 and under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Para.8 and sch.2(1)(e). In the event that the charges are not a penalty then they are unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15. I have repeatedly asked the bank to justify their charges but
they have declined to do so.

[Janeyh]

Thanks for that Karnevil,

If I miss out the bit about court fees, it is exactly 1080 characters. The most annoying is that you format it to the required number and when you click save, it automatically reformats and increases the number

I notice in your text that you didn't put in any figures about the amounts you were claiming. Don't you have to do this ?

[Janeyh]

Grrrrr, this is driving me potty !! Now it's saying I have too many lines This is the text I am trying to use. Is there anything I can omit that will make it fit. I currently have 1078 characters and 25 lines (only allowed 24).

[Janeyh]

Bump

[Karnevil]

try going to the end of each line and hitting delete to bring it up a line ?

might work....

I left my amounts for the totals boxes

[Karnevil]

Can you try posting your text on here again and I'll have a look through. (I;m no expert though!)

[Janeyh]

Hi Karnevil,

This is my text which I have reduced as much as I think I can. The number of characters is OK (103 but I have 25 lines and can only use 24. Do I have to be so explicit in showing the claim figures, i.e. £1005.00 plus £68.50 interest - can I just add those two figures together, and also the £271.92, do I have to put the figure in or can I just say I am claiming 8% interest. If I have to list the figures, do you think there is anything else in the text that is not absolutely necesary?

Thanks ever so much for your help.

I have a contract with the defendant since 1998 conducted on their standard terms and conditions. I claim return of money taken by the defendant in charges over the last 6 years plus interest levied on those charges The charges are a disproportionate penalty and thus unenforceable as they are contrary to common law. Also as a disisproportionate penalty they are invalid under the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977 s.4 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Para.8,sch.2(1)(e). In the event that the charges are not a penalty then they are unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15. I have asked the bank to justify their charges but they declined. I claim a sum equivalent to the total amount unlawfully debited since 28.1.00: £1005.00 plus £68.50 interest charges I also claim £271.92 interest under s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at 8% a year from 28.1.00 to 14.6.06 and interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a rate of 23.6p/day.

[Janeyh]

Well, the deed is done. I've lodged my case against Abbey with Moneyclaim. Now I guess I just sit back and wait for the solicitors letter from Sueit, Bodgit and Scarper that most other people have received

Bring it on !!

Janey

[Karnevil]

Excellent Janey - well done - you'll probably get a letter asking for your breakdown of charges, then your 50% and defence (thats where I am now).....then hopefully 100% offer b4 you pay out on the allocation questionnaire (but I'm putting the £100 aside just in case!).....

Going date wise you're looking at 5 days to service - then 28 days to the defence (assuming they acknowledge your claim)

Fingers crossed for you x

[Karnevil]

ignore this one !

[Janeyh]

Just been on the MCOL site to look at my claim and under the Judgement column it says "Start". When I click on this I get this:

Do you wish to enter Judgment by Default or by Admission? Please select one of the options below:
The defendant has not filed an admission or defence to my claim
(Judgment by Default)

You will need to decide, how and when you want the defendant to pay. You can ask for the Judgment to be paid by instalment or in one payment

The defendant admits that all the money is owed
(Judgment by Admission)

If the defendant has given a new address on the form of admission to which correspondence should be sent, update the defendant's details within the following Judgment request

What is this and do I have to choose one of the options? - if yes, which one?

Sorry if it's an obvious question but I'm really nervous about the claim and I don't want to do the wrong thing.