Cooperative goodwill gesture - Please help!

[reclaimone]

Hi,

I am in process of claiming back £1000 from Co-Op.

Had not heard from them for ages as they said they had 8 weeks under FSA regulations to respond to my claim.

I decided to file a claim on Moneyclaim.

Received a letter this morning saying they will credit £450 into my account as a goodwill gesture.

What shall I do?

Accept 450 without prejudice, and continue with the court claim?

Really confused. Somebody please help me in my dilemma!

Thanks
Brian

[sallysas]

I am presuming the co-op have responded because you have now filed and not because you gave them the 8 weeks they said they were allowed. IMHO they have left it too late to make you an offer now. It is up to the courts to make a decision. Have you thought of accepting as part-payment only but advising the bank you will only cease court action on receipt of the whole claim. Check the templates library for relevant letter. If they do pay this money into your account you will need to let the court know this has happened but I bet you don't get a penny 'in goodwill'. They are just trying to frighten you. It would also be an idea to read some of the longer threads so you have a better idea of how others have fared.

[reclaimone]

Thanks Sal Big Kiss xxxx

[happynerd]

They offered me a "goodwill gesture", and in fact they have credited it to my account already. The problem is they did that they day I entered my claim with moneyclaim, and it's for almost the full amount (£120 of £146)

Is there a letter I should write to the the bank?

I presume I need to let the court know, but how?

Anyone else had the same experience?

[happynerd]

OK, found the answer to my 1st Q here

But does anyone know the answer to my 2nd question (how do I inform the court)?

[reclaimone]

It will go to court unless Co-Op pay the other £26. Then you inform court.
If they dont pay they will have to pay £26, Court Costs, plus i presume you will also claim for wasted courts order.

[sallysas]

I would amend the 'part-payment' letter in templates library telling them you will only cease court action on receipt of your total costs. I'm not sure if it is possible to go for wasted court order as it seems to read to me that this can be claimed after they have put up a defence, reading bankfodder and Gary H, but I could be wrong. It is 50/50 whether it will be granted by the courts as it was unusual at small claims but if you don't ask the answer is always no.

[happynerd]

Thanks for the feedback. I used letter 5 ("Offer AFTER court action starts - FROM BANK").

I think there's a little misunderstanding about what I meant by "how do I inform the court"?

I dind't mean should I proceed with lodging a claim with small claims coz I've already begun that proceedure. What I meant was should I inform the court that I have received some money from the Co-op and what my response has been? If the answer is "yes", then how do I phsically do that, because I can't see anything on the MoneyClaim website that tells you how to do that.

[sallysas]

I am guessing 'cos I use N1 but by now you should have sent your schedule of charges to Northampton. To me it makes sense to write to this address letting them know you have had an offer. Hope this helps Huston

[PaulW922]

Happynerd

You cannot do much more via the online service. If you are settling for £120-00 then just write to the court quoting the claim number (and the bank too) and tell them that the matter has been settled by the Co-Op out of court. If you are proceeding, then you firstly need to tell the bank that you are doing so. Then if they do not respond you go to default judgment on the moneyclaim web site. At this point you can file for judgment for a partial amount. I reckon that if you pressure the bank a bit they'll just refund the full difference. It isn't worth them arguing over £26.

[happynerd]

Good news!

Sent them the "Thanks, but that's too little & too late" letter. Good news is that just checked my account and they've credited the extra £46 now

Will wait til I get some written confirmation from them ... but as far as I'm concerned, it looks like that's all settled. Hurrah.

And the double bonus is that Smile have done exactly the same. So double hurrah!!

If only 1st Direct were so straight forward. They've entered a defence, so got to wait for a court date and then go through all the hassle of getting the court bundle together. Boo Hiss.

Thanks for your replies everyone.

[sallysas]

Good, I'm pleased for you. Don't forget to fill in survey and make donation. Hope it ends happily for outstanding claim.

Congratulations

[happynerd]

Thanks Sallysas. Have done both. Thanks to help & advice from CAG & MSE ... wouldn't have had the faintest idea what to do without the websites & forums.

Just FD to go