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Good luck with this. Joyce Bell at the woolwich dealt with my claim and sent me two letters outlining policy, legalities, blah, blah. Then they refunded all my charges before court as a "gesture of goodwill"
No - they caved prior to me submitting county court papers. It just took two letters on either side first.
The first was the standard letter, which they replied to with their policy statement etc.
In the second one from me I pointed out that they subscribe to the Banking Code which states that they have a responsibility to aid customers in financial difficulty. Charging me £300 odd quid plus interest and additional monthly charges did not aid me in financial difficulty.
Mind you, it could have been a bit of a different case because I left the account when they forced it into an unauthorised overdraft and sent it to a collection agency. I told them to take me to court or refund the charges as I knew the law was on my side.
But I think Joyce Bell knows where they stand with the law and if you're persistant enough they will call a halt to it.
Write them a very short letter and tell them that their 4 week deadline is not acceptable and that the clock is still ticking.
Set the pace and keep control
Please don't pm me about specific questions unless you have posted and it has not been dealt with or unless the matter is confidential. Please include a link to the post you want me to look at. If you have received a defence, contact me.
Advice & opinions of BankFodder, The Consumer Action Group and The Bank Action Group are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified insured professional if you have any doubts.
Today I received a letter from Barclays
The Woolwich had previously stated that the matter would be referred to Barclays, as they are now owned by Barclays.
The letter basically says that they disagree with my legal analysis and that the T&C were clearly stated at the outset of opening the account, in line with the Banking Code.
They offer half of the disputed amount as an "offer of goodwill", and I should accept the offer by enclosing the attached form with my signature.
This seems to have become standard practice from other posts, so I will continue with the court action.
They're deadline for return of the funds is tomorow, but I will commence proceedings if I dont get the full refund in another 7 days. (see post below)
Barclays Bank
Head Office Customer Relations
London
E14 5HP
Letter 6th March 2006, re. Unfair Bank Charges
Your Ref: ........
Dear sir / madam.
Thank you for your response offering to reimburse me the sum of 435.00GBP, however I feel that this is not a fair and reasonable offer considering your inability to prove the actual loss suffered by Barclays as a result of unpaid direct debits and standing orders.
If you can provide documentary evidence of the actual loss then I will be able to assess your offer properly. Should the matter be brought before a court, you would have to produce this information anyway.
In the meantime, I do not accept your offer of 435.00GBP and unless you make a full refund of the original demand of 870.00GBP within 7 days of the date of this letter, then I will have no option other than to commence court action against Barclays for the full amount plus interest.
Nice Ltter. However, do understand that on the Small Calims track there is no disclosure required other than the documents which you will actually be referring to in your case.
You bring the action. So you have to prove your case on the balance of probablities. (See some of the case guidance notes about this)
It does tend to mean that if you can't make out a case on your own behalf then the banks will not have to answer and so there is nothing to force them to start revealing their figures and processes to the court.
Off the Small calims Track you would automatically get "Standard disclosure" This would require each side to reveal any relavant documents whether or not they harmed their case.
You could apply for standard disclosure when you complete your allocation questionnaire. If you did and you were granted it then I expect that it would cause ructions and in that case the bank would either cave in or appeal the disclosure order.
Please don't pm me about specific questions unless you have posted and it has not been dealt with or unless the matter is confidential. Please include a link to the post you want me to look at. If you have received a defence, contact me.
Advice & opinions of BankFodder, The Consumer Action Group and The Bank Action Group are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified insured professional if you have any doubts.
Barclays have until this friday (28 days) to reply to their acknowledgement of service and file a defence.
I have heard nothing from them yet, so maybe it will be a judgement bt default or maybe they will file a defense and we will go to court.
There has been no settlement tabled by the bank, not since their 50% offer following original letter which I refused.
I am a bit worried there are no barclays bank items posted in the litigation concluded section yet, so theres no indication of what their strategy may be.
Yesterday the 28 days for filing of a defense expired, and I duly requested a judgement on the moneyclaim website, which was accepted, however before it could be issued, the defendant posted a defense, stating that they disputed the amount owed.
It will now go to court.
Has anyone else got this far with Barclays/Woolwich yet?
Woolwich Claim
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