Thread: Decker v Barclays - WON

My penalty charges were around £1500 going back six years, but I claimed back to 1997 and for other related charges such as loan arrangement fees. Got the usual offers - £750 when claim was issued, then £2500 a week or so before it was listed for hearing at Mercantile Court, then up to £3500 when there were a couple of days to go.

I have no legal training, but have some legal knowledge and over the years have successfully sued people and organisations without paying solicitors, both as an individual and on behalf of my employer. I also found this site and others very valuable and supportive. Some points which might be of some use for others:

1. Don't restrict yourself to going back just six years - in my case the bank didn't supply copy statements for the three years between when I opened the account in 1997 and 2000, therefore I estimated these at £1500. They argued that it was my responsibility to prove this figure by producing my own copies of statements from that time. I argued that it was not reasonable to expect a customer to anticipate unlawful actions by the bank, therefore it was for the bank to produce evidence to counter my estimation. They eventually paid my estimate, plus interest, in full.

2. I claimed for *everything* that came out of my account and went to the bank - including such items as arrangement fees for overdrafts and loans, arguing that these were required to service a situation caused in part by the bank's unlawful removal of monies from my accounts. I also claimed for monthly account charges for my Premier account, arguing that the bank was in breach of contract by its unlawful actions, therefore any withdrawal of funds from my account for any purpose were made while in breach, therefore *everything* should be refunded.

3. I did everything via email, despite numerous attempts by them to call me. Luckily I also had emails going back more than two years requesting my bank charges be reviewed, which together with the recent emails with the legal department provided a useful chain of evidence.

4. Consider using PDF format when you email - I sent all emails as PDF attachments, which have slightly more evidential weight (and gravitas) than a simple email. I also changed all my Excel spreadsheets into PDF's before sending, again because a) it looks more professional b) all meta data is stripped out and c) the process 'fixes' the data at that date (Excel docs usually show different figures if opened on a later date because they recalculate data upon opening)

5. If you're contacted prior to the court date and settlement is offered, make sure you include all recent charges and interest in the settlement. My original claim was for sub-£5k - I settled for £6100, which represented my claim plus new charges and interest to date, together with extra costs in preparing for the case; my original Claim was for under £5k.

6. Don't let them credit the settlement amount to your own account if you think they'll snatch it and withdraw your overdraft facilities: The bank's solution for getting the money to me prior to the Court date was to put it in my Barclays account. I refused, on the grounds that it was *my* money therefore it was my choice where it was to be deposited. They sent a bank cheque special delivery.

7. Don't roll over too early when settlement is agreed - I requested a 14 day stay from the Court to allow time for the cheque to arrive and clear, rather than apply to close the case immediately settlement was agreed.

8. I missed a trick and only claimed statutory interest at 8%. What I *should* have done was claim for contractual interest at the bank's unauthorised overdraft rate of 22.5% going back to '97. However I didn't realise this was a possibility and had already issued the Claim before reading this and other forums properly. I therefore stated as part of the settlement agreement that I reserved the right to reclaim contractual interest at some later date.

(I believe my right to claim contractual interest at a future date is not prejudiced by this being a 'Full and final' settlement, as the Claim did not claim for contractual interest. Any views on this?)

9. Don't be put off by the Court process itself; as long as you're prepared you'll find it straightforward - the fast track in particular is geared towards favouring and facilitating ordinary members of the public to prosecute their case, and my previous experience is that Judges will bend over backwards to put you at ease and help you present your case. Just make sure you do your homework, and bring all your paperwork so that you can back up anything you say.


That's all the tips I can think of. I think probably the most important one is to ensure that they know that you're happy to go all the way. In my case I was actually very disappointed not to get to Mercantile Court last week in order to have a Judge review the issues, but once they offered full settlement I had no other option but to take the offer and inform the Court. So make sure they're aware that you're not scared of going all the way.


Regards, and good luck.

Similar Threads:

• Barclays vs Harry - Barclays counter claim

very interesting post i've been debating for a while now, if to go get the co-op. cause i have every statement going back to my A/C opening in 1982.
done the last 6 yrs & got 8% int without really asking as such.

you give me hope

dx100uk

Originally Posted by dx100uk

very interesting post i've been debating for a while now, if to go get the co-op. cause i have every statement going back to my A/C opening in 1982.
done the last 6 yrs & got 8% int without really asking as such.

My own view was that the six year time bar starts when the customer first became aware that the charges were unlawful, not when the charges were applied. In addition you can argue that the consequential losses fall within the last six years - e.g. you will today be paying interest or will have lost the opportunity to make interest on savings on sums deducted more than six years ago.

I therefore think it is worth pursuing, and that the customer can submit a claim based on an estimate because it is not reasonable to expect the customer to anticipate unlawful actions by the bank. You are in an even better position, as you have preserved the evidence you need to prove such a claim.

The fact that the bank will settle such claims indicates that they may expect to be found liable.

Regards, Michael

Originally Posted by roboraver

Hi Michael, you mentioned on point 5. that you were able to claim the addional charges ? did you re-submit a new schedule to the courts and bank ? or did you verbally / via e-mail mentioned this condition to them and they accepted ?

Hi Rob - I didn't provide a new schedule, nor did I go via the Court. I simply offered a settlement of £6000 plus court costs to take account of extra charges and interest applied since I issued the Claim. As I recall, these comprised around £400 with the remainder (£700-ish) being made up of my own out of pocket expenditure and time taken in preparing for the hearing.

I think, like many of us, that if the bank had simply refunded the penalty charges (circa £1500) when I first asked them to, then I wouldn't have claimed interest or the return of the charges before 2000. But as soon as it was clear they wanted to make a fight of it my gander went up(!) and I resolved to go all the way. I think it was advantageous that I had some previous experience of suing people, which is why I would encourage others to go all the way - it's not as scary as one might think.

Regards, Michael