TC & EF V's Woolwich

[telclarke]

Hello all,

I sent off my request for repayment (1st letter) and they have replied saying that in view of the complex nature (just over 10K) they have escalated to their head office (Barclays) and they in turn will contact me, a day later I received another letter saying that they (Head Office) will fully investigate the issues that I have raised and contact me by 31st October and they also enclosed a copy of thier complaints procedure that states that they aim to resolve queries within 28 days.

Do I have to give them this time or can I just write to them once their 14 days are up that I stated within my letter and send them the request for repayment (2nd letter) and tell them that this is their last chance before court proceedings?

[ian cognito]

No you don't have to give them time, it's your timetable, stick to it.

Good luck!!

[paddym]

prelim letter then 14 days to reply then LBA then 14 days to reply then MCOL thatll sort them out !

[annette38]

hi, ive just got the same letter from the woolwich, giving me a dead line of thier own. but i am going to stick to my 14 day one. just dont know which is the follow up letter to send them? annette

[paddym]

LBA - is your follow up letter !

[telclarke]

Not posted for a while but that doesn't mean that I never followed up, I sent the 2nd letter and again they never responded other than saying someone will get back to you next decade. I have today filled in my court claim and at least now the woolwich will know that I am serious. I will post again when then finally rebate me my charges, and because they took so long the 2K in interest charges as well.

[ian cognito]

well done, won't be long now.......

[telclarke]

Not what I had hoped for, Submitted my claim at MCOL and they acknowledged and then on the 2nd last day then submitted a defence. I have been advised that the court is now going to be changed and I will receive my letter advising me soon. i really didn't want it to go to court. Does anyone know if a case has been to court and the claimant has ended up losing, the case has cost me £250 and in total I am claiming just under 13K with the interest.

[CrikeyMick]

Hiya

As your claiming such a large amount I'm not sure quite how it will work, but I've not heard of anyone losing at court because if you've followed the library letters, and MCOL completion advice the case is simply about whether the charges are unfair as defined by consumer law. This is clearly true and so proving it shouldn't be difficult.

Things are likely to be a little different for you than they were for me as your claiming such a large amount that it is unlikely to go though the fast track. However you are not alone and you can get support here, both in the forum and you should also consider a court buddy.

Hope that helps.

Mick

[telclarke]

I have just got my letter, they have given a court just round the corner from me, I have been give a questionnaire to fill out, anyone done one of these before, its a little complicated, I could do it but dont want to do it wrong, it has to be back by the 23rd and I have to pay another £100. Also if there are charges between my initial letters and the court date, can I add these on?

[essjaysea]

Re the Allocation Questionnaire, try this link to help you complete it

Allocation Questionnaires - A guide to completion

Re additional charges. You can add on any charges up to the point where you issued your court claim. After that point, legally you would have to amend your claim to include the additional charges, at a cost of £35. However, in practice, Barclays will almost certainly offer to settle prior to the hearing date, so you might just as well add them in to settlement figure when they call.

[telclarke]

I have today called the court and they have advised me that the N150 needed to be back on the 23rd, mine was but Barclays havent returned thiers, i looked on the HMCS website and i was reading in to fast track claims and it says that the judge cn still write to them asking for it and maybe issuing them with a fine or he can throw it out. to be honest i am getting really worried, i should have gone for small claims but because of the value i put it in as fast track and what i have been reading looks to be out of my league, it also states that it can take a further 30 weeks from this point. does anyone have any help with what i should do, should i try to contact barclays or just sit back and wait

[telclarke]

I have just received a notice of hearing, its an allocation hearing and its not until the 22nd May.

It reads that the cout will consider fast track or small claims track?, disclosure of defendant's actual costs incurred, particularly in light of pargraph 11 of defence.

Thier Paragraph 11 reads:

11. In the alternative, and without prejudice to paragraph 9 above, if (which s denied) the said charges and interest or any part thereof are unlawful or unenforceable as alleged by the claimant or at all, the defendant has nonetheless suffered loss and damage as a consequence of the claimant's breach of contract in allowing the account to go into unauthorised overdraf. Accordingly, in the event that the defendant is unableto rely on its express entitlement to enforce the charges as set out above, it will seek to recover to the extent necessary such loss and damage as it actually suffered, which will not necessarily be limited to the value of the said charges, and the defendant seeks to set off such sums against any liability owed hereunder to the claimant.

The way that I am reading this is that the court have (or will) ask woolwich to provide a definitive list of what it actualy costs them because woolwich have said that they do not want to pay me back the full costs and will try to get something, f they do this and they can only prove that it costs them £5 will this not be worse for them in the long run???

[Just Joe]

I'd say that the Woolwich would not be happy to disclose the actual financial cost of a single Admin Fee, because I doubt they'd be able to substantiate the £35 charge. If shown that it was greatly inflated, then there is proof of it's unlawful nature, and should the Judge then decide in your favour, a precedent would have been created which could prove very costly for Barclays T/A the Woolwich.

Good luck, and prepare yourself as much as possible.