Claimed too late!

[JimAylen]

Hi folks,
How I wish I'd found this website earlier.
Although I'm going bankrupt I only have a £600 claim against The Woolwich for unpaid D/D charges which I sent off a couple of weeks ago.

I went slightly over the top; delivered letter to my Branch Manager, posted to Woolwich Head Office and emailed Woolich through their site. As a result initially got multiple 1st responses! Very confusing...

Anyway, now had "goodwill" offer of £275 from Barclays which I was going to refuse or accept and file in the courts for the full amount.

However, having looked through all the possible messages here I have come to the conclusion that I have to accept this low goodwill offer because:

1) If you try to accept the "goodwill" but make it clear that you will carry on with court proceedings then Barclays withdraw the goodwill offer.

2) Barclays appear to use almost the maximum time allowed by the court before offering the full amount; by which time I'll be bankrupt, the account frozen by the official receiver, and any money received given to the credit card companies I owe.

So all in all I just wanted to say thanks for all the posts of wisdom, I wish everyone the best settlements in the future and thank you for the site.

[jonni2bad]

Re point (1) - Yes, in all likelyhood, they would withdraw their offer...

Overall, it is always down to personal choice whether or not to accept an offer below the amount you know you are entitled to - your circumstances might suggest opting to take the sum offered....

But, if their offer is not "full and final" then there is nothing stopping you from accepting it, and then, once banked, persuing the remainder at a later stage (although I'm sure you would need to discuss that later action with the administrator etc)

Only you can decide what's best.

Good luck

	Bank Charges You should have started your claim for your bank charges by now. Don't wait. You should send your bank a Subject Acess Request asking for all personal data they hold on you - not just statements. You should calculate all of your bank charges and related interest as far back as 1995. You should send your bank a demand for a refund giving them 7 days. You should commence your legal action adding 8% statutory interest. If you wait for the outcome of the test case, you may not be able to claim like this. you may not be able to claim interest. You may only be offered the difference between the charge and the OFT "fair charge". The repayment scheme will try to limit you to refinds from 2001 only. A repayment scheme will not deal with any bank charges related defaults on the credit register whereas in a court action you can ask for these to be removed and to be compensated for the damage caused to you and your family by them. You should also write to the bank and to the CRA and put all charges related credit entries in disupte and warn them that you will want them removed from the Register when the test case is over. Warn them also that you are likely to be seeking compensation for these wrongful data entries. Full and final settlement Have you previously accepted a partial repayment of your bank charges in full settlement? You will still be able to claim the rest of your money back after the Test case is decided. Get all your information back to 1995 and put in your claim now.

[JimAylen]

Offer was "full and final" so have accepted it and consider it closed now.

I just spoke by phone to a MR KARL VOLLER who's a Customer Relations Manager at Barclays.

He told me that there is a test case going through the courts (higher than County Court) at the moment which all the banks are watching as it WILL set a precedent.

He admitted he didn't know what would happen but that was the reason Barclays (and in his opinion a few other banks) are stretching the time as much as possible, in case the court rules for the bank.....

Good luck everyone from someone who claimed £600 and had to accept £275.

	County Court guidebook by Judge Patricia Pearl Follow this link to read the review of this excellent Small Claims Guidebook. This comprehensive and very accessible guide will take you through the process of suing or defending a claim. This guide will help you take control of your litigation and make you more confident about doing it yourself. Applies to England and Wales

	Bank Charges You should have started your claim for your bank charges by now. Don't wait. You should send your bank a Subject Acess Request asking for all personal data they hold on you - not just statements. You should calculate all of your bank charges and related interest as far back as 1995. You should send your bank a demand for a refund giving them 7 days. You should commence your legal action adding 8% statutory interest. If you wait for the outcome of the test case, you may not be able to claim like this. you may not be able to claim interest. You may only be offered the difference between the charge and the OFT "fair charge". The repayment scheme will try to limit you to refinds from 2001 only. A repayment scheme will not deal with any bank charges related defaults on the credit register whereas in a court action you can ask for these to be removed and to be compensated for the damage caused to you and your family by them. You should also write to the bank and to the CRA and put all charges related credit entries in disupte and warn them that you will want them removed from the Register when the test case is over. Warn them also that you are likely to be seeking compensation for these wrongful data entries. Full and final settlement Have you previously accepted a partial repayment of your bank charges in full settlement? You will still be able to claim the rest of your money back after the Test case is decided. Get all your information back to 1995 and put in your claim now.

[Spiceskull]

He might have been referring to Stephen's case (see other threads) - unfortunately it was a non-result, insofar as the judge decided he was not really able to decide on the issue. But watching Stephen's threads, it is only an obstacle, and something else will be planned soon.