thanks, i hope so too - will keep you posted..fingers crossed! sorry for the rant, was a bit miffed with it all

Hi, Haven't been on for a while as have moved house and only just got internet up and running nat the new place. It's all gone t*ts up dueing the process of moving - had a court date delivered to the old address and didnt manage to retrieve it until last friday by which time the date had passed for evidence to be submitted!! I had written to both the courts and dg sols to warn them of my house move and the fact that there would be a delay in mail getting to me and have now written to the courts again to explain the situation and request an extension. Not getting my hopes up though what a mess, looks like all my hard work will result in sfa all because I didnt manage to get a mail redirection sorted in time. highly p*ssed with it all really, should have accepted their first poxy offer hey ho, im getting a kitten in a few weeks so that cheers me up a bit.

well I sent the nudge letter yesterday anyway, I'm a bit confused about the draft order of diretions though?? also my notice of transfer of proceedings told me that the AQ is being dispensed with and there was a mediation leaflet enclosed but didnt really say much else - will I hear again from the local court with directions of how to proceed? shoudl I get the draft order of directions in before this or wait until after? Also (just to add to my stress levels!) I'm moving house next weekend (and getting a kitten!) so I'll write to DG solicitors and the local court with my new address - is there anyone else I should notify?

thanks - and how about the draft order of directions - do this immediately or await a response from the nudge?

Also in addition to the query above could someone also tell me should I send the Draft order for Directions now or wait and see what DG's response to the nudge letter is first? Sorry for all the questions, I really appreciate the help x

im sorry to sound thick (im really not, honest!) but Im a bit confused by your reply... Is it best to request everything you are entitled to in the nudges? (in my case this would be bank charges + court fees + s69 interest) To be honest I'm not too fussed about chasing after the s69 interest (although obviously the extra cash would be nice) I would be happy to settle for the bank charges and what is has cost me to file my claim. Thanks!

hi again, just started writing my letter as mentioned above and got a couple of queries.. - Do I have to include the full amount including s69 interest or should I just go for the charges and court costs (I'm not claiming OD interest)? - Should the schedule of charges be an up to date version with s69 interest to date, or a copy of the schedule as it stood when the claim was originally issued via MCOL? This is my first draft of the letter I was thinking of sending - would appreciate some feedback... Dear Sirs, As of 9th May I have been notified that the Allocation Questionnaire is being dispensed with in this case and that it has been transferred to ******** County Court. I am mindful of the vast number of claims with which you are currently dealing. I am aware that many courts take the view that Banks are using the court system to delay the process of settlement. I’m sure that you are aware that recently a high court judge has expressed his view that Banks are wasting the time of claimants and the courts. This judge also warned that if this manipulation of the system continues, it is possible that damages may be awarded for undue stress and inconvenience caused. With the above in mind, I propose the following In order to more speedily resolve this matter. I am willing to accept the sum of £667. This is a fair offer, which it is to your benefit to seriously consider, as it only takes account of the unlawful charges that you have taken from me along with Court fees I have incurred to date and by settling in this manner you will avoid paying me the interest pursuant to s69. I do not agree to waive my rights in respect of any other actions, nor do I agree to a clause of confidentiality. I hope to hear from you very soon so that a reasonable conclusion to this claim might be achieved. For the reasons stated above, I am sure that the courts would approve of our settling this matter in a timely manner and without their further intervention. For your records, I enclose another copy of my schedule of charges. I look forward to hearing from you.

Hi, I've now received the notice of transfer of proceedings along with a copy of HSBC's defense and a leaflet about mediation. As expected, the allocation questionnaire has been dispensed with. I'm in the process of putting a letter together to send to DG solicitors to give them the opportunity to settle out of court, but other than that is there anything else that I should be doing at this stage? Thanks for the help - I may have dropped out by now if it wasn't for this website!

Hi again, so HSBC have entered a defense and my claim is being moved to a local court. I'm getting a bit scared now - how can they enter a defense if the charges are unlawful? what will they have put in it??? I take it that now I just wait for the allocation questionnaire to arrive... any ideas what extra fees will I need to pay at this point? eeek!!

hee hee I suppose they must have lots of money - they've taken enough from us! seems silly to me, but if they want to fight a loosing battle then so be it!

Hi just a quick update really - wrote to HSBC and they wrote back today with word to the effect of 'no way are we giving you any more than our last offer' they also said that as far as they are concerned this is the end of the matter and if I want to take matters further then I should contact the financial ombudsman - but surely my claim (which has been acknowledged) is taking matters further?! So I guess now I just wait for the deadline for them to enter a defense - my claim was deemed to be served on 7th April so they have until Sat 5th May to do so. How will I know if they have submitted their defense in time? Thanks

very true! i will stop feeling greedy

cheers i hope it all works out okay now - I feel a bit greedy asking for more but I've pu too much effort in to let then get away with that offer!

Hi, this is the first draft of the letter I'm planning to send to HSBC (need to fill in the dates etc) - i'm not sure on the wording though so would appreciate any comments... thanks! Thank you for your letter dated ?? April 2007. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your offer of £482.00 as part repayment of charges. However, I do not feel that I am able to accept this offer, as it does not take into consideration the court fees which I have incurred during this process. You state in your letter that you do not intend to repay costs which relate to overdraft interest. Please may I point out that my claim and schedule of charges does not include overdraft interest. Therefore this statement does not apply in my case. I have however included interest pursuant to S69 of the County Courts Act 1984. If you feel that you may be able to re-consider your offer to include £80 court fees which I have incurred to date, then I am willing to reconsider a new offer. However, if this is not possible then I have no choice but to continue my claim through the courts process.

Hi, have received my acknowledgement with intention to defend in full today, along with an offer from HSBC to refund £482.00 as full and final settlement of the matter. My first reaction was to feel inclined not to accept this offer as the original charges were £587 and I have now also paid £80 in court fees which they have not considered - with the S69 interest as of 2nd April my total claim was £779.59 In their letter (in addition to the usual bull about being able to successfully resist any legal challenge due to the fees being set out in thie terms and conditions) they state that they are not prepared to refund certain charges: - £20 temporary overdraft limit fee - fair enough as I think this was an error on my part, dont think i should have included this in my list of charges. - overdraft interest!! - I didn't even claim for overdraft interest! only the S69 interest! that just goes to show how much attention they have paid to my claim! What does everyone suggest? - if this is deemed as a reasonable offer then I'm happy to accept, as I wouldn't want to take it further and then lose the case altogether Is it worth writing back to them and requesting £80 court fees on top of their offer (I would be a lot happier with this) or are they likely to tell me to get on my bike and then my claim be affected? Any suggestions muchly appreciated!

that's great - thanks again

Thanks guys - I certainly hope I can post as **WON** soon! One other question though - on MCOL my claim status is 'acknowledged' so should I be expecting something through the post soon with dg solicitors address on so I can send the list of charges and letter - also do I send list of charges as it was issued with the claim or with the interest to date? thanks muchly

Hi, my claim has now been acknowledged - do I need to PM one of the moderators with my claim number? thanks and happy easter!

done and issued

Well it's done - have completed and submitted MCOL today - thanks to Lateralus for the help, so now just wait and see what happens next..... Do I send the letter with the schedule of charges straight away?

ahh well ive definately been described as lazy in my time so that'll be the way to go for me! cheers for the help....

Right, have had a quick scan through and cant decide now whether to go through MCOL (there seem to be some restrictions to this ie number of characters allowed). Is there any cost difference or other benefits I should be aware of which might help with my decision between issuing a claim via MCOL or form N1? Thanks muchly x

OK well it's been 14 days now - plus a couple more as I've been really busy but am now at the stage where I have to issue a court claim.. IT'S ALL GETTING A BIT SCARY NOW!! Am going to do this online so will go and have a look now at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk Any guidance on this bit much appreciated although I will have a look through the FAQs too. Was kinda hoping I wouldn;t have to go this far as only claiming a small amoutn but hey-ho isnt that just the way of life! AM NOT GIVING UP!

ha ha, well I dont really want to be waiting that long... I'll get it done thanks!

Hi I've had a letter from colin Langdale at HSBC today along the lines of 'thank you for your letter.. I am looking into the matter and will contact you with a full response as soon as I have completed my investigations.. here's a copy of our leaflet etc etc...' Should I send the LBA now or give them time? any advice much appreciated