Adam Call James on the number on the top right of the letters he has sent you. You may have to try and catch him at this desk, so it might take half a dozen attempts but, in my experience and others it appears, if you get to talk to him, you can do the deal with him on the phone, he's no mug and understand's Abbey's position but another one settled is another one off his desk. By the way, he will not answer voicemails left on that number, but he will answer the phone eventually. Be polite and he will do the same with you. Good luck and keep us informed.

Yes, the cheque was from Ashursts drawn on Nat West.

Well, I phoned James at Abbey and he said he hadn't received my emails - an obvious stalling tactic. So I sent it again, with a pdf of the charges I am reclaiming, whilst he was on the phone and he received it there and then. So the lesson is - if you send an email or fax or letter which is time critical, phone them to ensure they have received it (never assume). James asked me to get the court to suspend the date for AQ - I phoned the court and they wouldn't do that but they noted on my case file that I wouldn't be sending it in on time and why, then they said I will get a reminder seven days later from the court to send it in which gives Abbey the time to sort the settlement. So the lesson is - Abbey don't seem to understand court procedures very well. Anyway, Abbey's settlement letter arrived the next day and I returned the acceptance same day (14th). Cheque arrived today. So when it clears I will advise the court and also make a contribution here. Then I start to reclaim my charges from Jan 1998 to November 2000 which is double the amount I claimed for the past six years. That will be an altogether different journey. Can a mod please change my thread title to add "WON"

Do not worry. You do not have to provide your supporting documentation until you get to the stage of providing a 'bundle' for court which is some way away for you. Some may suggest sending a copy of your schedule of charges to both Abbey and the court at this time - if it settles your nerves then go ahead and do it. The court will keep the schedule with your claim papers but it won't change anything about how the case will proceed. You are not expected to send this in with the MCOL process. In fact, most people on here find they get a letter frm Abbey saying they haven't provided a schedule even when they have done on numerous occasion both to Abbey and the court.

Ok, decided to talk to Abbey before submitting my Allocation Questionnaire and we agreed a settlement figure. That was over a week ago now. James Arrandale stated he would send a letter confirming the settlement the same day and I would have settlement cheque within 7 working days. I agreed that once I received the settlement offer from them I would contact the court to extend the deadline for the AQ submission whilst waiting for the cheque to arrive. So here I am with my AQ deadline tomorrow (13th) and 8 days passed with no letter confirming the settlement from Abbey and no response to my 2 phone messages and 2 emails following this up. My instinct is that Abbey are going to welch on the deal or wait for ever to even acknowledge that we have settled. So the question to you guys is.... should I extend the AQ deadline in the absence of any acknowledgement from Abbey at all or should I go ahead and submit my AQ and assume the deal is dead?

When talking to Wescot today, no problems with them for me, they asked if I would like to speak to a company called Pankhursts that they recommend as potentially being able to help me. I mentioned that they had written to me yesterday recommending I speak to a company called Think Money Ltd and they weren't sure who they were. Has anyone heard or dealt with either of these? Are both of these debt management companies and should I speak to them on wescot's recommendation or just stick with the CCCS?

Ok, I am becoming more desperate and confused as teh time goes by. I phone Northern Rock (my original Creditor) who have said they sold my debt to 1st Credit. So now I have 3 companies who supposedly want paying for this debt and all I know is the CCCS have told me that the statutory demand that will be served next Tuesday will give me 21 days until I'm bankrupt and they can;t help or advise me. So who do I talk to about this? Any ideas, please ......

The third question is, should I contact this 'process server' on his mobile number which is the only contact at the top of the letter? The fourth question is, would they really petition for my bankruptcy when it would mean they get little of the money in percentage terms compared with the fact that I continue to make payments (when they go to the right compant) and will eventually be completely fit and be able to move from part-time work to full-time work? The fifth question is, who do I actually owe any money to and how do I know who is the 'current' debt collector?

I have, this morning, received a letter from an unknown person, on unheaded paper with just a mobile number (signed: Process Server) saying they wish to serve a Statutory Demand on me on 6th March. I have been through and telephoned all my creditors (whom I have been paying token payments to for 3 years) as I wrote to them all in January arranging to increase my monthly payments and they all replied and I have set up standing orders to them all except Connaught Collections. Everyone was fine, but Connaught said I have not paid them since April last year and so they were proceeding with bankruptcy. I said that they had not replied to my letter, but they said they have not received it. They said I was to send them a copy of my letter from January (offering increased monthly payments) and proof of payment as I said I had paid everyone every month. When I investigated, from May until December I was paying a company called Mackenzie Hall until I received a letter from Connaught in December saying they were looking after my account. So I rang Connaught back and explained I had been paying Mackenzie Hall which would explain why they didn;t receive payments and he went quiet and then said he hadn;t heard of Mackenzie Hall. So he wants a copy of the letter form Mackenzie Hall saying they had taken over the debt - well I am having trouble finding it, but wouldn't have started paying someone willy nilly. So, if you're not bored now, am I right to suppose that the 'process server' letter is to do with Connaught? Secondly, what do I do about this Mackenzie Hall business to prove I have been paying monthly against that debt?

You know there must be some way of making the court aware of the fact that they are using this as a stalling tactic only, with no intention of attending a court hearing or declaring the actual cost of the charge they refer to. IMHO, the request to the court to strike out the Abbey defence as it is ot a genuine defence just an abvuse of the court system in order to stall repaying money they have illegally taken. Has there been any success along this route? With any bank?

26th day.

Have today received Abbey's defence and an offer of half of everything claimed. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/abbey-bank/53962-cunnington-abbey-startred-14-a.html

Have received Abbey's defence this morning, which is identical (except personal details) with Tinkerbell's and many others. They offered me 50% of my total claim (charges+interest+court fees). I am going to compile a letter to James Arrandale rejecting the offer and giving them a further chance to settle before any additional court fees and personal expenses are incurred. In my cynical way, I have calculated that it will cost them significantly more (in solicitor's time, additional court fees, my costs, interest etc.), if they do not settle now, than they will make by investing the whole amount of my claim for the further time before they come to court. So any decision to further delay settlement is not based on sound financial principles. Therefore, their decision not to refund my money is personal. I would have thought that a respected financial institution was above such pettiness and that their shareholders would be unhappy that Abbey are prepared to waste money on a personal vendetta against someone who is simply standing up for his rights. That's not good stewardship .......... Still, all that is rambling - the letter will be written later today and I will then await the AQ.

Hi Although mine is a bank account, it will be interesting to compare the way they deal with our cases which are virtually running sided by side through MCOL. At least we ought to be able to gauge their frame of mind/current tactics between us. Phil (kilmeedyman)

I am cloes to you 121o121, timing-wise, as I am going through MCOl and they have until 28th February to enter their defence. Being so close, in time, we should compare notes as we will be subject to the 'strategy of the moment' from Abbey. My thread is Cunnington vs Abbey

Write to the bank to let them know that it is your money and you require them to send the money by cheque to you otherwise you will not consider it as a part repayment at all. Remind them at every step that they are to repay the unlawful charges by cheque payable to you and that is the only acceptable medium.

If your income and expenditure statement show you really can't afford to pay them (after allowing for reasonable living expenses - ie, rent, heat, light, food etc.) I would be offering them £1 per month, not per week and do it by standing order that is the cheapest way for you and it means you don't forget to pay them. If anything ever happens later, your regular payments will count in your favour when asking a judge to grant affordable payments.

On Friday, I received a letter from Abbey stating that they are preparing their defence and require detials of the charges and interest I am reclaiming. I have replied: -----quote----- Further to your letter of 31 January 2007, which I have received this morning, I am disappointed to note that you have not received the schedule of charges I am reclaiming. Especially since a copy of the schedule was attached to all of my previous three letters. To assist you, I herewith attach another copy of the schedule of charges which was compiled from the original bank statements, all of which we still have here. The interest claimed is as per the court ‘s own instructions and is listed individually against each reclaimed charge and continues to accrue daily. I am aware of the evidence I am required to produce for court. I am grateful for the guidance in your letter although during discussions with the court whilst compiling my moneyclaim, they clearly told me that I did not need to send any evidence to them until it became necessary to prepare a bundle for court which you will, of course, receive a copy of at the appropriate time. This letter has my telephone number, as you have requested, at the letterhead, as have my previous letters. My email address is xxxxxxxxx@xxx All the hassle and cost of court, preparing evidence etc. can be avoided if you were to send me a banker’s cheque for £2150.06 which comprises £1503.50 refund of excessive unfair charges, £526.56 interest –to-date and £120 refund of court fee. I will accept this figure including the quoted interest figure by banker’s cheque to my address no later than 20th February, after this I will expect to reclaim additional interest as it accrues. You have my contact details, I look forward to hearing from you, at least to advise me that you have received this schedule of charges. -----endquote-----

I decided that I would ring Northampton Court to ask about this and the guy on the helpline was unequiivocal in his reply. He said that if Abbey had sent me a letter saying they had fully investigated my complaint, they are acknowledging that they understand which charges I am talking about. Also, if I have sent my schedule of charges to Abbey (which I have every time I have written to them) there is no requirement whatsoever to send any documentation to the court in support of my Moneyclaim until a hearing is set and there is a call for evidence to be submitted. Hope this helps others who are thinking about this.

I am still reading a mixture of views as to whether or not to send a schedule of charges to court to support my Moneyclaim, or should I wait to be asked?

Moneyclaim filed. £1503.50 + £521.93 interest + court fee £120. Interestingly, the form now provides a standard wording for interest claims. I used their template for this section rather than the one from here on the basis it made sense to follow their requirements word for word. Nutty's experience has made me unsure as to what I should do next. My instinct says sit and wait for court paperwork, but should I send supporting documentation to the court? It has not asked for any in the claim form process.

Been a little delayed due to a spell in hospital, but all fine now. Letter received from Abbey stating full investigation carried out and their charges do not contravene Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. So they are unable to refund any charges. Off to read up and then post my Moneyclaim this afternoon. Here we go.......

Is it not possible to hand the letter in at a local branch and get a note of receipt? They can then forward it in their internal mail bag.

You need to check with a debt councillor and it depends on you having other defaulted debts. The money is YOUR money - not theirs and you have a duty to ensure that you treat all creditors equally and so two things arise. 1) They must send YOU the money 2) You must make sure you make proportionally fair payments to each of your creditors They know this and are taking the mickey.

Ok, thanks. 14 day letter before action sent today. Will keep you informed.