The judge asked him for the letter saying the were going to apply for a stay as the court didn't receive it. He fumbled around for a while and I thought my luck was in, but alas, he found it. He aslo asked for the Judge to grant a draft order (probably for a longer stay) but the judge said no way. Barrister said he understood the judge's refusal and that he was simply presenting it as per his instructions. That was about it really - he spent the whole time furiously scribbling notes.

The HSBC barrister wasn't too bad really (apart from the very bad tartan tie!) - it was more the Judge who appeared to have decided to stay the cases irrelevent of the individual circumstances or the defendant's utter inability to comply with the Judge's own order.

Skyeann - the Abbey Barrister was on the phone to her boss at 10am because there were 10 Abbey cases and she was only down to defend 8 so there were 2 cases missing! She was sitting opposite me in the waiting area and was trying to read the paperwork of the guy sitting next to her whilst he was making notes in his bundle and perparing himself. If she had done that to me there would have been words!

Stayed Until March 31st 08. Noddy, I think I spotted you but not sure - I was the first HSBC and was in there for quite a while arguing my case. It sounds exactly the same as yours - the judge had already made his mind up and there was nothing I could do to persuade him to either grant judgement by default (apparently it doesn't matter if the defendant doesn't comply with court orders) or to stop the stay. Complete waste of time.

That happened to me 3 times on Tuesday and then it was constantly engaged. I have given up now and they still haven't returned my call from Monday.

Mine is also 10am and I'll be arriving at about 9.30. See you there.

Called them this morning and judgement by default not logged although it was sent a week and a half ago and it may not be logged for 10 days! Pointed out that hearing was in 3 days and she said there wasn't really anything they could do and that it wouldn't affect the hearing if I didn't get judgement. I said that it would affect the hearing if I did get judgement before then - I'm getting sick of being on hold for 40 mins every time I phone them and then being no better off for info that I was beforehand.

I also called Bromley today and was told they had only just received my letter (posted 1st class on Monday) asking for judgement by default and that HSBC hadn't applied for a stay. My letter will be passed to the judge and I was told it would be about 2 weeks before I heard anything. I pointed out that the hearing is a week tomorrow so hopefully the judge will see it by then! However, the lady I spoke to said that the Judge can, indeed, grant judgement in my favour for non compliance on behalf of the bank.

Surprise surprise, DG failed to comply with court directions to have their court bundle to all parties by yesterday and this morning a letter arrived saying they were applying for a stay. I could have put money on that one.

Yep, District Judge Thomas

My contents include: Statement of Evidence Copies of Relevant Correspondence Updated Schedule of Charges Duplicate Account Statements Summaries of Relevant Case Law Early Day Motion from The House of Parliament Dunlop v New Garage Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 Sale of Goods Act 1982 Office of Fair Trading Summary Statement “N. Rich – Report Re. Australian Penalty Fees Office of Fair Trading - Unfair Standard Terms BBC Interview Transcript – Peter McNamara HSBC Bank plc Terms and Conditions Summary of changes in the T&Cs pre 2002 – 2007 Examples of Settled Claims against HSBC I don't think I have as much as Noddy but if anyone needs anything then give me a shout.

I'll be out now until this evening but if anyone needs anything for the court bundle, feel free to PM and I'll send a list of what I have included tonight.

Hunky, I would phone the court and ask for their advice. At this late stage it's just typical for DG to apply for a stay and not send their disclosure and they are just abusing the court process yet again. Let us know how you get on.

Hi Kerry, I'm not sure about the requirements for telephone hearings. Now you've sent your totals off and I would be of mind to plead ignorance if noticed, and say spreadsheet must have corrupted. Before the hearing try to get this back on track so that you know exactly what the 8% is to date. Alternatively, you may also be able to send revised copies of your schedule of charges if you manage to fix the bug. I got in a bit of a state with regards to the bundle and just did the best I could. I kept reminding myself that although obviously I wanted to do it right, I am not a solicitor and this is not my full time job. The small claims track should be mindful of this I hope. Enjoy your holiday

Hopeless - what time is your hearing listed on the 24th? I'm taking an application for the removal of a stay - I'll try and find the link and post it up later (unless someone beats me to it). With regards to covering against being able to appeal, I'm not sure. I would have thought that the judge should grant a stay rather than judgement against us. Sarah - Clever? That did make me laugh! I've had lots of help from Noddy and other sources to get my court bundle together. Sent it yesterday and then realised I had missed out a docoment (DG's defence no less!). Called the court and they have said if I post it with a covering letter then they'll add it to my file for me. Clever, no, but at least there are now 4 of us that I know of who all have their cases at Bromley so we're not alone