I'm sure the odd bottle of the amber nectar wouldnt be a problem ;-)

Ta!

I did argue the point that i thought we were flying on US AIR as stated on our Invoice.

I'm sure you did your best. For somebody without any legal experience it can be very intimidating going up against such prats, so you did well.

The Judge was nice and did have a go at the Virgin Woman she went off on one and he said it was not criminal proceedings LOL.

I wish I could've seen her face!

I think the Judge should of awarded more but i WON and they LOST..

even if it was lower then expected. It shows we don't all give into them.

True. At least the Judge was nice to you. It makes it easier to deal with.

Oh and if im allowed a nice bottle of whiskey will be coming your way.

Thanks! A mod should be coming along soon to advise. I could do with replenishing my supply, almost running out & my trip means I can't buy another bottle for a while!

And there is no way i want to even think about appealing.

Smart decision.

Basically Virgins terms and Conditions covered everything..

 

he accepted the claim for the suitcase.

 

Didn't accept the car hire or fuel which i thought he might not

 

They asked me to prove if the flight was safe, they would of had to have a safety certificate so they refused the internal flight.

 

He could understand Disney with the photos ect

 

Bahamas he said that the only thing effecting the holiday was the pool which would of effected our holiday but seems we had no issues for the food and drink he could not award us a full refund.

 

Virgin basically kept making out we had paid a average price for average accomodation and u had enjoyed the food and drink ect ect.

 

Thats how he came to his decision, i tried to fight as hard as i could.

I'm sure you did fight your best. I would have answered that the t&c's can't exclude loss of enjoyment, and that the flight was promised was different, so even if the plane was safe enough to fly, you couldn't enjoy the flight, and as such they were liable for at least part of the monies.

Shame I couldn't be there, I would've loved to stick one at Branson!

I think the judge made the wrong decision, but unfortunately appealing is not cost effective and is too risky.

Well Im back, After being at the court all day.

 

The Judge took 90 mins to decided what to do.

 

I won my case but he did'nt award much money.

 

He awarded me the total sum off

 

£749.99 Plus interest.

Virgin Moaned that because the claim was over stated the costs were alot higher than they should of been so i was only awarded 50% off the costs.

 

All together i will get just shy of £1100.

 

Thanks for all your help everyone, A donation will be made to CAG upon reciept of the cheque.

Bloody hell! What happened? Did the judge give reasons?

The claim wasn't overstated, but as they had made a similar offer, you were lucky Virgin didn't even get travel costs.

legalpickle is annoyed!

Although you won, I think you have been hard done by to be honest. This is a drop in the ocean to Virgin, hardly encourages them to get things right for others does it? Wonder waht LP thinks.

legalpickle agrees!

Hi sexyfufu and congratulations from me. I haven't posted much, but I've been following your thread.

 

I think you've done well, and a donation to CAG is a lovely thing to do. Well done also to legalpickle. I read the comments on what to do at the hearing and thought I would have real trouble doing all that myself, especially against people who are taught how to play hard ball.

 

I hope you can heave a sigh of relief and move on with your life now. What will you do with your spare time?

 

HB x

I think sexyfufu is taking this a lot better than I would! I'd be royally peeved off! By all standards she was entitled to more!

Thanks.

 

It was hard work in court we were in there all day.

 

The judge took 90 mins to come to a decision.

 

We were in ourt 11-13.00 then back in at 14.40 till 15.30

 

The judge did say how well the case was set out thanks to legal. I couldn't of done it without him and very thankfull. I would still like to send him a nice bottle of something if it is allowed.

I'd surely appreciate a nice bottle of whisky (or wine - but must be Kosher, whereas all Scotch whisky's are fine), but not sure I deserve it considering you didn't get nearly as much as you deserved. You'd have to seek permission from the mods to give me anything though.

What happened? From your above post it seems like the judge wasn't a brat, so why did he/she reach such a low amount in verdict?

I am sure LP would appreciate a bottle or even a jar of pickles.

Lol! Got a nice supply of pickles thanks!

Nice work LP and Sexy.

Thanks, but I'm a bit peeved off with the low amount!

In addition to this excellent advice from LP; can I suggest that you note down some questions you may want to ask the respondent relating to the various definative aspects of the claim. For example; ask if and when were you advised before arrival at Disney, that this building work in very close proximity to your room, was made to you... if they answer giving a date- ask them to provide the letter or indicate where it is in the bundle. There must be a few questions like that that you want to ask so I suggest you write them down and present them if necessary.

May I respectively disagree with sam's advice here.

The bundle of documents has already admitted that there was no prior advice of the building work - as it has claimed that it was minor. Slaving over some topics and asking them questions is likely to open a can of worms. These people are trained in avoiding the question.

They may also try to open up mitigating circumstances of not being aware of something. Try your utmost to not give them any such opportunity. And if they do try to raise any such mitigating circumstances answer something like this: With respect, it is clear from Virgin's documents that their relationship with the relevant resorts binds the resorts to be ultimately liable for such events. It would most likely be the case that if this honourable court rules in my favour Virgin would be able to claim from the relevant resorts their losses in relation to these issues. Thus, any attempts at raising mitigating circumstances by the Defendant must be respectfully dismissed.

Do NOT state this unless you are compelled to, and use your own words - don't sound so much like a lawyer!

If you do have any genuine questions of Virgin, feel free to ask them, and yes, do make sure everything is down on paper beforehand, but watch yourself VERY carefully to make sure you don't open cans of worms.

I must recommend that EVERYTHING is written down BEFORE the hearing and if ANYTHING crops up in your head during or in the minutes before the hearing you write it down immediately.

From personal experience, there is rarely much that is more depressing than walking out of the hearing room and remembering things you though you should have said!

Personally, I wouldn't be suprised if their rep/agent/solicitor takes you to one side before the hearing and ups the offer!

Neither would I - but:

I am extremely weary of talking to these prats before the hearing. They are trained in trying to twist your every word and will undoubtedly try to trip you up! If they approach you, be firm but polite. If they try to convince you that you don't have a case, just state clearly that you refuse to discuss the case before the hearing as it has come so near to the hearing and that if they want to make a reasonable offer you are open to hearing it, but otherwise you go before the District Judge.

Do NOT talk to them more than that! Do NOT approach them, leave it to them to approach you!

Finally, costs. When and if you succeed - which I sincerely hope you will - ask the DJ for costs. Explain that as a Litigant in Person you have spent many hours on seeking advice and it took you a long time to collate the bundle of documents that you collated.

Give an estimate of 12 hours spent on the case from start to finish (i.e. from preparing the Particulars of Claim) as much more than that may seem unreasonable. State that in accordance with CPR 27.14(2)(g) you believe that Virgin have been unreasonable in defending your claim, especially considering the substantial photographic evidence you have provided, and thus in accordance with CPR PD 43-48, Section 52.4, as a Litigant-in-Person you believe you are entitled to £9.25 per hour which comes to £111. Explain that you have made several reasonable offers to Virgin which they have obstinately refused.

IF you fail (or get less than or the same amount as they offered) do NOT raise the issue, and if they try then advise that as a Litigant-in-Person and the claim being on the small claims track costs should not be entertained, especially as considering the substantial photographic evidence you could not have been deemed to be unreasonable.

These costs are in addition to the court fees you have incurred.

There's nothing left for me to say other than GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!

I hope to see a positive result when you get back from court this afternoon.

Gotta run!

Thanks for your help.

 

I will go through it all again in the morning, So its clear in my head.

No problemo. The ball's now in your court - pun intended:D!

Prep for hearing:

Your case is on the small claims track, which is meant to be informal. It depends on the judge you get, as different judges work in different ways. You will be before a District Judge ("DJ") or Deputy District Judge ("DDJ").

A DDJ is a Solicitor or Barrister who has gone through training and stands in for a DJ. A DJ normally goes through being a DDJ before going onto the bench in a permanent position as a DJ.

If the DJ/DDJ is a male, you address him as 'Sir', and if a female either 'Madam' or 'Ma'am'.

The different ways the hearing can go usually go approximately like this:

You present your case. Defendant presents defence. You respond with submissions. Either party asks queries of the other party. DJ asks queries to clarify everything needed. DJ sends you both out to wait whilst reaching a verdict. DJ calls you all back in and recites judgment.

Some DJ/DDJ's use a different order, or limit the amount of submissions or statements a party may make.

Try and be as clear and concise as possible.

The hearing is informal, unlike a fast track or multi track case. There are two types of hearing rooms for such cases. The first one is a Judge's chambers - which is more common except in the newest court buildings - the DJ/DDJ is sat at the top end of the 'T' table. The claimant should normally sit to the right, and the defendant to the left.

Some courts - like Manchester County Court - have the newer hearing rooms, and no hearings - except the most confidential, generally family ones - are in chambers.

In such a case each side takes their space at the tables, like in the courtrooms you see in the movies, but you don't go to the side table to speak.

In the chambers you always sit when talking, but in the courtrooms you should stand unless the DJ tells you to sit (which as it's more informal being small claims, some DJ's do say you should sit).

Whilst the other side is talking do NOT interrupt. This will only antagonise the DJ and work against you. I say this as they are likely to spew lies and nonsense which will frustrate even the most patient amongst us. When the other side is speaking take notes of what is said, and what you want to respond, if necessary.

When the other side has finished talking, if the DJ does not offer you the chance to respond, then respectfully ask if you can.

Be respectful at all times, however frustrating it can get! Don't make statements like "what a bunch of lies" or "what a bunch of nonsense" as they will only work against you. If the DJ insults you then take it as constructive criticism and apologise if necessary, or just don't respond.

A good DJ will be politer and more welcoming of you as a Litigant in Person, explaining the procedure in more detail than necessary. Accept this, and be polite & respectful. Even if you know what the DJ is saying already, don't interrupt, and don't act smart. The less knowledgeable of court procedure the DJ thinks you are the more likely you are to be able to get away with slight mistakes.

Different judges require different things, and it is quite often impossible to know what to submit & when. Some judges expect even Claimant Litigants-in-Person to prepare witness statements recounting everything written to date. Others by default accept that the Particulars of Claim and other documents are akin to Witness Statements, as they are signed by a Statement of Truth by you. According to the strict rules of procedure, this is actually the way it is supposed to be - and is the way I do things, unless I am told in advance to do differently.

If the DJ criticises you for this then apologise, stating that you understood that you documents - as signed by you with a Statement of Truth - are akin to Witness Statements, and would respectfully request of the court to accept them as such.

It is a shame that your mothers letter is not written in the format of a Witness Statement with a Statement of Truth at the end, but not the end of the world, as you have photographic evidence and they have done worse, and should know better.

It is worth raising that their letters should be taken with a pinch of salt as none of the documents bar a statement advising what is included are Witness Statements or signed with a statement of truth, and for obvious reasons none of the people are at the hearing to be challenged on their statements.

Cross-examination is limited. The chances are that you and your husband will be asked more questions than you can ask the other side, as the other side will be somebody who was not at any of the occurences giving rise to the claim, but you and your husband were.

Answer any questions concisely, clearly and in a composed manner. If you need to take 2 seconds to compose yourself, that's better than tripping yourself up.

I've attached an interest breakdown that's updated with tomorrow's date in. Print this off beforehand. Make sure that you have all the figures in front of you, as when judgment is granted you may be asked for the interest amounts on each and every claim.

I would recommend making an offer in the courtroom at the very beginning of about 65% plus court fees. I would say something like this:

Sir, Before the hearing commences I would like to make a final settlement offer to the Defendant, in the interest of concluding this matter quickly, by consent and saving valuable court time. My offer is: £.... which is ...% of the total claim, plus court fees totalling £443. I would respectfully state that this in no way represents the chances I believe I have of success but is solely in the interests of concluding this matter immediately for the mutual benefit of all involved.

Don't necessarily state the above word for word, but that's the gist of it. This is more likely to work in your favour making you seem more reasonable.

Try and use different words wherever possible - except where quoting legal precedents - so that it is clear you understand everything and so that you don't sound boring and repetitive.

That's all for now. I'll deal with costs first thing in the am all being well.

BEST OF LUCK!

interest.xls

ok I understand the above.

Great. You can't go through the documents enough. You can write notes on the pictures, make sure you know what is where so you aren't caught off guard. Make as many clear and concise notes as you will need and go through them with your husband.

Will write prep for hearing later on.

Please come back first thing in the morning to see it.

You will need to make sure you & your husband are at the court 15 minutes before the hearing.

Don't worry, if you have everything prepared it can only go well.

GOOD LUCK!

Please confirm you have understood all the above, and constructed the documents so that you understand what needs to be said and gone through before I prep you for the actual hearing.

Above posts of mine: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/holiday-companies/224145-wedding-honeymoon-one-problem-23.html#post2967555 & http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/holiday-companies/224145-wedding-honeymoon-one-problem-23.html#post2967551 need dealing with by you.

Next: An imperatively important part of this claim is the legal background. This is Section 3 in the Particulars of Claim. You MUST have this crystal clear in your head, and should have this on the first page of the documents that you will use to talk in the hearing (i.e. notes).

The basis is as follows:

It is an integral part of contracts such as this one that enjoyment and satisfaction be provided. This is based on Farley v. Skinner [2001] UKHL 49 & Watts v. Morrow [1991] EWCA Civ 9. It must be noted that Virgin have not defended against the basis of the law upon which my claim is centred, only the facts of my claim. It must therefore be concluded that the basis of my claim is undisputed and the court is asked to decide on whether the compensation I am claiming is fair & reasonable.

My claim against MBNA is based upon s75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. MBNA as the credit provider for part of the monies are jointly and severally liable. From their defence it seems clear that they seek to rely upon the defence to the facts of my claim submitted by Virgin.

YOU SHOULD COPY TO THE SAME PAGE THE DETAILED LEGAL BASIS IN SECTION 4 OF THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM WHICH BREAKS THIS DOWN IN MORE DETAIL.

Is this better ?

 

1. I am claiming for a new suitcase has mine got damaged by the airline. I was very upset because this contained my wedding dress.

 

2. Had we known that the time in the Disney “Conorado Springs resort would of been like”, we would have never booked it. Because of this we flew into Orlando airport, rather than Miami airport; and spent approximately £40 in the fuel for the vehicle travelling between Orlando and Clearwater; and vice-versa.

 

3. We were told by the “hotel” in the Bahamas that they do not charge for transferring passengers from the airport to their “hotel yet we were charged a transfer charge.

 

4. According to the tickets for the flights from Manchester to Orlando return, the charge of the ticket comes to £125.30 each [£40 + £13.40 + £71.90]; but we were charged £147.30 per person, we were overcharged a total sum of £44.

 

5. We rented a vehicle from Virgin Holidays for 10 days – whilst we were in the USA –Had we have known of the building works in Disney we would not of gone there. . As such we claim a refund of the 3 days that the vehicle would not have been used.

 

6. I claim the full amount £312 we paid for the Disney “hotel”, due to the nightmare of the building works. - we were woken at approximately 8am to the sound of drilling and banging. We discovered there were major renovation works going on in the room 3 doors from our room. The workmen were refitting a bathroom suite, fixing mirrors and shelves to the room. Outside of the room on the landing there was lots of tools, these included drills, planers, saws and various other electrical equipment. There was also an electrical lead running along the floor which we had to walk over.

 

7. If we had known before what Breeze Bahamas would of been like I would not of booked it. - the pool we found brown **** on the surface of the water. The shower did not work and the Jacuzzi only worked in one area where there was only sufficient room for one person to sit. We witnessed 2 people hurt their feet on the metal stairs leading to the pool; the stairs had a protruding sharp metal edge. There was also a light in the pool floating on the surface with a wire connected to it. We were extremely worried for their safety.

The towel staff were very rude and unaccommodating when giving out towels.

Our room was on the ground floor and the curtains didn’t seem to close properly, so on the 1st night we had to use our suitcase to keep the curtains together so no one could look in.

 

8. If we known how much of a scary hell the flight would have been to the Bahamas we would not of booked to go there. When we boarded the Aircraft for our flight, we noticed some loose wires to the left of out feet. The aircraft was 27 years old and the cabin was very dirty, the aircraft also seemed to fly right, then straight, then left, then straight; constantly for the whole flight; which terrified us completely,

The tickets for this flight stated an amount of £444.15 each [£888.30], but we were actually charged the sum of £530 each [£1,060]; hence we were overcharged by the sum of £171.70

 

I also claim the sum of 25% of the monetary value of the stress, aggravation, hassle, lack of enjoyment, distress and upset caused to both myself and my husband.

Almost there. I specifically stated that you should merge the parts of Section 1 - i.e. paragraphs in Section 1 relevant to parts of Section 4 should be merged together.

I am advising you to do this so that when you go to the hearing you won't need to go back and forth between diferent sections and will have everything crystal clear and there in front of you.

Everything that's relevant to each part of the claim should be together to avoid you hunting around each document.

What I mean by the response is this.

1) Go through the response to defence document that we attached to the AQ. Make sure you understand each part of it, and prepare the document so that the response document is easy to place in front of you - when you get to the hearing next to the defence.

When I refer to the defence I mean the defence of VH. The defence of MBNA is simple to respond to, and I will deal with at the end of this.

Make sure you understand each and every response, and have it clear in your head, in case you need to say anything at the hearing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

You will need to have everything clear in your head and on paper at the hearing. You need to be prepared to answer questions, and should not recite from the pages, but be able to verbalise statements using your own words! Go through it properly till you have everything clear, preferably with your husband as well.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

2) We have already responded to VH's defence. The additional notes you have written above should be worded - and spelt correctly - and put together with your response to defence that has already been worded. Preferably you should make a table with 3 columns (print it in landscape) - Column 1: Your Claim. Column 2: Their Defence. Column 3: Your responses. Where they haven't responded to it, mark it as such. You can do this in Word.

This response is to their further documents.

Doc 2) No further response. (If you want add your notes to the response sheet, but you haven't really added anything and aren't disputing these documents).

Doc 3)

1. Under Building Work is stated that they will let the customer know if such work is likely to have material impact on the holiday.

2. Change of identity of carrier should have been advised, but was not, which is contrary to terms & conditions.

3. Terms & conditions were advised in writing after booking which is contrary to Thornton v. Shoe Lane Parking as they were not provided before contract entered into. Furthermore they are long, and unclear, hence contrary to the Plain English Requirement in the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. It cannot be reasonably expected that each and every consumer will read them in depth.

Thornton v. Shoe Lane Parking Ltd [1971] QB 163 & Interfoto Picture Library Ltd v. Stiletto Visual Programs Ltd [1989] QB 433 combined form principles of Contract Law and oblige the provider to make any serious terms crystal clear to the customer prior to entry into the contract. Indeed in Thornton, Lord Denning MR stated that such limiting terms must be pointed out clearly to the customer in a way such as using red ink with a red arrow pointing to such terms. Virgin has clearly failed in these obligations.

Doc 5)

1. Issues were not resolved within 24 hours.

2. Honeymoon champagne was not waiting in the new room, but took till day 3.

3. We never stated that we had settled into the hotel. The reason no alternative hotel was taken was due to the fact that the Virgin representative stated that we would have to pay extra to move. We felt this unfair, and refused to incur further expenses.

4. Pool was dirty all the time we were there. The metal steps were never fixed whilst we were there & neither was the jacuzzi repaired whilst we were lodging in the "hotel".

5. It is vigorously denied that the Bahamas issues were resolved.

6. The issues in Orlando were not raised in detail with the rep in the Bahamas as they were none of his business. There were only raised in passing, and at no time was it stated that the main issues were with Orlando.

7. Amenities were not sent to our room till 7th August, rather than 6th August as claimed.

8. Staff were rude and not on hand to fix any problem that arose. The pool was consistently disgusting whilst we were there.

9. It should be noted that Breezes Bahamas claims to have "no reports" regarding rude staff and no longer has logs of the calls for restaurant reservations. These do not amount to denials, but failure to admit or deny.

10. Re: Disney: The work was far from minor, the pictures show this beyond reasonable doubt. It should be noted that the hotel does not admit nor deny whether equipment was blocking our room.

Is that better, i have used the Particulars but changed the words a little.

 

My Claim

 

1. I booked my wedding and honeymoon with Virgin Holidays on 26th December 2008 and booked a 3 centre holiday. The total charge for this was £5855.40.

2. I received 2 letters from Virgin Weddings; the first in May and the second in July. These letters were addressed to “Donna & Derek”. I called Virgin and advised them that my husband to be’s name was in fact Darren, not Derek.

3. I received the flight tickets 7 days before departure. The tickets to The Bahamas clearly displayed the price of £444.60, despite being charged £530 each on the invoice; I rang Virgin regarding this prior to travelling and was told the price paid was correct.

4. Upon arriving in Orlando airport and collecting our luggage, I noticed that the suitcase that contained my wedding dress had a hole and a crack. This made me very upset, distraught and annoyed because this case was clearly marked with a fragile label.

5. In the airport at the Virgin information desk there was a letter waiting for me addressed to Donna and Derek.

6. When we arrived at the hotel ‘Marriott Suites’ there was a sweet little keepsake card again addressed to Donna and Derek from Virgin Holidays.

7. On 2nd August 2009 we drove from Clearwater to Orlando and checked into Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

8. On the 2nd morning of our stay at Disney, we were woken at approximately 8am to the sound of drilling and banging. We discovered there were major renovation works going on in the room 3 doors from our room. The workmen were refitting a bathroom suite, fixing mirrors and shelves to the room. Outside of the room on the landing there was lots of tools, these included drills, planers, saws and various other electrical equipment. There was also an electrical lead running along the floor which we had to walk over.

9. On the 5th August 2009 we checked out of Disney and drove to terminal A of Orlando Airport to check in for our flight to The Bahamas.

10. The tickets issued from Virgin for the flight to The Bahamas stated the flight number and airline ‘US Airways’. We queued up for over 30 minutes to be told that we were not flying with US Airways and were in fact on a code share.

11. We then made our way from terminal one to terminal two, which was on the other side of the airport to check in for our flight to The Bahamas with Bahamas Air.

12. When we boarded the Aircraft for our flight, we noticed some loose wires to the left of out feet. The aircraft was 27 years old and the cabin was very dirty, the aircraft also seemed to fly right, then straight, then left, then straight; constantly for the whole flight; which terrified us completely,

13. Upon checking in at the hotel ‘Super Clubs Breeze Bahamas’ we were given the keys and a map to our room. We went to our room and changed into our swim wear and went to the swimming pool.

14. When we got to the pool we found brown **** on the surface of the water. The shower did not work and the Jacuzzi only worked in one area where there was only sufficient room for one person to sit.

15. We witnessed 2 people hurt their feet on the metal stairs leading to the pool; the stairs had a protruding sharp metal edge. There was also a light in the pool floating on the surface with a wire connected to it. We were extremely worried for their safety.

16. The towel staff were very rude and unaccommodating when giving out towels.

17. Our room was on the ground floor and the curtains didn’t seem to close properly, so on the 1st night we had to use our suitcase to keep the curtains together so no one could look in.

18. In the holiday brochure provided by Virgin Holidays there was a special offer that honeymooners receive fruit and champagne. I enquired at the hotel reception about this and they had never heard of it.

19. To make a reservation for a restaurant we had to ring at 8am and it took about 20 minutes to get through, and even then found it very difficult to get a reservation.

NO! By Particulars I mean the section dealing with the monies you are claiming. You need to break down what you are claiming IN YOUR OWN WORDS!

What I mean is this. Take Section 4 and merge it with Section 1, putting the relevant details of Section 1 into each claim of Section 4, breaking it down in your own words.

Is this okay, Is there anything i have missed or need to do ?

I need to go through it all. Please stay online till midnight.

Needs to be longer than that. Please go through each of the Particulars of Claim and break them down here, in short format, trying to spell correctly - and verbalise it as best as possible in your own words.

Next, please go through their letters, concisely breaking their defences down here, and then respond after each one.

I'll be back much later. Gotta take a break - not stopped since 6am!

What times the hearing tomorrow?

Please find attached the witness statement.

 

Also i did have a cover page stating this.

 

We refer to the hearing and accordingly enclose our list of documents. We confirm that a copy has been forwarded to the court.

 

This Person was not the person who did the mediation, which i find a little strange.

I don't.

1) I suggest you call VH tomorrow (today) just to see if they will settle at 50% (incl. interest to date - calculate it before you call them) plus the court fees. Give it a last shot to save you the hearing.

2) Prepare a breakdown of everything that happened in short format for the hearing. Go through it with your husband. Both of you should attend. Post it up here.

3) The letter from your mother is not attached. Please post it up here.

I'll do my best to prep you on the hearing tomorrow. I've been mad busy since I got back, barely had a minute to think! I'm also suffering from ATD (After-Trip Depression)!

Jan,

Please post an exact breakdown of everything that has gone on - from day 1 - including dates you booked the holiday, how much, how this was paid for, full itinerary, locations and copies of communication to and from butlins - removing any confidential details.

I will then try to look through it and make recommendations.

Regards,

legalpickle

Hi. I am not home till tomorrow night so I will do my best here

 

the 1st page is the witness statement. VH are relying on the following evidence.

 

1. Copy of defence - same asbefore dated 16 feb

2. Copy of invoice and itinerary

3. Useful information andbooking conditions - already posted up

4.extracts frombrochure - same as my evidence.

5. Report from virgin holidays rep - already posted

6. Report from manager at Bahamas hotel - already posted

7. Report from Disney already posted

 

Sorry I am doing this of my phone - struggling to get Internet access.

 

I will send u some links tomorrow afternoon about bad reviews. There is also a video on you tube of someones room with mould every where

 

 

Im really sorry if my posts don't make sense.

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by "witness statement" - which one?

My mom also wrote about the work at Disney. They accepted a 75Percent refund. I sent the letter to the court and vh. Again I canattach that when I get home it all helps.

Please do. It should have been sent to MBNA too.

Ok. Please be in touch when you get home.

LP just rise above it.

Thx freakyleaky!

Your style is interpreted in many ways by different people.

At the end of the day you got the right result and for that I take your hat of to me:D;)

Well done all of you!

 

I have just read the whole thread...what an epic and all the better for the conclusion.

 

Whilst I understand your frustration LP, I do find your tone aggressive and somewhat brattish! Had you been my son I would have put you over my knee and spanked you!!!! Having said that FF seemed to respond ok to your temper tantrums.

 

A shining example of the power of CAG and the good it can do. Again well done and congratulations to all involved.

 

Monx

Monx,

Whilst I appreciate your congratulations I do somewhat resent you calling my statements "temper tantrums" and my behaviour "brattish".

Someone with "brattish" behaviour would never have invested the time and energy I did into this thread.

As can be seen from the thread where frettful38 listened to my advice - or questioned it with reason - I responded in a calm tone. Unfortunately some people need to be told things in loud voices in order to grasp the severity of the situation.

When I became involved it was likely that the case would have been dismissed with a larger costs order against frettful38 for unreasonable behaviour. The end result was a complete win. I think we all know that this speaks much louder than your criticisms.

I accept I am on occasions a bit "aggressive" but that is my style, and if people don't like it they are welcome to tell me to get lost, and not give advice. Consider that the price for decent advice.

Hi

 

They put a cover of their defence as number 1. If that makes sense.

 

They are hearing documents they have sent.

 

I sent in a cover letter with the hearing fee.

 

I will try to get on as much as possible.

 

The hearing is on tue at 10am

The documents you attached are not a defence, so my understanding from your above post is that they attached their defence a second time. Have you checked that their "defence" that they attached in the hearing documents is EXACTLY the same as the defence you originally received? Please do and confirm.

If there is anything else they sent - an explanation letter of any sort - please attach. I'll be online Saturday night or Sunday morning all being well.

Please search the net for reviews of the hotels you stayed in and PM me links to those reviews - anybody else who can contribute it would be much appreciated.

Do you have fax numbers for MBNA & VH (legal teams dealing with this in both)?

Providing you and your husband have your evidence straight, and go through everything you have written in the Particulars of Claim and Response to Defence in detail, to make clear that you know what has been said and written, I think we should be Ok with just drafting a short "response" to their evidence which you don't need to submit to court, but can utilise at the hearing.

Please be back online early Sunday morning or late late Saturday night.

Good idea LP, what part would you play?

How about myself?

Thx all for the good wishes!

Yeehah! :D

 

Bloomin' well done the pair of you. It's over. And won, well and truly.

Ta for the good wishes! Wouldn't have been able without the encouragement!

FINALLY!!!

Note to self: Bombard LP with requests for help on other threads I'm assisting on...

Please don't!

Now we need to turn these 42 pages into a movie!

Well the legalpickle is back after an awesomely amazing (too short!) holiday.

I've been in e-mail contact with frettful38 (with permission from the mods) over the past few weeks.

frettful38 has awarded me the honour in telling you all that a cheque finally came on 24th May 2010 at approximately 8:30pm. A bailiff gave a very loud knock on the door and came with a Coutts cheque and a letter for frettful38 to sign confirming it has been paid.

frettful38 contacted her bank whom have confirmed that the cheque has cleared and funds should be available tomorrow.

This has been a bleeding long thread and a hell of a long fight. This thread is probably up there amongst the longest on CAG.

Whilst it's been stressful at times and I've been a prat at times - but as has been said, that's my style - it's been a privilege to be involved, and I can see that frettful38 has changed - ever so slightly - so for that alone it was worth it.

As I wrote on another long thread that was a darned long fight requiring e-mail communication: I - and other CAGgers - assist people to help themselves. I get the most satisfaction from assisting people who manage to expand their skills with my help, rather than those who need nursing like babies and expect all the dirty work to be done all the way through.

frettful38 has shown that she is getting better and better at drafting documents, and I'm sure one day will be able to assist my successor .

A word of thanks to all the many who have dropped in here to give frettful & me support and words of encouragement. It's kept us going!

Last but surely not least, I'd like to thank the mods, on behalf of the CAG community. I haven't been contributing as much as I'd have liked to recently, but it is thank to you guys that this place is still booming! As somebody who has operated forums and knows how difficult and time consuming it is, KEEP UP THE EXCELLENT WORK!!!

Hi All & especially sexyfufu,

I'm back - unfortunately - after having the time of my life on holiday!

The documents submitted are not defence documents but hearing documents. Were any more documents submitted? Please upload them here ASAP. Was there any cover document to these documents?

When is the hearing scheduled for? Have you paid the hearing fee?

I think glancing through I saw somebody post that there are bad reviews on some of, or one of the hotels mentioned. Please search the web for reviews of the hotels concerned and PM me the links to vet and provide an opinion if they should be used.

I know you're on a break sexyfufu, but if you could please respond ASAP, I should be able to finish all that we need to do on this by Sunday.

The Sabbath goes out at 10:47pm this week, and because we bring in the Sabbath early I'll be unavailable from Friday around 6:30pm-ish till about 11pm Saturday night.

I'm in meetings from 7:20pm till 9:30 or 10:30pm tonight but should have some time after that and tomorrow morning as well as Sunday.

Be in touch soon,

legalpickle

Hmn holiday ?

Was wondering where you got to.

Anywhere nice ?

Yup. Israel. And loving every minute!