Just to give a bit of history, I was made redundant Jan 2007 and then was ill and unfortunately got into a bit of a mess with my money. I applied for council tax benefit but South Derbyshire District Council made things difficult and basically because of an on going battle with the council was never awarded it, even though they had no reason to deny me. Basically they kept querying payments into my account which came from selling my car and other personal possesions, plus borrowing money on my credit cards and a flexible loan. I was unfortunately in quite a bit of debt and struggled on to meet all my payments for a year until my back was against the wall. I ended up moving out of my house and renting it out, then moving back with my parents. ( A bit embarrasing when you are 39) I then started a debt management plan with payplan and have been paying a regular amount every month to gradually pay off my debts. After struggling to find a job I setup my own business last May which has provided me with a small income. The last time I heard from the council was last April when they wrote to me to say I owed them £420.27 for council tax from Apr 2006 - Mar 2007. And 867.57 for tax from Apr 1 2007 to March the 3rd 2008. As I mentioned I did not work from the 1st Jan 2007 till April 2008. I had Applied for Council Tax Benefit as soon as I was made redundant in Jan 2007 and did not start working till May 2008. So effectively I don't think I owe the 867.57 and I also don't owe part of the 420.27. The council however took me to court in April 2007 and got granted a libility order. I struggled to make some payments but couldn't possibly afford them along with everything else. I've never heard anything from the council since and I thought they'd maybe had a rethink about the council tax benefit and I was entitled to it (My post is diverted for 12 months from when I moved out) Then a couple of days ago out of the blue I received 2 letters from Equita regarding council tax arears and a libility order has been granted. Saying that I owe £444.77 on one letter and £892.07 on the other. I have not received any letter at all from the council saying that it would be passed to a bailiff, I read on another website that they should do by law? Also the bailiffs has added £24.50 onto each of the original debts for sending me a letter, is this correct? I spent half a day trying to get through to Equita to no avail and decided to send them an email and also submit the info form from their website. No respons! I eventually got through to them after spending 30 minutes on hold which should have been a premium rate number but lukily I got another from saynoto0870. The guy at the other end wasn't really interested apart from wanting to know how I was going to pay. In the end I made an agreement to pay £222 for the next 6 months, I'm going to struggle to pay this on top of everything else! I'm really angry about this as I have never claimed anything in my life and the council went out of their way to make things difficult for me. I feel like taking the council to the small claims court as i have copies of the letters I sent during 2007 trying to sort out the council tax benefit. I also have my P60 which shows that I earn't nothing! What should I do? Thanks very much in advance.

I WON!!!! Just received a cheque for £2191.58 in full settlement of my claim.

I received a letter from cobbets today mentioning that I haven't responded to a letter they sent on the 11th of August, I never responded because I never received it!!!! They attached a copy of the letter and have said they look forward to hearing from me in the next 7 days. In the copy of the letter I didn't receive it says: Dear Sir, Our client considers that your challenge to its charges would fail in Court. Our client believes that its charges are fair, reasonable and transparent. It considers that the amounts debited to your account have been applied strictly with accordance with your agreement with it and published tariff, which it is satisfied complies with all applicable laws and regulations. Our client is also commited to ensuring the transparency of the information that it gives to its customers about the operation of its products. As such, our client does not believe that your claim has any prospect of succeeding. However, as a gesture of goodwill and strictly on the basis that our client rejects any liability to you, it is willing to offer you a goodwill payment of £1000. Acceptance by you of this goodwill payment will be in full and final settlement of your claim against our client and strictly on the basis that:- 1. you agree not to disclose to any third party the fact of, or details relating to, this payment 2. you write to the court withdrawing your claim. Whilst this letter is written without prejudice save as to costs, in the event that you decline this offer, we will draw this letter to the Court's attention on the basis that we hold the firm view that this offer is entirely reasonable in the circumstances. It is tempting to accept the £1000 because my partner has just had a baby and we could do with the money, but I'm owed over £2000. Should I reject this offer and go for the whole amount? Like Cobbets say will it look bad on me if I don't accept their offer? I also received a letter from the court the other day saying I must respond to Cobbets regarding their original questions or my claim will be thrown out, this I did in July and have proof of posting and a copy of the signature of the person who signed for it. Why are Cobbets saying I haven't responded? Any help greatly appreciated. Clive

I received a copy of Cobbets allocation questionaire today and I posted mine though the court yesterday. Does this mean is likely to go to court?

Should I send a copy of the bank statements as well, I have a spare set as RBOS sent me 2 copies for some reason?

Is it worth sending a letter in response to this stating that I don't have to reply to requests under CPR 18 under the small claims track unless the court request it, or should I just ignore this and not reply at all? Alternatively should I just supply them with the information about the account with a copy of the bank statements and spreadsheet containing charges etc and point out that I'm doing this as a matter of goodwill?

Today I received a defence from cobbets and a request for futher information which is served pursuant to CPR Part 18. I have not received an allocation questionare, does this come directly from the court. HELP!!! What do I do now????

I'll check my court letter when I get home. Shame it doesn't just tell you on the website.

There has been a link called start under judgement for a while. However when I click it and then click "The defendant has not filed an admission or defence to my claim" it says that I cannot request a Judegment by default this time. It then goes on to say: The Defendant is allowed 14 days from the date they were served with the claim to defend or admit your claim before you can request a Judgment by Default. If the Defendant files an Acknowledgement of Service within 14 days of receiving the claim form, they will be entitled to 28 days from the date they were served with the claim form to file a defence or admission of your claim. If the Defendent does not file a defence or admission within the 28 days you can request a Judgment by Default. If you have not requested judgment, the defendant may still file a defence to your claim after the 14 days or 28 days have elapsed. The claim will then be transferred to your local court for a hearing to be arranged. I take it from this that the date they were served was not the same as the date on the claim form, they did however file an acknowledgement on the 19th of June so they must have been served with the claim sometime between the 14th ( Date on claim form ) and the 18th. Do I just keep trying to apply for a default judegment each day until it works?

Thanks for the quick reply. I've just double checked and the issue date on my claim form is the 14th June, so that would make the 28th day tomorrow. Should that be the same as the date they were served with the claimed which it mentions on the website they have 28 days from or could that be after the 14th? They actually acknlowledged the claim on the 19th June so must have received it pretty promptly. So I'm still not sure exactly when I can apply for default judgement, the day after tomorrow? cheers Clive

According to my calculations it is the 28th day tomorrow since I filed my claim on the Money Claim Online website against the Royal Bank Of Scotland. Is it likely that they will file a defence at the last minute tomorrow as I've just checked and no defence has been entered as yet? Even though I've read through the FAQ I'm not entirely sure what I need to do next, could someone explain briefly. Many Thanks Clive

Just received an acknowledgment from the court stating that the RBOS intend to defend the claim. Am I right in thinking that they have 28days to enter a defence?

After recieving unsatisfactory responses to my letters I've Just filed my claim for £2064.38 against the Royal Bank Of Scotland for bank charges over the last six years. Hope I've done the right thing, I'm a bit nervous now. :-|

Cheers Martin, I saw that but wasn't sure if I could use it as I'd had no contact with them before. I guess they all work for the same people so it shouldn't matter though? I will keep my progress updated.

Hi, I'm in the process of making a claim against RBOS for £1607 in unfair charges. I have just received a response from my LBA from Mr Tommy McLean stating they believe their charges are fair, reasonable and transparent and that is their final response in the matter. I'm therefore in the process of filling in the claim defendant details at moneyclaim.gov and the defendant address must be in England or Wales. Mr Tommy McLean was at the customer relations unit in Scotland so I'm not sure what address I should now use on the claim form? Any help much appreciated.