Thanks for the advice Parkvale, will do. No way letting Lloyds off the hook - sis needs the money and I have to see justice is done. Cheers

Hi everyone, Think finally on the home stretch now! My sis has received a "strictly without prejudice confidential" letter from Lloyds TSB' solicitors. Although it states that the bank will be defending proceedings and that they have done nothing wrong it then goes on to offer full repayment subject to her agreeing conditions of it being final settlement of claim. If she signs and returns a copy of the letter to their solicitors are they likely to pay up and when? Please note that the court has requested that she send them and the bank copies of statements, t+c's, etc to support her claim. This was to be done this week, however if the bank are going to settle can we now forget about providing this information? My concern is that if we weren't to send both parties the information and the bank changed their mind about settling and then wanted to defend my sis would be in man's land! What is the quickest and safest course of action to ensure the bank pay up? Many thanks, Matt

Hi tonties I know it's a long drawn out affair but I sincerely hope you stick with it! I run my own successful business and work only 2 doors away from Lloyds TSB! If they knew I was on my sis's case they'd be surprised to put it lightly! Hang onto my coat tails and we'll get through this together. An organisation that continually files defences yet fails to appear in court clearly has problems. I didn't add interest onto claim either - my sis only wants back from them what they took. You'll never get a better chance than now to get your money back. We've done nearly all the hard work so let's finish the job off and get Lloyds to pay up! Keep smiling

I have been helping my sis with her claim for overdraft excess fees, unpaid direct debit fees and overdraft interest on the Lloyds TSB joint account she has with her husband. After totting up the figures it came to the tune of just under £1100. No wonder they've been struggling for the past 2 years - the amounts taken were effectively equal to the child benefit money paid in!!!! After helping submit the necessary letters and filing the standard replies received I paid the £120 to make their claim online. Lloyds have now filed a defence disputing the whole claim and we're awaiting the matter to be transferred to court. I will help fight my sis's corner all the way (indeed I've said she can keep the court fee when it's refunded) as I feel so strongly and know from people I talk with and this vast site that bank's are unable to justify their excessive charges. I'm beginning to doubt if she will receive a settlement offer and maybe the bank might just show in court. Having said that if the recent ruling by Judge Cooke didn't set a precedent then I guess the bank have a slim chance of victory by "defending" in court albeit with a no show instead of just conceding beforehand. Is the winning line in sight or shall I put my best suit aside ready for court?

From 1 Nottm guy to another cheers boss. Claim is good and I can't wait for matter to be resolved. She needs the money and I hope they do the decent thing and pay up but if they don't I will fight her corner all the way and I mean all the way! I'm fortunate in that I know quite a few people who work at our local banks and one guy who I won't name at Nat West told me roughly what it reallly costs them. No wonder they never show in court! I'll let you know the outcome.

I have read with great interest the decision by Judge Cooke earlier in the week and am disgusted with the decision made. In reaching his verdict I wondered what peoples thoughts were on the following: 1) If his judgement was that the charges levied in that case were reasonable when considering the "elements" of the other services provided, was he implying that it does not cost a bank say £30 for bouncing a direct debit but hidden in this figure is them actually also recouping the costs for services which they actually promote to us as being free? If a bank chooses to offer some serices for free that is their decision but they should not be allowed to claw it back in an underhanded way by disguising it and inflating the charges they publish. 2) When the judge went away to do his "research" before arriving at his decision just what "research was he doing"? I don't expect the bank gave him a detailed breakdown of their true costs! If they did maybe the judge could kindly bounce this info onto the Office Of Fair Trading as they seem to be treading water. Be nice to finally see some figures instead of the old mumbo jumbo of "it's complicated". 3) If a bank really did charge it's true costs and not inflated penalties as I believe, how do they make such gigantic profits (see 1) Cheers

Hi everyone. I'm hot on the trail of lloyds tsb and am at the stage where they say they will defend the claim (their 28 days runs out at the end of this month - so far they've acknowkledged claim). In the past 2 years my sister has been creamed by over £1100 in charges out of her joint account. However, when I made the claim for her on line I did it solely in her name as there wasn't the facility to enter 2 claimants details. How does she stand - have I made a mistake or is the claim valid for all the charges on her joint bank account even though not put her husbands details on the claim. Thanks