You too!

By reading around, she seems very helpful if overworked - oh, and she's Dar£n's favourite I believe...Lol!

By registered post or email now I know Sharon Daboul's dealing with my claim?

Wow! That's my next stage - I seem to be putting it off, can't think why! Thanks for the guidelines though!

I've finally received Barclays defence, it seems fairly standard to me...? 1. The Particulars of Claim do not provide details or particulars of the account in question and / or the precise charges alleged to have been unlawful, or the date thereof. To the extent it is alleged that the Claimant incurred bank charges on the Claimant's account for unauthorised borrowings whether unpaid fees for returned cheques, 'Paid Referral fees' or any other such fees), the Defendant puts the Claimant to strict proof of each charge and the date thereof. 2. The Particulars of Claim are summary in nature. Accordingly, this defence is summary in nature and the Defendant reserves the right to amend this Statement of Case in due course. 3. The Defendant is entitled to charge the Claimant for unauthorised borrowings by reason of its standard terms and conditions. The Claimant accepted the same when the account was opened, including (in particular but without limitation) the following terms and conditions (which are summarised): a. The Defendant's right to charge a 'Paid Referral Fee' where the Defendant pays an amount (either by compulsion or election) which causes the account to become overdrawn - £30 per item (previously £25). b.The Defendant's right to charge an administrative fee if any cheque, standing order or direct debit cannot be paid because of insufficient cleared funds in the account - £35 per item (previously £30). c. The Defendant's entitlement, if the Claimant becomes overdrawn without an overdraft limit, to charge interest at the unauthorised borrowing rate on the excess balance. 4. The Defendant's standard terms and conditions give the Claimant a fair and transparent view of those terms and the charges applicable for unauthorised borrowings (including where the account is overdrawn without an overdraft limit or where the Claimant exceeds the authorised overdraft limit). 5. If and to the extent it is the Claimant's case that the failure to make necessary payments and / or failure to remain within authorised overdraft limits and / or failure to arrange an authorised overdraft constituted a breach of the terms applying to the account and that the contractual entitlement to debit charges from the Claimants's account constitutes a liquidated damages clause, the same is denied. The charges constitute payments the Claimant agreed to make by reason of the terms and conditions of the account and were consideration for the Defendant advancing credit to the Claimant, which the Defendant was under no obligation to advance. The Defendant was entitled to impose such charges and interest when the Claimant incurred the overdraft. 6. Accordingly, it is denied that the legal principles relating to liquidated damages clauses and penalty charges are relevant or applicable to the facts set out above. Further or alternatively it is denied that any such charges constitute unlawful penalty charges or are in breach of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. 7. Therefore, it is denied that the charges were unlawfully debited from the account. 8. If and to the extent the Claimant incurred charges on the account, this was caused by the Claimant having gone into overdraft without having agreed with the Defendant an authorised overdraft facility or to increase the overdraft facility and / or the failure to make payments to bring the balance of the account back into credit. 9. It is averred that the said charges and interest are and remain lawful and enforceable and that the Defendant was entitled to debit the same. 10. The Defendant denies that it is liable to the Claimant for the sums claimed and interest as pleaded or at all. In the alternative if (which is denied) the said charges are unenforceable and constituted a breach of contract by the Defendant, those charges which were applied to the account prior to 3 May 2001 are not recoverable because they are time-barred under the terms of the Limitaion Act 1980 in that more than six years have elapsed since the accrual of the cause of action. 11. In the alternative, and without prejudice to matters stated above, if (which is denied) the said charges and interest or any part thereof are unlawful or unenforceable as alleged by the Claimant or at all, and the charges were a consequence of the breach of contract by the Claimant, the Defendant has nonetheless suffered loss and damage as a conseqence of such breach of contract in allowing the account to go into unauthorised overdraft. Accordingly, in the event that the Defendant is unable to rely on its express entitlement to enforce the charges as set out above, it will seek to recover to the extent necessary such loss and damage as it actually suffered, which will not necessarily be limited to the value of the said charges, and the Defendant seeks to set off such sums against any liability owed hereunder to the Claimant. Barclays Bank PLC So, do I now need to send off an updated POC? Have other people's defences mentioned the actual charges made? Also, where do I bring into my reasoning that we did request that our overdraft was temporarily extended (for reasons no one could question) to be told by the bank manager that he would do what he could but 'the computer' would not allow him to increase our overdraft...? (Despite my parents offering to act as guarantors.) How much do we use a tragic family event to explain our case? To date it has been purely factual.

I think you're probably right - the latest letter has been delivered via Poplar branch electronically. I've now printed off a copy as it's the best proof of posting I can get, as you say. I've also emailed Dino - he IS quick to reply isn't he! It's Sharon Daboul dealing with my claim - 0208 116 6842, [email protected]

I rang MCOL today to ask about my transfer - I was put on hold for a couple of minutes but got all the info very quickly, I then phoned my local county court who have said they've received it but paperwork etc means it will be 10 days before they send anything out. Not sure if that helps, but they're usually helpful on the phone.

Just an update... MCOL transferred on 21st June, I've phoned my local county court (Croydon) who received it electronically on 22nd but it can take upto 10 days for transfer to complete and they will then send out directions... When I enquired about holiday dates, the clerk did say I could write in to the court manager to let them know of any dates I would be unavailable to attend. She wouldn't/couldn't give me any idea on possible times scales though. Time to pull the court bundle together now! Why do I always feel like I'm overlooking something..? Hoping I've got it right so far, fingers xed.

Just keep reading all the threads on here - so much information it's mind blowing! Good luck!

Keep going! (Unless you're desparate for the money of course.) All you need is patience - not easy I know! With all the advice on here you can't go far wrong. We're all in the same boat, just some at the front and some a bit further behind!

Do you mean you accept their offer as part payment but will continue court action for the remainder? I believe they usually go on to withdraw this offer if so - I may be wrong on this one though...

I can't put my finger on what I was looking for, but Dar£n started a thread - Barclays Litigation Team Good or Evil - with all the contact details. (Have a look at the other sticky messages, I think there's another one with details.) Krysta or Dino seem to have been the best contacts there, they should be able to tell you who's looking after your case. Good luck! Also, the best pieces of advice seem to be to have all your details to hand including an up to date copy of your SOCs and if it gets too difficult (which it shouldn't), finish the conversation saying that you'll let the judge decide, goodbye! What power!

Have you tried to contact the litigation team at Barclays? With only 10 days to go I'd have thought they'd be looking to settle. From what I've read they're inundated and may have overlooked your case - time to jog their memory?

I'm not sure what to do at this point, can anyone advise? I'm still waiting for my court transfer, I rang MCOL this morning and it 'should be posted later this week' ...yeah, right! Anyway, I've been tracking my registered letters (containing SOCs) to MCOL and Barclays from a few weeks ago. The MCOL one arrived but the Barclays one is still not signed for. As this is way past the time limit the Royal Mail normally allow, do I assume it hasn't got there and post another? Do I also need to post an updated one to the courts and if so which one? Thanks peeps in advance!

Me too! Let's hope it makes a difference...

Must be naturally brilliant - your advice is so good! What more can I say!

How long did you have to wait saintly? And how long ago was it?

I'll never understand all of this! My claim was filed on 3rd May! When should I expect to get a copy of their defence?

I've just checked the MCOL website for the 4th time today and they've entered a defence - get this - on 3rd May! How on earth does this happen - British justice or what! Oh well, onwards and upwards... Just hope it's not me ending up actually in court! Be just my luck though. How long can I expect the next step (receiving the defence and a court date) to be? Does anyone know?

I actually rang Northampton today to ask if any defence was in the pipeline, he couldn't see anything and went on to say that I could now apply for judgment by default as they had 'more than had their time' - reflecting their frustration with all these delaying tactics??? As you say MK, delays either way. Still not sure what to do - so will sit on it a few more days. If nothing else it shows I'm giving them more than enough time to sort themselves out. Will this impress anybody I ask myself. I did wonder whether to ring Krysta and ask if they would be defending, but didn't have my up to date SOCs to hand at the time. Does anyone think it's worth it? Thanks for the help...

Thanks for the replies, folks! MCOL claim issued on 3rd May, deemed served on 8th. Acknowledged on 21st - a day early! Just checked on line and still no change, I'm a bit reluctant to request judgement and end up delaying things further... How much extra time should I give them? Good luck with your claims too! I can't believe how long this all takes.... I've been telling friends considering reclaiming to expect 6+ months - and to use THIS website!

BB should've entered a defence on Tuesday but according to MCOL nothing's changed - still acknowledged 21/5/07. Is it worth asking for a judgment? Or just leave it for the courts to sort out? Has anyone had a successful judgment at this stage or do the banks get away with defending late?

Reading through more threads - there do seem to be 2002/2003 terms and conditions floating around. How do I get my hands on a copy? Thanks:)

2 weeks later and....surprise, surprise.... no defence submitted (yet!). Going by everyone else's experiences I'm assuming it's on its way and am starting to get my court bundle together. Looking at some of the threads going with BB, t&cs are mentioned - are they advisable to include now? If so, does anyone please have a copy - I'm claiming charges from 2003 onwards.

I've now got my SOCs off registered post to BB and the court. How are the banks responding re closing accounts now? Or are they asking for repayment of overdrafts once the fee issue is settled? Would we be wise to open a new bank account in anticipation of this?