Has anyone else received a response from the court like this one?

I hope so!!!

Oh and there wasn't a date on the letter I received!

Hi Scoobz, The letter from Wragges did say that it was their intention to apply for a stay. I have put the full wording from the court in my thread here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/alliance-leicester/109571-filled-defence-no-stay.html. I think you're most probably right about the court covering their backs though however they have said the the prelim hearing will result in either a stay being applied or my case being a test case. Nothing about simply continuing down the small claims track!

Hi Janus, Thanks for your response. I did actually get a letter from Wragges a week before the one from the court stating their intention of aqpplying for a stay. I have typed out the full wording of the letter below. I won't be attending as the letter states that I don't need to if I abide by the decision of the judge. I'll print off the online statements then as the bank doesn't provide paper copies. Fingers crossed that it's all ok! Before District Judge Hayes sitting at Norwich County Court etc.... Upon review of the court file It is ordered that: 1. The claim be allocated to the small claims track. 2. The claim be listed for further directions only at a preliminary hearing. (Time estimate 5 Mins) 3. At the hearing the court will consider either: a) to stay the claim pending a decision in the test case involving the defendant, or b) to give directions for this claim to be heard as a test case, and if necessary to reallocate the claim to the multitrack for that purpose. 4. Not less than 14 days before the preliminary hearing, the defendeant shall file with the court and serve upon the claimant details of any cases proceeding a test case, the decision in which will determine the issues in this claim. Alternatively, the defendant sha. file with the court and serve upon the claimant draft directions for this case to proceed as a test case. 5. The claimant may make any represenations to the court in writing provided these are received by the court and served on the defendant not less than 5 days before the preliminary hearing. If either party is prepared to abide by the decision of the judges as to the directions to be given, that the party is excused from attending the preliminary hearing. I'm a bit concerned about the multitrack part as the claim is for less than 1k and only for charges incurred during 2007. What does it all REALLY mean and what should I do?

I have just had a worrying thought. I don't have original copies of all of my statements as the claim was for this year and they're all available online (I don't receive paper statements). I guess the online copies will not be acceptable for court? What should I do?

HI All, I'm not sure whether this is the same situation but I received a letter from Wragges stating they were going to request a stay and then a week later I received aGeneral Form of Judgement or Order from the court saying that there will be a prelim hearing. The hearing will consider staying the claim or giving directions for the claim to be heard as a test case. Does that mean that Wragge have requested a Stay or it's of the own judges bat?

Hi All, After a few weeks with no news, after a requet to strike out the defence, I received a letter from the court stating that Judge Hayes has ordered that the claim be allocated to the Small Claims track and for a preliminary hearing of which if I agree to the directions, I don't have to attend. At the hearing the judge will consider that a) to stay the claim pending the decision of the test case or b) to give directions for the claim to be heard as a test case...... It also states that "Not less than 14 days before the preliminary hearing, the defendeant shall file with the court and serve upon the claimant details of any cases proceeding a test case, the decision in which will determine the issues in this claim. Alternatively, the defendant shal file with the court and serve upon the claimant draft directions for this case to proceed as a test case. What does this really mean and should I be worried? I'm not really sure of where to start either - please help!! Thank you for your time XXX

I have had this same issue time and time again with A&L. I have literally been reduced to tears with the frsutration this account has caused me. It is absolutely impossible to manage. They don't even use realtime! It takes two days to transfer CASH between two accounts with the same sortcode, transactions and cash withdrawals take days to show up on your account although they take it out of the summary balance sooner, which makes it impossible to budget. They have repeatedly shown transactions in the wrong order to take you over your overdraft limit or charge you more. If you ever need to provide bank statement let's say for a mortgage application, it doesn't look good at all. I always thought that although the banks are a profit making organisation they're are bound to look after our best interests but all A&L have done is make me feel like they are robbing and bleeding me dry (hence the name!). On the repeated request for help or suggestions to improve the situation they might as well have shouted NOT ON YOUR LIFE to my face. I have just sent off my allocation questionnaire and have already stopped using the account as I can't take anymore from them! I will take extreme pleasure in knowing that they WILL pay me back every penny and they WON'T have the opportunity to take another minute or money from me ever again!

Fantastic letter! The last paragraph mentioning the Standard Disclosure etc. Should we replace that with the draft order for directions if we are choosing the response with our AQ's?

In my alloaction Questionnaire pack I have been sent a Mediation scheme reply form asking if I'll try mediation. It also states that if I say no that I may face cost sanctions if the district judge finds the refusal unreasonable/ Do you think it's OK to say no as there has been ample opportunity?

I have been reading the rest of the convesations following on Banksfodders draft order post - Now I'm really confused and i'm an Analyst which you would expect would hold me in good stead!

Thanks again Hedgey06. I have read through your draft order plus attachments and seen the template suggested by Bankfodder also. Which one should I attach? I'm really sorry to be a pain!

Thanks Hedgey6......I'm afraid the Info in the Natwest link has confused me a bit more. Should I be asking to have the case struck out or continuing as normal? Also, I stil don't know what a form of 'basic' disclosure is? Can anyone help me please?

Hi All, Thank you very much for all of your responses. This really is a fantastic site and it's so reassuring that there is always someone willing to help. I'm afraid I'm after some more advice! I have just received the N149 AQ and read in the notes on this site to add a statement asking for a request to the Judge to order a form of 'basic' disclosure from the bank. What is this? Also, is there anything else I need to send in with this and should I send a copy of the AQ to Wragges also? My claim is only for this year so all the charges were online (no paper statements) so I didn't need to request copy statements at the beginning of this process as all the charges were at my finger tips. I was going to print everything off from my online banking. Is this suitable? A&L charge £5 per statement so I'm going to avoid that if I can but if not then it can't be helped. I'm a bit nervous about this going to court. As well as the charges I'm also really unhappy about the service A&L have provided. It's really hard to manage your money cos the banking isn't realtime (Balance say's one thing, statement says another etc), transaction don't show up until a few days later and it actually takes two days to switch cash between two accounts with the same sort code! I understand the case is about facts supporting the refund though so I shall keep my mouth shut.....for now ;o) Thanks all......

Hi All, Thank you very much for all of your responses. This really is a fantastic site and it's so reassuring that there is always someone willing to help. I'm afraid I'm after some more advice! I have just received the N149 AQ and read in the notes on this site to add a statement asking for a request to the Judge to order a form of 'basic' disclosure from the bank. What is this? Also, is there anything else I need to send in with this and should I send a copy of the AQ to Wragges also? My claim is only for this year so all the charges were online (no paper statements) so I didn't need to request copy statements at the beginning of this process as all the charges were at my finger tips. I was going to print everything off from my online banking. Is this suitable? A&L charge £5 per statement so I'm going to avoid that if I can but if not then it can't be helped. I'm a bit nervous about this going to court. As well as the charges I'm also really unhappy about the service A&L have provided. It's really hard to manage your money cos the banking isn't realtime (Balance say's one thing, statement says another etc), transaction don't show up until a few days later and it actually takes two days to switch cash between two accounts with the same sort code! I understand the case is about facts supporting the refund though so I shall keep my mouth shut.....for now ;o) Thanks all......

I wrote to the FSA regarding their decision to grant a waiver for the banks refunding charges while the test case is being processed. This is their response. Dear XXXXXX I write further to the recent letter sent by my colleague of the Independent Complaints handling team within the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Company Secretariat office. Firstly I would like to set out some background to our decision to waive temporarily our rules requiring firms to handle customer complaints within particular deadlines. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) made this decision in the best interests of all consumers so that all consumer complaints about such charges could be dealt with in a fair and consistent way going forward. BACKGROUND For some time some customers of banks and building societies have been complaining about the charges they have paid for going into unauthorised overdrafts. Some institutions have settled with their customers, without admitting liability, and a large number of further complaints are in the pipeline. However, the law in this area is not clear and the current situation provides neither certainty nor consistency for consumers or current account providers. In these circumstances the Office of Fair Trading and some firms have decided to initiate a test case in the High Court to resolve legal uncertainties on the level, fairness and lawfulness of these charges. In order to facilitate this process the FSA has issued a waiver of its complaints-handling rules as they apply to complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges. CURRENT SYSTEM OF DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS The FSA has also monitored how banks and building societies have been handling complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges. Its aim was to find out whether firms were treating these complaints promptly, fairly and consistently, as required by FSA complaints-handling rules. The FSA saw significant shortcomings in some firms' handling of complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges, which is leading to inconsistent outcomes for complainants. The FSA is clear that the way in which complaints have been handled in the recent past - against a background of uncertainty about what the legal position is on these charges - is unsatisfactory and not in the interest of all consumers. When the legal position on these charges has been clarified, firms will be required to deal with complaints within the normal timetable in a fair and consistent way. In the meantime, the FSA is requiring firms to acknowledge any further complaints they receive on this issue within five days, to keep records of such complaints, and to be prepared to deal with them once the FSA lifts the waiver. To protect consumers' interests while the test case proceeds, the waiver contains a number of conditions that firms must adhere to. The FSA will review the waiver at the end of September to ensure, among other things, that firms are complying with its conditions. The FSA can revoke the waiver at any time if it considers that it is no longer appropriate because, for example, the test case is not progressing or if a delay in the resolution of the test case is likely to cause undue risk to consumers. SPECIAL TREATMENT OF CASES OF FINANCIAL HARDSHIP In making the decision on the waiver, the FSA has particularly considered consumers facing financial difficulty. The waiver makes clear that banks and building societies should identify consumers in difficult financial circumstances and should continue to deal with these cases throughout the waiver period. If these cases cannot be resolved, the Ombudsman will be able to consider them. All high street banks and building societies follow the Banking Code that covers how firms identify cases of hardship; the Ombudsmen also considers the Code when making its decisions. TIME-BARRING The FSA has also imposed a condition in the waiver to preserve consumers' rights so as to prevent complaints becoming time-barred. This means that the clock stopped on 27 July and will start again when the test case is resolved or when the waiver is removed. So, for example, if a consumer was applying to reclaim charges for the last six years and the Court case took one year, that year would not count. Similarly, the waiver will not cause you to become time-barred from taking your complaint to the Ombudsman. I hope that this is helpful. If you would like more information, you can find answers to frequently asked questions on unauthorised overdraft charges on our website at http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk. We hope that this is helpful. Yours sincerely D Taylor (Mr) Manager Consumer Contact Centre Financial Services Authority

Hi, I sent in my claim application was served on 2nd August and I have already received a notice of defence from Wragg and Co. I was expecting them to postpone the case until the test case has completed..... Is this to be expected? Robbednomore XX

Hi, I have just found this and wondered if you were all aware. I sent my claim with a cheque last week and now don't know whether to cancel the cheque and wait to claim after a decision has been made......? The Financial Services Authority has granted waiver to the banks, so that they are no longer obliged to handle complaints about unlawful bank charges. No, this is not because it's ruled that charges are lawful. In fact, it's because the Office of Fair Trading thinks they aren't lawful, and is taking a super-claim to court to get the matter settled once and for all....... Big Blow For Bank Charges Victims - 27/07/2007 Robbednomore

Thank you Alice. I will definately be filing a court claim! I just wanted to check that this was a standard response from A&L....

Hi all, I have been following the steps and the last letter I sent was the LBA (no repsonse from the prelim). I have recieved a letter today stating that.... "The OFT has commented that they consider the level of late payment fees to be be unfair, however they were actually referring to late payment fees for credit cards......... Discussions are ongoing between the banks and the OFT regarding current account and once the outcome is known, A & L will review it's position as appropriate........ As well as making our customers aware of our fees when opening accounts, we also continue to do so through our website, our branches, by telephone and on the bank statements. In view of this, I do not feel that you have been unfairly charged and regret that I cannot agree to refund your charges......" Do I still file a court claim? The bank actually charged me over 600 in two weeks as I have £2 short for an initial DD. I was on holiday at the time so had no idea. If the fees aren't reduced then there should at least be a cap on how many times they can charge you. Please help.... Thank you for your time....