Jenny, all the best for the court case on Tuesday, I don't think you have anything to worry about, you are probably going to be the most experienced one there now, no judge or solicitors will phase you val xx

Hi stone and thanks for that Did you get your hearing date changed yet? also I wrote to that BBC programme and they never answered me at all, hope they got some good cases on there, must remember to watch that val

I second that every word Jenny, this is something I could never have faced alone, thanks once again to all of you. val xx

Thanks jenny, To tell the truth I thought he might take age into account and feel so sorry for me he would lift the stay ! and order Bs to give me my money!! just remembered jen i think the thing you said to the judge when you raised your hand was that bit about the fact that Bs won't go to court?

tez you are so right I am glad I met Jenny and then theres you you are so funny I can't wait to see whats in judges letter . yes good old Brucie I switch between that and XFactor all the time. val

OK tez you asked for it, hope you don't regret it!! Well we survived the hearing, but no luck with the stay, no surprise there then, met up with Jenny, which was great, we both felt so nervous, it really helped being in it together, jenny did brilliantly, I even surprised myself that I could speak! only 3 of us turned up out of 5, the third was a chap from the sites alias butterbean his case was against HSBC, and behind us in court were 4 legal trainees from the university, and a man with Bs solicitor who she referred to as ' a mini clerk' ! ( if I got that right) HSBCs solicitor was there and ours both female (young girls) we arrived at 10am, the judge was late due to another case took longer than expected, and our case finished at 1 oclock! Not the 10mins they told us then. there was a tremendous amount of legal jargon, the judge explained the impending OFT case to us in full! we each had our turn to speak and to be fair the judge seemed to be symathetic, the banks solicitors had their turn, and this time (just our luck) made a meal of it, finally the judge summed up and made his decision, we already knew that because he told us at the start! we had all asked for the conditions in the alternative to be adhered to, but he refused that as well. The judge told us that even if we got the stay lifted and eventually got a hearing, we wouln’t get a date until next year and probably after the OFT case, even then if we won that case, we would not get our money, because nothing is being paid out until the ultimate decision is made. The case in January will only be the beginning, as which ever side wins will appeal so it probably goes to the House of Lords and it may even go as far as Europe so it could take 1-2 years before it finishes. Judge Hickenbottom was very considerate of the fact that we are nervous, when he finished his address, he asked each one in turn to speak, it isn’t as bad as you think, just speak out, he seemed understanding. He asked if we wanted to withdraw the application since there was no advantage one way or the other now that they will not pay out anyway, and gave us 10 minutes to decide he left the room so we could discuss it amongst ourselves. I decided to withdraw my application but asked if the conditions could be applied mainly for me to have the penalty charges stopped until the outcome of test case, he asked barclays solicitor and she she went on and on about the cost to Barclays would be far too much as they would have to check accounts manually, (surely this was confirmation of the main point she more or less admitted automated penalties cost very little?) The Judge was not impressed by this, but in the end he did not agree to apply the conditions. When the Bs solicitor was giving her boring long speal, she referred to my personal status of my overdraft, that I had £1000 in my overdraft account, I am not incurring penalties ! my hand went up (so did my hackles) , the judge said I would have my chance to respond later. When I did I said "Your honour ever since I began this claim in January this year I have constantly been moving money into this account from 0% credit cards, in an effort to prevent these penalty charges and that to the present day, means that my debt now stands at £8000. With the current account £4000 (overdraft limit £5000) NatWest A& L and MBNA credit cards. If I hadn’t done this the account would be over the limit by £4000" + thousands of charges!!! I also said "I am 67 years old and my Husband is 72 years old and we have had this account with Bs for about 45 years and it wasn’t until we retired in 2003 on a pension that we began incurring these penalty charges " I misguidedly thought that would put Bs to shame. Was this an attempt to make the judge think I am not suffering hardship? I know that by the end of next week the payments due out will mean that I will be up to or over the limit once again, and looking for somewhere to move money again. I will be lucky to pay off the cards in time before the promotion dates are up on the different cards, this is how it snowballs. That guy butterbean was really nice too, the poor chap had travelled all the way from Tenby, wife had just had their first child so his wife was not working, he had a £12,000 debt and HSBC had closed his account that day, so he is left high and dry and he is also on the default register, etc.. and when Judge Hicky asked if the banks were looking for costs for today, Barclays said they were not, but the HSBC solicitor said she wanted costs, and the judge rolled his eyes and said that they were not appropriate! Butterbean, told us after he hoped she had asked him for costs, he couldn’t pay but he thought he would go straight to the press. There is some sort of rule at present throughout this process that is supposed to be preventing the banks from closing accounts. He showed Judge Hicky the letter he had today from HSBC solicitors, also they threatened to send the debt collectors to his door. the banks have also been intimidating people with constant phone calls on the weekends demanding money, cancelling cards and cheque books. We achieved nothing other than the invaluable experience of a court hearing, the judge understood that we had missed out getting our money as he agreed that before the announcement Bs were paying out, he would be writing to us with reasons for turning us down after he had heard a few more cases by next week. He did say something about the letter being a benefit to us. This means that as much as I don’t want to say it, I think all this work to uplift the stays is now pointless. I suggest you just sit back and wait and watch the OFT case.

hi tez do you want me to post the full story as far as I remember it? or have you all had enough from me now?

Hi Jenny, yes I agree, it is a strange thing when you think about it, a bit wierd really getting to speak on line as it were and then meeting up and finding that you have a lot in common, i could not have gone through it without you, it was really good supporting each other its true strength in numbers ! , I would not have had the confidence to speak otherwise. I couldn't hear HSBC solicitor properly at that time she spoke very quietly maybe ashamed? (alright maybe I'm going deaf ?) did she actually ask for the costs? I had difficulty hearing that bit. butterbean was hoping she would, he was going straight to the press if she had. I asked about the bus to Chepstow and was sent all over the place up and down the entire bus station, nobody who worked there seemed to know, eventually someone did and said no you have to catch a bus to Newport and then change to stagecoach bus service to Chepstow, which I did and the best bit is FREE first time I've ever used my bus pass thought it was great horrible travel but cheaper than my car ( 27miles a gallon) I might have to get used to the bus!! I got home at 4oclock. anyway I am glad we met and we will keep in touch, I hope to sort out the ebay things I have to take photos first and then learn how to post on line, I do a lot of printing photos, but I have never sold on ebay. I think I will stop now as its another late night, val xx

What a lot she has had to put up with, she deserves to do well, trust Barclays to throw a spanner in the works! As much as I would love to say that the judge would be influenced by the human circumstances here, I am afraid even if he was, I seriously don't think the stay will be lifted, and thats not because of the judge, they have all been instructed not to pay out any more claims until the OFT case is resolved. Our judge went into lengthy details of the OFT case, and told us that even if he lifted the stay we would not get a hearing til after the case in January and even then that the OFT case will not end then, because it will go to appeal and the Lords and it may even go as far as Europe, all this could take up to 2 years, so I am not saying don't try, but be prepared for this. By the way don't bother too much about the taking the whole bundle, your skeleton argument and POC and witness statement, list of expenditure, copies of all correspondence, I think thats about the main things, ANYONE ELSE WANT TO ADD TO THIS???

hey I'm not complaining, when I had my 3, I did all you were doing with the one big exception, |I didn't have to go to work, I don't know how you manage it!!! you young mothers are trying to do far too much at the same time, I really sympathize with you it's the mortgages you have to pay causing most of the problem , this is why one of my daughters works, and my sons wife works, the one with 4 children is lucky enough at the moment doesn't have to work, you take care of yourself please:)

Hello ja-de I am so sorry about that, and I have to report that the oral hearing was as expected a waste of time and effort, the stay was not lifted, no more hearings or settlements alowed as you know til the outcome of the OFT case, I am writing up the court event over on my site etc. val

OMG Jo you are overdoing it ! do take care, I know what its like (eventhoughits long ago) getting the kids up early for school, grandma of 8 now! nite nite my eyes are sore

Well we survived the hearing, but no luck with the stay, no surprise there then met up with Jenny, which was great, we both felt so nervous, it really helped being in it together, jenny did brillilantly, only 3 of us turned up out of 5, the third was a chap from the sites called butterbean his case was against HSBC, and behind us in court were 4 legal trainees from the university, and a man with Bs solicitor who she referred to as ' a mini clerk' ! ( if I got that right) HSBCs solicitor was there and ours both female (young girls) we arrived at 10am, the judge was late due to another case took longer than expected, and our case finished at 1 oclock! Not the 10mins they told us then. there was a tremendous amount of legal jargon, the judge explained the impending OFT case to us in full! we each had our turn to speak and to be fair the judge seemed to be symathetic, the banks solicitors had their turn, and this time (just our luck) made a meal of it, finally the judge summed up and made his decision, we already knew that because he told us at the start! we had all asked for the conditions in the alternative to be adhered to, but he refused that as well. tell you a bit more later. val

jow you wouldn't be a bit typsy by any chance? I haven't had a drink, but I feel the same as you through tiredness, 3 hours sleep up at 6 in Cardiff at 9 oclock,

yes think I will, just going to do a bit of reading on yours...val

thanks stone, I am so tired after 3 hours sleep last night, got up at 6,in Cardiff by 9, then new experience got two buses back to my car home by 4.30 I started on here and almost dropped my laptop, falling asleep, The poor chap with us had come all the way from haverfordwest thats bad he should have been heard in local court

Hi tez, slck, saintly, Well we survived the hearing, but no luck with the stay, no surprise there then met up with Jenny, which was great, we both felt so nervous, it really helped being in it together, jenny did brillilantly, only 3 of us turned up out of 5, the third was a chap from the sites called butterbean his case was against HSBC, and behind us in court were 4 legal trainees from the university, and a man with Bs solicitor who she referred to as ' a mini clerk' ! ( if I got that right) HSBCs solicitor was there and ours both female (young girls) we arrived at 10am, the judge was late due to another case took longer than expected, and our case finished at 1 oclock! Not the 10mins they told us then. there was a tremendous amount of legal jargon, the judge explained the impending OFT case to us in full! we each had our turn to speak and to be fair the judge seemed to be symathetic, the banks solicitors had their turn, and this time (just our luck) made a meal of it, finally the judge summed up and made his decision, we already knew that because he told us at the start! we had all asked for the conditions in the alternative to be adhered to, but he refused that as well. tell you a bit more later. val

Sorry about your daughter, the elbow! such a difficult place too, i do hope she will be OK, she is far more important believe me, you didn't miss much, as you probably know the stay was not lifted, we were so nervous, but actually Hickenbottom was very pleasant and instead of being in there for the allotted 10 minutes we were in there 2.5 HOURS tell you more later

many thanks castle I was going to read the skeleton argument, am writing a separate bit with a bit ore circumstances?

Oh I forgot tez then my daughter inlaw turned up with 2 year old little darling marvellous things these babes put everything into perspective don't they?

OMG jenny you're making a habit of this! thanks stone saint and tez I have to get on and write something down, I was only going to ask the Judge " Your Honour as I am so nervous never having entered a court before, and shaking like a jelly can I read out my skeleton argument" Saturday for me will be.....is there life after reclaim?

mini skirt tez, have you no taste, wore them first time around in u, mmmmmm 60sssss still got a few germs hanging around, story time, are you sitting comfortably then Ill begin, I pay my ccards online, always on time, had mbna statement which is one I transferred to with 0% only to see £12. charge for late payment and £20.50 for interest, phoned up played hell, no joy. guess what the payment made online on thursday did not get put in til Monday, all my pleading, and arguing no good, and to top it all the 05 promotion is automatically cancelled, charming. told OH he went like the money is showing out on our bank statement that day and four days later arrives in Mbna, so WHERE IS IT in between, I get him on the phone to have a go. he gets a manager, and argues (the poor man could not get rid of him) when he pressed him to answer, where has my money gone its not in bank and its not in mbna, his answer its in mbna in a CLEARING BANK, asked which one, he didn.t know, so says OH millions of people like me are continually paying money into clearing banks for a few days earning billions more for you lot!!!!!! after that the manager said he it is not possible to take off the charges, but he will reinstate the 0% promotion, then the phone goes and its the Ideal shopping woman, with ref to my letter about the refund they owe me, she will have to give it to the department which deals with....etc, NO your times up today I gave seven days youve had 1.5 months I will involve the consumer direct. then the door bell the contact lenses I ordered online because I discovered on MSE site a lot cheaper than I pay at specs , postman asked for £17.50 which was postage£8 and Customs £9.50 , I already paid shipping, they are still half the price anyway. spent a few hours ( seemed like) phoning hospital in attempt to get dad (Bill) out of there before he gets MRSA !! my best friend rang me her dad (Harry) in Heath, because months ago had his toenail removed in Royal Gwent, got MRSA , theyve taken his toe off and is his pace maker!!! is infected, val xx

Hi again, I will have to get an early ish night tonight, because I have to get out by 7.45 drive over to my son in law he takes my 12 yr old granddaughter to her bus for 8 oclock and then drives to his office in Cardiff, so I thought rather than me or OH drive down, and face manic car parking I will be early go and have coffee sounds good,

YES here here jenny, the only thing to look forward to is a drink after maybe( cup of tea? coffee?) Thanks so much tez, I have had a terrible day and as always, came on here and you made me laugh, thanks! do you want me to tell you about my day? I won't be offended if you say no shut the hell up!

Listen hils, I will be the same as you, I will be so scared just the thought of going in to a court room is enough to render me speechless:eek: val xx