I attended court for this today and had the case withdrawn by the prosecutor. Detailed story: -Turned up slightly late (10:05) due to Redditch being the worst place in the world, therefore didn't have a chance to discuss the case with the prosecutor. -Called into the courtroom, gave name and correct address. Pleaded 'not guilty' but asked for a short adjournment while I discussed my documents with the prosecutor. -Prosecutor was very reasonable but seemed slightly intimidated. I pointed out the false witness statement and generally questioned the manner in which the DVLA had conducted this. He seemed to stall for a while so I asked him politely but straightly "would you consider withdrawing the charge in light of these anomalies", to which he agreed. -Prosecutor informed me I was free to leave, I told him I would prefer to stay until the case was closed; the clerk of the court agreed with me that this was a better idea, and called the magistrates back in. -Prosecutor stated he had no evidence to offer and withdrew the charges. This was my first time in court. Needless to say I'm over the moon at having won, but made some interesting observations today: I arrived clean-shaven in a suit consisting of a pinstripe blazer & trousers, plain grey shirt, diagonal-striped grey tie in a full Windsor knot with a tie bar, and polished black shoes. My brother accompanied me and was similarly dressed. I went in with a big folder full of evidence covering as many avenues of mitigation as possible; none of which ended up being necessary; but nevertheless I feel that I presented myself in a manner that suggested diligence and commanded respect. It struck me that this would be a commonsensical way in which one should attend court, however none of the other defendants were even wearing a tie, and some were an absolute mess. They all carried little if any evidence into the courtroom with them, had not prepared any kind of representation for themselves, and one by one were found guilty. If you're going to court, dress properly for Christ's sake! My kit came mostly from Matalan and cost probably about £80. Finally, my take on the advice I have received on three online forums (Pepipoo, Consumer action group, and Money Savings Expert); quite frankly it has been **** poor. I have the opinion that unless your case has very regular circumstances (in which case, you don't really need to post a question as the information is already out there), you are unlikely to get much help and may even be subjected to unpleasantness & sarcasm. I provide an account of my experiences in the hope that it advises and informs others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

I realise this was a VERY long time ago, and I'm now well and truly graduated and a few years into my career, but thought I should post the outcome of this for completeness. It may be utterly irrelevant now though. I did go into my local branch and had the charges dropped; the reason was, the terms and conditions of the student account vaguely stated that fees weren't chargeable. The manageress I spoke to said (In response to me querying this) "these look to me like an overdraft renewal fee" (they clearly weren't) "And aren't chargeable on your account". Thanks for your reply freakyleaky, if a bit late!

I would like to ask for advice relating to a DVLA requisition to appear at magistrates' court that I have just received. I should start by stating that I've researched extensively so far, read everything I could find, and require further direction to my circumstances that seem to be quite different. Pretty much all queries on the failure to notify disposal/transfer offences seem to end up involving Section 7 of the Interpretations Act, which unfortunately doesn't apply to my situation. It's become a bit of a long story, so I'll break it down into dates & events: -28th January: Just moved house, sent away V5 to change RK's address of the vehicle to which the alleged offence relates. -2nd March: Part exchanged the vehicle through an independent dealer. I had not received the V5 for the vehicle by this time. The independent dealer stated that they would be able to apply for a replacement V5 for it anyway and were therefore able to complete the transaction for the vehicle I was purchasing, but asked if I could forward the replacement V5 for the part exchanged vehicle when/if it arrived. -8th May: Received a 'Failure to notify disposal of vehicle' from DVLA offering a £35 out of court settlement, increasing to £55 if not paid within a prescribed period of time. -14th May: Sent a letter to the DVLA explaining what had occurred, that I could not complete the V5 as I had not by that time received it, and had assumed afterwards that I wasn't going to receive it since the independent dealer had applied for a replacement V5. Enclosed a copy of the sales invoice, and made clear that I had full details of the trader so would have been able to account for the vehicle in the event of it being subject to police inquiry. -22nd May: Received a very much template looking letter rejecting my correspondence from 14th May, providing new dates in which to pay the £35/£55. -29th May: Received an identical letter to 22nd of May, but with payment dates pushed forward, and this was sent to my correct address (See note on addresses below). -12th June: Sent a letter to the DVLA stating my disappointed that they had not accepted my proposed resolution, reiterating that I had still not received a replacement V5 for the vehicle and dispute the offence they allege, and stating that they must therefore commence legal proceedings. -20th June: Received a letter from Mrs P Woolley (DVLA) stating that after careful consideration, it had been decided that the case should be settled by prosecution and that I will receive a court summons in due course. -Recently: Received a requisition from the DVLA to appear at magistrates' court. Includes a 'statement of witness' by a 'Rachel Loftus', that incorrectly states (incorrect in bold): "On 08/05/2013 a notice was sent to the defendant requesting information under S46 of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 and offering the oppertunity to pay an out of court settlement. A written reply has not been received nor has the notice been returned undelivered by the postal authorities" The paperwork contains a 'Guilty Plea' addressed to the designated officer of the magistrates' court, and overleaf a 'Not Guilty Plea' addressed to the DVLA; which seems strangely like an attempt to seek information relating to my defence if I intend to plead not guilty. Note on addresses: All DVLA correspondence up to and including 22nd May was sent to the wrong address (incorrect house number) but I assume had been delivered by a neighbour. I did not know or realise this until inspecting the paperwork now. I also now realise that it's possible that the replacement V5 was sent to this address but not subsequently forwarded to me by the neighbour. I suspect that the correspondence from the 29th May was in response to the DVLA updating my address due to my recent correspondence. So I suppose that's everything in full. To explain my actions (or lack thereof) between 2nd March & 8th May; I wasn't aware of the legislation down to it's full detail relating to notifying the secretary of state for transport when you transfer a vehicle. Although I had misjudged the appropriateness of relying on the independent dealer to notify the DVLA of change of ownership instead of myself, I felt at the time that I had taken all due diligence to be able to account for the vehicle in the event of a police enquiry by retaining full details of the person I had transferred the vehicle to, and providing them with my full details. Since I had not received any correspondence from either the DVLA or independent dealer, I assumed that the situation was resolved and no longer expected to receive a replacement V5. You could say I'm guilty of having too much faith in the system! I'm torn between angrily wanting to beat the DVLA in court and pursue costs, or taking the best course of action to convince the DVLA to drop the case. I'd particularly appreciate advice in relation to the following queries: -Is it worth contacting the DVLA in light of my realisation as to the possible original error (wrong address) of the replacement V5? They've generally just been pretty unpleasant so far. Should I make further correspondence by post or would it be worth calling them? -Where does one stand in terms of being required to send a V5 but not having received it, and never receiving it? -What period of time must elapse after transferring a vehicle before the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 is contravened? -If this goes to court and I win the case, can I pursue costs and how much? Can I include inconvenience/stress?

I have a student account. HSBC charged me £100 for going over my overdraft limit when my student loan was late. I haven't started any court case yet but have gone down the financial hardship route. I'm borderline-screwed until my next student loan installment in the new year unless I take out a £100 hardship loan from the Uni. I've got a response to my second complaint letter telling me to fill in an income & expenditure form and ring them. Would this achieve anything, or should I just write back again and demand it a final time before putting in a claim? Letter history: (header, names etc removed) #1: I am writing to request that you repay a recent charge that was applied to my undergraduate student account on the . I do not believe this charge reflects the true cost to HSBC. The total charge was £100. I believe I have been unlawfully deprived of the money and therefore ask that you repay me the full amount. Should you fail to comply, I intend to claim the full amount together with any applicable court fees through the county court. This is based on the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, as I believe these default charges are unfair and not proportionate to your costs, and therefore the court will rule in my favour. I look forward for a full response to this letter within 14 days. Yours faithfully, Response from them clairified current situation regarding FSA waiver etc. #2: I acknowledge receipt of your response to my complaint. I am aware of the current situation regarding the legal proceedings with the Office of Fair Trading, however I should point out that the suspension of complaints authorised by the Financial Services Authority do not apply to cases of financial hardship, and the FSA expects firms to continue dealing with such cases during the waiver period. I am a full time student and have recently returned to studies as well as private rented accommodation. Due to the nature of this situation, the default charge you applied to my account has led to financial hardship for me, as I now live with three other students who are mutually financially dependant on me to pay for general living and upkeep costs of the said rented accommodation. Having been what I consider to be unlawfully deprived of £100, there is now a possibility that I will be unable to contribute towards said living costs without breaching my arranged overdraft limit with you, which would probably incur more charges, making the situation worse. Your actions have therefore potentially placed me and three other students in financial jeopardy. Any court of law will not look favourably upon this. I look forward to a full refund of the £100 charge within the next 14 days, and thus will overlook the fact that this situation ever happened, and remain a loyal customer as I had been quite happy with the level of service received in the past until this situation occurred. Should you not refund the charge, I will have no choice but to proceed with a claim through the county court for the full amount plus interest up to the time of judgement as well as any applicable court fees. Because of my circumstances of financial hardship, the court will not grant your request of an order for the case to be suspended until the bank’s proceedings with the OFT have been resolved. I should add in anticipation, that when I graduate from my course I will need a trustworthy, reliable & considerate bank to deal with accounts for my planned IT Consultancy business. I should also add that two of the students I am sharing accommodation with are also customers of yours, and await the outcome of this situation with eagerness. Yours faithfully, Response apologises about financial hardship circumstances, states that they will explore how they can assist (such as debt reschedules/alternative borrowing arrangements) but they emphasise that they will not solely focus on refunding charges. Any advice anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated.