It's under, and has been allocated the small claims track. Thanks again Westy...

Looks like the Judge on my case has read the Allocation Questionnaire thread (Proposed Directions). It's almost word for word...

Brilliant! Thanks, I thought I'd have a bit more to do! And do I get to charge them for the cost of the photocopying of statements, etc?

Has anyone had similar directions applied to their claim? Need advice urgently please...

Have followed all the stages as set out on the site and today received a date from the Court. 'On 23 Jan 2007 the papers in this claim were considered by District Judge XXXX who allocated the Claim to the Small Claims Track... The following directions apply to this claim: 1) The claimant shall within 21 days of service of this order send to the defendant and to the Court: a) In respect of the Claimants schedule which sets out each of the charges repayment of which is being sought, and which has already been filed and served, copies of any statement or other document relied upon as showing that each and every such charge has been made; b) A statement of evidence, if such is to be relied upon, as tending to show that the alleged charges have been made, or that they are irrecoverable as penalties and, if so, identifying the relevant clause(s) pursuant to which the charges were applied. c)Copies of decided cases and other legal materials to be relied upon. If the claimant fails to comply with this order, the claim will be struck out without further order. 2)The Defendant shall within 21 days thereafter file and serve a response to the Claimant's schedule, stating in respect of each item claimed: a) Pursuant to what contractual provision such charge was made, producing a copy of the contractual document relied upon; b) Whether such charge is accepted to be a penalty, and if not, why not. c) If such charge is alleged to be a pre-estimate of the efendant's loss incurred by the Claimants actions (whether or not such action is to be treated as a breach of the contract between the parties), all facts and matters intended to be relied upon as showing that such is a proper estimate of such loss, and all evidence to be adduced at trial as to what the true cost of dealing with the matter was. d) Any witness statements. e) Copies of decided cases and othjer legal materials to be relied upon. 3) The original documents shall be brought to the hearing. 4) The court must be informed immediately if the case is settled by agreement before the hearing date.' Does anyone know what the next step should be? NW are unlikely to concede before I comply with the directions as in 1) above - if I don't the judge may strike the case out. What should I send in?

Q1 Yes, complete the Allocation questionaire. Q2 As your claim is over £1500 you have to pay £100 Q3 confused? Q4 Copy a breakdown of the charges to Cobbetts, along with the letter at the start of this thread. Basically, Cobbetts CANNOT force you to comply with cpr part 18, only the court can request this. Copy the letter to the court manager at Milton Keynes because, yes Q5 Your case has been transferred to Milton Keynes (your local court I assume), and so the £100 fee should be forwarded to them. I'm not sure what happens with the £100. Is it returned when NatWest drop the case? Just keep looking at these threads, there is always someone who has been where you find yourself. Take the advice that's available and don't get stressed by it.

Letter 1 Subject Access Request to Bishopsgate requesting all statements for last 6 years Rec'd in A5 manilla envelope - battered and hanging out. Letter 2 Calculate charges and interest. Preliminary approach for repayment Letter from Mr Higley declining invitation to pay me back Letter Before Action 19/10/2006 Letter from Mr Higley thanking me for letting them know of my intentions. Completed MCOL and issued claim 23/11/2006 Acknowledgement of service of claim forwarded from Court 4/12/2006 Letter, defence and request for further info rec'd from Cobbetts 28/12/2006 Sent standard 'Not till the court asks for it' letter (CPR Pt 18 Request) 2/1/2007 Received letter of offer from Cobbetts (£1000 on £1024 charges!!) 6/1/2007

I summarised the total of charges and the number of instances I'd been charged by NatWest over the last 6 years. I stated I felt it would be useful if the defendant produced a full breakdown of their costs in relation to each of the charges made, allowing the judge to decide if these charges were punitive or not. Got the letter from Cobblers this morning offering me £1000 as 'a goodwill payment'. Not bad really considering my claim is only for £1026 plus interest! Desperate measures??

Received notification of defence from MCOL Northampton County Court, also transfer of the claim to my local court, Buxton. Included was the Allocation Questionnaire (small claims track) - straightforward other than sections D - Witnesses and E - Experts. Has anyone proferred witnesses or experts? In the small claims track (which I assume I am now on due to the AQ (N149) received) against the banks, does the judge make a ruling? I'm not sure how these things work and can't find a reference. Apologies if there's any duplication...

Banks, Bank Holidays, how thick am i?

My understanding is that this shouldn't be a problem - please correct me if I'm wrong! If (or when) the claim is judged in your favour the figure will again be different, as the interest is calculated on a daily basis upto the date you are repaid.

Just received the copy of defence from Cobbetts and a CPR part 18 request. I rang the court this morning (28 Dec), to check whether they had received anything - they said not but that the defendant had until 4pm today to lodge the defence, despite the 28 days being up on the 26th. Needless to say, I am preparing the response letter now to go in the post at the end of the day. See what they throw back in the New Year!