I think this is far, far too much. Masses of ammo for the bank to cloud the skies with. They admit the default was wrongly placed. Nothing else matters. Ask for £3500 or you'll put it back up to £5000. Tell them the proof you'll submit and the case law that supports your claim. They've not a leg to stand and they don't need your help. If you ask them to produce stuff, they'll delay proceedings. Keep it simpler than that if I were you and try and get this sorted in time for Xmas. They'll be getting bonuses no matter what but they'll really try and ruin it for you if they can. I hope it's a short phone call. Richard.

Hi Noddy, You're doing fine. Folk with a lower IQ should easily be able to use the small claims court. I did. At first glance , it does seem that something rather fishy is going on at your court and we're all looking forward to finding out what that is next week. Good idea to look for another CAB office. It seems that one near the court is oversubscribed. The quickest way to see my MP is to phone and make an appointment. He does usually ignore my e-mails! Perhaps yours follows a similar regime. I hope you'll soon get around to dealing with "all the other things" It sounds like you need some help with that too.

Didn't see this. What did she say when you told her you've been trying to ring all morning? There should be an option to sit and wait too. Perhaps ask your MP for advice. Maybe they can get you fast tracked to see CAB. Andy seems like your man legally but a friendly face counts for a lot too.

Hi Noddy, I hope you find a way to get to your graduation. I'm well accustomed to not being able to do things because of malicious bankers. Thankfully, they hadn't screwed me before I graduated. It may be worth physically going in to arrange an appointment with CAB, rather than phone. They can possibly help you find funds for the graduation at least and may provide a friendly face in court. What type of work are you looking for? Aberdeen has quite a low unemployment rate. Things will improve soon for you.

It's perhaps not the same but I had a mediation conference by telephone a while back in Aberdeen. This took place in the court, not in the presence of a judge, but a mediator. If this was an option, I'd prefer it than to try setting up a conference call from home. It seems Andy's helping with the draft directions but I'd assume it's just telling them what you want again. Enjoy.

You're doing well although it might not seem like it. High BP isn't good. Hopefully, you'll not experience a panic attack over this. (It feels like you're going to die - but you don't! Not pleasant at all apart from the part where you don't die!) When you finally get the judge to award damages in your favour it will benefit thousands of folk. You should be proud of what you're doing. Your court does seem a tad sub standard but it's what you have and you need to deal with it as best you can. Booking an appointment is definitely the best way with CAB despite taking ages. You should ensure that the court has your amended claim. It isn't clear that they accept that they have it. Yes, definitely try and find out if the judge has been dealing directly with the defenders behind your back. This seems most irregular. Try and live a little while you're waiting. It can feel like ages. It sounds like they'll set up a hearing around 28th November that will hopefully be before Xmas. Just keep in touch with the court. You seem destined to be part of legal history! Enjoy.

Perhaps you didn't see the movie but it's a great honour. You seem to have been chosen to lead the 21st Century assault against bullying bankers! Don't sweat. All you need to do is keep in touch with the court and do whatever they say. You're doing fine. It's just a shame that it is dragging out so long. If you do feel like you need help, CAB should have a lawyer for free for you. There's a big difference between the judge postponing things and postponing things in response to the defender without consulting you. The latter shouldn't be allowed at all. You should still get £5K + expenses. It's now been delayed it seems. It's not easy keeping cool but try and get on good terms with the people at the court. What did she say you have to write in for? I had understood the amended claim has already been submitted. We're here to help too. Well done for sticking it out. Richard.

Sorry to hear you're letting them off with £1500. As long as this stays in the small claims court it should be a quickish thing though. Good luck. I hope you get what you want in the way that you want it. Your folks should be proud.

WOW. That seems pretty corrupt to me, them being allowed to "write to the judge" and you not even knowing about that and having the opportunity to object. Tell your MP and get CAB involved. Why didn't the court advise you on this? It seems well dodgy. Sorry to hear that the bank are dragging this out. That's what they do. It needs to stop. It seems you're the chosen one.

I think so. However, in my experience, you should have a hearing date and both parties must attend anyway or risk losing. If you don't have a hearing date, I'd suggest being at the court as soon as it opens tomorrow. Enjoy.

A good plan. Finally this seems to be happening. Great. A shame that it's so difficult to contact your court though. Hope it's all over soon for you and others are inspired.

File a small claim at your local court for general damage to creditworthiness. There should be people there to tell you how to fill in the form. Claim £5K + expenses in raising the action (should be about £65 but the clerk of court will advise you). Good Luck.

General damage to creditworthiness should net you £5K. Lodge it at your local court if you can. It will be quicker. Possibly just 4 weeks. Base it on Kpohraror v Woolwich 1996 and mention (if you like) that this was ratified in the Scottish Court of Session in Durkin v DSG & HFC. Keep it simple. The bank will try and make it complicated. Good luck. Richard.

Hi Supasta, I've been away for the past 6 weeks. I had no idea the small claims court was so complicated. I don't believe it is. The bank are trying to make it complicated. The more you write, the more they have to argue about. Keep it simple, as you have tried to do. I notice that they're trying to claim my case is only relevant to Scots so perhaps highlight that it was based on English cases (Eg Kpohraror and King). That's it. I hope your wife changes her mind. It's disgraceful what the banks put families through. My wife is complaining in the background as I write this! This must be over as soon as it gets before the judge. Watch though, the bank will try and make this complicated when it's not. They've kept you on a register too long. Your credit reports show this. They have removed the defaults which seems to suggst that they accept this. General damage to creditworthiness has occured. Damages are due. The rest will serve only to obscure this simple claim. By keeping it simple others behind you will be able to follow too. Good luck. Be nice to the judge! Richard.

Try as they may, Kpohraror's cheque didn't go through because of his credit rating. He lost out on a huge deal but that's irrelevant. The point is, he got £8K ish for general damages to his creditworthiness just for being blacklisted for less than 24 hours (I think it was).

Ah great. CAB is Citizens Advice Bureau. You can get legal advice for free. They should have a good knowledge of how the court works. The admin folk at the court in Nottingham, although not legally trained, should be able to help you get everything submitted. It would have been much easier if the original claim was submitted there though. Kpohraror was 1996. King was about 100 years ago. My case should be ratified in the UK Supreme Court by next summer. Good luck.

Hi Noddy, Just back from 6 weeks away from the Web. Can't stay long tonight. Briefly though, it's a shame the case was struck out. This probably means you need to start again but check with the court. If so, try lodging it directly at Nottingham. The in court advisor isn't legally qualified but helps folk on points of procedure that have tripped you up seemingly. In future, you should be able to get some kind of help from someone at the court. The Durkin ruling was indeed arrived at in Scotland but it was based on at least 2 English cases. Kpohraror v Woolwich and King v British Linen (off the top of my head). Both of these guys were defaulted only for a day or less and were also awarded the equivalent of £8K ish simply for general damages to creditworthiness. They're right though. I was screwed for 7 years (actually, the way that things have worked out, I remain screwed. 14 years so far. I should really have been awarded much, much more. Anyway, the maximum small claim as I understand it, is £5K, so stick to that unless you want the stress of the higher court proceedings. Go for £5K at least (unless you're happy with just £1K) Arrange an appointment by telephone with a local CAB lawyer too. They'll be familiar with the local court. Good luck. Richard

I assume you're still dealing with Northampton. A chat with the in court advisor at Nottingham may help your understanding of the process and they may be able to give you some good tips. If you're comfortable with the advice you're getting from Northampton or otherwise that's fine.

It depends on your definition of incorrect. Yes though. Enjoy, Richard.

Fine. This seems to be the equivalent of the MOM. I'd do it to simplify your case just to the point of general damages to creditworthiness. Ditch everything else because it only provides fuel for the bank to argue against. Did you speak to the in court advisor? It seems fairly straightforward. For only £45 it's quite good value. Yes, it's pants that you can't recover this particular £45 but that is the kind of thing (on a small scale) that happens in the higher courts. I don't expect it to be refused. In that case you'd just lodge another claim. Ensure you have a chat with the in court advisor. They are more knowledgable about procedure than me. It is the procedure that can catch you out. Next time, you'll be using the correct words. Cheers, Richard.

Yes. Mention general damages to creditworthiness. This you don't have to prove. The rest you do. The judge is unlikely to award damages that you don't ask for. It's too stressfull claiming for the stress, particularly when the claim for general damages will take you to the £5K limit anyway. Good luck.

A minute of ammendment (MOM) is an instrument that allows you to alter your pleadings before the hearing. It costs about £50 I think to lodge. It really would be worth chatting with the in court advisor. I think it's important to have somewhere in your pleadings that you're claiming for general loss of creditworthiness. If you claim anything else, you'll be asked to prove stuff where there's no need. It's entirely up to you if you want to ask them to reconsider. As the date is close now, they may just leave it for the court anyway where they should get their ear bent if you've asked for the right thing in writing.

Noddy, Try and concentrate on the one simple fact that should net you £5K. Don't ask for more or you'll end up in the higher court. General damage to creditworthiness commands reparation of £8K without needing to prove anything other than they've already accepted. Ask for £5K no more. It seems like you might need to lodge a minute of ammendment to simplify this. Try taking everything to the in court advisor at Nottingham where it'll eventualy end up and get help from them. Keep it simple. You must mention the general damage to creditwothiness though and you could also refer to my case and Kpohraror v Woolwich. They've admitted lodging the default (crying they did it in error but still didn't remove it quick enough to allow you to get a mortgage). Pure malice. Enjoy the ride. Should be over soon. You're all set to be the trail blazer. I might not have very good comms offshore for the next few weeks. Richard

Next time lodge the small claim in your local court at Nottingham. Much easier when you can pop in and ask questions or lodge papers. Generally, I understand that you'll not know who the judge is until the day. You could phone the court and ask but knowing who the judge is probably won't make any difference? So, you might be the first to be called or the last. If you're not the first you'll get a good idea of how the small claims court works. Yes, it's quite easy. The in-court advisor (in Aberdeen anyway, I assume the same elsewhere) is usually present at the small claims hearings and usually represents one or two of us unfortunates.

I imagine the cases that don't have hearings are the ones that are settled beforehand. Most folk are happy just to have the default removed and a few beer chits to boot. I think that with just a little more effort, they'd have an easy £5K (or £8K less irrecoverable expenses in the higher court) The hearing is straightforward. In Aberdeen, you'd be one of say 50 cases to deal with in a 3 hour time slot. It will be over very quickly. 10 minutes max I'd say and most of the time the solicitor for the bank will be the one that's being questioned. If the judge has the letter in front of them on the day, they're more likely to rule in your favour and so avoiding a trial. Try and get the letter to the court now. If not the judge will give you 4 weeks say after the hearing until the next hearing to produce it. That is wasting your life unnecessarily. It sounds like you'd benefit from speaking to your in court advisor but the court is a long way from you. Perhaps try phoning them (possibly you'll need to leave a message for them to phone you back) first. The small claim is a simple process relative to the higher courts. Nothing to be worried about provided you are comfortable speaking in public. You'll soon get used to that. Enjoy.