Can a forum moderator please move this thread to the successes forum? Cheers! Neil.

I've had a significant development this morning! I haven't seen it yet, but a letter arrived this morning from a Temilope Fatojun, I've seen the text from this on here before, but it basically goes something like this: "We still think your legal argument is pants and will fail in court, but as the sum is modest and in order to avoid time and expense attending court, we are prepared to settle the full amount of including stat. interest and costs of £897.58." Now either my maths is not up to spec or that amount is wrong. I make it £920 in charges (indeed the MCOL form stated £920), £247.60 in interest and £120 in costs, totalling £1287.59. What gives here? Is a phone call in order to point out the shortfall or is this the way they always settle? Cheers, Neil.

I'm in the process of putting my bundle together and could do with some advice on what constitutes 'Strict Proof' of charges. Will a list of dates, type of charge and penalty amount in MS Excel suffice or do I need to scan each and every page of every copy statement they've sent me? Here's hoping the former will do!!! Cheers, Neil.

Thanks for the advice guys, and thanks for that link victimnomore! I called the court, as I had two conflicting requests for evidence - in my 'Notice of Allocation' it said I was to submit everything by 10th October (tomorrow), but in my 'Notice of Small Claim Hearing' it says to submit the docs at least 7 days before the hearing (20th December). They confirmed that the correct date is the 13th December, so the pressure is off for now at least I've downloaded the small claims bundle and am currently digesting it I'd still appreciate a mod's thoughts on whether I am required to submit a skeleton defence to Barclays... Cheers, Neil.

I could do with a hand with my skeleton defence please?

The 10th of October is drawing ever closer, can anyone help me please? Neil.

Thanks Guys I received a letter from the court on Saturday morning. There is a "Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track (Hearing)" document which does what it suggests, and an order with the following directions: Now, 2), 3) and 5) are trivial, but I have a few questions... With regard to the skeleton arguments mentioned in 1), is it normal for the claimant to submit a skeleton argument to the defendant? I would have thought that disclosure of evidence was sufficient? Would the reasoning Here form an adequate skeleton argument or not? In 4), I was under the impression that for any written statement to be admissible as evidence in court it must be S9 compliant. Since I shall be appearing in person in court, why do I need to provide a written statement, and a non-compliant one at that? (Assuming S9 applies to small claims court). Cheers! Neil.

Is there really nobody here who can advise me on this? Anway, since I posted last I have filled in the AQ and returned it. I have been in contact with the local combined court (who have been very helpful throughout ). Barclays let it go right to the wire before submitting their AQ. My case has been passed to the listings officer who will be in touch next week... I'm now considering writing to KJ offering him one last chance to settle. Obviously, this will be for the full amount plus interest, plus MCOL costs. I'm concerned that the longer it takes, the more chance Barclays have of finding a defence that stands up in court :-| I would like to speed things up as much as possible, hence the idea of writing to them. Is there anything else I could / should be doing? Neil.

Well Done!! I'm waiting for a court date for my case - I rang the court to confirm that they had received an AQ from Barclays and they reckoned on mid-november for court dates. I hope they settle before then - I've spent the money five times already lol Neil.

I'd really like some advice on the above please! Neil.

Cheers Sean Right, my Notice of Transfer of Proceedings, Allocation Questionnaire and Barclays 'Defence' have arrived this morning. The defence is the standard one as posted many times here, this time signed by a James MacDonald, 'Pupil Barrister' (although the email address is still K Jeremiah's). I'm especially interested in attempting to mediate with them (in as much as I'd like them to pay up ASAP), but don't want to appear a pushover. I'd really like some advice on this I reckon I can manage the AQ myself, but I can't decide whether I should be asking them for disclosure of the charge breakdown. Cheers, Neil.

Well today was day 28... sometime around 11am Barclays filed a defence - talk about cutting it fine!!! I guess I sit tight and await my copy of the defence and an AQ. I read with interest that some people have entered into discussion with Mr Jeremiah - is this a recommended course of action? I'm not too worried about speaking to him over the telephone (If it gets heavy, I'll just say there's someone knocking on the door ), but obviously would rather do it in writing. What are the expert's thoughts on this approach? Cheers, Neil.

Looks like I'd better start looking for a new account then to be on the safe side! Does anyone have any recommendations? At the moment I'm tempted to sort the survey results by payout stage! Neil.

I am in the process of claiming fees back from Barclays (see Here if you're interested). I have two accounts with Barclays, the one that I am claiming fees back from, and another from which I am not. *IF* they close my main account after my claim, my understanding is that their grounds for this would be that I have breached my contract with them. Are they able to close my other account on the same grounds? Cheers Neil.

Well, I filed the moneyclaim and today have had an Acknowledgement of Service from Barclays via the court. It states Keith Jeremiah's intent to defend all of the claim. Should I be doing anything other than re-reading the forum? Cheers, Neil.

Thanks Michael Looks like I'm good to go then - I'd actually stated the amount of interest further down my statement: I'll get the account number added and submit it! Neil.

Jasun: I'm getting conflicting reports here - barracad is saying simply take them to court, you suggest I need to write to the legal department first. Do you think I will get any joy writing to the legal department? From most of the threads I have read, they don't budge on their offers. Am I actually at the stage where a moneyclaim is appropriate? I've got the wording below saved on the moneyclaim site, just need to hit 'submit' and I'm done... Am I missing anything, or have I gotten any of the wording wrong? I don't want to give them any room to wriggle! The only thing I can think of is I should probably add my account number and sort code - does anyone else have any suggestions? Cheers!! Neil.

Well, I've filled in the moneyclaim online form, was just wondering if someone with a better mind could check my wording? It's quite hard to get under the maximum number of characters without altering the wording on the moneyclaim guidelines thread! "I have a contract with the defendant bank, which is conducted on their standard terms and conditions. I am claiming the return of £920 taken by the defendant in the way of charges over the last 6 years plus the interest they have levied on those charges. The bank's charges are a disproportionate penalty and therefore unenforceable as they are contrary to common law. Further, as a disproportionate penalty they are invalid under the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977 s.4 and under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Para.8 and sch.2 (1)(e). In the event that the charges are not a penalty then they are unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15. I have asked the bank to justify their charges but they have declined. I claim interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8% a year from 26th Apr 2001 to 28th July 2006 of £179.19 and also interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of £0.24." Does that look OK? Neil.

Barracad: That does not sound harsh at all - I asked for advice and you gave it!! I actually modified letters I found elsewhere on the net (mainly to correct grammatical slip-ups). I wasn't aware of this site until recently. I threatened court action in the hope that it may spur them into action: Once the offer of £400 arrived, it seemed like an easier option - surely nobody WANTS to go to court? Michael: Thanks for your thoughts Tomorrow is payday - I will likely fill in the money claim tomorrow night and take it from there. Cheers! Neil.

This is my first post here, so Hi Everyone! I've managed to progress my case reasonably far before finding this site (after watching the edition of Tonight devoted to this subject). I'm looking for some advice and guidance on how best to proceed from here... I'll post a brief version of the story so far to give you all some idea of what has transpired: 29th March 2006. I write to Barclays asking them to supply me with statements for the last 6 years. I enclose a cheque for £10, which they return 27th April 2006 Having recieved the statements and done some sums I reckon they have taken £890 off me over the last six years. I write to them informing them that their charges are contrary to Section 1(e) of the 1999 Consumer Contracts Regulations, and that I beleive their charges to be penalties which are irrecoverable at common law, as proved by Castaneda and Others V. Clydebank Engineering and Shipbuilding Co (1904) 12 SLT 498 and of Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor co Ltd [1915] AC 79. I give them 14 days to refund the £890. 5th May 2006 I receive a letter back from Mike Brophy, with the usual "sorry you are unhappy, one of my team will get back to you in due course" 18th May 2006 As my 14 day deadline has been and gone, I remind Mr Brophy of his committment and my deadline, and give them a further 7 days to refund my money. 30th May 2006 I receive the following letter from Karl Voller: 1st June I write back: "Firstly, thank you for your letter of 30th May, and the offer contained within. In no way am I rejecting the offer of £400 towards my claim. However, I have discussed this matter with both the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). After these discussions, I still feel that the charges levied upon me by Barclays Bank PLC are disproportionately high when compared with the actual cost incurred during the administration of my account. Therefore I re-iterate my request for Barclays to repay the total in full (£890) into my account. Failure to comply within seven (7) days will result in legal action." 27th June 2006 (Today) After repeated phone calls, Mr Voller has not responded to either my letter or may calls. I eventually get through to him today (Turns out he's quite busy at the moment!! ) We were both very civil to each other, but he is not budging on the £400 offer. Now, I would very much like to recover the whole £890, but I'm not so sure I can be pestered with another court appearance (I fought a leaky speeding case last year). Where do you lot think I should go from here? The way I see it, I either: 1) Fold and accept the £400 - it's better than nothing 2) File the Money Claim and sit back and wait for a court date. Are people getting paid in full prior to court hearings? What are my chances of this happening? Thanks in Advance - that was a mighty long first post Neil.