Just realised that since I started this whole court proceedings thing, the Shabbey have levied another couple of charges on my account. Question is - can I write to them saying I will be claiming these charges as well (even though the court process has started - can you change the amount you are claiming at this stage)? Should I phone them and ask for them to be refunded? Not quite sure how to play it so if anyone has any advice, be greatly appreciated! EDIT: Since posting this I had another look at my statement, and it turned out I went 70 pence over my overdraft limit, and they charged me £50! - I had smoke coming out of my ears so phoned them up and they will now cancel those fees PS: I sent a nudging letter to the Abbey about a week ago suggesting they might like to settle early - still waiting for a response

Hi Oyster - I've been away from the boards a little while, but it seems that you might be skipping the party in the pub on the 13th! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Hope you get the money in the bank soon

Looking forward to the 13th in Cambridge all We should come up with a pub that we can meet in afterwards to share our stories! Think my case is slightly different from most here, as I didn't receive any order stating the AQ was being dispensed with. I returned my AQ (with Fee) and then received a letter informing me of the pre trial review. Maybe I was just in the cross over period when they decided to start doing things differently. Anyway, was going to use Latties letter to nudge my lot, but I'll need to erase the part about AQ being dispensed with - think it would be ok to use that letter as a template and then just replace the 'AQ being dispensed with' part with something like 'I've received a notice of pre-trial review'?

Just out of interest, are you going to just wait until the date now? Was just wondering if it's worth sending the bank's solicitors a letter offering them a chance to settle before the date - would be nice to get the money earlier rather than later

Well I gave the court a call this morning asking for clarification of what I need to do, and what I can expect from the 'pre-trial review', and it does sound like a prelim hearing. The nice lady at the court basically said you'll just pop in, see the judge, and he'll decide how the case progresses from there (Sounds easy, right? ) . I don't need to do anything further until the court date on 13th July. (Other than sift through the forums and prepare all I need to). Now 3 months is quite a long time to sit around twiddling my thumbs; does anyone have any positive experience of sending the Abbey solicitors a letter offering a chance to settle...err.. . pre pre trial?

Hi Nick - thanks again for your much needed advice (as always!). I'm not sure if this is the same thing as Sam78s'. It appears he had a directions meeting letter, whereas mine is a 'Notice of Pre Trial Review' I've done a bit of reading on the forums and noted the post on 'Prelim/Directions hearings', but there is not much in the way of 'Pre Trial Reviews' - are they one and the same? (Seems odd that they'd use different standard letters for the same procedure). Ironically one of the few I did find, is scheduled for the same day in the same court! I'll be keeping an eye on Oyster's thread until then http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/hsbc-bank/79943-no-aq-straight-pre.html?highlight=trial+review

hehe yea, unfortunately just me V the Shabbey - mine is at 12:45pm on the 13th - Oyster: meet you outside for some tips!

Hi Oyster - I just received a PTR from Cambridge county court against the Abbey, so I'll be watching your thread with interest! Incidentally my court date is set for the 13th July :o

I've just received a 'Notice of Pre Trial Review' from the Court. They have set a date of 13th July - is the 'preliminary hearing'? Is this the date when they decide directions? I didn't receive any with the letter so I'm not sure if there's anything else I need to do at this point. If I have to wait for 3 months just to get directions, is there anything I can do to speed the process up? Thanks in avance

lol you might be right Bummer really, as I was looking forward to some hard negotiating to get me up to a figure I have in mind Ah well, in it for the long haul now!

Abbey decided to defend (suprise!), and I received the defense in the post this morning, so just waiting for the AQ to arrive. Just out of interest, I note that on a lot of the other threads I've looked at, Abbey have offered a 50% settlement. Does this letter arrive within the same as the defense paper? If not (assuming Abbey have not offered a 50% settlement), is this out of the norm or am I just being paranoid?

Abbey were served with the court papers on the 28th Feb. They have until 14th march to respond.

Thanks for all your help Nick. Have submitted the N1 today for £988.50 + 16.90% Contractual Interest (-£245). A little later than planned, and had to do it by post as my wife and I have trouble getting into town during the day, but I'll update the thread as things unfold!

Anyone know if my court fees take interest into account? My basic amount that I'm claiming is £988.50, so obviously if I include either compound or 8% on that, it'll take it into the next bracket of court fees (£120). If the fees are only charged on the basic amount then it'll be £80 - please could someone confirm? Also, they put a GOGW of £245 (even tho they stated £230) in my account. I should take this £245 off of my most recent charges and submit the claim for £743.50 (plus interest) - does that sound right?

Mad Nick - I could give you a mad hug! Thanks for all your help. I'm finally clear on where I'm going with this, will update the post with my progress. Thanks, Pete.

Hi Nick - thanks for the advice - much appreciated as always!. I'm caught between claiming the unauthorised rate and the 8%. I think I'd be happy with 8% but obviously the temptation is always there to go big. I'd been following Glenn's case and it obviously raised concerns that it's nowhere near a cut and dry situation. The thing is, because I've asked for the 28.7% in my LBA, should I stick to my guns and follow it through (maybe I'll get a nice judge ), or do you think I should back off and go for statutory? Is it possible to change your stance midway through and just claim the statutory in the claim form, after an LBA asking for Contractual?

Is there anyone that could advise on the above question please? (Sorry to be a pain - be nice if I could get my N1 out tomorrow or the next day! ) Thanks.

lol - ever wished you never asked something? OK, so If I should forget about a £/day daily rate, do I put on my N1 that interest will accumulate at a %/day daily rate until settled? And then use the daily rate of 0.069151% that you mentioned in a previous post?

I'm just preparing to get my N1 form ready for this Wednesday, and I have a question about the Daily Rate. My claim (when the LBA was sent) is for: £988.50 Charges £912.97 Contractual Interest @ 28.70% £1901.47 Total. I used the Mindzai spreadsheet to work out the interest,but I think I'm getting a bit confused about the daily rate. If I open the spreadsheet as of today, it calculates that I'm owed £1919.47. - If I change the date on my PC to tomorrow, and then reopen the spreadsheet it calculates that I'm owed £1921.69 A difference of £2.22 for 1 day. - On the spreadsheet itself, it says the daily rate is £0.69 - But also, if I use this formula '£1919.47 x 28.7 / 100 = £550.88. divide this by 365 which gives you £1.51', it comes out as something different again. I'm confused :S Is there anyone that can advise on which of the above 3 rates I should be using? I'd like to make sure it was as accurate as possible, and I know I'm probably being really stupid >. Many Thanks in advance for your help!

Many thanks for the draft Karne This'll be sent tomorrow and then I'll proceed with a court claim on 14th Feb.

OK, well I received the GOGW letter today, and initially I was going to respond using a letter like this one (that I nabbed from another post ): Dear [named sender or Sirs] Thank you for your letter dated xx/xx/xx and settlement offer of £XXX. I understand you have already credited my accouint with this amount. I respectfully decline your offer of settlement and request, once again, that you return to me all charges imposed on this account, I will accept the sum offered only as part settlement and on the clear understanding that I will pursue recovery of the remainder. As notified in my letter before action dated xx/xx/xx, I will be issuing a claim in the County Court on xx/xx/xx I will be willing to withdraw my claim upon receipt of unconditional full settlement of my claim. I trust this clarifies my position. Yours faithfully That is, until I read a post from JonCris saying that "A 'goodwill' payment is not an offer of settlement, unless stated. In which case it is not a 'goodwill' payment it is an offer of part or whole 'settlement' A 'goodwill' payment is a payment intended to restore 'goodwill' If the banks, in their attempts at being smart, want to call them 'goodwill' without qualification then they cannot later claim them to be in part or whole settlement of the claim Write & thank them for their 'goodwill' payment which is much appreciated whilst asking when can you expect full & final settlement of your claim" Taking that into account, would anyone be able to help me draft a letter accepting their GOGW and saying that I will be pursuing my claim as intended? (I'm not very good at drafting these sorts of letters and don't want to give them any loopholes they can use against me ;-) )

Yesterday I received £245 of 'Miscellaneous Fee Refunds' in my account. No letter arrived in the post yet, so assuming GOGW. Will wait another couple of days, if nothing shows I'll give them a call asking them to explain what the money is. From reading other posts, I believe the correct thing to do is (if I receive the GOGW letter) to reply stating I accept the money as partial payment and proceed with the court stage - can someone confirm? Thanks!

LBA Sent 30th Jan 2007 claiming total of £1,901.47. They have until Weds 14th Feb

Great - thanks so much for the advice I'll be sure to keep the thread updated with my progress

Hi Nick, Many thanks for the info. It definitely was calcuated using an 8% spreadsheet. I've decided I'll try to claim for interest at their unathorised overdraft rate, and the spreadsheet from Mindzai seems to take care of that nicely. Just one other question before I send the LBA: Do I need to state that I've changed the amount I'm claiming from the prelim, or do I just enter the new amount in the LBA and let them work it out? Thanks again.