Hi John We claimed interest on the charges at the rate of 8%. We did not claim overdraft interest as this looked a little complicated: we were already paying overdraft interest to Lloyds at the time, so seperating the 'overdraft interest' from the 'charges interest' would have been time consuming and not worth a great deal anyway. The case was dealt with at Stoke on Trent. We have not seen the letter from S,C&M. And we also think our case took a long time!! Not complicated or particularly large. Some mix ups by the court with our address but generally we just had a long wait for our Pre-Lim. Please feel free to ask any further questions if you think we can help. Martin

Hi Everyone Just to let you know . . . THE MONEY IS IN OUR ACCOUNT!!!! No letter from Lloyds or S,C&M so an unconditional win I think! We will be transferring the money to our other account and, once cleared, will arrange for the donation. Please let us know how. And how to move this thread to the success folder. Just to say again, such a massive thanks to everyone who has helped us directly (you know who you are!!) and indirectly - we couldn't have done it without you all!! Will look in on you all every now and then so if we can be any help please ask! Good Luck to you all!! Martin & Diana

Hi jaffacup Don't panic! If you start up your own 'thread' detailing where you are up to at the moment one of the site helpers will be able to find you more easily and give you the help you need. Good Luck

Good Luck Interflora!! Stick with it - you will get there.

Good Luck!!

Hi pompey2007 I'm not certain, but I think you can claim back o/d interest if you can show that it is directly related to the bank charges made against the account. Keep looking around the site - the answer will be here!! Good Luck and don't give up!

So much in this world is changing!! One day we'll have ethical banks . . . maybe not!

Good Luck to you Daya! One step at a time and rememeber it's a marathon not a sprint!!

Hi Everyone We attended our Prelim Hearing today . . . here's how it went: Had a bit of a late night last night. I was convinced that I would be asked a question I couldn't answer so I made sure I had all the information I could - Gary your links are amazing! - finally, it was all together in a lever-arch file and tabbed so I could find everything easily and quickly!! Arrived in plenty of time for the hearing - we wanted to be as relaxed as possible. The Court staff were all very helpful and friendly - like they were just normal people!! (only joking if your reading!). Due to the time we had on our hands, we managed to look at the Court lists for the day - plenty of banks names on there! We also over-heard a coversation with the Usher where she asked for 'boxes' for the Judge to look at as so many cases had been settled at the last minute they had nothing to do! At the appointed time we were called through to see the Judge. I expected to see a bit of a pompous old fart, frankly (sorry if any judges are reading!) but I was surprised by a very polite, friendly man. He invited us into the room and asked us to take a seat. After this happened he explained that he had received a letter from S,C&M yesterday explaining that a payment for the full amount claimed would be credited to our bank account within 5 working days. He then composed an 'order' detailing that everything that had been promised must happen by the dates stated. If it didn't this could be turned into a Judgement so we could send the Bailiffs in to collect our money if necessary. We then had a 20 minute or so conversation (our Pre Lim was only scheduled for 10 mins!) about how many such cases he was seeing; how much of a waste of court time this was; how he was currently in a Judges internet forum discussing this very topic; etc etc His feeling was that banks would eventually be forced to pay back the difference between an acceptable charge (for example the Financial Ombudsmans charge of £12 from Credit Card Companies) and the actual amount charged. We also had a chat about the morality of financial institutions lending people up to £40k when they clearly would not be able to pay it back! This Judge was very 'switched on' and 'in touch' with 'real life'. All in all a very successful day - cheap plonk tonight better stuff when the monies in the account!! We must take this opportunity to thank everyone on this amazing site that has helped us through this process, either directly or indirectly. In particular Gary and Barty - you are stars! We will let you now when the money has been paid in. Our donation will be paid then. If anyone is facing a Pre Lim or thinks we might be able to help on any topic please dont hesitate to get in touch. Martin & Diana

Hi Gary Had a look at this before - very helpful thanks. Martin

Hi Everyone Prelim Hearing is on Wed 28 March 2007 so thought I'd just keep you all up to date. Got pretty much everything I need - just putting finishing touches to it this weekend. Would be interested to hear from anyone that's done a Pre Lim with Lloyds recently? Keep you all posted. Martin

BRILLIANT!! So happy for you Matt, well done! Martin

Hi Matt Just caught up with your thread. Been a bit busy with the business lately! Well nothing much happening on my journey at the moment. Got 7 weeks to go before the preliminary hearing (whatever that's for??!!) - so just ticking off the days and watching the interest grow! Will keep you all posted of developments. Good luck everyone!! Martin

Just a quick update . . . The Court, for reasons known to themselves, have now decided that the Preliminary Hearing will now be held in person on 28 March 2007. 10 minutes have been allocated for the hearing. It's a marathon not a sprint!! Martin.

Brilliant - well done!!!! Waiting for a prelim hearing in March so still a ways to go yet! Enjoy your Christmas.

Thanks (again!!) Gary Will get the letter of to S,C&M tomorrow. Will keep all posted as to the progress. Regards Martin

Hi All Just a quick thought . . . What's the difference between a 'preliminary' and an 'actual' hearing? Does everyone have a 'preliminary' hearing? Should I have to wait 3 months just for a 'preliminary'??? Seem to remember reading on another thread about this being an infringement on my Human Rights? Has anyone else had any joy with this argument? OK - so it wasn't just 'a' thought it was several . . . what can I say, I'm a little obssesed!!!

Hi all Further to the General Form of Judgment or Order . . . I spoke to the Court yesterday. Apparently a change in Court procedures was put in place in Aug this year to allow telephone conferencing to try and cut down on people not being able to attend preliminary hearings and generally speed up the process. So my date of 28.03.07 is only for a prelim hearing!! Furthermore the Court has made a mistake on my letter. As I am a 'litigant in person' and Lloyds are being 'represented' it is S,C & M's responsibility to arrange the conference - all I have to do is provide them with a telephone number which they can reach me on at that particular time. I can request that the prelim hearing be carried out 'face to face' but this will cost me a non-refundable £35. Court said I can do this no later than 7 days before the hearing date. However, my letter says that if I want to apply to havethe Order 'set aside, varied or stayed' I must do it within 7 days of receipt of the order. If I do request a 'face to face' it will not delay/change the time of the hearing. Judge has allocated 5 minutes before the conference call to read over the documents he already has and 5 minutes for the actual call. Court person seems to think that there is something in the forms the Judge already has that he needs 'clarification' on. This is all VERY confusing - any thoughts gratefully accepted. I think whatever I decide to do it should be done within the next week so as not to miss deadline on the Order.

SOOO pleased for you!!

Brilliant Gary - thanks. Was thinking along those lines myself. Thought the courts might be getting to the stage that they have so many of these now they are looking for ways to speed things up or they are getting so used to them settling before the actual hearing they don't want to 'diary' court time? Will keep all posted of developments. Martin

I will speak to the Court Monday, if I don't hear anything different from this site over the weekend. Whatever happens, it's my money and I want it back!! Will keep all posted with any developments. Martin

Hi everyone Got my 'General Form of Judgment or Order' through today from the Court. It says that: Before District Judge ***** sitting at ****** County Court.... Upon the Courts own motion. The Court has made this order of its own initiative without a hearing. If you object to the order, you must make an application to have it set aside, varied or stayed within 7 days of receiving it. IT IS ORDERED THAT 1. The matter be listed for preliminary hearing on 28th March 2007 by way of telephone ******* Combined Court Centre scheme for Telephone Hearings (CPR Practice Direction 51.2 - supplement to Part 23) The hearing of this case will take place by way of a telephone conference. The Claimants Legal Representative is ordered to arrange the telephone conference. Please quote telephone number ***** ****** when arranging your telephone conference. Time estimates for hearings must be accurate as they will not be allowed to over-run. In the event that a time estimate is insufficient then please contact the court. Please note that time has been allocated for the Judge to read relevant papers in advance of the hearing. HELP!!! Is it me or are the courts now trying to make things as complicated as possible?? Or is it just my conspiracy theories running away with me? They know I'm representing myself - do they think every average guy has conferencing facilities at home? Has this happened to anyone else and do you have any suggestions? Not sure I like the idea of a telephone conference even if I could set one up!! Thanks in anticipation.

EXCELLENT!! Just to keep you up to speed: Have posted a copy of my AQ to S,C&M. Just looking round the site now ready to prep my documents for Court. Will keep all posted. Thanks again for all your help/support. Martin

Hi again Further to my last post - check out http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6169539.stm

Hi everyone Got in from work tonight and read an interesting article in my local paper . . . Banks 'overcharge' costs Banks are charging customers £30 in penalties for a service that costs them just £4.50, a study says today. Tonight's edition of the BBC2's The Money Programme will look into allegations that financial institutes are overcharging customers who default on payments. It found that it costs banks no more than £4.50 when a customer's cheque bounces, and a maximum of £2.50 to deal with unauthorised overdrafts. But despite the low cost incurred by banks, customers received penalty charges of around £30 in relation to unauthorised credit. The issue has led to calls for regulators to step in. Thinks it's on at 10pm . . . could be interesting!!!