Chesterb I doubt very much whether the hearing actually took place. I know Barclays were contacting everyone who was due to have their case considered for direction, looking to settle their claims. I know mine was (I have a full refund plus interest and costs) and many other people on this board were paid as well.

Sorry Welshman, I won't be able to meet you in person on 21st as I have now settled with Barclays. ************* I won ****************** They rang me on Monday to discuss settlement and the full amount claimed is in my account today. I am sure all of the other cases which were due to be reviewed at the directions hearin in Cardiff on 21st december have now been settled as well. Thanks for your help, support and inspiration.

ANOTHER WINNER ********************** As predicted Barclays have finally caved-in and agreed a settlemet before the court hearing on 21st. Mr Lombardi rang me on Monday 18th to discuss settlement and agreed to pay in full my claim plus interest. He faxed over the offer letter which was duly signed (with the confidentiality clause blacked-out)and faxed back the same day. Checked my bank balance today (Wednesday) and all the money is there. This will save me a trip to Court tomorrow - I am sure all of the other cases that were due to be heard have been settled as well. Thanks to everyone on this board, particularly Welshman whose case I followed with keen interest and who provided the 'next step' and always good advice. Now, it's time to donate to this board!!

Dunnie1 does she phone out of the blue or do we have to make contact first. My case is on the list for the directions hearing on 21st December, 6 days away!

Congratulations Welshman, well done. It looks as though we won't be meeting up on 21st in Cardiff after all. Perhaps I should give them a call also to 'discuss the case'. Thank you for your thread - it has been an inspiration and has provided myself and many other people with courage and guidance to pursue our respective claims. Have a great Christmas.

Well since hearing from the Court re a directions hearing being set for 21 december everything has gone quiet.I sent back my AQ and they have cashed the cheque. I suppose it's a waiting game now. I am encouraged that a few people on this board have reached a successful settlement with Barclays lately, can't wait to receive an offer.

Organic I am with you on this one. I also have received the same letter about a directions hearing. I am planning to make a written representation along the lines of asking Barclays to justify their charges and proving that they are not an extortionate penalty charge. I will copy this to the bank as well.

Hi Welshman I have received the same letter as you. His Honour Judge G Hickenbottom will give directions on 21 December 2006. Are you planning to appear or make representations? Perhaps if all those who have received this letter agreed to appear Barclays may be forced to make an early settlement offer.

Have recieved the defence, aq and a letter saying that the case is being transferred to my local court (Cardiff). The following day I also received a letter from the court stating that His Honour Judge G Hickenbottom will give directions in this case (along with a few others on this board I believe - Welshman and Organic come to mind) on 21 December 2006. I am about to fill in my AQ with the terrific help of this board. The letter about the hearing welcomes representations in person or in written form. Perhaps we (those who have had a similar letter) should all agree to appear or make a common written representation at the hearing which will force Barclays to respond. So long as we maintain our very strong arguments with regards to the bank profiting from our predicament and breaking the law in the process, we can ask the judge to order the bank to justify their charges.

Thanks for the advice Welshman. Barclays have filed a defence as predicted. I am now waiting to recieve the AQ.

Thanks Welshman Assuming they do file a defence just in time before the 6 November, what are the timescales that follow. I know I will have to complete an allocation questionnaire and return it within 14 days. Is this the point at which I send in my court bundle with a copy to Barclays?

Well done Sharmayne glad to hear of another success. Barclays have just acknowledged my MCOL and have 28 days in which to respond. Without going into specifics, at what point was your claim settled? How many days before the court hearing did they make the final offer?

Barclays have acknowledged the claim, just in time! Mr Adrian Ruffhead is on the case. They now have 28 days to file thier defence - but thanks to this board I have a very good idea what it will be. So I will start preparing my court bundle anyway. Why do they bother? - they should just pay back the money they took. It will at least save them from paying the additional court fees and 8% interest. I suppose cost is not their primary concern. I hear a massive snowball just coming over the brow of the hill.

I'm just guessing here but the judiciary are probably increasingly aware of the many cases of this nature being brought against banks. It is also likely that they know these cases never reach court so as Welshman says, the case has probably been bundled with other similar cases and sent to one court.

I didn't hear anything from Barclays after I turned-down their initial offer. Just assume they will ignore everything and get on with your court action. I found the Moneyclaim online site to be very straightforward to use and am now waiting for Barclays to acknowledge the claim by 26 October. Take them to court!

Yes this is a great thread, I have just submitted my Money Claim online as well. Here is a link to my thread if you want to check my progress too. I am keeping an eye on a number of threads to see how things are shaping up

Barclays haven't responded (no surprises there). So I have just submitted the claim to the MoneyClaim.gov site. Here we go . . . .

Hi everyone been reading the FAQ's and threads for a while and have so far: 1. Sent the request for repayment of charges together with a schedule of all the charges they have made taken from all the statements I have on file for the last 6 years. ( I knew there would be a good reason to keep them). 2. Opened a parachute account with Alliance & Leicester 3. Recieved the standard complaints proceedure letter from Barclays 4. Had a partial offer from Laurence White for £420 5. Rejected the offer and suggested they reconsider within 14 days. HEARD NOTHING IN RETURN 6. On 21 September after the 14 days grace period issued my LBA. I am just gathering together all the necessary info ready for the moneyclaim online site and will be filing this on 4 October. I'll keep you posted of progress. To Bankfodder, Blueskies, Welshman, Nightstar and The Druid, thanks for the inspiation and guidance you have provided on this board.

Closey's letter is the same as the one I sent. I haven't heard anything from them since. They won't pay you anything - take them to court!

Don't bother reproducing the letter, we all have them, and through all of the posts I have read nobody has been offered more than £500 or 50% of the charges. NEXT STEP send a letter in reply, accepting the money offered as a partial settlement but reaffirming your request for a full refund. You will find a letter in the templates library but it looks something like this: "I will accept the sum offered only as part settlement and on the clear understanding that I will pursue recovery of the remainder with a county court claim" Give them a deadline by which to respond (they won't) then send your LBA. My advice is to start preparing your LBA now - look in the templates library again then be prepared to go to court. Barclays have until next Wednesday to reply to my LBA before I submit my moneyclaim online which starts the court action. It would be easy to accept the money now and give up - Please don't, stand your ground and get all your money back.

Hello Fellow Welshman I think you and "Enough's Enough" are just ahead of me in terms of timescale. I have just received my 50% offer which I am about to reject and telling them that this is a final LBA with a 14 day deadline to respond before I file a moneyclaim or N1 ( I have the Small Claims Self Help Kit). Has anyone been offered a full and final settlement after rejection of the initial 50% offer before starting court proceedings?

Hi Karen I too am fully responsible for going over my overdraft limit, however, the bank still makes payments even when there is no money in the account why? They also have a policy of not charging more than 3 penalty payments in any accounting period, however I was charged a penalty 6 days in a row - as it crossed from one charging period to the next. I just think they like to set charging periods in order to maximise the charges. Good luck with your claim.

Hi All Barclays Amount charged £865 over the last 6 years just completed reading through a lot of the advice here and I am about to start the process. Having saved all my old bank statements the list of charges was easy to put together. Thanks for providing the letter templates, I will be using these and following the step by step proceedure. What are my chances of getting a refund? I will keep you posted on my progress. Best Wishes Graham