Thanks Mr Shed, email sent today. Cheers S

Hi, I'm currently being hounded by my old estate agent for an 'administration fee' sent to me last year. It came in the form of an invoice for £17.25, and claims 'Administration fee: Rent Arrears' for £15 plus VAT. Now I have replied to his email asking a couple of questions, being is it a penalty charge for being late in paying my rent, or an admin fee for sending me a letter, and each time he has replied 'it is an admin fee for late payment of rent'. I may be off the mark, but is it not the case that it has to be one or the other? It states in the contract that a reasonable fee is applicable for late payment of rent quoted here clause 4.1.6 which states "Pay the reasonable costs of the Landlord's Agent for each letter the Agent, acting reasonably, has to send to the Tenant concerning breaches of the tenancy agreement." This is all the information concerning costs in the tenancy agreement. I have asked for proof of late payment, and he provided me with copies of the firm's ledger, which is not really proof of anything. He admitted this is all the 'proof' he can offer me. Now, I am wondering if he has any legal grounds for pursuing the 'admin fee', or does the confusion of definition render his claims void? BTW, I'm not after a lecture on the ethics of paying rent on time, just the legal stuff please! Cheers S,

I've got a hearing soon, was wondering if there is a plain english template with all the points countering their defence, just in case someone does turn up?

Yoinks, okay. I will. Thanks hagenuk.

Okay, so the court told me that I should send copies of the claim to the defendant, but didn't seem to think it was a huge deal, and I'm assuming it's not too serious as their lawyer (or an appointed freelancer) was there at the set aside, so I'm guessing that I'm still okay, and the law being what it is, I should win? I will fax them copies of the docs I sent to court tomorrow morning, unless anyone tells me this is a bad idea, it may give them an opportunity to postpone the hearing again, which is tedious. Any suggestions, anyone?

Ah duh, someone has cited the ruling, I meant specifically to smile or Coop? Also, I wrote to them saying I was undergoing financial difficulty, to which I had no response, but as I understand it the banking code specifies in section 14 that banks should behave reasonably toward customers in dire straights. http://www.bankingcode.org.uk/pdfdocs/BANKING%20CODE.pdf I'm pretty sure that closing someone's account, who is in financial strife, and who has no hope of gaining another bank account, is NOT being very helpful. I will write a complaint, citing the FOS ruling, and section 14 of the Code, but with resevations. Has anyone had positive reponses from this line of action?

Hi I got the same letter from the Co-op, but I just can't risk my bank account getting closed, I have a crappy credit rating and wouldn't be able to get another, and am in my O/D. Even if I wanted to bank with a less ethical instituion (Yeah, because excessive charging and intimidation is 'ethical') I couldn't. So my quesiton is, is there a way around this, has anyone sent a letter to their bank citing the ombudsman's ruling, and would it make a difference? £120 to get rid of a problem customer is hardly going to break the bank, is it? That was a crappy pun, apologies.

Many thanks for the response. "Does them not having submitted a second defence mean I win by default? "It may, but did you re-serve your amended claim on the Defendant and file an N215 Certificate of Service at the court?" No, I was advised by the judge to amend my claim, when I asked the court how to go about this they advised to only fill in a N244 and a new N1, which I did. To quote the general form of order: "By Xpm on the XX the Claimant do file and serve an amended Particulars of Claim to comply with CPR16,4, particularly to set out details of the charges which the claimant seeks to be returned" When I handed it in I asked if that was all I needed to do, and was told it was. The court told me that the defendant would receive relevant docs two weeks from that time. I assumed that meant I was conforming to the Judge's order, I guess I was poorly advised on that point, and confused about the meaning of 'serve'. I assume if this is the case the defendant can request another set aside? Although the lawyer representing them was present at the hearing, and therefore would have known they were required to file a defence, but not sure if that matters in this case. "No as they were defending your initial POC, which you have since amended, however, if you amend your claim by filing an N244 Application Notice it is your responsibility to re-serve the amended claim on the defendant, the court will not do it for you - you must also file an N215 certificate of service at the court along with a copy of the new N1 so the court will know when the Defendant is supposed to reply." I guess that answers some of my qestions, so what do I do next? I assume I have to contact the court and the defendant?

Hi, I got a 'claim too vague' thing too, which allowed them to have the case set aside (alonside them claiming they had no knowledge of the claim after a default judgement was passed- some idiot in the branch left it on the shelf) So I amended my claim using one of the templates on this site, and added the 8% interest- however, I calculated the interest wrongly, maths is not my strong point, and only realised this the other day. BUT, and here is where I am confused, I just called the Court, as my hearing is next week, and they said they had no defence from the defendant after the set aside was granted (although there was one submitted beforehand- but the order given after the set-aside states clearly the defendant has to submit a defence by december) and suggested I write to the court ASAP to ask what happens next. Also, I have not been given or recieved an AQ either. So, my questions are: Is my calculating the interest too low going to jeopradise my claim? Does them not having submitted a second defence mean I win by default? Should I amend my claim re the interest? Does the fact that they issued a defence initially cover the new case date, after the set aside was granted? Am totally stumped by all this. Bleuagh. Help.

Okay, I'm going to cut to the quick here 'cause I am wholly innumerate... I filed a claim against Lloyds TSB last year, then altered the claim to include 8% interest- BUT, and here's where I think I made a booboo- I calculated the 8% interest as 8% of my total claim, NOT working it out per charge over six years (And I wouldn't know how to do that anyhoo) as I think is suggested elsewhere. Can anyone clarify if this is going to jeopordise my claim? COurt hearing in ten days, starting to panic. If it is, then I should re-amend my claim, right? Help.

michael thanks, that's great. can i claim the interest though, as the total claim amount will vary from the first- is that allowed or is it like starting a new claim? cheers.

hi there, shouting into the void it seems... i'm no expert but this might help Banking Code Standards Board they have a pdf of the the banking code, search the bulletins and you should find under account closures section relevant info concerning the above, they do have to provide due notice, and it must be specified whether closure is part of the settlement, amongst other things. banks also have duty of care towards customers who are in financial difficulty, which seems to preclude them closing your account if you are. there is also a pdf of the banking code whcih will contain all the relevant bumpf. hope this helps, you're not alone... s

hi michael, thanks for that. stupid question(s)- but should the n1 contain the original claim or shall i fill out another, new claim as my mcol claim was lacking in specifics, and is it part of section c supporting evidence or should that be just itemised charges, lba and any legal documents relating to the case, and what are the schedules? is there a template available that you know of to fill in the n244 correctly for this type of claim? also, is it too late at this point to add the interest charges? sorry for all the qs i just want to get this bang on the nose this time, i made mistakes first time round that have dragged this out. your help greatly appreciated.

hi curt, the judge said that it was the fact that my mcol claim didn't contain the itemised charges, and that to avoid any lack of clarity that i should resubmit. he said the only issue relevent to the set aside was that a court should decide whether the charges are fair or not and to allow the bank to present their defence. i'm not sure what the process is for resubmission, i'm going to call mcol tomorrow to ask them how i should proceed. my main issue at the moment is whether by resubmitting my claim i have to pay the fees again, and whether i am justified in adding that amount to the total of my claim. also, i did not claim for the interest, and am not sure if i can now or not. cheers

hi, i'm in a similar boat as curt- the court allowed a set aside because the bank claim that they didnt know anyhting about it until after the default judgement was passed. also 'the details were vague' and the judge (who was very nice by the way) suggested i resubmit my claim, with full itemised charges, despite the fact that my lba had them all on. so, i am also facing resubmitting- don't worry though, its just a delay. however i will do it the old fashioned way and not online, and send copies of the bundle to the bank and their solicitors (its lloyds btw) so that everyting is in place. i didn't use the template suggested when i made the original claim, wish i had. duh. am downloading as much legal bumpf as i can to add to the claim, any advice from experienced voices would be welcome, i'm sure by curt too. cheers

hi bob flemming, no i addressed the claim to the branch, which is the basis of their application for a set aside, what a load of rot. the judge and even the bank's rep (a solicitor acting for the bank's lawyers) both agreed it was the bank's responsibility, not mine, that they did not recieve news of the claim. sadly, they're bullsh*tting ways buys them more time, but ultimately doesn't change a thing, the amoral b*ggers just wasting tax payers money. i think i may be a good case study of how to make this process more difficult. at least i know what to do right now. are you claiming?

hi, well as i suspected the judgement weas set aside until january, a delay not a loss so i'm not that concerned. they sent a rep to present their case for a set aside, and the judge was clear that even though they want this on the basis that they never recieved the initial claim until after a default judgement was made, that in fact it was their own fault, but agreed a set aside as he said what needs to be argued is if the charges are fair or not. so i have to resubmit the claim, and they their defence, and go around the merry go round again. they are just being arrogant, belligerant b*stards, thinking they can sweat the small guy out, but its not going to work. on another forum someone in a similar predicament said that the judge at their case hearing said (they is claiming against llloyds too) that all the courts are sick of the banks wasting everyone's time. hope this helps someone, its not over, just delayed, and i will get my money. atb

hi, i have put a claim in against lloyds, which was applied to be set aside as they claimed the only got the notification after judgement was passed (i sent it to their branch) and that they claim the details were unclear (the word limit in claiming online does not allow each specific charge to be entered) despite me having sent a solicitor drafted letter to them some months beforehand requesting all charges be refunded, and detailing each one, date and reason. however, i have a copy from the court of their defence, which also states the penalties are fair and i was in breach of contract. as far as i can gather, the law is on my side, but their insistence of going this far is shaking my confidence a little, and i would like some guidance if there is any to be had, and is there anything other than all the copies of the original letter i sent that i should take tomorrow- specifically to counter their defence relating to the legality of the charges? many thanks