Hi All Ive eventually heard back from Gateshead County Court and they inform me that a pre trial review will take place on 19th July 2007 and also that the case may be released to another judge at possibly a different court, at this rate of knots ill be pushing for retirement before its all sorted ……….. Granted, that’s 25 years away like but like I said, the process takes an age!! Does anyone know what the outcome of the pre trial review is likely to be? The timescale between the review and my day in court? Also, should I send the court bundle to all parties before the review or wait to see what is said and where it may be referred too? All advice appreciated Thanks

Hi Folks I think ive managed my way through and intend putting the following statement in section G of the allocation questionaire. Form N149Alocation Questionaire, Section G, Other Information, continuation sheet. My Name CLAIM REF; 7Q***** I am respectfully requesting that my claim be allocated to the small claims track and I believe that this case will last no longer than one hour. Communications to be considered include my letter, including a schedule of charges dated 23rd November 06 And sent to Barclays Bank plc, Percy Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4QL. My letter dated 4th December 2006 to Barclays Bank plc, Retail Banking and Customer Relations, PO Box 449, Swansea, SA1 5WY. My letter dated 11th December 2006 to Barclays Bank plc, Retail Banking and Customer Relations, PO Box 449, Swansea SA1 5WY, and my final communication, once again including a schedule of charges dated 12th February to Retail Banking and Customer Relations, PO Box 449, Swansea SA1 5WY Also, Barclays responses dated 29th November 2006, 1st December 2006, 5th December 2006 and the 13th December 2006. This issue is not a complicated one; it is an issue of fact and not of law. The issue is only whether the money levied by the Defendant in respect of its customer’s contractual breaches exceeds their actual costs incurred. I am happy to pay their actual costs and I am surprised the Defendant did not counterclaim for these, because I would have paid them without argument. However, the continuing problem is (in common with the 1000s of other cases currently being brought by other bank customers) that the banks refuse to reveal the details of their penalty-charging regime. As the banks have a fiduciary duty towards their customers, they have a duty to deal straightforwardly and in utmost good faith. Accordingly, I would respectfully ask that the court in this case, not withstanding allocation to the small claims track, order standard disclosure. I understand that it is in the courts discretion to do so. I believe this would bring a rapid end to this litigation You probably know but i found most of the detail here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/11644-allocation-questionnaires-guide-completion.html Anyway, ive noticed that items in Barclays defence (as previous post) differ from others so id be grateful for some advice iff poss please, also, im not quite clear if i should add the wording for the draft order ?

:o Right, here go’s Today ive received a notice for transfer of proceedings from MCOL and given that ive already paid them £120 and they are referring me to a court and ive to pay again, MCOL seems to be a bit of a waste of Barclay’s money! And here’s me trying to mitigate their costs Im trying to access a part of the site that gives advice regarding completion of the allocation questionnaire but keep getting bounced out and I doubt group IT will be happy with a request to change their cookie policy for me ha ha. SO !!!!!!! Would someone be kind enough to send me a link to the relevant section? and also have a read through the Barclays defence ? Not much trouble am I Thanks all 1. The Particulars of Claim do not provide details or particulars of the precise charges alleged to have been unlawful, or the dates thereof. To the extent it is alleged that the Claimant incurred bank charges on his account for unauthorised borrowings (whether unpaid fees for returning cheques, “Paid Referral fees” or any other such fees), the Defendant puts the Claimant to strict proof of each charge and the date thereof. 2. This defence is summary in nature and the Defendant reserves the right to amend this Statement of Case in due course. 3. The Defendant is entitled to charge the Claimant for unauthorised borrowings by reason of its standard terms and conditions. The Claimant accepted the same when the account was opened, including (in particular but without limitation) the following terms and conditions (which are summarised): a. The Defendant’s right to charge a “Paid Referral Fee” where the Defendant pays an amount (either by compulsion or election) which causes the account to become overdrawn - £30 per item (previously £25). b. The Defendant’s right to charge an administrative fee if any cheque, standing order or direct debit cannot be paid because of insufficient cleared funds in the account - £35 per item (previously £30). c. The Defendant’s entitlement, if the Claimant becomes overdrawn without an overdraft limit, to charge interest at the unauthorised borrowing rate on the excess balance. 4. The Defendant’s standard terms and conditions give the Claimant a fair and transparent view of those terms and the charges applicable for unauthorised borrowings (including where the account is overdrawn without an overdraft limit or where the Claimant exceeds his authorised overdraft limit). 5. If and to the extent it is the Claimant’s case that the failure to make necessary payments and/or failure to remain within authorised overdraft limits and/or failure to arrange an authorised overdraft constituted a breach of the terms applying to the account and that the contractual entitlement to debit charges from the Claimant’s account constitutes a liquidated damages clause, the same is denied. The charges constitute payments the Claimant agreed to make by reason of the terms and conditions of his account and were consideration for the Defendant advancing credit to the Claimant, which the Defendant was under no obligation to advance. The Defendant was entitled to impose such charges and interest when the Claimant incurred the overdraft. 6. Accordingly, it is denied that the legal principles relating to liquidated damages clauses and penalty charges are relevant or applicable to the facts set out above. Further or alternatively it is denied that any such charges constitute unlawful penalty charges or are in breach of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 or are in breach of the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977 (or any other provision), or are unreasonable without the meaning of s.15 of the Supply or Goods and Services Act 1982 (or indeed any other provision). 7. If and to the extent the Claimant incurred charges on his account, this was caused by the Claimant having gone into overdraft without having agreed with the Defendant an authorised overdraft facility or to increase the overdraft facility and/or his failure to make payments to bring the balance of the account back into credit. 8. It is averred that the said charges and interest are and remain lawful and enforceable and that the Defendant was entitled to debit the same. 9. The Defendant denies that it is liable to the Claimant for the sums claimed and interest, as pleased or at all. In the alternative if (which is denied) the said charges are enforceable and constituted a breach of contract by the Defendant, those charges which were applied to the account prior to 6 February 2001 are not recoverable because they are time-barred under the terms of the Limitation Act 1980 in that more than six years have elapsed since the accrual of the causes of action. 10. In the alternative, and without prejudice to matters stated above, if (which is denied) the said charges and interest or any part thereof are unlawful or unenforceable as alleged by the Claimant or at all, and the charges were a consequence of the breach of contract by the Claimant, the Defendant has nonetheless suffered loss and damage as a consequence of such breach of contact in allowing the account to go into unauthorised overdraft. Accordingly, in the event that the Defendant is unable to reply on its express entitlement to enforce the charges as set out at paragraph 3 to 4 above, it will seek to recover to the extent necessary such loss and damage as it actually suffered, which will not necessarily be limited to the value of the said charges, and the Defendant seeks to set off such sums against any liability owed hereunder to the Claimant.

Thanks Roboraver Another update! Im so impressed with Barclays!!! they had until 4pm today to enter a defence, i checked at 3.58 pm and there was no sign however at 4.01pm the defence had been entered! How clever is that J Its got to be done automatically, either that or im a bigger pain in their proverbial than i thought i would be ha ha! Well, with a smiley heart i await the next few steps, spurred on by their delaying techniques, im now even more focused upon the objective! Will post soon when ive heard from them Cheers!

Morning all Just a quickie! Barclays have not entered a defence as yet and the deadline was 10/3/07. After reading the notes on MCOL i could not apply for a judgement by default if the deadline was on a weekend however its monday now and the computer still says no ! Any ideas ? Thanks

Morning Folks! Ive received an Acknowledgement of service through the post, Im now with Adrian St John of Litigation and Disputes on the infamous level 29!!!! Ive read his name so many times on various threads that i feel i already know him Anyway, let battle commence!!!! By the way, should i move this thread into the litigation in progress bit of the site? Cheers!

Me again Any advice on the one above and also ive just checked MCOL and it now says my claim has been acknowledged which im presuming means that Barclays have submitted a defence. Roll on the paperwork eh

Morning All Right, I have my notice of acknowledgement and ive just written to the bank with the schedule of charges referencing my claim number ! Ive already written to the court with two copies of the schedule and was wondering if I need to send anything else ? Previous correspondence etc ?????

Thanks for your help folks Inspired once again ive just submitted the claim via MCOL and sent my letter to the courts including my schedule of charges. Will keep you informed of my progress Cheers

Thank you so much lively lad, thats greatly appreciated and if someone in the know could add this to my original threads then id be very grateful. Will leet you all know how i get on. Cheers

Hi Folks Getting desperate here! Problem being i cant figure out the site and because of my situation im unable to access the site for significant periods, the small amount of internet time i can achieve seems to be following threads that move to the next step automatically with very little on how they did it, There is always the possibility that i might just be thick though;-) Ive previously posted questions on the thread i started however no-one has answered so im guessing ive done that wrong! In a nutshell Im going to use MCOL as it seems simpler Does it allow you to add and save or do you have to have all info ready to upload ? If so, what do i need ? Is there a preparation list anywhere on the forum? Ive written to Barclays rejecting there second offer and had previously enclosed a schedule of the charges, do i need to send them another before i commence with MCOL ? Would be grateful if a mod could post this with my previous details as when i search for my thread, nothing appears. All advice gratefully appreciated Thanks

Dear all Apologies for letting things drop however ive been rather ill and let this slip since my last post, im now back in the saddle! Firstly, ive had a look at the MCOL site and it appears to be my best option however ive read posts which say before using the site, stop if you have not sent a schedule of charges to your bank ! I sent one after reciept of the DPA information, should i send it again ? Secondly, when on the MCOL site and you realise youve dropped a clanger does it allow you to save changes and re-visit ? or is there a comprehensive list of the questions so i could prepere answer's ??? All help very gratefull recieved as im feeling a little off track and need to catch up! Many thanks

Hi Ive no idea if im adding this to my original mail or not, apologies to administrators if someone has to move this around ! UPDATE! By return of post Barclays increased there offer to £1,500.00 However spurred on by the good people on here i nicely rejected there final offer. Now the question, Given that the period i offered for resolution expires this week id be grateful if someone could point me towards the section of this site which deals with commencement of proceedings in the courts! Many thanks all

Firstly Hello to all out there and thanks for posting your experiences, the comments and advice given have inspired me to give this a go. Must also apologise for my delay in posting as ive only just found out how, in my defence this site is very difficult to follow if, like me, you have all the IT skills of an idiot !!! Situation to date Access request under the DPA sent 7th November 2006. Nice reply from Barclays providing the statements and a returned cheque as they do not charge for the service......... Bless !!! Forwarded my request (copied from templates) on the 23/11/06 together with the schedule (copied from templates) and iclusive of interest the amount claimed is £2,910.40. 29/11/06 Nice letter from Barclays saying they were looking into my complaint 1/12/06 Slightly less curteous letter recieved offering me £1,000.00 without admission and in full and final settlement. 4/12/06 letter to Barclays rejecting offer and reminding them of timescales in previous correspondance! Will let you know how the situation progresses. Many thanks