Ok, so thus far they have ignored my letter so I will likely have to take them to court. Does anyone have a good reference / guide to doing this? I know the basics, but I'm unsure as what to write in my claims.

In June last year my partner purchased for me a Fuji Z5 camera. At the time I didn't really use it much, but in November I went away on holiday where the camera started to act strangely on random occassions (screen would go fuzzy or just become white noise, it would freeze and refuse to turn off etc). I took the camera back to store where they said they would return it to Fuji for repairs, which I was more than happy with. Early 2008, I received the camera back from the store, took it home and left it on my desk assuming it was working. A couple of weeks later I took it out the next time I wanted to take pictures and discovered the camera was actually in a worse state of repair, and not only suffered the original problems more often it now would happen as soon as I plugged a USB cable into the camera. So I took the camera back to the store, who said once again they would have to send it to Fuji. They sent it back saying they had replaced the exact same bit as last time. I received the camera back last week, and decided to take it away with me this weekend. Upon using it for 30 minutes, the camera stopped turning off (its a large switch that covers the lens in front), so I took the battery out. After this it refused to turn on for 30 minutes no matter how many times I opened the switch. And once it was open it wouldn't turn off anymore! On top of this, each picture I take with a flash (when the camera is actually able to come on!) contains lots of dirty circles (as if the lens was dirty). I've cleaned the outer lens with a lens cloth but it didn't seem to make any difference, so I don't know if its possible to get dirt on the lens on the inside while doing repairs? I phoned ASK asking about my options and their response is that they would have to send it off for repairs again for a month. This would mean I've had the camera in for repair for as much time as I've been able to use it!!! And I don't really have much faith in Fuji repairs at the moment. So I asked for a refund and I was blankly turned down, being told it wasn't his responsibility, but Fujis and I should contact them directly. I wasn't very happy with this, and am now considering taking ASK to the small claims court to claim the cost of a replacement camera and small compensation for the time taken without a camera. Is this possible? Does anyone have a good guide on doing this? I know I have to write them a letter first (and I'm hoping this letter will be all I need to do!) but does anyone have a good idea of what to write in this letter? Any help would be gratefully received!! Cheers Trybius

Well at least that means he's answering emails. Hope I get a reply today!

I've been dealing with Paul Quinn who has been very polite and friendly when I spoke to him. However he said I'd expect at the end of last week which I haven't recieved yet, and with only 7 days till my court date I'm a tad panicked! And he is quite hard to get on the phone, so I've tried emailing him now. Hopefully that will get a response But he did mention that they are completely snowed under, so you've got to feel for the poor guys. Every day they come into work the IN box must just be getting bigger and bigger!

Anyone have any ideas if this is a normal sort of time to wait? I'm a little worried that I've missed something.

Ok, on the 14th I called to confirm that the courts had my received my AQ (which they had). Since then I have had no contact from either the bank nor the courts, and it has been around 5 weeks. Is this normal? What sort of time frame should I expect? I tried calling the courts (shoreditch), but I get placed on hold for 15 minutes and then cutoff each time (I have tried 6-7 times now).

Hi Does anyone have any idea what happens after you send your AQ? Should I expect some sort of reply by now? I'm slightly worried that they haven't received it and it has been lost in the post

I have a quick question. I received my AQ around the 5th February, and I replied the next day. I had until around the 14th to reply, but I wandered if I should have received anything back yet (some sort of confirmation). I posted the letter just first class but I should have really posted it with some sort of proof of posting.

Gah - a couple of hours later they submit a defense. Oh well.

Well just an update - Barclays acknowledged my claim with 2 days to go on the 8th Jan, which gave them until today to submit a defense. I have requested a claim by default on the MCOL website, and it current says "Judgment : Requested". I did this at around 8:30am this morning. If my understanding is correct Barclays still have until 4pm today to submit a defense? Does anyone know what will happen if they do (I.e what will change on MCOL to reflect that). More positively - what happens when you have won and Barclays no longer can submit a defense? And one last question - from the point of winning the case, how long does it take to get the payment? Do I have to do something myself like write a letter to them, or is it all automated?

Well today when I got home I had a letter from Barclays with the usual "We don't agree with anything you are saying, but we are willing to offer you £450 as a settlement".

Thanks again Welshman, you're a star!

Thanks Welshman, but when I'm filling in the MCOL, which address do I enter for Barclays bank? The one I've been sending letters to, or the one you've listed above?

Right, I sent my LBA right on time, and I've had no response to that whatsoever. So I'm ready to fill in my MCOL, but I have one (stupid) question - what address do I use for Barclays? The same as the one I've been sending letters too?

Thanks for that Welshman, that was perfect. I sent off the form and have today recieved a letter back from a Mr Mike Brophy. Looks like the usual delay tactics "May I take this opportunity to explain to you that whilst we endeavour to respond to you within timescale outlined in your letter, we cannot guarantee that we will do so. Sometimes it does take longer to fully investigate a complaint. However we do aim to find a solution within four weeks". I do look forward sending my next letter in 11 days time

Ok, I have received my statements and gone through all of them for the past 6 years. All in all, I have been charged just shy of a £1000 in fines. Now, I'm about to write my first letter but I'm a little confused about claiming interest back on the amount. I've filled in the form with all the charges (the one that adds 8% interest). Now as I understand it, the full amount (with this 8% interest) is used for the court claim. When I claim to my bank I shouldn't include this 8% interest. But then from what I read I should be including the interest that I've been charged on the fee's. How do I do this? I saw one of the templates had a section for a interest rate, but what happens if my interest rate has changed over the course of the 6 years? Do I use the lowest one? Or should I simply claim from the bank the basic amount and then add the 8% interest to the court claim?

Thus far I have only got as far as requesting bank statements, but intend to go all the way chasing my fee's. While the prospect of going to court doesn't worry me, the chance of Barclays simply closing my account and demanding the OD back in full straight away slightly worries me. Are there any figures on how often banks (or specifically Barclays) do this?

Wow, first of all can I say, what a top site! I found cag after searching for template letters on getting my bank charges back, but am amazed at the resources I've found here Well I have started on the road to claiming my charges back by asking my bank (Barclays) for complete statements for the past 5 years, which they happily agreed to do for no fee (which I was mildly suprised at). So now just waiting on those, armed with a highlighter