Well surprise, surprise absolutely no response from my email so I have now sent one, asking for an update. I understand if they don't want to settle but at least have the courtesy of letting me know or have a response. They have asked me for my schedule of charges well over a week ago and said that they would revert. I then got a fob off email saying they had cases to deal with last week and would revert thereafter. I sent a polite email on Friday asking if she was in a position to revert to which I had no response. I sent the same email again this morning just to remind her that I was still here and still no response. I have just now sent one asking if she could please let me have an update on what is happening but again am getting no response I feel like this is a totally futile exercise, I don't mind them telling me that they are not prepared to settle yet but I get really annoyed at being totally ignored (i know they are very busy but it takes 30 seconds to send an email saying "thank you but we are not in a position to settle with you at this time". I will then go away and chase the courts for a date. I'm sorry to keep going on (I only seem to come on here to moan) but it seems they are ready to settle with just about everyone at the moment but I am like a black sheep they just want to get rid of. I think its that I hate being ignored and I am unable to get through to her on the phone so I am unable to force a response. Anyway I am just feeling sorry for myself and will go away now - rant over!!!

Hi have been trying to phone kate to get a response to my email which she has been totally ignoring. I have now gotten straight through to Krysta twice now on 7116 4753 so anyone trying give her a call NOW. Still no return call/email from Kate though!

Hi Just seen your thread - congratulations!!! Enjoy spending your money. Karenann

I think I might wait and see what the response is to my first letter. I am a bit wary of upsetting him if he thinks I am pestering him. He already granted the 9 week stay so he could deal with a load all at once rather than dealing with them as they come in. The lady I spoke to at the court said he was getting fed up with the wasting of the courts time which is why he wasn't proposing to deal with any more of these claims until 27 June. You would hope that he would see that it is the banks wasting the time and strike it out (as per Reading) but there you go. If the letter doesn't do the trick do you know if I can get it moved to another court. I did ask for my claim to be moved to my local County court but they sent it to Southend to decide whereby it was ordered to be stayed. I am now worried that he will then decide to send it back to Chelmsford instead of setting a date thereby delaying it further. Is there any way I can appeal to send it to Chelmsford immediately so this Judge has no further involvement.

Just a quick query. I have just faxed a copy of the letter I sent to the Court on Friday. Does anybody know whether the Judges look at correspondence the same day it is received or whether it sits in a pile. When I was waiting for a court date - the order was made on 3 May very quickly after it was transferred but it took the typists over 3 weeks to type up and send out. I just wondered if anyone had a clue as I want to know when to ring and ask because once the Judge has made an order and it is sitting waiting to be typed up, they will find your case and let you know what has been ordered. Thanks

Good to see all these people getting closer to settlement. Barclays must have been working really hard over the last couple of weeks. I'm afraid mine seems to be on a go slow - have written to the Court now asking for the stay to be lifted as it is very unfair (9 weeks at the court's own iniative!). Hope I will be back with better news soon.

Thanks for the support Woody. I'm not surprised you haven't had time to come on - spending all that lovely money! Make sure you enjoy it - holiday booked yet? Will come back when I have any news to report. Hope everyone enjoyed the lovely sunshine this weekend

Oh god! I totally forgot - I put it in the post at 6 last night. Will give the Court Manager a call on Monday and send it by fax then I can confirm receipt. I was in such a rush to get it into the post that I didn't think. Thank's for reminding me Dar£n - anyway off to the seaside with my kids in this beautiful weather - have a great weekend and speak next week. I really appreciate all your great help Dar£n. Karenann

Thank you both very much for your links. I have drafted the letter and attach below - could someone please give me their opinion on it before I send: I am writing to you in relation to the Order that was made by you on 4 May 2007 and which was received dated 16 May 2007 in which you have ordered that my case with Barclays Bank Plc be stayed upon the court’s own initiative. I respectfully request that this stay be removed for the following reasons. Firstly, since I have received your Order I have been trying to attempt to reach an agreeable settlement with Barclays but have so far been unsuccessful. I have made numerous attempts to enter into meaningful dialogue with the Bank who continue to ignore my repeated attempts at communication. Further, I understand that there are many similar cases, and whilst the Banks are filing defences, they are regularly settling pre-hearing. In many other cases, the defendant Banks are even receiving default judgements against them which are being set aside on application by the Bank and which are subsequently being settled prior to a Court hearing. In some cases, the Court has even ordered standard disclosure against the defendant Banks but those Banks have gone on to settle rather than reveal the details of its contractual penalties. I believe that I will not reach an adequate agreement with Barclays relating to this case until a date for a hearing is announced. Also, every one of the cases settled so far has presented an opportunity to settle the common issue of contractual penalties but despite their massive resources and access to high level expertise the defendants have declined to allow the issue to be decided. By agreeing to remove the stay and ordering a Court date, my case would also present another opportunity for the question to be definitively settled as should the defendants lose, they have the resources to continue the matter through the appeals process and through the Court hierarchy. I also believe that this Stay interferes with my rights under the European Convention on Human Rights directly and as enacted in the Human Rights Act 1998. Art.6 1. of the Convention provides that “ In the determination of his civil rights … everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time.”. It is further submitted that the sum claimed is insignificant to the bank but is a significant sum to me and whilst a stay prevents me from recovering my money, the defendant bank is not prevented from levying its charges or interest on debt comprised of those charges, so the order of the court has the effect of favouring a powerful and well-resourced institution and does not place any restriction on their continued application of penalties which I say are unlawful. The defendant remains at liberty to enter my name on the default register which it and other banks routinely do in respect of unlawful penalties which are unpaid by their customers. The banks have direct and privileged access to this register. They have no need to obtain a County Court judgment before they may enter a default on the register. This default remains on the register for 6 years and causes enormous damage to reputations. Were my name to be entered on the default register I would find it impossible to get credit or a mortgage and I would have to pay higher fees for any credit which I did manage to obtain. It is submitted that a stay may potentially mean great difficulty for me and yet be insignificant for the defendant bank. In fact a stay is supportive of the banks litigation strategy which is to take the claimant to the door of the court and then to settle the claim. If the court does accede to my request for a removal of stay then I respectfully request that the case be allocated to the small claims track but that the defendant be ordered to make standard disclosure. It is submitted that an order for standard disclosure will assist greatly in bring these and other similar claims to a speedy and just conclusion. The matter is suitable for the Small Claims Track as it involves no issue of law – the law is well established. It only involves questions of fact – in particular the true costs of the banks default charges system. The OFT has already formed its conclusion about this. Standard disclosure will put the matter beyond doubt. As I rely upon the bank as my fiduciary it is clear that they have a duty to act in utmost good faith in relation to their conduct of their contract with me. I submit that they do not act in good faith in relation to me or their other customers in the matter of penalty charges Thank you for taking the time to consider the above request and I look forward to hearing from the Court in due course. comments?

Hi Dar£n Actually I am peed off but morewith myself for keep hanging on and waiting for them and with the Courts for giving a 9 week stay when they know the banks are settling and the hearing won't go ahead anyway. I have tried calling 7116 4664 (Kate's no), 7116 4753 and 7116 1943 which I think I got from one of your replies in another thread. Anyway have left a message on two of the phones and I have now sent two emails which have both been ignored. I don't mind them saying they won't settle yet but I just wish they would reply and let me know one way or the other instead of just ignoring me. The trouble is I don't have a clue how to go about getting the Judge to remove the stay because it was done at his discretion rather than being asked to or issuing any directions - I can't really afford to waste the money if he is just going to turn me down. Thanks for your quick response and useful advice re no.s (I can always count on you!). - have a great weekend

bump

OK well I'm afraid my patience has now run out. I am spending too long just sitting around waiting for things to happen and not being proactive enough. I have been trying to phone Kate/Krysta since 9 o clock this morning and have only received voicemail (not sure whether it is just on constantly at the moment because they are too overrun) and sent an email at 9.30 this morning to which I have had no response. it has now been 4.5 weeks since the Stay was issued on the court's own iniative and there is still another 4.5 weeks to run - I now need to see about getting this lifted. I really don't understand why the Judge needs to sit on this for this amount of time before it gets passed back in his paperwork on 27 June where no doubt it will sit on his desk for another week before getting a date three months away! I can't afford for a 9 week delay in proceedings and am just sorry I have let it drag on for another month trying to contact Barclays who have just kept me hanging. I would be grateful if anyone could give some advice as to how I go about removing the Stay. I was given the one on Lloyds but this did not seem relevant as it seemed to relate to a stay either asked for by the bank or one ordered so that settlement could be negotiated. This has been ordered on the courts own initiative and for a period of 9 weeks which is just totally unreasonable. Any help gratefully received

Unfortunately it is a bit early to do anything yet. But when it gets to the beginning of July call the lit team and find out who is dealing with the claim and tell them when the hearing is and they will probably settle with you then. It is a bit early yet and they are very overloaded so they are dealing with the most urgent ones first. Karenann

Hi all After receiving a "very busy come back later email" on Tuesday I have again this morning chased Ms Ashton. I tried calling for 1.5 hours with no luck so have sent an email. Will let you know if I hear anything but I think I am going to have to start preparing the documentation for the lifting of the stay. Anyone have any luck on the phone lines yet today

Hi Krysta's email address is [email protected] and all you need to do is write her an email asking who is dealing with your claim and they should follow on from there. If she gives you their name, send them an email just asking them to confirm the same. their email addresses tend to be [email protected]. Good luck. Karenann

Hi Elliero If you take a look at some of the latest threads, you will notice that as soon as you have notice of a hearing (regardless of whether it is the final hearing) you should give Barclays a phone call/email stating that you have a date with Judge [Name] at Hitchin Court and ask who is dealing with your claim. They will then take it from there. The person you need in the Lit Dept is Krysta Campbell but there are contact details for others listed below if she is engaged: Krysta Campbell : Tel: 0207 116 4753 Fax: 01452 638 359 E-mail: [email protected] Dino Papaevripides Tel: 0207 116 1943 Fax: 01452 638 196 E-mail: [email protected] Kate Ashton Tel: 0207 116 4664 E-mail: [email protected] Give it a try and let us know how you get on.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Well done you! Definitely worth a phone call. Have a great time spending it. Karenann :D

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Definitely worth the phone calls and the hanging around. Well done you! I can't believe you are going to be so sensible with the money - at least say that you are putting £50 aside for a good old drink up to celebrate. :D

Hi Fleur77I have a number for Kate Ashton who is another member of the team and her no. is 7116 4664 so give that one a try - it seems that they all pick up each others phones anyway.Good luck.Karenann

Well done - make sure you chase them if you don't hear when they say because they do tend to forget you. Hope all goes well - let us know when you hear anything further. Karenann

I have prepared a covering letter with mine. One to the bank giving account numbers and claim no as heading and just saying please find my court bundle in respect of the above claim. The one to the court just has the claim no but says the same. I have also put a cover sheet on the front of the file stating the claim name and no etc. so if the letter gets lost they know to which claim it refers. Make sure you keep chasing though because I would imagine they will want to settle. Karenann

I would give him a call and give him all your details i.e. court date, Judge etc and ask if he is prepared to talk about a settlement. He may say that it is a bit early and they will come back to you in a few weeks or they may settle there and then. Worth a go though

Ok thanks very much for the quick response Dar£n - will leave it until Friday and try again.

I wouldn't worry too much about the court bundle just yet. First I would send Krysta (head of lit dept) an email saying that your court date has now been set for whatever date in front of whom, could they please let you know who is dealing with your case. They will probably then make contact with you and ask for your SOC. Her email address is: '[email protected]' and her tel no is 020 7116 4753. If you get no reply from email try calling (line busy quite often tho). Hopefully you will get a positive response - they have been settling with quite a few people lately! Good luck karenann

Hi, I have sent an updated one with that days date on it so they can see the accumulation of interest! Let us know how the phone call goes but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't forget you - they are so busy. I have had to chase to get a response everytime. give them until 12.00 and then give them a call and say you are just chasing a response which was due at 11. Good luck. Karenann