Dusary, most banks will close the account on the second claim no matter what timescales the claims cover. Some may slip through the net.

Its unusual for a bank to close an account on a first claim but most will close it if you claim twice.

My POC are here if you want a look. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/citicards/91232-stornoway-citicards-incl-contractual.html

Yeah its complicated for current accounts - much easier with credit cards. One mistake I know I've made in a claim I have on the go at the moment is that I am claiming refund of interest paid for the full period from date of charge to current date. In my case this is wrong because the account was closed 6 months ago so i should accordingly only claim contractual interest for this period.

Sorry i'm referring to my 2 throughout my post. My issue is that you are seeking repayment of your losses - so you should be claiming; 1. refund of your charges 2. refund of the interest actually applied to those charges (and the rate for this will be variable on a current account depending on whether or not you are in credit or overdrawn or overdrawn beyond your limit). Over and above 1 and 2 you and I are also seeking "contractual interest" this is at the unauthorised rate because they have taken your money without your permission. If the court doesnt agree to pay contractual then we are claiming statutory 8% as an alternative. Interestingly in a previous case the judge refused contractual because he felt it was a penalty. After the case he said he may have allowed it if the claimant could prove that he was entitled to it because he had suffered an actual loss - so in my case i'm claiming at the same 'standard' rate as i have been charged on the basis that i have been unable to use the relevant funds to repay borrowing elsewhere.

My claim comprises; 1. charges 2. interest I have paid on those charges 3. contractual interest on the charges only) at the same rate that i have been charges or in the alternative statutory interest on the charges at 8%. Re 2, I'm not convinced that you could argue the unauthorised rate is appropriate for the full period since the charge was levied - for this to be the case you would presumably have had to have been overdrawn in excess of your limit for the full period. For 2 you are seeking restitution of your actual losses so on a current account you need to be confident that you werent in credit at any time and therefore the interest loss may only be at a rate of 0.1% (ie. the rate payable on credit balances). Its a mch easier process for credit cards !

Good Luck !

To clarify - you can ask for a refund of the interest charged on the penalty fees but you cant ask for the 8% court interest. What is it you have asked for ?

As said above - most banks will close your account on the second claim.

Many banks refuse at initial letter (prelim) then make an offer at (second letter) LBA. I appreciate it can be tiresome but the last thing you want is a judge accusing you of being an over zealous litigant.

You should always stick to the laid down procedures as you will need the paperwork to show you have taken a reasonable approach to pursuing the claim. You should brush up on the FAQ on this site for your next claim.

Did you send the prelim and the LBA or just the LBA ? If just the LBA then you need to send the prelim now and then the LBA 2 weeks later then go to court 2 weeks after that. You must stick to the laid down procedures in case you ever have to get into a court room.

From some of the other threads the pre 2004 info for Barclaycard seems to come separately - it might still be on its way and if not chase it. You should be reclaiming the full fees not the difference - if a charge is excessive then the entire fee becomes null and void.

Most of the large banks are members of the UK clearing system (APACS) so they run their own accounts. This issue may apply to the smaller banks and building societies and I would guess that they would be charged something but given the volume of transactions going through this would probably be pennies.

In my view its always worth phoning the banks to negotiate. Some people here will tell you to always put correspondence in writing but a phone call could significantly speed things up - unless of course you also want interest / contractual interest in which case you may have to go to court.

I'm claiming against Citi at Morpeth & Berwick Court and was today disappointed to have received only standard directions from Judge Large - was worth a try though ! Full details of my claim are here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/citicards/91232-stornoway-citicards-incl-contractual.html

Well .....the judge has taken his time but finally received response to Allocation Questionnaire and slightly disappointed that only standard directions were received so now have to wait until 13 August for my day in court. Still it does give me time to enjoy my summer holiday and fully prepare for court.

Gaz - send me a private message with your email address and i'll send some docs through. Cheers

I'd love to know your strategy for going to court and the case law you will be using - if you dont want to post this info then I'd really appreciate a PM. I'm starting to work on a N1 to take RBS and HSBC to court for same reasons - would be graet to swap notes. Cheers

It looks like you have a stong case and i'm in a similar position with a couple of my accounts. What I dont want though is a huge amount of hassle from creditors and DCA's etc etc. I think we need a mechanism for forcing the creditors to discharge the debt and in my case remove default information. Using TS etc takes too long in my view during which time you will get harrassed constantly.

Is anyone else finding this boring ......Christina everyone is very sorry if they offended you - can we please move on ?

I created my own - happy to share with you if you want a copy (PM me your address).

Many thanks. I've had a lot of success in other claims so far and I'm treating Citicards as my "wildcard" - I'm happy to gamble on this one to an extent but obviously give it my very best shot. If nothing else I love the tone and content of Brian's letters - they are fantastic, like something from a bad 60's sitcom. Looking forward to my battle !!! Will keep you posted. Cheers.

Hi Gizmo, thanks for calling in ! Two points in their defence mention interest; 10. The Defendant avers that the Claimant's claim is not a Moneyclaim but a damages action and further avers that the Claimant's interest calculation is not applicable to this action or, if it is applicable, that it is wrong and the Defendant puts the Claimant to proof that this interest is owed. Specifically, as the Defendant is a credit instituition and not a deposit taker, it cannot set off default fees against money held on account. As such it cannot be held liable for interest on a notionally paid debt rather than actual one. It is averred by the Defendant that it is only from the time of any such payment that interest could have accrued on such payment as if it were a debt. 11. Further or alternatively, the Defendant avers that as this is a debt action then the statutory interest rate should apply rather than the compounded interest rate claimed as this contractual rate was agreed between the parties (LIKE I HAD A CHOICE IN WHAT INTEREST RATE THEY APPLIED !!!), is neither a penalty nor a default fee and was voluntariy incurred by the Claimant as a consequence of his breaches. It has not been subject to any OFT ruling or case law and the Defendant avers that the Court has no jurisdiction to pronounce on that element of the contractual agreement freely entered into by the Claimant.

It would helpful if you could post details of your POC but it sounds like you havent said why you think contractual interest is justified - have a look at my POC here which may help http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/citicards/91232-stornoway-citicards-incl-contractual.html#post833968