My Banks filed a counterclaim..!!!! Urgent advice needed please

[lickthewallfatboy]

maybe I'm being naive or simplistic here but-

 

1.The bank refunded some charges as "goodwill"

2.The charges were unlawful in the first place-goodwill doesn't come into it.

3.They now want to claim back something which did not belong to them to begin with....

 

are you claiming for

(a)those charges which have already been refunded,or

(b)different charges?

 

if (a),they are being advised by an idiot

 

if(b)you have made a mistake in claiming for something you already have been in receipt of.

[Mandi]

Im only claiming the charges, that they havent refunded as "goodwill" Nothing else.. Sorry for the confusion

 

 

 

Mandi

[lickthewallfatboy]

then I would tend to go for option (a)-

they are being advised by an idiot....

 

or else they are trying to scare you off:rolleyes:

 

which bank are we talking about?

whoever it is,don't let them put you off-I think they are getting more desperate by the day:D

[MARTIN3030]

yes it would be interesting to know which bank so others can be prepared for this in their actions.

[Mandi]

Thanks for your replies so far..everyone

 

May I post the name of the Bank at a later date.. Reason is that its a local building society.. and not a National one.. ( - : I knew right at the start they would take this to the bitter end..( but just in case they know this forum I would like to stay quiet for now.. Will post their name at a later date..

 

Just not sure what to do about the counterclaim.. Can anyone recommend maybe another user or area of the site I can obtain more information from please...

 

Thanks again, and again (-:

 

 

 

Mandi

[MARTIN3030]

Never heard of them doing this 1 before........a tactic even Abbey not done yet?

 

Think one of the mods should be in the best position to advise you on this point.

 

[funkyparott]

If you are absoultely sure that your claim is valid, let them counter claim away. You will have your day in court.

 

The thing that troubles me is, I cannot imagine any Solicitor would write such a counter claim. Are you sure we are not missing something here? Are you absoultely %100 certain that you are only claiming for money you have not previously been refunded on?

 

If the counter claim is as it sounds, it is almost childish. Was this written by a Solicitor? I'd almost be tempted to report them to the Law Society. But as I said, I am sure we are missing something here. This sounds unbelieveable

 

BTW, what do the paragraphs the counter claim make reference to say (26 & 29) ?

 

FP

[Mandi]

This is the banks counterclaim..Funky

 

1.As set out in Paragraph 15 a number of charges incurred by the claimant have been refunded to her as a non binding " gesture of Goodwill" Under clause 23.3 of the Investment and current account conditions which apply to this account, the defendant may choose not to enforce conditions, but that will not give the defendant the right, not to enforce those conditions in the future..

 

 

They then go on to list the dates the Goodwill refunds, were given

 

 

 

 

2.Costs and expenses as a matter of contract as set out in para 29 ( Para 29 reads.. In the premises the claimant claims as a matter of contractual entitlement is legal and adminastrive costs)

 

 

3. Intrest

 

 

4Alternatively to (2) the cost of these proceedings as a matter of discretion for the court

 

 

5. Such further other relief as may be necessary, or desirable

 

 

 

 

Thats the full counterclaim, basicly they want me to pay them back the goodwill, plus intrest, and court costs..

 

One thing I should maybe point out..Im in reciept of benefits, they know this because the benefit is paid into my account with them, and on umpteen occasions, they have charged me for an unpaid direct debit, when on 1 occcasion I was a few pence short, and my benefit was to be paid in 12 hours later...

Could it have anything to do with the fact that they are disputing the amount im claiming,, they say the amount is less??

Sorry for the long winded reply

 

 

 

Thanks again everyone

 

BTW the letter is signed by their solicitor

[MARTIN3030]

Can you not get exemption from your court fees as you are on benefits ?

[Mandi]

Can you not get exemption from your court fees as you are on benefits ?

Yes I can thank you. ... Its on my "to do "list tomorrow...

[funkyparott]

Hi,

 

I think you need to post up exactly what is contained in paragraphs 15, 23.3 and 29 of the organisation's terms and conditions. Clearly their Counter Claim makes reference to them. It follows, that anyone trying to help will need to know the content of these sections.

 

 

 

FP

[BankFodder]

I've pm'd you

[Bookworm]

3 THREADS MERGED AND MOVED FROM GENERAL.

[Mandi]

I've pm'd you

 

Thanks for the Pm Bankfodder, however I cant reply as your INBOX is full...

 

Mandi

[zootscoot]

Does anyone know how this one turned out?

 

Someone else has had a similar defence.

[MARTIN3030]

Maybe Dave will know as he had some dealings by pm with this.

 

I recall we had difficulty getting them to reveal which bank we were looking at.

 

 

Mysterious to say the least !

[Mandi]

Hi all,

 

Just to give the update as requested.. Unfortunately there was no info available here re my banks " counterclaim", and I felt very let down by the forum .

 

I had to consult a litigation solicitior, who advised ,me that as my claim was relatively small, his best advice was for me to drop my claim for charges, if they dropped their counterclaim.. Which I did.. He advised me that they had employed a barrister,( at geat cost to them) to reply to my claim, but I might add that nowhere in the reply did they confirm or deny that the charges are penaltys.. and

 

In hindsight I had had more ifo, ( as I do now) I would have gone to court..

 

The name of the bank is CUMBERLAND BUILDING SOCIETY ( they have branches throughout Cumbria, and Northwest Scotland)

 

At their request I no longer have an account with them!!!!.. But what can you expect after 20 years as a loyal customer...!!!XX!!!

[Mandi]

Thank you for your reply its much appreciated.. As I said they didnt confirm or deny that the charges were penaltys.. Which is a good sign for everyone ..

 

Im now with the Nat West.. Who tried it on with a £38.00 charge when I opened my account ( not my fault I might add).. I got it refunded, and maybe this should be on another thread... but The hassle I had getting the refund was incredible.. A DD had gone out on the wrong date, I claimed back under the DD guarantee.. They told me I couldnt and needed to fill in an indemnity claim form so I could claim from the originator.. I said no , and after 4 days of quoting their own policy re DDs, and refunds.. I go MY moneyback..

 

Banks Grrr

 

Mandi

[caro]

Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em!

[Mandi]

Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em!

)-:

 

Thanks Caro..

Just asking, but has anyone else had a counterclaim filed against them ????If so what happened..

[nikkiandmidgets]

Surely you can still take them to court if you want? You should pm Martin and see what he says....After all every penny helps when you are on benefits...

[CrispDust]

I'd just try the claim again if I were you.

There is a lot more info out there now, compared to the time of your original posting.

[caro]

Yorkshire Bank are counterclaiming against me. I was worried when I first heard, but much less so when I read it. It basically said if I won my charges back they were counterclaiming for the exact amount as their costs, or damages, or anything else they could think of if nothing else worked. I consider that makes them completely contemptuous of the court and can't believe a judge would award me the money with one hand, and snatch it back with the other. Ludicrous!

 

This thread will interest you. Wrong place I know but it is explained.http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/alliance-leicester/38912-advice-mod-please.html?highlight=cumberland

[Mandi]

Thanks for everyones replies, and the Links,,

 

Can I please just clarify Even though I have previously dropped the claim .. Can I still go ahead with another.. Now I have more information, and help from everyone here..

 

Becuse if this is the case... Im going for it... BIG TIME..

 

cheers everyone

 

 

 

Mandi

[zootscoot]

Hi Mandy,

 

This may be possible, but there is a risk that your claim would be struck out.

 

The fact that you raised your claim previously and reached an agreement to drop it could be grounds for having your second claim struck out. It will come down to the question of whether the agreement you reached was legally binding.

 

For an agreement to be binding in English law both parties must receive a benefit and suffer a detriment. In your agreement you promised to withdraw a valid claim for unlawful charges ie suffered a detriment and you received the benefit of them withdrawing a counter claim. Cumberland likewise received the benefit of your withdrawal of your claim and suffered a detriment in withdrawing its counter claim.

 

You could argue that as their counter claim was without merit and highly unlikely to succeed you have thus recived no benefit and they have received no detriment in them withdrawing the counterclaim. However, they could perhaps counter this with the fact that you have received a benefit in not having to prepare a defence to the counter claim.

 

Also if the agreement was sanctioned by the court this would make the agreement legally binding.

 

In short the issue is not clear cut and you may risk your court fee yet again! It may well be worth entering negotiations for a settlement and state you are going to re-open the case and threat reporting the solicitor to the Law Society. See what their response is to this and take it from there.

 

Hope this helps

 

Zoot