prelimanary trial ordered by judge

[steter]

hello fellow victims.....just to say that since i heard about this site i've got myself(finally)in to gear, and today i posted my initial letter to Abbey, recorded guaranteed delivery. Tally ho!!

[richardc]

Just follow the step by step guide.

 

Read around FAQs, The Library and the Forum to learn as much as possible.

[steter]

splendid mucker!!!If things go well, i might even stand you a pint!!!

[steter]

After just 8 days, Abbey have replied to my initial letter(taken from libraary):

"Thanks for contacting us and i'm sorry you've been so unhappy you've felt you must complain.

One of my colleagues will be responsible for investigating your complaint and i've enclosed our Customer Satisfaction Leaflet, which explains our procedure for dong this. High quality customer service is of great importance to us at Abbey and we'lldo everythingwe can to resolve your complaint in a timely and satisfactory manner.

I know it's important to you that we resolve your complaint quickly but we want to do a thorough investigation and sometimes this cvan take time. We'll write to you within the next four weeks to let you know what's happenning.

Although i don't know what the outcome will be, i do hope we'll be able to find a solution that you're happy with.

 

yours etc

[steter]

Sorry....ran out of space

Anyway , 2 things strike me here:

1. The letter wsas hardly a complaint; more a request, or even a demand. and

2. In the weeks prior to the letter, i was literally being passed from pillar to post,left on hod, and generally being treated with utter contempt be their(so called) customer services dept. Quite a change in tone eh?

Should i give them the 4 weeks, or carry on regardless?

[richardc]

Don't let them dictate the pace - they will delay and delay in the hope that you will give up. Keep to your timetable.

[steter]

That's what i was hoping to hear. Nice words by the way...Your own?

[steter]

a continuation (after an unexpected absence). I've followed the guidlines(in the library) virtually to the letter, i sent the letter before action, received an identical reply(who says their leters aren't computer generated!), and sadly, have had to resort to court action. Claim# 6QZ26035 for £2645.33 was isssued on 25th April 2006 for Northampton Crown Court. Fingers crossed, though i have been a little concerned about Whizxzkid's case, which is still in abeyance. Anyway, any further posts will be in the litigatioin section.

[alanfromderby]

Unfortunately you cannot post in the litigation section - just PM you case details to Bankfodder and he will do the rest.

[steter]

my claim has been acknowledged by abbey- when will i find(or how) the actual date of the court proceedings(which should be around the 28th may). Is the 4 week guidline religiously applied; and will i receive notification of the date?

[alanfromderby]

If they have acknowledged, then the next stage is for them to put in a defence.

[NeilP]

At least you have an acknowledgement. With alot of cases including Whizzkids and mine, they have let it go the whole hog, and then after Judgements and Warrants of Execution have been awarded, they then apply for it to be put aside, and try to start the ball rolling all over again!

 

Good Luck!

 

Neil.

[steter]

thanx guys

[steter]

sorry...me again; do they have to inform me of the grounds of their defence?

[alanfromderby]

Yes, you will receive a copy of their defence.

[steter]

received an offer from abbey on friday. They are willling to pay half as a gesture of goodwill, but if they do it won't be an admission of liability; if i refuse the offer they will defend the claim citing MY breach of contract. Obviously i'm going to refuse it, but i was wondering if anybody else has received an offer off Abbey recently, or at least since they started playing up to whizzkid and neilP.

[steter]

Now i've actually had a chance to read the letter i received from Abbey, it makes some quite interesting reading. Abbey have said that our argument is that they shouldn't make charges at all. Is it? Ithought that the whole basis of our collective argument has been that abbey(or whoever)should only charge us what it actually costs them ie virtual peanuts. Anyhow regardless of what we(or Abbey) think, surely it's what the law SAYS that counts.

Abbey's defence runs to some 10 points the most important(i think) is #9:

"Further, or in the alternative, even if the said fees are not proportionate to the defendant's administrative expenses incurred(which is denied),the claimant remains liable to pay such fees as may be found to be proportionate and the claimant is not entitled to claim repayment of the full amount of each charge made to the account."

In court , will Abbey have to justify any expense they believe has occurred? Maybe i'm getting a bit week at the knees, but should i accept the offer of half, or stay in till the end?

[barracad]

Keep going! There's no way they would reveal their true costs in court.

 

Would it be possible for you to post the whole defence?

[steter]

hello barracad! the scanner's knackered on my computer, so bear with me and i'll type it in.

 

1. Save as is specifically admitted in this Defence, the Defendant denies each and every allegation set out in the particulars of the claim.

2. It is admitted that the claimant has a current account with the defendant, numbered ********* ("Account")

3.At all times the account has been subject to the applicable terms and conditions which form part of the contract between the claimant and the defendant and to which the Claimant agreed when he opened the account. The Defendant will refer at trial to the full Conditions but for the purposes of this Defence will refer to the following extracts:

(1) "You can apply for an overdraft on your Account. If we give you an overdraft we will tell yoiu your limit and the interest rate applicable."

(2) "An unauthorised overdraft occurs if without our agreement you overdraw your accounor exceed the limit of an overdraft which we have agreed"

[steter]

cont.

(3)" if you have an unauthorised overdraft, you will be charged fees as set out in our tariff of Charges or specified to you and these may include fees for transactions we are unable to process due to lack of availabl funds in you account"

 

4. Throughout the period that he has had the Account, the claimant received a number of copies of the conditions and of the said Tariff of charges as they were amended and updated(though there has been no material amendment to the conditions extracted in paragraphs 3(1), (2) and (3).

 

5. Any overdraft facility on the Account was(and is) subject to the conditions.

 

cont. next thread

[steter]

6.The Claimant has overdrawn or exceeded authorised limits on the Account on a number of occasions, full details of which will be provided on disclosure. Therefore by virtue of the Conditions referred to in paragraph 3 above such overdrawing was unauthorised and in breach of contract and the Claimant became liable to pay fees to the Defendant in accordance with its Tariff of Charges at the relevant time. In accordance with the conditions, such fees were debited to the Account.

 

7.In view of the facts and matters referred to in paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 6 above the defendant denies that the amount of £2526.33 or any amount was unlawfully debited to the account and the claimant's claim for repayment of that amount is therefore denied.

 

cont. next post....

[steter]

cont.

 

8. the claimant's contention that the said fees are unenforceable and/or are "penalty charges" is denied. The fees reflect and are proportionate to the Defendant's administrative expenses incurred due to the Claimant's breach of contract and are a genuine pre-estimate of the damage suffered by the Defendant.

 

9. see earlier post

 

10. No admissions are made as to the amounts claimed by the Claimant and the Claimant is put to strict proof of the same.

 

The defendant believes that the facts stated in this defence are true.

[steter]

There you have it, and i hope it can be of some help to you. Incidentally, any ideas on how i should word my refusal of their "Offer"

[whizzkid001]

Just stick to your guns over this, it's the usual bully boy tactics so doggedly used by them to deter & scare claimants from excercising their lawful rights. Politely refuse their offer & tell them the claim stands & continues.

[NeilP]

Steter,

 

This is fantastic news! Their defense has changed considerably from mine and Whizzkids, and with one or two major ones.

 

I'll PM you why i think this.

 

Stick to your guns. This is just another one of their damage limitation tactics.

 

Neil.