Pls help I'm submitting my claim!

[leamarie]

Hi everyone!

 

Sorry this is abit overdue but been really busy at work lately!

 

Here is my timeline so far as promised:

 

20th June Data Protection Act Subject Access Request Letter sent

 

8th July Reminder letter sent to advise they only have 23 days left in which to comply

 

17th July Statements received

 

26th July Preliminary letter sent

 

29th July Acknowledgement letter received to say investigating complaint from Tracy White, Customer Service Officer

 

9th August Fobb off letter received 'This is the bank's final response etc. etc,' sent from Musarat Siddique, Customer Service Officer.

 

10th August Letter before action sent

 

25th August 2nd fob off letter received. 'Since the banks final response has been issued, I must advise you that we will not be entering into any further correspondence regarding the point you have raised.' Jamie O'Neill, Assistant Manager

 

8th September Claim issued at local county court

 

10th September Claim deemed served

 

15th September Lloyds filed an acknowledgement of service

 

8th October 28 days from date deemed served, TIME UP!

 

Not really sure what to do now, I've heard that it can take a little loionger than the 28 days sometimes, so I guess I'll just hang on.

 

Off on holiday on wednesday, was really hoping to get the Allocations Questionnaire before then. Any handy hints to fill that out would be appreciated!

 

Bye for now

[Michael Browne]

AQ guide here:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/11644-allocation-questionnaires-guide-completion.html

[leamarie]

Well I am back from my holidays and have found the allocations questionnaire waiting for me. It has to be returned by friday with a £100 fee. Computer at home has just decided to give up the ghost, so will have to rely on completing it in my lunch hour using the guidance notes given here, hoping its not too complicated and that I can get it done in time!!! :-|

[leamarie]

Just been checking the guidance notes and it turns out that I have the wrong form, I have the N150 instead of the N149, phoned the court and I am going to pop up there in my lunch break to collect one. Looks slightly easier.

 

Any ideas for what can be written in section G other information? Should I just state what I have done before e.g believe that the charges are unlawful etc. or do you think that because I have said this already in the claim I should leave this section blank. In other words am I best to reiterate the main points or skip that section?

 

Please help

[Michael Browne]

You could argue for standard disclosure:

 

I am respectfully requesting that my claim be allocated to the small claims track.

 

This issue is not a complicated one; it is an issue of fact and not of law. The issue is only whether the money levied by the Defendant in respect of its customer’s contractual breaches exceed their actual costs incurred. I am happy to pay their actual costs and I am surprised the Defendant did not counterclaim for these, because I would have paid them without argument.

 

However, the continuing problem is, (in common with the 100s of other cases currently being brought by other bank customers), that the banks refuse to reveal the details of their penalty-charging regime. As the banks have a fiduciary duty towards their customers, they have a duty to deal straightforwardly and in utmost good faith.

 

Accordingly, I would respectfully ask that the court in this case, not withstanding allocation to the small claims track, order standard disclosure. I understand that it is in the courts discretion to do so. This would bring a rapid end, not only to this litigation, but would also likely bring an end to much of the litigation in progress against other high-street banks.

[leamarie]

Thanks for that Michael, have used that text and ready to take my questionnaire back to the court this lunchtime.

 

Received Lloyds questionnaire yesterday and they asked for me to send a copy of mine to them directly. There are no instructions from the bank telling me to do this. Will ask them later.

 

Lloyds also stated they will not be available for the entire months of October and November, surprise, surprise!!! Does anyone know whether the court can override this or will I now have to wait until December?

 

Bye for now

[Michael Browne]

You are not obliged to send SCM an AQ copy, but it's reccommended as a courtesy.

[leamarie]

Thank you, will do that.

[leamarie]

Hi,

 

forgot to say yesterday that Lloyds stated on their allocation questionnaire that they are requesting a stay and will not be available for court for October or November. When I asked the lady at the court office about this, she said not to worry as they are setting court dates for small claims now for FEBRUARY!!! She said they have a huge backlog. Is this normal, has anyone else had to wait this long and should I bother asking for the stay to be removed if its going to take ages to get a court date anyway?

 

Thanks again

[avlasc]

Hi interesting question, I have just sent my AQ to SCM so it will be interesting to see what happens to mine - I look forward to the responses you might get ... Ken.

[GaryH]

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Thank you for providing me with a copy of your completed N149 Allocation Questionnaire, which I received on **/**/**.

 

Referring to the Allocation Questionnaire, I must admit to being somewhat surprised by your response to Section A (Settlement). You have ticked ‘yes’, thereby requesting a one month postponement in proceedings in order that a settlement may be reached by way of negotiation.

 

Please note that throughout the process of this claim, neither yourselves nor your client have ever given any indication whatsoever that you wish to settle this matter without the need for litigation. In fact, all my previous attempts at dialogue with your client have been met with outright refusals to negotiate this matter, and on **/**/** I received a letter from Lloyds TSB’s service recovery centre which explicitly stated that the bank had issued its final response and therefore would not enter into any further correspondence. It is for this reason that I felt I had no alternative but to seek redress by way of Court action.

 

Having said the above, I do believe that litigation should always be a last resort and would of course be happy to settle this matter without the need for a court hearing. Please be advised though, that I am completely confidant in the strength of my claim and believe that your clients charges could indeed be proved to be unlawful penalty’s which you are trying to cloak as contractual service charges. For this reason, I will only settle for the full amount of the claim, namely £***.

 

In light of your indication of your intention to negotiate settlement, I will await your communication informing me of how you wish to proceed. A copy of this letter will also be sent to the court.

 

 

Yours faithfully

 

You're welcome to send this if you like. If you do, send a copy to the court as well. Even if it does'nt get them to settle, at least it puts you on the moral high ground and you'll be able to demonstrate to the court that you've tried to negotiate with them.

[leamarie]

Thanks Gary!

 

That is absolutely brilliant!!! Fantastic letter. Was going to send my AQ to their solicitors today so will send this with it.

 

Can I just take a copy to the court to be added to my file even though I've already submitted my AQ?

[GaryH]

No probs. Yes, send it or take it to the court and request that its added to your file.

[leamarie]

Thanks again! :grin:

[avlasc]

Just a thought - should you send that letter only if you have received the SCM AQ?

 

Personally I would wait until I had received the SCM AQ .. thats assuming I do of course, not sure if everyone gets it.

[GaryH]

Yes!! Its only to be used as a response to their A/Q when you receive it from them. And then only if they have ticked 'yes' to a one month postponement in section A (which they have always done till now).

[leamarie]

Hi Gary,

 

Just typing up that fab letter and got a bit stuck. When I say 'I will only settle for the full amount of the claim, namely £ ' , do I put the total amount including court costs paid and interest?

[Michael Browne]

Yes, specifically mention them.

 

'I will only settle for the full amount of the claim, court costs and interest, namely £ '

[leamarie]

Thank you.

[leamarie]

Hello again.

 

Could someone please help, I have one more question.

 

Nearly finished writing this letter but when I say I will only settle for the total amount of the claim, interest and court costs, do I include the interest accumalated since my claim was issued? If so do I need to phrase it something like 'total amount of the claim, court costs and ongoing interest until date of judgement or settlement, namely £_'.

 

I want to make sure I claim for all the interest as its already £20 extra and if it continues until February/March that will be a tidy sum!

[GaryH]

yes thats fine, or something like "plus interest accrued since date of issue, £***"

[leamarie]

Hi everyone, good news...

 

I HAVE RECEIVED A COURT DATE!!! 23RD FEBRUARY!

 

 

I know its ages away but just think of all that interest accruing!

 

I guess all I do now is wait. I think I was supposed to give my claim details to a moderator. Not sure how to do it. Does PM mean private message?

[GaryH]

Yes, send a private message to a mod with all the claim details and they will include it in the litigation in progress section.

 

Have you received any directions from the court yet? If not that will be the next stage. You will be instructed to provide the court and the other side with all your documents and the evidance on which you will rely. Even if you have'nt had directions as yet, it would still be a good idea to start getting prepared. In the templates library you'll find a 'court bundle' which contains most of what you need. Add to that the McNamara interview, a shedule and your statements and any correspondance between you and Lloyds.

[leamarie]

Thanks again Gary.

 

Yes I think I have received the directions with the court date, it just said to submit any evidence to the court and the defence 14 days before. I think I thought I just had to organise all the written correspondence between myself and the bank.

 

Thanks for the prompt!!!

 

Leamarie ;-)

[GaryH]

Would you mind scanning or otherwise posting up your directions please? Just want to check exactly what you will need to submit.