Costs

[Bicester1]

Hi everyone

 

Good start to the New Year with MBNA settling my claim in full at the MCOL stage a few days before the deadline.

 

Doing some background reading of Patricia Pearls book and I note with interest -no pun intended- the statement at the begining of chapter 6 with regards to costs:

 

"Further sums may be allowed if the District Judge comes to the conclusion that a party has behaved unreasonably"

 

This is interesting because on page 115 one of the examples given of unreasonable behavior is:

 

" pulling out of a case at the last minute where there has been no change in the circumstances."

 

This would seem to describe the baviour of many of the banks so maybe we should all be asking for costs as a matter of routine?

 

A litigant in person can claim £9.25 per hour for preparatory work in making their claim but costs must be proportionate, still every little helps!

 

Has anyone claimed costs apart from court and allocation fees?

 

Bicester1

[Michael Browne]

" pulling out of a case at the last minute where there has been no change in the circumstances."

 

 

I'm not sure that 'pulling out' of a case is the same as settling a claim. I rather think that this would apply to you as the claimant if you suddenly decided to drop your claim and the bank could then apply for their costs.

[Spiceskull]

The other thing to consider is that the judge cannot possibly award costs if the case is not before him/her. If anyone is considering this option, perhaps because the bank dances around, you have to be sure that the bank will actually attend the hearing, sometime, before requesting a costs award of this nature...

 

The banks are good at engaging in semantics, and they would likely respond that this is trite law, and therefore unacceptable...

[chris_d]

how about this then?

 

say i had to book a flight in order to get to an given court hearing. If the bank settled before the hearing would i be eligable to claim back the flight fees.

[Magicgav]

You need to attend court to obtain an unreasonable costs order - such an order is at the discretion of the presiding District Judge

 

In practice, settling the claim in full beforehand will not consitute unreasonable behaviour on the part of the bank unless its literally a day or so before the Hearing.

 

If they Defend the matter but fail to attend Court on the day of the hearing, this would be more likely to generate an unreasonable costs order.

 

Re: Chris' query - the maximum expenses you can recover in a Small Claims action (ie. a claim under £5k) are £50.00 (a bit unfair if you lose out on a days earnings / holiday/ etc)

[Glenn UK]

You need to attend court to obtain an unreasonable costs order - such an order is at the discretion of the presiding District Judge

 

In practice, settling the claim in full beforehand will not consitute unreasonable behaviour on the part of the bank unless its literally a day or so before the Hearing.

 

If they Defend the matter but fail to attend Court on the day of the hearing, this would be more likely to generate an unreasonable costs order.

 

Re: Chris' query - the maximum expenses you can recover in a Small Claims action (ie. a claim under £5k) are £50.00 (a bit unfair if you lose out on a days earnings / holiday/ etc)

 

I was under the impression that cpr 27.14 g allowed the court to award whatever costs it thought fit?

[Guest bong]

I decided that I would ask the court for costs, on the grounds of Barclays unreasonable behaviour. I had incurred £60 of expenses (ink, paper etc. for the document bundle, plus train fares & postage) and the rest was calculated at £9.25ph. They paid me £300 (ex gratia of course). for anyone who's interested in taking a look at the relevant part of my thread - its here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/barclays-bcard-woolwich-successes/30300-bong-barclaycard-10.html#post490515

 

I think that although they said I wouldn't get an award if it went to the hearing - they wouldn't have paid it if they thought I really didn't have a chance. I'd say ask for it.

[Spiceskull]

If you would like to see a claim for costs that was successful you need to check Whizzy's claim against Abbey.

 

I attended the hearing, and although he did not get the full amount of his costs awarded, the judge was determined that Abbey should pay something, and that they should understand that their stance was unreasonable...

 

The main issues when applying for costs are that a) they are for a reasonable amount and b) that you have all receipts needed to justify your claim. A costs award is not about "making money" but simply recovering your justifiable expenses in attending court and preparing for the hearing...

[Magicgav]

Just in response to Glenn UK's points

 

When pursuing a Small Claims matter, you are usually entitled to recover court fees and fixed costs.

 

You can also claim back witnesses expenses to a maximum of £50.00

 

If the court awards an unreasonable costs order, them further expenses can be taken into account when assessing the appropriate award

[Deller]

I can see you all having a nose....lol