chathe v natwest - court stage

[chathe]

I am claiming £3909 plus court fees from Natwest.

 

I sent the first letter on 22 November and was offered £309 which I refused.

 

I sent the letter before action on 5 December and received a standard "bear with us" response.

 

On 14 December I started my online claim using Moneyclaim.gov.uk.

 

33 days later, on 17 January, I had not heard anything from NatWest or Cobbetts so I entered a judgement by default against my claim. But Cobbetts had (apparently simultaneously!) got in there with a defence, so my judgement by default was overruled by their defence.

 

So I received the letter from Cobbetts that same day, on 17 January asking for the CPR 18 blah blah... wrote back immediately telling them I thought they were intimidating me but enclosed the full schedule of charges anyway.

 

I have still not received my Allocation Questionnaire, which I was expecting to arrive on the same day as the Cobbetts defence letter, but I have just called the Moneyclaim service desk who tell me that it was sent on 17 January and that they send them second class so I should expect it tomorrow. I then have 14 days to send it back (I am sincerely hoping that it arrives when it should as I am going on a three-week holiday on Thursday and won't be able to progress my claim!).

 

Also, according to the very helpful lady at Moneyclaim, the courts are currently taking around a month to process the AQs and set a court date.

 

Hope this is helpful to anyone else in my position. I know a risk is involved but I am fully prepared to go to court as I firmly believe I will win. It's going to be worth all the trouble!!

 

Also, thanks to everyone on this site. Reading about all your experiences has left me feeling inspired and encouraged - it can feel sometimes like you're all on your own, but there are hundreds (thousands?!) of like-minded people out there and it's so nice to know you can ask for help whenever I need it!

 

Will keep you posted...

chathe

[muggins73]

hi chathe,

 

I concur, and I have been dealing with the court direct.

 

Both Natwests' and my AQ were received by the court on the due date of 08th Jan and I still have not herd a dickie-bird!!!

 

I rang them this afternoon, and have been advised by the court clerk that I should receive my court bundle by this time next week, if not the following:eek:

 

Apparently, poor 'ole jugdy, is a bit snowed under!!!!!

 

Good luck, oh, and have a lovely holiday.

[muggins73]

xxx

[chathe]

Thanks Muggins! Looks like you're 10 days or so ahead of me so I'll keep checking out your progress. Well, when I'm not sunning myself on a beach in South America...

 

chathexx

[muggins73]

Thanks for that, I am now being sick with jealousy;)

[Deller]

Thanks for that, I am now being sick with jealousy;)

 

Perhaps when your claim is settled you'll be able to treat yourself to a nice holiday too.........something I could definately do with!!

[chathe]

Well the AQ came through on Friday, exactly when the nice lady at Moneyclaim said it would! So I have filled it in and will send it off first class registered post today with chequr

[muggins73]

Let the fun commence and the smell of sweet banknotes prevail!!!!!

[chathe]

Well it took me a day longer than i expected to get everything together but I am just about to send the AQ off to the court, along with my cheque for £100.

 

At the last minute I also decided to include a covering letter to the court entitled "Claimant's response to the request for further information" as posted here. It's an extremely well written letter which I tweaked slightly to reflect my own circumstances - I recommend it to anyone unsure of what to say in their covering letter.

 

As I'm about to go on holiday (sorry muggins, don't mean to rub it in!) I filled in the dates I can't attend court in section F of the Allocation Questionnaire.

 

I have taken copies of EVERYTHING, from my very first letter to the bank, to the Allocation Questionnaire, so that if I do have to go to court I have a record of every bit of correspondence. In a weird way I'm kind of hoping for a court hearing, such is my confidence I'll win!!

 

So now I think I can go on holiday knowing it is all taken care of - as far as it can be anyway! - and hoping that I will return to a nice big cheque on the doormat.

 

chathe x

[muggins73]

you go girl!!!

 

Holiday, rub it in, I'm not frothing at the mouth, honest:D

 

Have a wonderful time and make sure you don't forgt to put plenty of sunblock on, especially on the places the sun doesn't ofter reach!!!!!

 

Fingers crossed that you'll have a lovely chq on the doorstep when you get home.

 

muggs xx

[chathe]

Hello,

 

Writing this from a tiny town in northern Argentina so don{t have much time to look for the answer to my question - so any help gratefully received!

 

I left my sister with int}structions to open any post from Natwest or Cobbetts while I was away. The day I left Blighty she texted me to let me know they are offering me 3192 quid straight into my account. It{s not a bad offer but I am owed another grand on top of that so I don{t want to accept it, I am going to hold out for the full amount. My question is simnply, do I need to write back to them to refuse their offer or can I just ignore it until I get back from holiday? It would be easier to do the latter! Apparently they gave me eight weeks to accept, and I{m back home in three.

 

Thanks

chathe x

[muggins73]

Hello you from a tiny town in northern Argentina, from a cold person on the southcoast of Britain:D

My instinct tells me, 'bugger 'em', and let them wait until you get back from sunning yourself, but then me thinks that if there is any chance your sister can respond, then Natwest should get their fingers out alot quicker and hopefully offer you a less lame amount? That's my opinion anyways.

Have fun, missing you already:p

[chathe]

Hi Muggins and thanks - I sort of thought the same but just needed reassurance! It´s weird being on the other side of the world and trying to keep track of the claim (is it sad that I am doing so?! Hope not!).

 

Turns out the letter from NatWest offering 3192 quid was dated 12 Jan, four days before they put in a defence (funny how I didn´t get it till well afterwards!). But since then there has also been a letter from Cobbetts dated 24 Jan (day before I went away) saying "we don´t think you´ll win in court but we´ll offer you 2000 quid to go away". Their offer expires today and obviously there´s no way I can get a letter of refusal to them today. So I just want to check, I don´t need to answer to anyone but the court do I?

 

Thanks

chathe

[muggins73]

Hi chathe,

absolutely correct, hun, just the court.

You are not obliged to respond to Natwests offers, it is just courtesy...but seeing as though you are on the other side of the world, then no matter;)

 

Do yourself a big favour and sit back and enjoy the rest of your time in Argentina, and for pity-sake stop worrying about the damn court claim!!!!

Chat to you when you get home..sunbathe, sunbathe and sunbathe some more!!!!

[chathe]

Won! Received my cheque from NatWest this morning - they paid the exact amount I was claiming (so I didn't get the £300-odd that I paid for court charges, but still!). Thanks a billion to muggins and everyone else for your advice, you're all utter legends.

 

Advice to anyone else confused or intimidated by the whole process: STICK WITH IT! Don't be intimidated by their jargony letters, follow the process outlined in the website, use the templates and you can scare them right back! Ha!

 

Cheers

Chathe xx

[Michael Browne]

(so I didn't get the £300-odd that I paid for court charges, but still!).

Well you're entitled to it. Don't let them get away with it. Phone Cobbets and tell them you're not withdrawing the claim until this is settled. Then confirm in writing.