sam78 V's Abbey***WON***

[sam78]

Got my bundle all sorted, printed and ready in lovely little (well, quite large actually) plastic files - I'm considering sending one to the abbey to gee them up a bit but then hand the other to the court once I have a final hearing. Is this a good idea or is it best to hang fire a while longer?

[noobrider]

Hang fire the directions hearing will give you 14 days to submitt your bundle and them 14 days thereafter they will ring you before the time limit is up

[sam78]

Thanks, at least it's all here, ready and waiting - I can ask for costs towards now hehe.

 

Can't wait to complete now though.

[sam78]

Hi, got an update for you. I've received an offer from the abbey via email - a person I've not heard of but as long as she has cash, who cares? The email and my response are below:

 

"Thwaite, Tanya" wrote:

Dear Ms Holmes,

Following your email dated 8 March 2007, I am writing to you in order to negotiate a settlement with regards to your legal claim against Abbey. After having verified your claim, I believe the total claimed currently stands at £3673.73 (including £220 of court fees).

In the interests of commerciality, Abbey would like to make you an offer of £3100.00. This reduced amount reflects the fact that some charge should be levied against each default that was made on your account. It also reflects the fact that in agreeing to an out-of-court settlement now, you will receive your settlement sooner and will avoid the time and energy expended in putting a trial bundle together.

Should you wish to accept this offer, please confirm by return email so that payment can be processed. I look forward to receiving your prompt response,

Many thanks,

Louise Jacobs

 

"Many thanks for your email.

 

I have already put together my court bundle, it has been printed and filed as I wish to hand it in at the Directions Hearing on the 2nd May, a copy of which will be sent to you/given to you on the same day. I have spent the last few weeks putting together these documents.

 

I appreciate your offer but would respectfully ask that to settle the claim in full, you increase your offer to cover the full amount.

 

Kind regards,

 

Miss Sandra Holmes

 

 

Good eh?

[Lula]

Very good indeed, might be worth adding that if they would disclose their costs per breach then you would be happy to pay it LOL, (It amuses me anyway)

[sam78]

This lady is great - had the following response.

 

"Dear Miss Holmes,

 

Thank you for your swift response.

 

Given that you have already spent time putting together a trial bundle for the Directions Hearing, I would be willing to increase our offer by £200 to £3,300.00. We would still expect some reduction from your total amount to reflect the fact that some charge should reasonably be taken for each default that was made.

 

Furthermore, given that the Directions Hearing merely pre-empts a final hearing we would be settling weeks if not months in advance.

 

Please let me know if would like to accept this offer and I will process the payment."

 

 

To which I have responded with the following

 

"Dear Louise,

 

Thank you for your response.

 

I would be willing to accept £3500 paid into account number xxxx. Upon the amount being received I will close the claim with the court.

 

Many thanks"

 

I'm getting excited now.

[Lula]

I think that you will find that she will settle on this and consider herself lucky , well done, dont inform the court until the money is cleared funds, see if she can do a Bacs payment into your account

[sam78]

Let's hope so. I'll keep an eye on my account for the next few hours.

[philread1]

Hello Sam

 

Your driving a hard bargain!!!!!!!!

 

Looks like you are doing Great! Keep up the good work, and don't settle for anything less than what you are aiming for!

 

Phil:)

[sam78]

Thanks Phil, just waiting for a yes or no and then wait for it to be deposited in my account. It could be a good weekend after all.....

[sam78]

Just waiting now for the cash to appear in my account!!! Wooohooo!!!!!!! Here's the last few emails:

"Dear Sandra,

I refer to our recent emails and confirm the terms of settlement reached whereby Abbey National Plc will make payment to you in the sum of £3,500.00

Payment is made without admission of any liability by or on behalf of Abbey National Plc. Payment is made in full and final satisfaction of your claim 7ZP00154.

Payment will be requested today and will be paid into your account (if open) or posted to you.

Upon receipt of the settlement monies please write to the Court and withdraw your claim and provide to us a copy of your letter.

Please confirm your acceptance of this offer by return email.

Kind regards,

Louise Jacobs"

 

"Thank you for your email. I agree to settle the claim once monies are received into my account: sort code xxxx, account number xxxx.

 

I would also be grateful if you could advise me when I can expect to see the funds in my account.

 

Kind regards"

 

 

"Dear Sandra,

Thanks for your confirmation. Payment takes 7-10 working days. You will see it in your account before then but it takes that time to clear.

Many thanks,

Louise"

[Lula]

i dont understand why it is taking 7-10 days, when James paid me out, it was paid into an Abbey branch in London and cleared within 3 days

 

but CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! i told you they would pay on 3.5 LOL

[charleyfarley]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

:D :D

[sam78]

I'm not sure why it has to take so long to clear either, I've still got an open account with them so who knows - I'm sure it will clear long before then - otherwise I'm still going to the directions hearing on 2nd May! lol

[philread1]

Excellent Work, Sam,

Well Done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D :D

[sam78]

Once the funds are available in my account I'll change the thread to settled - don't want to be premature lol.

 

What a great feeling though!!!!

[Lana241]

Once the funds are available in my account I'll change the thread to settled - don't want to be premature lol.

 

What a great feeling though!!!!

Excellent work sam, well done, congratulations.

 

I like reading all these success stories, makes good reading for a newbie.

 

Fingers up to the banks

and well done again sam

[mariejader]

Fantastic news Sam

[KnellyK]

Well done Sam78!

Brilliant negotiating with no wavering!

 

Congratulations!

[Jacqueline07]

Fabulous news - well done!

Jackie

[Lady E]

Well done , you drove a hard bargain and it paid off ,enjoy.

[sam78]

Still no signs of cash in my bank and no cheque either, have emailed louise to ask that this is in my account and cleared by thursday of this week (I'm off work that day hee hee) so that I have plenty of time to send a letter to the courts closing the claim. I added that if this isn't done I'll be appearing in court next wednesday for the directions hearing and the settlement will be disregarded. What's the stance on this? Can I go ahead with the courts if necessary?

[charleyfarley]

Absolutely!!! Have a look at chocolatte's thread.......it's almost an identical scenario.

[sam78]

Great, thanks Charley. Just had a read through that thread and have decided to email Louise once more (I didn't get a reply yesterday) to advise that I will be disregarding the settlement agreed as no payment has been made and that if the money isn't in my account by tomorrow morning I will be attending the directions hearing next week and I will be claiming the entire amount. Let's see what happens.

[sam78]

I've been in touch with the abbey again about my settlement, I thought the emails may be of interest to others:

 

'Dear Louise,

 

There is still no sign of the settlement money that was agreed last Friday. Unless the funds are available in my account by tomorrow then I shall continue with my claim, and I shall be requesting the total amount, plus interest, plus daily interest plus court costs. This currently totals £3776.43. I shall also be requesting costs for preparing the documents I shall be relying on in court.

 

I look forward to your response.

 

Sandra Holmes

 

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'

Dear Sandra,

First of all, may I apologise on behalf of Abbey that you have not received your payment to date. I have chased up your settlement and it seems to have been caught up in the backlog of cheque requests that we are currently attempting to deal with. I have put an urgent notification on your payment and will make sure that the cheque goes into your account tomorrow. I will receive the cheque in the morning and will make sure it then goes straight into your account. You will then be able to see the payment in your account by close of business tomorrow. It will unfortunately then take the usual couple of days to clear.

We have notified the court that settlement has been agreed but they will not withdraw the claim until they have received confirmation from you. Your claim therefore still stands until you have received payment.

Many thanks and apologies for any inconvenience,

Louise Jacobs

 

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Dear Louise,

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

May I ask why a cheque has to be raised and deposited into my account when my account is with you? I would have presumed that a payment could just be deposited into an Abbey account and would be available instantly.

 

Thanks for your assistance.

 

Sandra Holmes

 

 

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Dear Sandra,

We have to requisition the cheques from a separate legal fund which our law firm holds on trust for Abbey to enable us to deal with these settlements. All payments have to be processed from that fund which has created a backlog in recent weeks due to the volume of claims that we have received. By then putting the cheque straight into your account once we have received it, it usually shaves a few days off the process as we don't have to rely on the postal system twice to then get the cheques out to claimants. I realise that this process is both laborious and frustrating from both of our points of view but I have no other way of processing payments.

 

Again I apologies for the delay but please be rest assured that you will be able to see the money in your account by close of business tomorrow.

 

Thanks,

 

Louise

 

 

An honest person at Abbey - could be a first!