Smoking_Monkey vrs Barclays

[Smoking_Monkey]

Hi,

 

I am in the process of trying to recover bank charges issued by Barclays Bank. At the last possible minute they acknowledged the claim and now I have just found out that they are willing to defend the claim (again last minute).

 

Has anyone else been in this position, and if so what would be the best course of action for me? I have been reading quite a few web pages relating to this topic but not having a full understanding of the British law Im not entirely sure what this means.

 

Barlays had previously offered me a 'Goodwill Gesture' which I decided I would not accept (it was about 40% of my claim).

 

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks very much,

 

Rich

[livelylad]

Hi,

 

I am in the process of trying to recover bank charges issued by Barclays Bank. At the last possible minute they acknowledged the claim and now I have just found out that they are willing to defend the claim (again last minute).

 

Has anyone else been in this position, and if so what would be the best course of action for me? I have been reading quite a few web pages relating to this topic but not having a full understanding of the British law Im not entirely sure what this means.

 

Barlays had previously offered me a 'Goodwill Gesture' which I decided I would not accept (it was about 40% of my claim).

 

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks very much,

 

Rich

 

 

Firstly dont worry this is standard practice they will say they are going to defend but they will pay out in full before you get to court. Just sit tight and wait for your AQ, when you recieve it complete it and return to the court. Spend this time now reading the FAQS and step by step instructions.

[Smoking_Monkey]

Thanks LivelyLad. You advice is much appreciated.

 

Best regards,

 

Rich

[bagsnballs]

Help ........ please...... Barclays are doing the same to me...... the case has been transfered to a local court and I have a whole pack of forms to fill out....what should I do ??.......It is an allocation questionaire .....

[dickeggsy]

go to the Bank Templates Library where you should find advice about filling in an AQ.

[livelylad]

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

[Smoking_Monkey]

I fear I am being incredibly stupid (and/or blind) but I am having real difficulty locating the FAQ section. Could someone give me a shove in the right direction please.

 

My head is lowered in total shame.

 

Rich

[Ropey]

Click here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/ Then go down a little until you get to the RED writing saying: FAQs :::::::::::::::::::::::::- PLEASE READ THESE FIRST!!! -:::::::::::::::::, that and the following few sections are the good stuff.

[Laineybelle]

We've all done it smoking monkey. I think you are always worried you are going to trip up somewhere.

 

I think I am at about the same stage as you.

 

Good luck

Laineybelle

[Smoking_Monkey]

Hello again,

 

I am currently still in the process of filling in my court bundle. Whilst looking through it I noticed the sections Early Day Motion from the House of Parliament and OFT Summary contain only a web link. Will this be satisfactory to include in the document that will be posted to the courts or should I print out the web pages/pdf documents?

 

Also, should I include some sort of front cover (or include it in the header/footer) my name and claim number etc? How many copies should I post off to the court? I read elsewhere that 2 copies were required for the court (3 if I wished 1 returned in a court envelope) but Ive not found anything similar about Court Bundles.

 

Cheers,

 

Rich

[mlphw]

Hi Smoking Monkey

 

I thought you were at Allocation Questionnaire stage ? If so I do not think you need to send the court bundle with it - that is at a later stage.

 

Well that's my understanding anyway - maybe someone can confirm for you ?

[Smoking_Monkey]

Hi there,

 

I am currently in the middle of the court process to have my charges refunded but I received a letter the other day which I am worried has thrown a spanner in the works. I believe that I have followed the procedures exactly which is why I am so confused with regard to this letter. It was sent from Gloucester County Court and reads:

 

Before District Judge sitting at Gloucester County Court.

 

Upon both parties filing allocation questionnaires

 

IT IS ORDERED THAT

 

The claim is stayed on the grounds that the claimant's statement of case discloses inadequate particulars of claim. Unless the claimant files an serves a further statement of case that sets out full particulars of the claim, the claim will stand struck out.

 

The Claimant should also send a copy of the further statement of case to the Defendant or their representatives and confirm to the Court that this has been done.

 

It then goes onto givesome phone numbers and websites of Legal Services or the Citizens Advice Bureau.

 

I am worried that I have somehow managed to screw this up. Has anybody else received a letter such as this, or could someone throw some light on the 'Legal Language'? Im going to try and contact them tomorrow to find out if they could give me some more clarification, but in the meantime all help and advice will be gratefully received.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Rich

[Bigmac versus]

Ok Smokingmonkey you need to put up you Particulars Of Claim so we can see whats wrong, remember to leave out your personal details.

[Smoking_Monkey]

Hello George,

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I have copied directly the Particulars of Claim that I filed from the Moneyclaim website. It reads as follows:

 

1. The Claimant has an account * with the Defendant, opened *. 2. Since **/**/** the Defendant debited charges and interest in respect of purported breaches of contract. 3. Defendant is aware of all details as a list of charges has already been supplied. Another copy has been sent. 4. Claimant contends: (a) The charges exceed the Defendant's losses caused by the breaches; (b) The Term permitting the Defendant to levy such charges is unenforceable under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and at Common Law. 5. Claomant claims: (a) return of the amounts debited of £*; (b) Interest per S.69 County Courts Act 1984 of 8% - £* continuining at 8% until judgement or settlement at a daily rate of £*. 6. Alternatively, if the charges are a fee for a service, then they must be reasonable under S.15 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. 7. Costs allowed by the Court.

 

If there is any other document that you need then please let me know. Thanks very much George.

 

Best regards,

 

Rich

[Smoking_Monkey]

I have decided that I am going to print out a hard copy of the Particulars of Claim as I previously did it online. Looking through the forms on this site I have come across something I am slightly unsure of.

 

Could somebody tell me what the differences are between the Overdraft Interest £xxx.xx, and the Interest under s.69 County Courts Act 1984 £xxx.xx (please see below for the context)? I would have said that it was the daily interest rate but there is space to state that in the next paragraph.

 

Best regards,

 

Rich

 

Charges £xxx.xx

Overdraft Interest £xxx.xx

Interest under s.69 County Courts Act 1984 £xxx.xx

Court Fee £xx.xx

 

TOTAL £ xx.xx

 

Plus interest pursuant to S.69 County Courts Act 1984 from date of issue to date of judgement/settlement at £xx.xx per day {(enter daily rate here - (CHARGES+OD interest)x 0.00022 = pence per day) }OR at such rate and for such periods as the court deems just.

[Smoking_Monkey]

Does anybody have any ideas of what I should do next?

 

Cheers,

 

Rich

[Bigmac versus]

Charges £xxx.xx

Overdraft Interest £xxx.xx THIS IS WHAT THE BANKS CHARGED YOU FOR GOING OVERDRAWN, IF YOU DO NOT INTEND TO CLAIM THIS THEN YOU COULD LEAVE IT BLANK.

Interest under s.69 County Courts Act 1984 £xxx.xx TOTAL FROM DATE OF SERVICE OF EACH CHARGE TO DATE OF ISSUE.

Court Fee £xx.xxYOUR COSTS

 

TOTAL £ xx.xx

 

Plus interest pursuant to S.69 County Courts Act 1984 from date of issue to date of judgement/settlement at £xx.xx per day {(enter daily rate here - (CHARGES+OD interest)x 0.00022 = pence per day) }OR at such rate and for such periods as the court deems just.

[dickeggsy]

i think overdraft interest is the interest you paid on the charges , i.e. the bank are allowed to charge interest on your overdraft but if you pay a charge they add interest onto that charge which i believe you can claim back if you are brainy enough.

the 8% statutary interest is the amount added to each charge you are claiming going back however many days the charge was implemented.(took me ages to think of that word).

hope thats right . if not someone will put me right.

[Smoking_Monkey]

Thanks guys, that helps alot. Hopefully now I can get somewhere. Im about to go to the Citizens Advice Bureau to find out what they say about the case.

 

Thanks again,

 

Rich

[Smoking_Monkey]

Hi there,

 

After visitng the Citizens Advice Bureau yesterday I fear that they may have highlighted a glaring mistake on my part which could be the cause of all my problems.

 

When I submitted my Particulars of Claim, I believe I only sent both my bank and the County Court a copy of the Excel spreadsheet from this site. Should I have sent them copies of my statements where the charges occurred as well as the excel spreadsheet?

 

I am just sorting through the statements now before copying them and sending them. Could somebody please confirm whether this is the route I should have taken in the first place or whether I am still fumbling in the dark.

 

Thanks very much,

 

Rich

[Guest Mumofthreeboys]

When I submitted my Particulars of Claim, I believe I only sent both my bank and the County Court a copy of the Excel spreadsheet from this site. Should I have sent them copies of my statements where the charges occurred as well as the excel spreadsheet?

 

No, you're correct - you only need to send the spreadsheet as this particularises the details from your statements.

[Smoking_Monkey]

Hi Mumofthreeboys, thanks for the reply. Do you have any idea why the court has stated that I have disclosed inadequate particulars of claim? Is it because I used the onlive version which is a shorter, more condensed version of the Hard Copy?

 

Thanks,

 

Rich

[Guest Mumofthreeboys]

Are you sure it's the court saying they are inadequate? Or was it in the defence?

[Smoking_Monkey]

This was part of the letter I received from Gloucester County Court.

 

Upon both parties filing allocation questionnaires

 

IT IS ORDERED THAT

 

The claim is stayed on the grounds that the claimant's statement of case discloses inadequate particulars of claim. Unless the claimant files an serves a further statement of case that sets out full particulars of the claim, the claim will stand struck out.

 

The Claimant should also send a copy of the further statement of case to the Defendant or their representatives and confirm to the Court that this has been done.

 

The Defence and Counterclaim from Barclays that I received when I received the Allocation Questionnaire states:

 

1. The Particulars of Claim do not provide details of the precise charges alleged to have been unlawful, or the date thereof. To the extent it is alleged that the Claimant incurred bank charges on his/her account for unauthorised borrowings (whether unpaid fees for returned cheques, "Paid Referral fees" or any othersuch fees), the Defendant puts the Claimant to strict proof of each charge and the date thereof.

 

It then goes on to list a further 9 points. I think this is a fiarly standard response from Barclays is it not?

 

Thanks,

 

Rich

[Guest Mumofthreeboys]

When you filed your claim, did you use the Particulars of Claim from this site?