The Bloodster vs Nat West

[thebloodster]

Also do I add all 32 pages of the T & C to the back of the court bundle?

[steven4064]

Probably a bit late now but yes and yes

 

(BTW see http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/cag-meets/89802-cag-natwest-forum-members.html)

 

Steven

 

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Any opinions are without prejudice & without liability.

Almost everything I know concerning the law I learned from this site

[csunet2021]

Hi Just to wish you luck today, will watch for what the outcome is.

 

Hope it goes ok for you and good luck again !

[thebloodster]

Thanks again. After a few more problems with the final touches I was all sorted. I went into the city centre leaving at 3!! I went to Cobbetts first and discovered they had moved from King Street!!! Good job they had only moved to Moseley Street 5 minutes walk away. After a bit of confusion with they I got my receipt signed by them and it was delivered about 3.30pm. Next I delivered to the County Court with 10 minutes to spare. It all done now and what a relief that was on Friday!!

 

Now I just sit and wait and thanks to everyone for their help and support!!

[steven4064]

Bloodster, well done.

 

Keep us posted (no doubt you will).

 

Something to note. For reasons which may or may not be clear from http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/98652-bank-t-cs-you.html I have slightly changed the wording of this statement from:

The Claimant contends that these Terms imply a term requiring that, in the proper running of the Account ...

to

The Claimant contends that these Terms require that, in the proper running of the Account...

Don't worry about it now but in the extremely unlikely event of the case going to court you should ask the court to make the change to make clear that the requirement is not additional to the terms in the T&Cs but derived from them.

 

Steven

 

If this post is helpful, please click the scales

Any opinions are without prejudice & without liability.

Almost everything I know concerning the law I learned from this site

[thebloodster]

Thanks for that

[thebloodster]

I've had a bit of a panic tonight. After reading up on AQ dispensing for two other cases I'm dealing with I read that maybe I should be paying a £100 for the AQ anyway? Why have the court never asked me for this? I'm going to ring them tomorrow and ask!! Wish me luck as I believe it can be struck out if it isn't paid - which I wasn't aware it had to be!!

[steven4064]

Ring the court and ask. If you needed to pay, they should have told you. You only have to pay of your claim is greater than £1500.

 

Steven

 

If this post is helpful, please click the scales

Any opinions are without prejudice & without liability.

Almost everything I know concerning the law I learned from this site

[thebloodster]

I think I should have your avatar Steven!!

 

I thought the court but they wouldn't speak to me about the case as I'm not the claimant (fair enough) So I asked her to ring them which she did and was told its fine as a court date has already been set ........ Phew!!

[thebloodster]

I'm scared!!! I still haven't heard anything else from the bank and tomorrow it will only be 2 weeks to the court date. Should I be worried?

[hedgey06]

Don't worry - you're nearly there now. Have you phoned cobbetts at all yet to discuss settling before the court date? xx

[thebloodster]

No I haven't I didn't think they would want me to call them to be honest. Should I give them a ring to give them a push? However it isn't my case I've been dealing with so they probably wouldn't want to talk to me. I've been doing it for a friend and she isn't really that clued up on all the technical side of the case.

[hedgey06]

I'd say it's worth your friend giving them a ring at this late stage - all she needs to do is ask if they're willing to settle. No technical details required - and you could always be on hand for advice if she needs it. Worth a go methinks!

[thebloodster]

She spoke to Cobbetts on Weds and the person who is dealing with the case is on annual leave apparently. The lady said she was surprised nothing had been sorted out with the court date only a week away and she thought she would have heard from the Nat West by now.

 

I'm worried!! Is them trying to fob her off as they have found something we have done wrong and they want her to go to court and lose? Or am I panicking over nothing.

 

I am considering getting her to give the Nat West a ring tomorrow, does anyone know the best number to ring?

[hedgey06]

Now that it's at the court stage - there isn't much point contacting nat west direct as everything is being dealt with by cobbetts. I'm surprised that cobbetts passed the buck on this one - they must be busier than we think. I don't think they're trying to fob her off though, I think they're genuinely so completely swamped with these claims that they're struggling to keep up!

 

The court date's quite close now and as she's made contact with cobbetts I would think that they'll now deal with the full and final settlement urgently (before the court date). Try not to worry too much though - if she does have to go to court you could attend with her and brief her on what to say/what not to say.

 

Best of luck - fingers crossed that they settle within the next few days

[thebloodster]

Phoned Nat West today and they were completely arrogant about it - what do you want me to do about it etc.

 

So we phoned Cobbetts and they said that to stop it getting to the court stage you could put in an offer of what you want from them. At the moment the case is around the £2630 mark (inc 8% interest) + court fee £120 = £2750. Cobbetts said we can make an offer by email and if we offer slightly less then it should be accepted. I was going to offer £2650 as a settlement - what do you think?

 

I'm going to get the email ready

[Michael Browne]

Cobbetts said we can make an offer by email and if we offer slightly less then it should be accepted.

Personally I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. It's your £100 not theirs, plus it will give them encouragement to treat other claimants the same

 

That said it's entirely up to you. If you're happy with that, that's perfectly OK

[thebloodster]

Thanks Michael. She is dreading going court and to be honest she doesn't really want to go to court as she knows nothing about it at all!! I've been doing all the case for her. She won't know what to say or anything to be honest and I don't think I can help her in the court can I?

 

I was going to email them on her behalf and say she will accept £2700. Should it get to the case on Thursday the amount including interest and fees would be £2751.46.

 

If I accept this lower amount will that have any affect on another claim for charges charged since this claim was started?

[Michael Browne]

I don't think I can help her in the court can I?

 

Yes you can, as a Lay Representative, as long as she is also present. You only need to inform the Court Usher on arrival at court.

 

I was going to email them on her behalf and say she will accept £2700.

At this late stage, they will bite your arm off.

 

If I accept this lower amount will that have any affect on another claim for charges charged since this claim was started?

No as long as you accept their offer only for these charges

 

After they've accepted your offer you can email (confirm with hard copy) this:

 

Date

Dear Whoever

Ref: Your Offer of Settlement

 

Account: xxxxxxxx

Sort Code xx-xx-xx

Claim No: XXXXX in XXXX County Court

 

I acknowledge receipt of your letter date xx/xx/xx and your settlement offer of £XXX.

I accept your offer as full and final settlement only for this claim of bank charges made on my account between xx/xx/xx and xx/xx/xx(dates of first and last charge) However I will only accept an unconditional offer and will therefore not be signing your acceptance agreement

 

I accept this offer without prejudice and I reserve the right to make any further claims should you apply future charges that may be considered unlawful under common law or in violation of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 or Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

 

I will be willing to withdraw my claim and will send a Notice of Discontinuance to the Court upon receipt of unconditional full settlement of my claim

 

I am also not prepared to agree to any confidentiality clauses you try to impose, unless of course your client wishes to make an offer of due consideration in addition to the amount of £xxxxx, in order to be afforded this privilege by myself.

 

I trust that you will find this arrangement acceptable.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

[thebloodster]

Thanks Michael.

 

I understand where your coming from on the offer front but to be honest I'll be happy to not go to court. I'd have to use leave to attend and I don't fancy getting everything straight and ready again.

 

I worked out that the amount on Thurs would be £2751.46 and as tempted as I am to say I will accept £2750 I think I will go for £2700 and then start on the next claim against them!! At the end of the day had it not gone on this long I wouldn't have had as much interest anyway and I don't want to lose my leave. Also £2700 will be a lot to a single mum!!

[thebloodster]

The offer of settling for £2700 was agreed today by Cobbetts and now we need to sort this out with the court.

 

What should we do now. I spoke to the court before the offer and said what would we need to do to stop the case at this stage and they said we should really do a consent order signed by both parties. Can't really see that being possible to sort out at this late stage. The lady at Cobbetts was very helpful and she said if we have problems cancelling the claim then I could ask her for help.

 

When the claimant spoke to cobbetts they said they would send her a letter regarding the agreement and would then send the cheque within 14-21 days!! When I was told this I said it would be daft to cancel the case and then when maybe we don't hear anything from Cobbetts we get told "what agreement" I said you at least want an email from her saying what we have agreed which Cobbetts agreed to do

 

Further to our earlier conversation I am writing to confirm that our client is happy to accept your offer of £2700 in full and final settlement of your claim, with no admission as to liability. A cheque has been requested in this sum and will be sent to you within 14 to 21 days. Should there be any delays please feel free to contact me.

As your hearing date is on 26 July, we ask that you contact the court to discontinue your claim.

 

How should I go about cancelling the court now or is it a matter of not turning up?!! Which I don't like the sound of.

Can somebody please advise what next?!

[Michael Browne]

You shouldn't just not turn up.

 

Either write a letter enclose copy of the email, explaining you have agreed settlement but have not yet received payment and respectfully request that the court defer your case for 28 days and that you will notify the court with a Notice of Discontinuance as soon as you have payment.

 

Or turn up to court show the judge the email and ask for 28days etc. It will almost certainly be granted

[thebloodster]

Thanks yet again Michael. I will just prepare a letter tonight and hopefully she will be able to drop it into the court tomorrow. So basically I'm asking the court to defer the case and mention I will let them know when payment has been received and then I will notify them with a Notice of Discontinuance. What about your earlier letter Michael, should I still send this to Cobbetts?

[Michael Browne]

should I still send this to Cobbetts?

Yes, although Cobbetts email has no condtions, you need to put in writing that this is for this claim only etc