Urgent Advice needed please help

[Yankeeruinx]

Ok still trying to get my N1 together but today had a letter from Barclays saying that they disagree with my complaint but have offered me £500 back. I am trying to claim £945 in charges and then contractual interest on top of that which takes it to around £2400 in total.

Should I just ignore this letter and proceed with my N1? Also I need some pointers in regards to the N1 as the template off of here seems like its just geared to just claiming the s.69 8% interest and I am claiming for contractual interest based on Barclays 27.5% Unautorised rate.

 

Please please help me

[natwesttookmymoney]

Hi, Yankeeruinx

 

Reply to the offer, using the standard letter, refusing it as full and final settlement and reminding them of how much you're claiming.

 

For the POCs, try this, adapted to your own needs:

 

Accordingly the Claimant claims:

 

a) the return of the amounts debited to the Claimant’s account in respect of charges in the sum of £xxxxx (xxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx Pounds Sterling) and any interest charged thereon, detailed in the attached Schedule and amounting to £xxxx (xxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxx Pounds and xxxxx Pence) as at [date of claim] and accumulating at 27.5 per centum per annum (the Defendant’s current advertised ‘unauthorised overdraft rate’), calculated daily;

 

b) Court costs;

 

c) administrative costs and other costs incurred in the course of researching, preparing, presenting and pursuing the claim;

 

d) Interest pursuant to section 69 County Courts Act as set out on the attached list of charges or at such rate and for such periods as the Court deems just.

 

Hope that helps

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi Just a quick question. Which address shall I use for Barclays on the N1 Form should I use the one I have sent my letters to which is

 

Barclays Bank Plc

Legal Litigation and Disputes

Level 29

One Churchill Place

London

E14 5HP

 

or is there a different one I should use for this?

Thanks

 

Also I am going to use this court as my local one will it be ok Chesterfield County Court

 

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/Search.do;jsessionid=DBDD4BE83FC780042BA460167CF7D9B6

[why!!!!!!]

Thats the same address that i used for my N1, and your local court is fine.

claire

[Yankeeruinx]

Thanks for the help

In the Value section of the N1 form what should I do as it hasn't got anything about the Contractual Interest its just , Charges, Overdraft Interest, Interest under s.69, court costs and total. Anyone got an idead of how to modify that.

Thanks

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi here is my story so far, I have sent barclays the letters prelim and LBA claim contractual interest to which I got the standard we'll look into it reply. After the deadline for the LBA ran out back in Febuary I got a letter from Barclays about 2 weeks later saying the didn't agree with my complaint but as a good will gesture they would give me £500 back the ammount I am claiming is nearer £2500. I didn't reply to the letter as I was about to fill in the court forms and have heard nothing from them since.

Personal matter then arose which stopped me from taking the next step with the court but I am now ready to fill all the court stuff out, is it to late though or can I still do this.

Also I have been paying for the Additions account for 6 years I rang them up 3 months ago to tell them to stop it which they said they had but I have just looked at this months statement and I'm still being charged £11.50 for my account. I have just got off the phone to them and they said they will stop it now. Do you think I can get a refund of this as it is a complete waste of money.

Last thing I promise, I have also gone over my overdraft 3 times in the last month and have been charged the £30 3 times should I start a new case to claim this back or just add it to my original case before I fill the court forms in.

What do you guys suggest I do start the whole claim again or carry on with my orignal claim and then make a new claim for the 3 new charges?

Thanks for your time and help everyone.

[Michael Browne]

You can file whenever you want and you can add any new charges to your claim right up to when you file. Any after that would be subject to a new claim

[Yankeeruinx]

Ok thanks for that thats put my mind at rest. Has there been any new developments in claiming Contractual Interest in the last couple of months as I have been away and haven't been able to keep tabs on everything.

Also what about this additions account thing I have had a quick read on the threads on here and it seems like you are able to claim this back for 12 months, is this true?

[Michael Browne]

See here for CI round-up:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/79524-key-arguments-against-compound.html

 

If you never requested an additions a/c you should be able to claim these fees back, but certainly from when you cancelled it

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi right I have got to the point where I am ready to fill in my court forms. I am trying to claim contractual interest on my case and set out to do so from the prelim letter. Now I have been holding off on filling them in as I wanted to see the out come of the Tom Brenner case so do you think it would be wise to wait for that or just fill the court forms in now.

Also the charges I'm claiming for date back to 30/03/2001 so this is over 6 years will this be a problem?

 

Last question I promise, I have my account with Barclay's and have been paying for the additions account (£11.50) for years now. I rang them about 4 months ago and told them to stop taking payments as I no longer wanted the service, didn't use it anyway. I was told that was fine and they would stop immediately. Anyway 2 months later I noticed they were still taking it out so I rang them again and they apologized and said that the payments would stop from that day and they would refund me the 2 months. Well today I just checked my statement and they are still charging me and have not given me a refund either. What should I do now because this is ridiculous.

Thanks for your help.

[Rhibox]

I was doing exactly the same. waiting for the outcome, now i am just going to file my claim.

With the account fees you are paying I would write them a letter of complaint (recorded deliv of course) state you have cancelled it twice and demand full refund. Otherwise they can deny you phined and cancelled and keep charging you!

[Bookworm]

5 threads merged, pls keep to 1 thread per claim.

[Bookworm]

Now I have been holding off on filling them in as I wanted to see the out come of the Tom Brenner case so do you think it would be wise to wait for that or just fill the court forms in now.

 

The Brennan case will not be resolved for a very long time, so you definitely should NOT wait.

 

Also the charges I'm claiming for date back to 30/03/2001 so this is over 6 years will this be a problem?

 

They'll probably try to say that some of the charges are statute-barred, at which point you say: "Oh, so you're admitting they are penaties then?", if they say no, then you ask them what does have SoLa got to do with it then? If they say yes (oh look, flying pigs in close formation overhead!), then you say: Ok, then lets the judge decide whether they are statute-barred, shall we?

They can't have it both ways, either they're paying out of the goodness of their hearts, and statute-barred doesn't come into it, or they're paying out because they're penalties, and it's up to the judge to decide whether SOLA applies or not.

 

Last question I promise, I have my account with Barclay's and have been paying for the additions account (£11.50) for years now. I rang them about 4 months ago and told them to stop taking payments as I no longer wanted the service, didn't use it anyway. I was told that was fine and they would stop immediately. Anyway 2 months later I noticed they were still taking it out so I rang them again and they apologized and said that the payments would stop from that day and they would refund me the 2 months. Well today I just checked my statement and they are still charging me and have not given me a refund either. What should I do now because this is ridiculous.

You should do it in writing, reminding them that you have told them twice, and that you want it refunded to when you first told them. And you make a mental note to yourself to ALWAYS do things in writing from now on, having learned a valuable lesson. ;-)

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi, ok filed my N1 form at the court a couple of days ago and have got this through the post. It is a Notice of Issue (N205A). What do I have to do with this as I can't find any guides for it anywhere?

[Michael Browne]

What do I have to do with this as I can't find any guides for it anywhere

Nothing, it's just a formal notice that your claim has been issued and will be served on the defendants

[Yankeeruinx]

oh ok then thanks for the help.

[carter56]

i got mine last week so we are at about the same stage will keep watching your progress

linda

[Yankeeruinx]

Well I got my AQ and Barclay's defense is this all normal, I'll type up what they sent me if someone could just look over it make sure its he standard stuff.

 

Defense

 

1. To the extent it is alleged that the Claimant incurred bank charges on the Claimant's account for unauthorized borrowings (whether unpaid fee's for returned cheques, "Paid Referral fees" or any other fees), the defendant puts the Claimant to strict proof of each charge and the date thereof.

 

2. The Particulars of Claim are summary in nature. Accordingly, this defense is summary in nature and the defendant reserves the right to amend this statement of Case in due course.

 

3. The Defendant is entitled to charge the Claimant for unauthorized borrowings by reason of its standard terms and conditions. The Claimant accepted the same when the account was opened, including (in particular but without limitation) the following terms and conditions (which are summarized):

 

a. The Defendant's right to charge a "Paid Referral Fee" where the Defendant pays an amount (either by compulsion or election) which causes the account to become overdrawn - £30 per item (previously £25).

b. The Defendant's right to charge an administrative fee if any cheque, standing order or direct debit cannot be paid because of insufficient cleared funds in the account -£35 per item (previously £25).

c. The Defendant's entitlement, if the Claimant becomes overdrawn without an overdraft limit, to charge interest at the unauthorized borrowing rate on the excess balance.

 

4. The defendant's standard terms and conditions give the claimant a fair and transparent view of those terms and the charges applicable for unauthorized borrowings (including where the account is overdrawn without an overdraft limit or where the claimant exceeds the authorized overdraft limit).

 

5. If and to the extent it is the Claimant's case that the failure to make necessary payments and / or failure to remain within authorized overdraft limits and / or failure to arrange an authorized overdraft constituted a breach of the terms applying to the account and that contractual entitlement to debit charges from the Claimant's account constitutes a liquidated damages clause, the same is denied. The charges constitute payments the Claimant agreed to make by reason of the terms and conditions of the account and were consideration for the defendant advancing credit to the claimant , which the defendant was under no obligation to advance. The defendant was entitled to impose such charges and interest when the claimant incurred the overdraft.

 

6. Accordingly, it is denied that the legal principles relating to liquidated damages clauses and penalty charges are relevant or applicable to the facts set out above. Further or alternatively it is denied that any such charges constitute unlawful penalty charges or are in breach of Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, or are in breach of the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977, or are unreasonable within the meaning of s.15 of the Suppl of Goods and Services Act 1982.

 

7. Therefore, it is denied that the charges were unlawfully debited from the account.

 

8. If and o the extent the Claimant incurred charges on the account , this was caused by the Claimant having gone into overdraft without having agreed with the Defendant and authorized overdrafts facility or to increase the overdraft facility and / or the failure to make payments to bring the balance of the account back into credit.

 

9. The claim for interest in denied. In particular it is denied that the Claimant is entitled to interest on a principle of "mutuality and reciprocity" as pleaded or at all. The standard terms and conditions set out the basis on which the account was to operate and evidenced the contract between the Claimant and Defendant. The standard terms and conditions provided for a rate of interest to be applied to the claimants' account but contained no such entitlement for the Claimant to recover the same from the defendant. Further or alternatively if, which is denied, the claimant is entitled to damages and interest thereon, there is no basis in contract or common law for the application of this rate of interest to sums owed to the claimant and that "mutuality and reciprocity" are not a known or acceptable basis for calculation of interest. The Defendant avers that whilst the Court has discretion as to the level of any interest award, there are no grounds for the Court to depart from the principle that interest on any judgment, if awarded, should be at the current judgment rate.

 

10. It is further denied that any such charges unduly enrich the Defendants.

 

11. It is averred that the said charges and interest are and remain lawful and enforceable and that the Defendant was entitled to debit the same.

 

12. The defendant denies that it is liable to the claimant for the sums claimed and interest as pleaded or at all. In the alternative if (which is denied) the said charges are unenforceable and constituted a breach of contract by the Defendant, those charges which were applied to the account prior to 8th May 2001 are not recoverable because they are time-barred under the terms of the Limitations Act 1980 in that more than six years have elapsed since the accrual of the cause of action.

 

13. In the alternative, and without prejudice to the matters stated above, if (which is denied) the said charges and interest or any part thereof are unlawful or unenforceable as alleged by the Claimant or at all, and the charges were a consequence of the breach of contract by the Claimant, the defendant has nonetheless suffered loss and damage as a consequence of such a breach of contract in allowing the account to go into unauthorized overdraft. Accordingly, in the event that the defendant is unable to rely on its express entitlement to enforce the charges as set out above, it will seek to recover to the extent necessary such loss and damage as it actually suffered, which will not necessarily be limited to the value of the said charges, and the Defendant seeks to set off such sums against any liability owed hereunder to the claimant.

 

 

Well there it is, is it pretty much the standard stuff everyone gets or is there anything I need to be worried about in there?

[dar£n]

Very std defence, you have nothing to worry about at this point..

[Yankeeruinx]

Nice thank you for taking the time to read it. Just looking at and following this AQ guide on here and saw the 'draft orders' bit. What's that all about then? Am I correct in thinking if I send that template off then I will have 14 days to send the Court and Barclays all my statements, I have all of them apart from the most recent ones which happened in the last couple of months. Would I be able to use Barclay's online banking and print off these recent charges is that acceptable? I was also wondering what I should send them for these 2 bits:

 

• c) A statement of evidence of all matters relied upon as tending to show that the charges are irrecoverable as penalties or otherwise;

• d) Copies of decided cases and other legal materials to be relied upon

Thanks for your help

[saintly_1]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/53570-new-strategy-allocation-questionnaires-3.html?highlight=allocations+questionaire

 

post 47 on above thread

[carter56]

glad you have asked these questions because i am waiting for defence from barclays and this is going to be a great help. good luck

linda

[Yankeeruinx]

Hi I am going to take my AQ to the court tomorrow and want to attach the draft order to it. Now if I do that I only have 14 days to get all my stuff together don't I. I'm just worried as I have all my bank statements with the charges on apart from the ones I incurred in the last couple of months, but I am worried that if I ask the bank for them they will take longer than 14 days to send them to me. Would I be able to use a print off from my online banking to show the court and use that as a statement of sorts?

[Michael Browne]

Now if I do that I only have 14 days to get all my stuff together don't I.

No, you will have 14 days from when and if the judge agrees to issue the draft order. You will be notified if he does.

[saintly_1]

Are any of the charges incurred recently on your spreadsheet that you are claiming from court or are they new charges since you filed your claim ?

If the former then i would imagine that a print off of your online banking would be ok.

If the latter i would just wait until you get a settlement offer and ask the Litigations Team to add the new charges onto the settlement figure to save you both the time, trouble and expence of going through the whole thing again.As new charges can only be added to your claim by officially amending it this will cost £35 and in unrecoverable

 

Hope this helps

saint