Just reached the Small Claims point

[Wonunderpar]

Thanks Barty.

 

Will therefore wait for a letter from my local court any day now.

 

You're such a help to so many people on this site. I'm sure it's appreciated by all of them and it's most definitely appreciated by me.

 

Thx again.

[zoeyarscott]

Hi there wonunderpar, i am in exactly the same position as you.

 

I received Notice of Transfer to Plymouth County Court together with a copy of Lloyds defence on the 20th June and today i have received a Notice of Directions Hearing which is due to take place on the 22nd August at 2.50pm in Plymouth County Court.

 

However i am wondering what to do now as it doesnt ask for anything just simply says that i need to attend on that date. Do i need to prepare all my paperwork for Court? Also do i need to write to SC&M and offer them a chance to settle before the Court date?

 

I am a bit worried i know some cases have settled a couple days before the Hearing date and it is unlikely that Lloyds will attend but do i just have to sit tight and wait for the 22nd August to come?? What if Lloyds turn up and defend will i end up paying costs?

 

i cant help feeling a little out of my depth.... :confused:

[Wonunderpar]

Hi Zoeyarscott,

 

I'm waiting with baited breath now for the next step.

 

I'm hoping that it won't be the Notice of Directions hearing as this isn't always required. When it is, it is usually to decide which track your claim will go in. It is usually only done for bigger claims. How much are you claiming back?

 

From reading other postings, I don't believe that you need to take a lot with you to this hearing, as it will be simply for the judge to decide (almost certainly) that you belong on the small claims track. However, it may be prudent to have your court bundle ready just in case, although it is not normally needed until you are requested to forward it to the court and **** prior to the actual case being heard.

 

Hope this helps but perhaps other site members can reinforce, confirm or correct what I have said.

[zoeyarscott]

Thanks for the reply wonunderpar

 

I am claiming back £2800 which is below the £5000 in order to deal in the small claims court.

 

I have been reading various posts all morning but i cant see that anyone had had a Notice of Directions Hearing and what they are doing/or have done.

 

I am hoping that SC&M will want to settle out of Court but it all takes its bloody time only another 6 weeks to wait!!!

 

I am just worried that i will be the one that ends up forking out:(

[Wonunderpar]

Hi Again,

 

It won't cost you any more as you have gone down the small claims route. The only cost that you will incur is the court fee that you have already paid, whatever LTSB do next. However, because your claim is in excess of £2000, it seems that some courts are going down this 'Notice of Directions' route even though you are still under the small claims threshold.

 

Above all, don't worry though! it sounds as if you have followed correct procedure to the letter so far. I have seen this 'Nictice of Directions' being used before in a couple of threads but in each case it seems only to have confirmed that the small claims track is to be used.

 

I have also seen a 'nudge' letter used at this stage, to try and persuade **** to pay up now. It might not be a bad tactic. I'll try and find the threads that I've seen these in and post them up here.

[Wonunderpar]

Try this link, which should provide some assistance

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/lloyds-bank/93835-tina9776-ltsb.html

 

Still searching for others!

[zoeyarscott]

Thanks for your advise wonunderpar you've put my mind at rest. I'll look out for your posts when you find the other threads.

 

Many thanks x

[Wonunderpar]

Actually the link under post #23 above New---after 28 Days - Maybe No Aq!!!!!!! is good for a nudge letter as well as other info once you reach the point that you now have.

 

Hope this helps.

[Wonunderpar]

Just today received a letter from LTSB 'Customer Service Recovery Centre' in Andover, which I haven't seen mention of on any of the posts so far.

 

It states:

 

"Complaint Reference xxxxxx

 

I wrote to you four weeks ago to update you on our investigation of your complaint.

 

I am really sorry we are still not in a position to respond fully to your complaint. because we have not responded fully yet, I want to ensure you understand your rights. So I am enclosing the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) explanatory leaflet, which sets out their role and how to make contact.

 

You will see from this leaflet that you do have the right to refer your complaint to the Ombudsman if you are unhappy with the delay. However, I would be grateful if you could please bear with us for a little so that we may try to reach an amicable conclusion.

 

I will continue to monitor the progress of your complaint and would like to take this chance to thank you for your continued patience.

 

Yours sincerely,"

 

I have a couple of comments about this:

1) It wasn't four weeks ago that they last wrote, it was on 16th May;

2) Grammatically it's not the best English I've ever seen!

3) they are obviously not aware of the actions that have taken place via MCOL and their own solicitors, or are chosing to ignore them;

4) At the end of the day, this is surely just another delaying tactic aimed at preventing me from continuing my action through the legal system isn't it?

 

If anyone else has experienced this, can they advise why happened next?

 

Cheers

[christinajanep]

just carry on as normal, u dont need to repsond to it, just another standard letter me thinks

[Wonunderpar]

This morning I've received the form N157 "Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track".

 

Although the court date is still "to be advised" is this where I forward the letter etc mentioned by barty under 3rd July post above or should I still wait for a court date to be advised efore doing this?

[BARTY]

Hi

Yes, as it doesn't look like you will be getting an AQ to fill in.

Barty:)

[Wonunderpar]

Right - now moving along quite quickly.

 

This morning I've received a letter from ****, as per the thread below:

 

Lloyds solicitors want more info

 

This is despite the fact that I've already sent them full details over a fortnight ago.

 

I'm happy to send the details again, together with a copy of my first letter and charges breakdown, however one thing that bothers me slightly is that the letter is dated Monday 9th July but I've only received it today. I'm guessing that this is partly due to the postal strike but still don't see why a letter postd on Monday would take six days to reach me. Will they see my delay in replying as a negative move, bearing in mind that they asked for a response within 14 days?

[Kazzie]

I very much doubt that they note how long each claimant takes to respond to this letter . Providing they recieve what they want by 23rd July i can't see a problem.

Looks like your a step closer to settlement:D Good luck.

[Wonunderpar]

Thanks Kazzie,

 

Reply going back today by registered post / recorded delivery (whichever is best).

 

Cautiosly optimistic now but not going to count my chickens just yet.

 

Cheers

[christinajanep]

that letter is great news wonunderpar its normaly followed by a settlement letter

[Wonunderpar]

Thanks for the reassurance CJP.

 

For belt and braces, I replied to them as follows (may be useful for others who find themselves in the same position):

 

Dear Sirs,

In the XXXXXXX County Court

xxxxxxxxx -v- Lloyds TSB

Claim No: XXXXXXXX

Date Issued: XX/XX/2007

I am in receipt of your letter ref. XX/XXX/XXX dated xxxxxx xth xxxx, although only received by me on xxxxxxxx xxth xxxx 2007.

 

I have already forwarded the details that you have requested on xxth xxxx 2007, but as you appear neither to have received nor to have acknowledged receipt of those details, I am attaching another copy of them herewith, together with a copy of the accompanying letter.

 

In respect of the calculation of interest, this has been done in accordance with section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year for the period from xth xxxxxx 200x to xth xxxxx 2007. It does not include any interest incurred since that date until judgement or earlier payment at a daily rate of 0.021%.

Please note also that these figures do not include the court fee of £xxx which, due to your client’s prevarication, I have had to incur in this matter. This figure too should be added to the total claim amount.

My sort code with Lloyds TSB is xx-xx-xx and the account number in question is xxxxxxxx.

I await your earliest response.

 

Yours faithfully

Will keep everyone posted on the next steps.

[Wonunderpar]

Well how frustrating!

 

Waiting in anticipation for the next missive from [problem] and what do I get? Another (identical) letter to that under post #34 above but to both me and the wife because it refers to the joint account rather than my sole one.

 

Clearly the Black Donkey can't even communicate between departments, because if they could they would know that this is long since moved on from a complaint that the 'Customer Recovery Centre' are still dealing with.

 

I responded with a blunt response advising that they might like to speak to their solicitors to find out what's going on - I don't know if that was wise or not but sometimes you have to let off steam!!

[Wonunderpar]

Hilarious!!

 

Got home tonight to find a letter from - yes, you've guessed it - the Customer Service Recovery Centre in Andover (funny how they can suddenly send so many letters without charging a penny isn't it?).

 

The wording is practically identical to that in their letter dated 16th May advising me of how they have to charge for their services blah blah blah.

 

They really are in total disarray aren't they!!

 

Can't wait until this is all over and I can move to a proper bank.

[Wonunderpar]

I have to admit that I feel a little deflated at the overnight news. The settlement of my claim by LTSB was imminent, as I had received the "we are minded to come to a settlement. . ." letter from **** around two weeks ago. Now it seems that I will at best have to wait until next year before I receive the money and at worst I won't get it at all (should the banks be successful in the test case).

 

This has been going on for me since March and it now feels that LTSB have won simply by procrastinating so much that they have managed to reach this point, knowing that it would delay things for a much longer period. It's almost as if they knew this was coming and only had to keep delaying to reach their goal.

 

Aside from the court fee, which is neither here nor there, I feel as if I have wasted 5 months of effort. I still have faith that we are all correct in our assertion that the charges are unfair, but it feels like a kick in the teeth for those of us who haven't been repaid yet. Even when the banks lose the case, what's to stop them appealing it and delaying further still?

 

Sorry to be negative and I hope that the courts come down on the side of the consumer in the end.

[malaga1]

i feel the same. i issued through courts in march and have court date for sept. although first letters started last december. watching tv this morning it seems that the banks will ask for all current court cases to be stayed, but they will honour all current offers. so you ncould be okay as you have had your letter.

[john brown 1]

Hi Wonunderpar

 

I've been reading your thread since the start and been rooting for you all the way. What a kick in the teeth for you and everyone else. I know its not any consolation now, but you will get your money eventually. I cant imagine how angry and frustrating it must be for you all., really sorry mate

[Wonunderpar]

Thanks JB1,

 

I've been most grateful for your help along the way, which has greatly assisted in getting me this far. I guess if you've never had it you've never missed it and I shall just sit and wait for however long it takes now.

 

Thanks for your support anyway, which is much appreciated.

[Wonunderpar]

Just heard that LTSB's profits for the first 6 months of this financial year are up to £2 billion, and that's after paying out millions already in repaid bank charges.

 

I'm a little confused now regarding where we are with ongoing claims. I understood that all was on hold pending the outcome of the OFT action, but some people still seem to be continuing with there action and others are still being paid out.

 

I haven't heard a word from [problem] since their letter of early July so I guess I won't now hear anything for months, pending the court case, or are they still continuing to deal with actions that had reached the "we are minded to come to an agreement" stage?

 

Any advice on what I should do next (if anything) welcome.

[BARTY]

Hi

Just carry on with your claim, read these links for more info:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/lloyds-bank/107584-oft-test-case-what.html

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/108091-oft-banks-dont-panic.html

 

I read that about their profits

 

Barty:)