LP & AP v HSBC

[plinkycat]

Original Question:

 

We are due in court for three claims next Monday, my account, my husbands account and our joint account. We've just recieved three seperate letters offering us a settlement for each case, (these are the second offers we've had for the accounts.) The two indidviual accounts are not worth accepting but the joint account is not far off the amount claimed. Would we be ok to accept the offer for this account or will it affect the claims on the other accounts?

 

 

Thanks to Lateralus for the first response:

 

yes, it's fine to accept the one and not the other two -

i'm thinking you mean that you are due to file the claims on all three accounts next monday - surely you don't mean you have actual court dates for three accounts on the same day.... think that would be some kind of a record.

so, if you mean the 14 days are up from sending your lba and you've received offers from hsbc - then fine - accept the one and use one of the letters here - or combine a couple of letters to get it right and reject the other two. once you file your claim with mcol - you will be dealing with dg solicitors and no longer with hsbc - they normally only make offers before the court filing.Rejecting Offers

 

start that thread of your own so you can ask questions and we can find you again

 

 

Sorry was new to this so here it is my new thread.

[plinkycat]

In reply to the above, yes I do mean court!! All three cases have been allocated to the same court on the same day, we are already dealing with DG Solicitors who have given us the offers. So if we except the one it won't effect our claims on the other two?

 

We are quite interested in giving the solicitors a 'nudge' as has been detailed in other threads, has anyone had any success with this? If we were to suggest a figure would there be any comeback on it?

 

Thanks

[Castlebest]

Hiya Plinky, you have had three letters for three accounts so DG view each account as a separate entity, you can accept one without affecting the others. Just make sure your acceptance letter is very clear which account it refers to.

 

If you are due in court on Monday I think its a bit late to nudge, DG wont receive it until Monday and it will be all done and dusted before they can reply.

 

Regarding making an offer.... DG are solicitors (yes they are part of HSBC) but they aren’t commercial, they will view your schedule of charges and check it against their records and pay you what they have no argument against... when they have no alternative but making a payment, they don’t do deals for early payment. If you do offer to reduce your claim I strongly recommend you mark your letter "Without Prejudice"

 

pete

[plinkycat]

Thanks for your response, thats really helpful.

 

There may have been some confusion over the date we are in court, I meant next Monday as in the 2nd July.

 

We have drafted two letters, from the library pages, one to accept the amount for the joint account and one (for each seperate account) to reject the offers made.

 

As part of their offer letter the Solicitors have stated that we are not intitled to claim the interest that has been charged on the account as this would have been due to overdraft charges. (By looking at other threads this seems to be the same argument they have used in many other cases.) Am I correct in thinking that our argument is that as part of the interest will be due to interest charged on penalty charges, and as it is impossible to work out the figure due to this we are therefore entitled to claim for the full amount. Is it right to state that it is the banks duty to provide a break down of this figure should they wish to dispute it?

 

Getting quite worried now, dont fancy the prospect of arguing our case in court. Have HSBC or DG solicitors been known to turn up to court? We haven't actually received any bundle from them yet for their defence so we are assuming they won't. What is the apsolute final deadline for this bundle being produced?

[freakyleaky]

No you are not entitled to claim all of the overdraft interest. You can only claim the portion that relates to the charge. There is an advanced spreadsheet available for you ro work this out. It is quite a complicated process but it can be done. Most people don't bother with it and just claim the 8%.

If the offers that you are rejecting were for the charges plus the 8% inteerest then you might want to reconsider!

[lateralus]

well, that must be a record - a court date for three cases on the same day. i'd be looking at the paperwork for the three cases and then follow this guide:GOT A COURT DATE? A guide to the later stages - gary tells you what to take with you depending on the type of hearing it is.

 

and - read those court directions very, very carefully. even put them on here if you have any doubt as to what they mean (like what to submit, take with you or what's expected).

 

also, it is normal procedure - if you are accepting an offer - and have sent the acceptance back to dg then write to the court straight away and ask for a one week's stay on that claim (give them the claim number) telling the court manager that you have received and accepted an offer on that claim and will be writing to cancel the claim just as soon as the money is forthcoming but you would like to keep the claim on-going until the money is actually received and that you will notify them just as soon as it is received.

[plinkycat]

Had a look at the link, thanks, a very helpful thread.

 

We've got worried now by the previous reply. When the first letter went to the bank we put in the claim for all the interest on the accounts, as in we couldn't work out which portions of the interest charges would be due to interest on the penalties, therefore were claiming for all of it.

 

We are considering accepting the offers, as they do cover all the penality charges, we've drafted the letters and will probably send them tomorrow. If we do we will take your advice and write to the courts as well to let them know of the offers.

[lateralus]

what you might do - but it will need to be done quickly - is to write to dg and tell them you are inclined to accept (the other two) if they were to include your court filing costs and tell them that they would need to be in touch with you before the hearing date next monday....

as time is very short - i'd e-mail the letter - and follow up with a recorded delivery hard copy.

 

here's a skeleton letter - tweak it for your accounts (maybe even the good offer if it doesn't include court costs). let them know they must be in touch before friday so you can get in touch with the court to ask for a stay (you don't want to halt the claim just ask write them and ask for a one week's stay as you have an offer and tell the court you will be in touch as soon as the money is received)

 

 

here's the letter:

 

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

 

Were your offer to include the court filing fee of £xxx I would be inclined to accept your offer as full and final settlement . The total amount I wish to be refunded is £XXXXX (make this their offer plus your court fee)

 

As soon as I receive confirmation from you that you agree to this increased figure I will accept the new 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 upon receipt of unconditional full settlement of my claim of £XXX

 

I am also not prepared to agree to any confidentially 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 look forward to receiving your revised offer

Yours Sincerely

__________________

[CuriousCat?]

also, it is normal procedure - if you are accepting an offer - and have sent the acceptance back to dg then write to the court straight away and ask for a one week's stay on that claim (give them the claim number) telling the court manager that you have received and accepted an offer on that claim and will be writing to cancel the claim just as soon as the money is forthcoming but you would like to keep the claim on-going until the money is actually received and that you will notify them just as soon as it is received.

 

I spoke to the Court on the phone today and they said that there is a £35 non returnable fee for this request.

Is this definitely the case?

[lateralus]

well, that's two i've told that to and heard this - sorry if i've misled you - it seems a waste of court time to go if you've already accepted an offer (or 3) but don't want to stop the claim until the money has been received - you might ring the court back and ask what to do under these circumstances -

ask them if you tell them it is settled - as you've accepted an offer - what recourse would you have if dg then didn't pay up if you've already halted the claim. they may say you would need to go to the hearing - but that seems silly if they've already made an acceptable offer. think you'll have to ask the court's advice

[CuriousCat?]

I was told that I could either pay £35 for a 'stay' or pay £35 to draw up a 'consent order' which would need to be done by a solicitor really.

She suggested asking them, D&G to do it. ??? And come to an arrangement for the offer and to negotiate the 'wasted costs'.

I couldn't imagine them going for that!