Hello All & Bank's solicitors imposing conditions on settlement

[Aztec123]

Hi Everyone - I've been a member for a while and have got as far as having my county court claim against my bank allocated to a particular court at an unspecified date, prior to which the court has required my bank to state whether it intends to defend my claim or to settle with me. The bank's solicitors have sent me the usual letter full of waffle justifying their position. The important thing is that, even though they maintain the bank is in the right, they are prepared to settle my claim out-of-court. Naturally they head their letter "Without Prejudice" and also seek to make one of the conditions of their early settlement that I keep this settlement confidential. So I'm basically wondering whether other members have refused to be gagged and still received an out-of-court settlement, despite not agreeing to their conditions. Alternatively, is there a thread in the forums or a page on the CAG or Martin Lewis website that gives advice on this topic? (Sorry to sound like a hopeless nerd, but it can sometimes be a bit difficult tracking things down on these sites - which is not meant as a criticism because I know full well that designing and maintaining a website is very time-consuming and we all have our own busy lives to lead, quite apart from fighting the banks to reclaim the penalty charges!)

[nicsussex]

Would this happen to be Lloyds by any chance?

[Aztec123]

Would this happen to be Lloyds by any chance?

 

You may well think that... but I couldn't possibly comment!!

[nicsussex]

Cross out the confidentiality clause ( and all the others that you are not happy with) sign the acceptance and send it back - then feel free to comment

[Bookworm]

Of course, you could.

 

Even if you were to accept confidentiality, which there is absolutely no reason for you to accept, since you haven't accepted yet, you can discuss what you want in as much details as you want.

 

Now that's cleared up, let me ask you why you think it is acceptable for THEM to try and gag YOU in order for YOU to stop YOUR claim against THEM? :-?

 

If they were suing you, do you think they would allow you to attach any conditions to your settlement?

 

So, the answer is quite simple:

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Please be advised that I will withdraw my legal action against you on FULL and UNCONDITIONAL settlement of my claim, currently standing at £xxxx*. I will of course advise the courts once the funds have cleared in my account, and not before.

 

Yours etc...

*Don't forget to total the interest up to date + court fee(s) in the sum you quote.

 

They push, you push back harder.

[nicsussex]

Quite right BW - still think its LTSB though!

[Bookworm]

I think Barclays in Guildford. ;-)

[Aztec123]

Many thanks for your comments so far, nicsussex & Bookworm. I was already pretty much thinking along the lines of accepting settlement but refusing their conditions, if only out of principle. But, although it's nice to be able to tell a big corporation and its legal representatives to go forth and multiply, what I wanted to find out was whether anyone has actually written back saying they refuse to accept the conditons and still received an early settlement. The reason is I actually need the money and I don't want to put that in jeopardy!

[Bookworm]

Yes, hundreds, if not thousands, have. Me, for starters. I have had Natwest, Barclays, Halifax AND 1st National all tried to get me to keep my mouth shut. Which, as anyone who knows me, could tell you would take more than an order to do so! I declined, still got my money back, and went on to national television to tell all who would listen that yes, you could get your money back, and no, you didn't have to be quiet about it!

[Aztec123]

Hi Bookworm,

Many thanks for letting me know that. What you say is very encouraging. As I mentioned, my circumstances at the moment are that I need to get that money back - so as to avoid exceeding my overdraft limit again! - even though it's fairly small beer compared with the amounts some other people have claimed back from their banks.

I genuinely believe that I have found (through reading through all the relevant legislation) a sound legal counter-argument to the bank's defence, which is the usual nonsense about no breach of contract having taken place and these are fees not penalty charges, etc, and I'd be prepared to argue it in court.

Annoyingly, though, my personal circumstances are such that, not only do I need to get this money back, but I also don't have the time to prepare for a court case, due to family commitments/problems that have sprung up recently. So, I'm tempted to agree to their terms just to get all this over with.

However I'd be really interested in having a second opinion on my proposed counter-argument. So, do you mind if I PM it to you to at least get your comments on it and see whether you reckon it holds water? If you reckon it's sound, I'd be quite happy to share it with other people, but I'm reluctant to post it on here because I've read that the banks and their lawyers monitor this site.

Cheers,

Aztec123

[Bookworm]

My PMs are switched off, but you can e-mail me at

 

[email protected].

 

No guarantee on how quickly I'd get back to you, though!

 

As for agreeing to their terms, I can assure you that they won't drag it out simply because you refuse confidentiality! All you have to do is cross out the confidentiality part and return the form.

 

Think of it this way: They're trying to get something out of nothing from you. But they KNOW they have no right to impose conditions on your claim. DO you really think that now they're ready to settle, they are going to drag it out simply because of a confidentiality clause? Like hell, they will.

Of course it's your claim, so yo must do what you think is best. But I can guarantee you one thing: In months to come, you will bitterly regret it, as you find yourself unable to shout your victory from the rooftops, unable to tell your family, friends, work colleagues and newsagent about it. Because take it from someone who knows, the day they cave in, you will WANT to be able to tell everyone and their dog. ;-)

[dave]

Whilst there is no shame in accepting with these conditions (IMHO - let's face it the cat is well and truly out of the bag now!), here is a letter template for refusal of their conditions:

 

Error

 

(you will need to log in with your forum username and password, but only once!)

[nicsussex]

Still think it's Lloyds!

[Aztec123]

Still think it's Lloyds!

You might be right... After all, I haven't denied it !!

[Aztec123]

As for agreeing to their terms, I can assure you that they won't drag it out simply because you refuse confidentiality! All you have to do is cross out the confidentiality part and return the form.

 

Think of it this way: They're trying to get something out of nothing from you. But they KNOW they have no right to impose conditions on your claim. DO you really think that now they're ready to settle, they are going to drag it out simply because of a confidentiality clause? Like hell, they will.

Of course it's your claim, so yo must do what you think is best. But I can guarantee you one thing: In months to come, you will bitterly regret it, as you find yourself unable to shout your victory from the rooftops, unable to tell your family, friends, work colleagues and newsagent about it. Because take it from someone who knows, the day they cave in, you will WANT to be able to tell everyone and their dog. ;-)

Thanks for all your help with this, Bookworm - you've put it all in perspective for me and I've decided to tell them I will only accept their settlement on an unconditional basis.

[Aztec123]

Whilst there is no shame in accepting with these conditions (IMHO - let's face it the cat is well and truly out of the bag now!), here is a letter template for refusal of their conditions:

 

Error

 

(you will need to log in with your forum username and password, but only once!)

Thank you very much, dave. I'll use that as a template when I write telling them I refuse to accept their conditions.

[nicsussex]

And now you are refusing their gaging order - is it Lloyds?

[Aztec123]

My PMs are switched off, but you can e-mail me at

 

[email protected].

 

No guarantee on how quickly I'd get back to you, though!

 

Hi Bookworm,

Many thanks and just to let you know that I've sent you my ideas by email.

Cheers,

Aztec123