Barclays Bank in court, going to high court

[lauragale]

I have just got back from Southend County Court where I had a Allocation and case management meeting with district judge Dudley. On arrival a Barclays bank solicitor was there and handed out a photo copied piece of paper informing everyone that all the cases were being referred to a higher judge on the 4/12/07!, to be heard together. We were all called in to the judges office and informed that all cases as of today are being contested by Barclays and will be heard on the above date. Well this looks like the end!, one way or the other.

[welshcakes]

Hi laura

 

Can you post the wording of the information you were handed. Was yours a claim over £5k ie not Small Claims route?

[smutley]

a new tactic by Barclays... may explain why they are saying that they will be attending the Directions Hearing in Cardiff on 14th August, please post anymore info you get..

[Destinyofsouls]

Hi,

they attended my direction hearing today. See

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/barclays-bank/107015-dos-barclays-personal-account-3.html

 

from Post 26 onwards

[un1boy]

Hmmm, I think they may be just biding time - it gives them til December to pay out.

 

Nothign to stop them making out of court settlements before then, is there?

 

I don't trust them at all.

[granby]

I went to court this morning with my friend who has a claim against barclays. The bank sent a barrister. There were about ten cases being heard at ten then more through the day a total of about 40 - 50 cases - just with barclays.

 

The barrister gave a list of directions and all seven claiments that turned up for the ten slot went in together to see the judge.

 

They have moved the claims to fast track so it can be heard by a higher judge (circuit judge).

 

They have set a date 4/12/07

 

Barclays will be defending the case - this will mean a precedent will be set locally (Essex)

 

If there is then an appeal this will set a precedent nationally.

 

The claimants were all worried about having to pay costs but the judge said this would be split between the fifty or more cases so it wouldn't be too much!

 

They also expressed concern about having to wait til december and the judge said it would not be any quicker in small claims.

 

The judge really slated the banks for not being prepared (their barrister did not have all the case notes) and for not sorting this out sooner and therefore wasting everybodys time.

 

ha that told barclays!

 

I will keep you informed

[lauragale]

Hi my claim is for £3.105.50 this does not include interest and of course the court fee(£120.00), was ofered a settlement of £2.000, but pressed ahead with my claim, the post by Granby is exactly what happened to me today so waiting to see what happens next.

[un1boy]

Good luck Laura!

[Kelvedon]

Hi

My son's case (claim £2445, lodged in January 2007) was in the same court today and he has confirmed he received the same message. He's on the verge of giving up - court costs will be astronomic. I can't understand why the case is being removed from the small claims track. It is just an attempt to bully people into submission.

[nevos]

Oops, I just started a thread on this but, I see it is here! It always baffles me why the Banks seem to get preferential treatment and the public get the rough end of the stick. They will lose in the end and I believe it is a time wasting tactic. I hope as many people as possible close their accounts with Barclays, arrogant t**ts

[granby]

Hi

My son's case (claim £2445, lodged in January 2007) was in the same court today and he has confirmed he received the same message. He's on the verge of giving up - court costs will be astronomic. I can't understand why the case is being removed from the small claims track. It is just an attempt to bully people into submission.

keep going for now

there will be a lot of ppl going to the court if they follow up their threat,(defending all further claims)

so costs could be split

what i think is needed here is for ALL claimants who get these directions

should ask their respective courts to allocate it to this hearing and date

[nickyc]

If all further claims are to be defended it could cost them more in legal fees than it would have cost to pay us out!! While I wouldn't fancy facing them in court on my own, it has been suggested to me by a solicitor friend that we could each claim this concerns our personal finances and demand separate hearings.

 

Looking on the bright side, the court could rule in our favour

 

Keep the faith

 

nickyc

[nevos]

You could all make a complaint to Office for Judicial Complaints - Home

 

It is not as if Barclays are new to this type of court action.

 

In some cases it may be necessary to ask a senior judge to carry out an investigation into what has happened.

[PJBConsultancy]

I will today be trying to contact my employers free legal advice service, and get some guidance on how we can move forward on this as a group action, so please get in contact with me if you are one of the claimants that has had their case fast tracked for an appearance on the 4th Dec at 10:30 at Southend County Court. I want to try and find out what the process is for a number of individuals to move forward as a group and how we find out who all these claimants are, as I would hope that the court would not release this information.

 

Rgds Paul

[noomill060]

From Stephen Hone-

 

 

London, UK - July 25, 2007 - Southend County CourtClaimants of charges from Barclays’ Bank are to face a Circuit Court test to prove them as unlawful.Barclays sent a Barrister to defend a day’s worth of cases (40-50 cases, in batches of 10), choosing to defend each case rather than settle. This is a major breakthrough for penalty charges advocates who believe that each charge set out is unlawful and unfair.The cases are set to be heard on the 4th December this year and have been moved to the fast track circuit. Barclays have made it clear their intention to fully defend the cases, however we expect them to make a better effort of it than today.One of the claimants said today that the “Judge really attacked the bank for not being prepared. The barrister defending didn’t even have all the case notes with him”. Jo, a Beauty Salon owner, also said that the Judge was unhappy that “the bank had not sorted the claims out in a timely manner and had been wasting everybody’s time”.Stephen Hone, penaltycharges.co.uk founder, said:“We are really glad that one of the banks we are fighting has finally decided to step up and defend their practices. We are confident that the Circuit Court Judge will find in favour of the Penalty Charges Forums litigants, which will set a precedent which will matter.”If the Judge finds in favour of the claimants, we believe Barclays will be forced to appeal, tying up our users in litigation for the next year. However this will firmly set precedent across the country and put to rest any question about the legality of the charges. Mr Hone added: “We are keen to win the cases and see them go to appeal. We believe there are more litigants out there facing Barclays and we org them to contact us. The chance to finally set precedent is what we’ve been waiting for. In fact, we say: BRING IT ON!”About penaltycharges.co.ukThe Penalty Charges site and forum was setup to provide all the help, support and legal advice needed to claim back unfair bank charges. All the advice given on the site is provided for free and includes advice from other consumers who have successfully reclaimed their bank charges. Visit Penalty Charges UK - Fighting your Corner for FREE for further information.Contacts:Stephen Hone, Penalty Charges Founder[email protected]James Cox, Penalty Charges Press Officer[email protected]ENDS All member reading this who have claims against Barclays that have a court date please contact [email protected]