Me vs Abbey

[ogrebear]

Well buoyed on my others tales of success I have taken Abbey to Court for £2168 spread over 2 accounts.

 

I started it all back in April and now have a Court Date for September 6th. Just putting together a Court Bundle now.

 

Damm I am apprehensive of what I might have to do/say in front of a judge. Heres hoping Abbey settle or fail to show!

[ukaviator]

Hi

 

Remember to scour the threads around Abbey, don't forget your terms and conditions in the bundle as they maybe needed. They should settle before then, but you never know.

 

Uk

[ogrebear]

Can anyone advise on the best way to present the documents in the bundle?

 

Stapled together in sections? Plastic folder in ring binder? Paper folder?

[ukaviator]

I just presented a folder to the court, all indexed for easy access. All of the information we need to rely on in the court bundle was highlighted.

Did'nt get to use mine as Lloyds settled my card account.

[psm]

GaryH has given a link to a very good bundle template at post #68 on my thread psm v abbey plc one word of caution make sure the bundle contents fit with the abbey defence.

[ogrebear]

PSM- you have been through it, how did you present your data? Loose sheets of A4? Folder like ukaviator? Treasury taged?

 

I am after some idea of the standards of presentation I need for my bundle; the actual data/files I have.

[psm]

presented in folder with numbered dividers to correspond to sections in index: Claim Title: ************* V Abbey PLC Claim Number: *********** INDEXSection DESCRIPTION Exhibit NumberNumber of Pages 1Witness StatementSPM0110 2Pre-litigation CorrespondenceSPM026 3Schedule of ChargesSPM033 4Statement SheetsSPM0429 5Account Terms and Conditions and Charges TariffsSPM0515 6Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co v New Garage & Motor Co [1915] AC 79SPM062 7Director General of Fair Trading V First National Bank [2001] UKHL 52SPM0728 8Case Law SummarySPM083 9Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulation 1999SPM0912 10Data Processing Price ListSPM101 11The Competition Commission Report [Appendix 4.6]SPM1128 12Australian Default Fees ReportSPM122 13BBC Commission ConclusionSPM131 14OFT Report April 2006SPM145 15House of Commoms EDMSPM151 16Transcript of BBC Radio4 interview with Peter McNamaraSPM162 17Sample Default/Charge notification LettersSPM172

I honestly believe that the quality and content of the bundle got me noticed and made the judge read it and digest the arguement, presentation is very important. They say that a good story grabs you in the first few pages, the same could be said for your bundle. Don't make the judge work to find out about your case. Hope this is helpful.

[psm]

sry thought the index would look different than that garbage

[ogrebear]

Hullo

 

Well Abbey failed to send in their supporting documents in time either to me or the court. I had a letter asking for their defence to be wiped out prepared but then I got a letter from the Court this AM.

 

The letter says the case is Stayed until the Test Case is out of the way, though I have permission to apply to lift the stay. My court date on Sept 6th is vacated.

 

What do I do now?

I was thinking of asking for the Stay to be lifted on the grounds its unfair and Abbey failed to follow the judges

directions but is this likely to work?

 

Suggestions welcome!

[JAMES33]

I have just been through exactly the same thing ogrebear! My court date was also Sept 6th and mine was stayed on 28th Aug. While I haven't officially applied for the stay to be lifted, I did send a long letter to the Judge expressing my disappointment with his order and explaining why I believe my case should be heard and not stayed (abbey did not submit a bundle at all and I played this up stating that surely this means abbey had no intention of defending case as they would be unable to rely upon any docs,) I also mentioned that my argument was mainly about whether abbeys charges were proportionate to the cost to them of my overdrawing etc and not the UTCCR covered by the OFT case. It doesn't cost anything to send a letter, and in my case I certainly felt better for getting it all off my chest. Keep positive, we can still claim interest until we actually receive payment - could add a few hundred pounds to our claims - all the best with your claim.

[Lula]

I also mentioned that my argument was mainly about whether abbeys charges were proportionate to the cost to them of my overdrawing etc and not the UTCCR covered by the OFT case.

 

 

James, IMHO the disproportionate penalties ARE indeed part of the UTCCR and as such form the basis of your case.

[ogrebear]

James, could you please post the text of your letter so I could use it as a template?

 

I am also going to phone the Court on Monday and find out what I can do about this as its silly that Abbey fails to put in their bundle and therefore their defence should be struck out- as per the Courts order- but everything has been stayed!

 

If the Court says I should apply to lift the stay what's the best approach given they failed to get their paperwork in so things are slightly different to the norm?

[JAMES33]

Hi Ogrebear, you might want to double check that what I included in my letter was correct after reading Lula's post (she is way more knowledgeable than me!!) Basically, I based my letter on the response of the Judge in PSM's case and in particular the following paragraph on his thread:-

 

The judge then pointed out that as such the Abbey were only entitled to claim back actual loss caused by the breach of contract, therefore anything over that could be deemed as a penalty charge. From what I could understand and this is where it gets hazy the judge felt that this aspect was not covered in the OFT test case (someone needs to look at this in detail). She therefore adjourned this part of the case for 28 days and directed the defendant to supply all documents and evidence they would rely on, including full disclosure of how charges are calculated within 3 weeks. I feel this is very significant and could form the basis for objections/appeals against 'stays'.

I took this to mean that the part of the defence which related to the breach of contract was not covered by UTCCR and therefore I argued this in my statement of evidence and my letter to the judge. If you still want a copy of my letter after you have looked into this then just let me know and I will pm it to you. I would hate to be responsible for giving you wrong advice - I haven't heard back from my court yet so do not have any clue as to whether it has done any good.

[ogrebear]

I called them today and the Court Office said it was 'probably not worth me asking for the stay to be lifted as the Judge had applied it himself' - tempted to anyway.