I have received in the post this morning that His Honour Judge Mitchell sitting at Maidstone County Court has ordered that my claim be stayed. The order was dated on 31st. August 2007. I have received most of the money from Capital One, but I would like the default notices removed from my credit history. So I am planning to request that the stay be set aside. Any advice will be welcome. CC

I think it is simply that they asked me if this was a bank charge claim, I should have said it was a credit card claim! Perhaps I will suggest that they do establish if it is a bank charge or credit charge claim to avoid giving people like me a bit of a shock. It does rather put my planned court claim against Abbey on hold though.

It seems that the "blanket" stay only applies to bank charge claims not Credit Cards. It will stop me from poceeding with a claim against Abbey though:-(

Yes, it is a credit card claim. It's too late to phone the court again today, so it's 10am. Monday. I want to get the default notice on my credit record removed which Cap One have said they won't do. So I want to proceed to judgement anyway. Theyv'e offered most of the money and I will be happy if the other cheque arrives tomorrow (although I might as well see if I can get some more money (Contractual Interest) out of them anyway. Thanks for letting me know, I was about to start a claim against Abbey, but it's under £200 so not so rewarding as the CC charge refund. Although it's a business account (still open) does that make a difference? Regards Calling Card

As today is 28 days after the service date of my Claim of a refund of charges and interest from Capital One I phoned the Court (Maidstone Combined Court Centre). Cap One have made an offer lower than the amount of my claim. I have recieved one cheque from them this week but I haven't received the other cheque they said in their letter of 13th. August that they had sent. The person I spoke to at the court said that my case had been stayed as had all the other bank charge claims throughtout the courts service pending the outcome of the OFT test case. I was told that an application to stop the stay would not succeed. I was planning to ask for a summary judgemnt if Cap One hadn't submitted a defence and their cheque doesn't arrive tomorrow. It seems there is a general stay on all bank charge claim cases. I will wait for notification in the post, but this doesn't sound good. Regards Callingcard

I am in the process of claiming back fees for overlimit and late payment from Capital One. They made a GOGW in a letter of 13th. August, in which they said they had posted 2 cheques to me for £2,454.22, I received one of the cheques on Wednesday (29th. August). As the other cheque has not yet arrived I phoned the court as today is 28 days from the service date. I wanted to find out if Cap One had submitted a defence as they said they intended to do that in their Acknowledgment of Service. I was told that all bank charge claim cases had been stayed. I asked if that was for all cases currently in the courts, I was told yes and I would get a notification in the post. The stay is until the High Court rules on the legality of bank charges in the OFT v Banks test case I have read in these forums that banks have applied for a stay in individual cases, but a blanket stay is going to freeze every case. What do we do now? Surely the banks aren't pleading poverty I know the credit market is tougher than it was a few weeks ago, but surely the money stays in the banking system and even if it is spent the money finds it's way back into a bank! I just hope that Cap One have posted the second cheque to me. Regards CC

I received a cheque from Capital One in the post on Wednesday (29th. August) for £1182.45. As no further cheque for the balance of the offer they made in the letter dated 13th. August, arrived today or yesterday I phoned the court. They told me that all bank charge claim cases have been stayed throughout the court service, pending the outcome of the high court case between the OFT and the group of banks. I asked if it would be possible to challenge the stay but the answer was not hopeful. What do we do now?

I've had a think and I am wondering if Cap One are just using delaying tactics? They will pay eventually, but all bankers have a condition call "Bankers Clutch" where the sufferer will hang onto money for as long as possible and if you want to get paid you have to prise it out of them. I understand it is highly contagious amongst banking staff and is a condition that once has taken hold gets more severe. There is evidence to suggest that if an individual is not susceptable to Banker Clutch then they will not survive very long in the banking industry:-)

The credit card accounts I have with them are closed as far as I know. I have sent them my bank account name/sort code/acc.no. in a letter that they should have got yesterday. I suggested a payment by CHAPS would be acceptable, but they may have done it using BACS. Or they have sent a cheque, but I haven't got it yet. Or they do intend to defend the claim. I'm confused, I would like to ask them on the phone what they are doing but even then I don't know if I can believe anything they say now.

In the post this morning (along a Birthday Card as it is my birthday) was the "Notice of Acknolegement of Service Has Been Filed". Cap One have informed the court that they intend to defend all of the claim. I was half expecting this as they have a bad reputation to keep up! Waht I would like to do now is request that a the Judge issues a summary judgement. Now that Cap One say they are intending to defend all of the claim I would like if possible to to get the revised figure of £3070.42, I need to do an accurate calculation of that as it is probably a bit on the high side. Also I am thinking I may get some costs for my time spent in preparation. My claim also had a a request for the default notices to be removed from my credit history, I would like this as well. I am preparing myself mentally to go the whole way including a hearing in front of a District Judge. Some advice would be appreciated, like can I use the letter from Cap One offering to settle out of court as a demonstration of their disingenous behaviour? I do not think that Cap One's duplicity would impress the Judge.

I have calculated a total figure of £3070.42 if I substitute contractual interest at 19.4% which is what I used in my original claim instead of statutary interest at 8%. I have calculated the number of days of interest at 8% as it is simple interest that is easy. I then just calculated how much compound interest at 19.4% would be on the amounts for that number of days - I have all the figures. Cap One haven't told me the date that the 8% interest runs from and from the many letters from Cap One, Debt Collection Agencies and Solicitors I cannot find an indication of when they stopped charging interest. What Cap One are trying to do is the old trick of waving a wedge of fifty pound notes in front of a vendor and saying "c'mon look at this lovely dosh, you'll take it won't you?" the wedge is less than the asking price of course. Trouble is Cap One don't seem to understand that unless they actually wave the dosh in front of me it isn't going to move me emotionally towards a settlement.

Well nothing from Capital One in the post today. I posted a letter to them yesterday saying that I had not received a cheque from them and that if cleared funds were not deposited in my bank account by the close of business today I will ask the Court (Judge) to issue judgement on my claim. I gave them my bank account name, sort code and account number and said a CHAPS transfer will be acceptable. I implied that if the money arrived in my account today I would accept it as a seettlement for my claim even though it was £300 short of the amount I am claiming. What I would like to do are the following: 1. Ask them how and when they have sent the cheques, do they have anything like proof of posting etc. that assure me that they have acted in good faith. ie actually done what they say they had done (and told the Court that they had done). The letter I have received from them is from: Simon Walker Executive Office For and on behalf of Capital One Bank (Europe) plc The address is: Executive Office Capital One Bank (Europe) plc PO Box 5281 Nottingham NG2 3HX There is no telephone or fax number or email address. so I have no way of contacting them in a speedy interactive way. I would like a phone number so I can ask them how and when they sent the cheque and when I can expect to get it. I am a bit worried about the figures in the POC. I did not include the amount of interest Cap One charged on the fees as I thought it would be rather difficult to extract the exact amounts from the statements as the interest shown was for purchases and charges. They have given me a figure for the interest they have charged on the fees, but have addded 8% interest. I would like to add contractual interest. I am thinking that when I have done the calculation I will need to ammend the the claim to put the new figures in (£35 fee for that?). This will give an answer around £2,800 or even more. Getting Judgement on that amount will be good. Or can I slip it in as a more accurate amount based on figures they have been kind enough to give me? I'll do the calculation and see what figure I get. The first thing I would like is to ask them about is the cheques they say they have sent

I often say to others that when dealing with banks it does seem that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing! I have got as far as adding up the charges from the statements and on one card I make it less than their total by £20 and on the other card I make it more than them by £20. I will check this again more thoroughly. One thing they have done is added some charges from well over 6 years ago, this means I don't have to fight them on the Statute of Limitations Act. It is tempting to take the money as it will save me from some work preparing a court bundle etc. Also as they have given in on the 6 year limit I think I should settle as I don't want to have a stressful fight for an extra 300 quid. No cheques have arrived in this morning post. The court will ignore their letter saying the claim is settled, they have asked me to write to the court saying the claim is settled. I am thinking of writing to them stating that unless cleared funds are in my bank accounts by close of business Tomorrow Friday the 14th. day after Service then I will ask for immediate judgement, although this may be a bit risky as I then may need to prepare the court bundle and go to court, if they think my POC are weak. I have noticed that Capital One do seem to settle more readily than say Abbey who are my next target (only 96quid plus 8% interest for 5 years or so).

I have had a letter from Capital One today offering me most of what I have claimed. They say they have sent me a cheque - there is no cheque. Before the cheque is mentioned they state that £2,454.22 has been refunded to my accounts - as far as I know the accounts are closed. I need to analyse the figures to see how they have calculated them, as they say they have added 8% statutary interest, the amount they have offered suggests that they have added contractual interest at 19.4%. I need to make sense of this letter and check the figures before I decide what to do next. Quite honestly I am not impressed, the letter seems very muddled, is this their normal style?

The court accepted my N1 form with no hint there would be any question that it wouldn't be processed or be held up by the court later on. That doesn't mean it won't be held up as a Judge can do what he thinks is appropriate and if stopping the process is appropriate in his view then it is stopped. I understand that the way around that is to claim that it is a denial of justice under the Human Rights Laws. Someone had reported on one of the BB's here that their local court has suspended the legal process on his claim. I am now preparing to fight a probable stay application by Capital One. Also if they are one day over the 14 days they have from yesterday to respond I will ask for judgement to be issued, it might work. Thanks for the good wishes, it's good to know I am among friends who have already been through the experience of suing a bank. I have been to court before over money claims including an arbitration hearing in front of a District Judge so I am not so afraid as people who have no court experience.

I have now started a Claim in my local County Court. I took the N1 form in on Tuesday, I had a Notice of Issue yesterday. The service date is today. So now Capital One have 14 days from today to respond. I have been reading about banks applying for stays and how to defend against them. I want to get this settled as soon as possible so I will be looking to get any stay side aside. I now have to wait to see what the response is from Capital One, they might cave in - who knows?

The case was in court the week before last, I uderstand that Tom Brennan argued well against 6 or 7 lawyers representing Lloyds TSB. The commentator on the Motley Fool web site said it could be 6 weeks before a judgement is issued. Whatever the timescale the judgement will be carefully studied by people involved with Bank Charge reclaims. I have held off going to court myself, although I think I will very soon, this site has provided much useful advice.

I see this as a way to get a bank into court (and Nat west may still settle on the court steps). What banks are afraid of is being forced to reveal their internal costs, if they get a court order to disclose they may bottle out and pay up. From the banks viewpoint they have to put up a fight, because if this goes against them it will be very bad for all banks. However I would like to wish Tom Brannan every success, as he is putting his future on the line on this important public issue. It's tough one to call I have no idea what the judge will decide, he may just ajourn and give the litigants 28 days to make an effort to settle out of court; which is the kind of anticlimax I have come to expect!

Thanks for the compliment, I did show my first draft to someone who simplified the wording a bit and suggested I cut out a couple of sentences that might annoy. She said there was no need to say that they settle many cases “on the court steps”; they know that. What prompted me to write the letter was to respond to their offer, which as I said above was a move in the right direction. However they seem to offer most people the refund difference from £12 and their charge, so perhaps it won’t have much effect. Yes, I wanted to delay so I could get the money for the court fee, I’m not sure if I will do it via MCOL or an N1, my local court is only 15mins. walk away. Did you hear the story about Tom Brennan who may get a ruling from a Judge this week. The link to it on the BBC web site is: BBC NEWS | Programmes | Moneybox | Court bid for bank charge ruling This will be next Friday, I hope he wins but as the bank is contesting this in court it may indicate that they are confident that they can win. Or it may be another case where the bank settles on the court steps. Either way it’s an important case.

I'm almost at the stage of filing a claim at court. Interesting new delaying tactic with the invalid signature ploy, I wonder if they will try that after I sent a letter in response to their "Full and Final offer" letter. Perhaps the next ploy is they will require a passport style photo signed by a vicar or magistrate etc. who has known you since birth! I've put the letter I sent in reponse to their "final" offer on my thread here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/capital-one/79481-callingcard-capital-one.html I'll post a message when I get a reply, if any. Good luck to all Cap One claimants! Regards G.

You could try something like my letter which I have posted on thread I have started. My position is not as bad as yours in that I only owe some £90 which they have sold to a Debt Collection Agency which I hope I have stopped in their tracks. I sent an LBA (Letter Before Action) to Cap One dated the 23rd. March. They responded with an offer to refund the difference between the charges I paid and £12, but as far as I can tell only for the last 6 years. As they offered me a GOGW (Gesture of Goodwill) I have offered them one which is an additional 7 days to respond with an improved offer. I did this as the date I had originally given for a response to arrive in the post was the 6th. April, that I didn't realise at the time I wrote the LBA is Good Friday. So in order to give them time to respond over the Easter holiday period when staff are likely to be away for a day or two either side of the statutary holiday days. So now they have until Friday 13th. of April. I also thought that when my claim goed to court (which I'm sure it will) I have proof that I have tried my best to settle without court action. My thread is at: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/capital-one/79481-callingcard-capital-one.html You are welcome to use my letter, but you will need to adapt it to your own situation. State your case clearly, back it up with statutes, quotes and judges rulings etc., If you had the same template letter as I had, then the sentance "As you may be aware the Office of Fair Trading challenged the level of bank fees last year." I have replied in my letter with the reference to the OFT report, which lets them know that I am more than just aware of the report. Then I have quoted a sentance from the OFT report that clearly shows that the the OFT is not suggesting that £12 is a fair charge for account transgressions. I have been to court in the past so it is easier perhaps to imagine that I am presenting my case to the Judge, who will want you to support any statements you make. Let Cap One know that you have done your research and you know what you are talking about. Read the FAQ's here and read what others have done and read the letters that people have used - there are plenty of examples. Above all, and I know this is hard, stay calm and rational. Regards G,

I agree, keeping the pressure on them is the only way to get them to take notice. At least I have got an offer, although it's not enough I feel it's a step in the right direction. It also means that they have looked at my accounts in order to work out what to sum to offer, although there are small differences between my calculation and theirs. I think the main problem they probably have is overload - they just cannot cope with all the people asking for their money back. I don't know if they have recruited extra staff to cope with the deluge of requests for refunds.

Battleaxe - Can you please give a link to the thread where the MBNA mass complaint is followed. I am trying a letter to Cap One to see if I can get them to settle without going to court. the link to my thread is: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/capital-one/79481-callingcard-capital-one.html If get a result, then they will have read my letters - I am not very hopeful. Regards G.

Yes, try the letter, it's minimum expense. Cap One are, according to comments I've seen here, faster at settling than most other banks. I have banked with Barclays since 1972. In the 1990's I had a lot of charges on my business account due to late paying customers and a rather unfriendly manager looking after my account which had over £100,000 a year going through it for a few years. I have had reasonable success at getting charges refunded except when this manager was looking after my account, she took a hard line every time. I think I still have the statements somewhere but I am reluctant to try and recover charges as I don't want to spoil my reasonably good relationship with Barclays that I have now. Also I would have to get round the Limitation Act as it's well over 6 years ago that the charges were made. I still have a business account with Abbey and I am also pursueing them for the refund of £96 in charges plus 8% interest as per s69 of the County Court Act 1984. They won't get any more letters as they have refused to offer anything, so it's court action as soon as the 14 days from the date of the LBA is up. I don't care if they close the account it's got 13p in it, which has been there since I last used the account over 2 years ago!

I actually sent two letters one for each account as they sent me a letter for each account. They sent forms to sign which were completely unacceptable to me as they wanted me to stop any further recovery action and accept the sums offered as full and final settlement. From what I can gather they do this with everybody and you have had the same letters as I have. I guess some people accept the offer and walk away. The letters are really to show that I have tried to settle without court action and I deliberately didn't mark them as "Without Prejustice" so they can be examined by the Judge. I am pretty sure I will have to go to court, but if Cap One do cave in and pay, as I say anyone is free to use all or part of my letter (changing it to suit their particular case of course). From my experience of 3 times when I have used the courts to recover money owed to me in the course of business defendants don't get serious about paying anything until they get the summons or High Court Writ. In fact when I used a High Court Writ the man changed his attitude completely and the Sheriff's officers collected the money without too much trouble. Trouble is court action can take some time and I understand the courts are getting overloaded with these bank/credit card company charge claims.