Cheers Jen - thanks for your help. I spoke to the court today and they told me that as my case was started before the OFT ruling it would be going ahead as planned. They told me that the case is still in the system and that they are expecting both myself and Barclays there. Paul replied to my email to tell me Barclays would be represented on 6th so I guess I need to put everything together. I am assuming that Barclays will apply for a stay and that they judge will probably go with them, but you never know. As this is a directions hearing, they haven't asked for a bundle but I am going to put stuff together. So far this is what I am going for... 1) statements 2) POC 3) SOC 4) all correspondence - including emails and original offer 5) draft directions 6) proof of posting 7) other evidence - terms and conditions from May 96 but what else? ...the evidence is the bit that I need help with, what am I going to use? Also, I really need to understand everything 100% so if someone could give me a fools guide as to what to know about the claim and CI then that would be great, thanks! Cheers, KA

Hi everyone, You may have seen this on the "LIT Team: Good or Evil?" thread but if you didn't here are some developments... I spoke to a lady at Plymouth Court this morning to check that they had everything they need from me for my hearing and she was brilliant. I cannot thank her enough. She has put my mind at ease as I am worried and certain Barclays won't settle before the day. Below is a quick version of what she told me, if you have a hearing coming up I hope this helps... 1) don't panic 2) the only people who will be present will be you, a judge and (in her words) Barclays representative if they bother to send them 3) the hearing will be in a relaxed environment in a room not a lot bigger than a front room - that said, make sure you're looking smart so no shorts etc! 4) unless you've been specifically asked to bring something else, your POC and SOC that you submitted with your N1 will be all the judge needs at this point - if you have anything else you feel the judge should see then you are free to bring it (I have two emails from two different members of the LIT team that they want to settle before court so I'm taking them) 5) the hearings are only a very short time so the judge won't be asking you loads of questions - as I am claiming CI I am sure I will get asked about this so I am going to make sure I know exactly what it is and exactly why I am claiming it... if anyone can help me here I would be massively grateful, thanks! 6) The banks very often settle at the very last minute so don't rule this out, but be prepared for the hearing anyway 7) They cannot say that it will be a final hearing as there may be other details the judge will need to consider, there is a good chance the judge will rule in one way or another at this time though as they don't want to waste anymore time Most importantly she said not to worry. She said the fact that Barclays have emailed to say that they would be looking to settle before court indicates that they are almost admitting they owe me something. She was very positive and really helped. Taking her initiative, I sent Paul Haut and email earlier that went like this: "Dear Paul, I spoke to Plymouth Court today to make sure that they had all of the documentation they need ready for the hearing on 6th August. I was advised that I should contact you one last time in order to try and settle the claim out of court. As you are aware, you will be unable to contact me for a few days from Thursday afternoon and therefore I felt it only fair to contact you today in order to give you as much time as possible before the hearing. I hope this is helpful." I figure this will generate one of three responses: none; "thanks but we'll be represented at the hearing" or "we would like to make you an offer to settle" but at least with two of them I will know one way or the other! I'll keep you posted with any replies/updates. Cheers, KA PS I'm going to prepare a bundle of everything I have used/sent/recieved etc but really need to understand CI as I know this will be the question I get. Can anyone help me with this please? Thanks!

Hi guys, This may not be the best place to stick this but I figured more and more people are having to turn up to directions hearings so it may be ok... I have a directions hearing on Monday 6th August in Plymouth. I spoke to a lady there this morning to check that they had everything they need from me and she was brilliant. I cannot thank her enough. She has put my mind at ease as I am certain Barclays won't settle before the day. Below is a quick version of what she told me, if you have a hearing coming up I hope this helps... 1) don't panic 2) the only people who will be present will be you, a judge and (in her words) Barclays representative if they bother to send them 3) the hearing will be in a relaxed environment in a room not a lot bigger than a front room - that said, make sure you're looking smart so no shorts etc! 4) unless you've been specifically asked to bring something else, your POC and SOC that you submitted with your N1 will be all the judge needs at this point - if you have anything else you feel the judge should see then you are free to bring it (I have two emails from two different members of the LIT team that they want to settle before court so I'm taking them) 5) the hearings are only a very short time so the judge won't be asking you loads of questions - as I am claiming CI I am sure I will get asked about this so I am going to make sure I know exactly what it is and exactly why I am claiming it... if anyone can help me here I would be massively grateful, thanks (reply in koalaattack vs barclays to avoid hijcking this)! 6) The banks very often settle at the very last minute so don't rule this out, but be prepared for the hearing anyway 7) They cannot say that it will be a final hearing as there may be other details the judge will need to consider, there is a good chance the judge will rule in one way or another at this time though as they don't want to waste anymore time 8) DON'T WORRY I hope that helps. Cheers, KA

Hi Destiny, This is going to happen to me on 6th August (I'm certain as I am claiming nearly £6,400 and I have a directions hearing) so I wanted to wish you all the best - I hope it all goes well for you. What Dar£n has said seems to make perfect sense to me so good luck. I'm going to keep an eye on this as I'm not far behind you. GOOD LUCK, KA

Ok, so let me ask you this: On a scale of 1 - 10 (purely based on your experience/knowledge/feeling and I promise there will be no come back) what do you think my chances of getting all of the money, including CI, is baring in mind it could be over £6,400 in the end? 1 is no chance, 10 is 100%. I really wasn't worried until today, I thought I was going well but reading around today has really got me thinking...

Thank you!

Jenny, you're a star - thank you so much. And to think, I originally thought you were Joey not Jenny - how's that for a mistake? Couldn't have been further from the truth! Thanks again, KA

jbarton - the CMI sheet? I'm not going through a mercantile court (at least I'm not aware I am) and I've never seen nor heard of this, should I have? I have a directions hearing in Plymouth on 6th August. Thanks, KA. PS Please feel free to reply in my thread (koalaattack vs barclays - I'm certain you've posted there before but just in case!) so as not to hijack this one. Thanks!

Bigem - that's terrible, I didn't even think about that. I hope you're place isn't too badly affected? May be it's worth emailing Barclays? Who knows. What had you prepared to take with you? I haven't been asked to bring anything with me but I figured I would take all correspondence (including the two emails from Sharon and Charlotte telling me they would be looking to settle before court) and then make sure I know everything I need to. Micky - I've got my court date a week on Monday and I thought I was prepared. I figured I would make sure I sent everything through and make sure that it was all done by the book. I checked everything and made certain I did it all as per this site - hence the court date. Unfortunately I really hadn't banked on going to court so I'm loads more nervous now. More and more people are being told Barclays are sending representation and I want to be 100% certain I know everything. Sorry, but I need more help people! 1) what do I need to take? (I've not been asked for anything) 2) what is it I'm exactly claiming? As I understand it, bank charges I've paid are wrong as per act number ? as this states that it is unlawful for banks to make money from penalitive charges. Barclays need to prove that it costs them between £20 and £30 each time that I go over my overdraft etc. 3) how does CI work and will I have to explain this? 4) what do I need to know so that I don't ruin all the other work I have done? I'm sorry, I thought I had nearly got this sorted (especially after the two emails) but now it seems there is a new twist. I'm going to have to go to court and I am scared. Thanks in advance, KA

Brilliant, thanks Micky. How do I work out the figure that I should be cliaming then? I've always gone on the CI figure as this is included in my spreadsheet - how do I get it off so that I know what to claim? Cheers, KA.

Cheers Micky! Seems like any form of court date is seen by Barclays as a time to try and settle then? I was interested in Bob and Wendy's thread where the judge gave Barclays 14 days to list all of the cases that they had defended in court or he would chuck out their defence and aware the case to Bob and Wendy - why aren't more courts acting like this?! On the flip side, there does seem to be a number of people having to turn up to court and sit with a judge whilst Barclays don't bother coming. I can see how this is beneficial to us claimants but it does seem pointless - surely the fact that I have paid the £250 and secured a court date (albeit only a directions hearing) would indicate to Barclays that I am serious about this? It's very frustrating at times. I guess what I need is to know exactly what it is I am arguing and exactly what the CI is and why I am claiming it - I have my idea of each of this but I want to be 100% correct so that should I have to go to court in two weeks I will have everything straight in my head. I am going to sort three copies of all of the statements with the charges highlighed and all of the correspondence (SOC, letters, emails etc) so that I can have one, the judge can have one and Barclays' lawyers can have one. Do you think I should send the draft directions that I have seen on here? I'm a bit worried about this now as it does look like I may have to go to court in the end and I don't want to undo all of my work so far. Cheers, KA PS Bigem27 - I've just realised the date, any news? Good luck today if you have to go, come and let us know how you got on.

Cheers for that, I'll have a look. When you say they turned up, do you mean they turned up at the court and settled or they turned up at the court and tried to defend? I guess I could read it myself couldn't I?! Cheers, KA

Cool, thanks.

Bit of an update, Paul Haut replied to my email and he is now looking after Sharon's work until she gets back. He also illuded to the fact that I only have a directions hearing on 6th August and that they are not interested settling before this - anyone else had a directions hearing that Barclays settled before? Cheers, KA

Yep, another one! I posted on the Litigation Team: Good or Evil thread and explained the Sharon/Paul thing and someone advised me that Paul took a long time to reply. That sounded about right but then, to be fair to him, he replied within an hour of receiving my email. This is what he sent, it's raised a couple of questions... "Thank you for your email of today. I am covering Sharon's caseload whilst she is away on holiday. I understand that the next hearing is a Directions hearing, on 6th August, and from reviewing the file it appears that we have the information we need. Do you have a contact telephone number we can use if you won't be able to check your email? Many Thanks" I've highlighted the sentence which interests me... is Paul basically telling me that as it's only a directions hearing they aren't too worried and will only think about settling when I get a proper hearing date? Also, does anyone think/have experience of Barclays not turning up to a directions hearing and the case continuing? My understanding was that they would try to settle even though it is only a directions hearing as the judge would want them to provide evidence for their defence which they don't have. I'm a little confused as I thought the end was in sight but now I'm not so sure! Also, I emailed him back and explained that my phone won't work where I'm going (festival in Cornwall). I really don't want to speak to him on the phone whilst in a field after may be having a beer and not having everything in front of me. I don't want to say the wrong thing. I guess they can't claim that I haven't given them a chance to settle because I refused to give him my phone number can they? Anyway, hope all is well. Cheers, KA

Can he? Ah well, I'll give him until Tuesday morning and then email Krysta and see what she comes up with! Cheers, KA. PS Interesting that Sharon didn't mention that she would be away and yet I had to officially inform her and the court of my holiday last month.

Hi guys, Another twist... Sent an email to Sharon today just to tell her I would have very limited access to my email from next Thursday to the following Monday so if she needs anything urgently it may be best to contact me before Thursday. A couple of minutes later I got this reply: "I am out of the office until 6th August 2007. My emails will not be checked in my absence. If you have an urgent query, please contact Paul Haut: paul.haut@barclays.com" Now the eagle eyed of you may have spotted something there... yep, my court date is 6th August. I just sent Paul this email and will let you know what happens: "Dear Paul, I am currently dealing with Sharon Daboul with regards to the above claim. I emailed Sharon today to let her know that I would have very limited access to email from next Thursday (26th July) until the following Monday (30th July) just in case she needed any further details during this time. I received an out of office reply from Sharon explaining that she is now out of the office until 6th August so I would be grateful if you could confirm who is now dealing with my case. I have a court date of 6th August and would like to make sure that you have all of the information you require. Her out of office said to contact you with any urgent enquiries, hence this email. Many thanks, KA" I guess it's wait and seen now (again!). Cheers, KA

Hi everyone, Not sure if this is up yet (sorry, at work so not enough time to check the whole thread - sorry!) but I have just emailed Sharon Daboul who is dealing with my case and got this back: "I am out of the office until 6th August 2007. My emails will not be checked in my absence. If you have an urgent query, please contact Paul Haut: paul.haut@barclays.com" I've emailed Paul as I have a court date of 6h August and I would hate for my claim to slip though unnoticed! Cheers, KA

Hi, I've been watching this for a while. It may be worth calling Barclays this morning and saying that you're off to court and do they want to sort the payment immediately? If not, tell them you're happy to see their lawyers in an hour or so. Good luck with it all and remember, you're right on this not them. Good luck, KA

She's finally replied - said she was sorry about the delay but a lot of people from something called CAG (whatever that may be!) have been bugging her recently. Gave me the whole "we're dealing with them in chronological order" statement so I replied and told her I understood and that I appreciate that they must be busy. I "helpfully" pointed out that Charlotte emailed me to tell me to contact them a month before my hearing to discuss a settlement if I haven't heard from them - wonder if she was aware of that or whether this email was "lost" with all of my SOCs I sent! Cheers, KA.

Yep, it's good that they've got in on these save the World events isn't it?! Still no email confirmation from Sharon - may be the rest of you are keeping her too busy!

Hi guys, Just about to send the letter and SOC to Sharon, I'm also sending them to the court just so they have a record of it. Bit annoyed at having to send them again as I know they have them and that this is just a delaying tactic (interestingly, Sharon hasn't responded to my email that I sent with the same details; I've also sent another asking her to confirm she has received it - so far no response) so I have added a little bit to the letter for the court just so they can see it's a stalling tactic too. Here it is: "Please find enclosed a letter and schedule of charges that was sent to Ms Sharon Daboul of Barclays Bank PLC Litigation Team in reference to the above claim. This letter was sent in response to Ms Daboul’s request for my schedule of charges that she claims she has no record of despite an email from [NAME REMOVED] confirming that she had received them with my previous letter of 12th June 2007. A copy of this letter was also forwarded to yourself." May be it's petty but it annoys me how Barclays are abusing the system like this. Cheers, KA.

Cheers guys! It'll be more than worth the wait but I wish we could send a whole load of information to every court in the country showing exactly how Barclays are abusing the system... Cheers, KA

Hi guys, Got back last night - it was a good holiday but the weather wasn't great (who said driving to the south of France would guarantee two weeks of sun?!), still at least we didn't have the weather you guys have had as I don't think the tent will have survived! Anyway, it's less than a month until my court date and Charlotte told me to expect something around now. I got home and half excitedly/half knowing they would stall checked the post... nothing. Checked my emails and Sharon had sent me one saying that she had no record of my SOC!!! Brilliant! Apparently Charlotte hadn't left her one and there was nothing in my file - I wonder where the one they received with my original letter; with the letter I sent declining the first offer; with my N1 and with the letter to Charlotte on 12th June went? I wonder if they would lose important documents this often if it meant they couldn't charge us unlawful amounts for being overdrawn? Hmmm… Sent an email today, all friendly say it wasn't a problem and outlining my claim along with my SOC attached - I've asked her to reply to say she received it and I will also send a copy in the post. I will send a letter to the courts outlining what I have sent (as I did last time) and I think I will include a sentence about how they are claiming they have no record of my SOC despite me having confirmation Charlotte received it all on 13th June – it’s a clear stalling tactic and I’m not sure the judge will like it. Anyway, I should hear something soon - fingers crossed. Hope you're all well and not too wet. Cheers, KA

Right, I'm off on holiday in a couple of hours - two weeks of good booze and sunshine in the South of France (fingers crossed!). Good luck to everyone over the next couple of weeks, those of you just starting; those of you continuing and those of you finishing your claim. When I get back it'll be less than a month to my court date so fingers crossed I may have some good news! Cheers, KA