I was told by a DJ when I was in court on Wednesday that I could not claim LiP rate for time spent researching statutes etc. I have seen others advising via CAG that you should include them. My DJ told me that I may be able to claim for receiving and writing letters, disbursements and, of course, Court fees. I asked him if that was not being unfair as a solicitor or barrister are able to claim more than £9.25 / hour and they are able to do so because of all of the "research" (law degree etc) that they have done. He said "no" and told me if a solicitor was asking him for £155 an hour, they wouldn't get it either! To be honest, I don't know who is right and who is wrong on this "research" argument - just passing on my experience as you may come up against the same argument from either your Judge or the NastyBank!

I have just cracked open a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-pape. Will that do? I wish there was a way I could send you all a glass

Hi GuidoT. Many thanks for the Mullen -v- Hackney BC document. I had already left for court this morning when you posted it. But, fortunately, I did not need it today. It is now safely saved in my case law folder.

Today was the day of the hearing. I arrived at the court building at 10:08 and reported to the usher. I was directed to another area where the judge’s chambers are and I had to report to the usher in that area. I saw the listing order of cases and saw I was due in last so thought I was in for a long day. The bank had instructed a local barrister to attend and the usher pointed me in her direction. I walked over and introduced myself then found a seat a little away from her and thought I’d read through my paperwork while I was waiting. Going back to yesterday, late on in the afternoon I received an email from the bank’s solicitor with a scan of a cheque attached. Said cheque was their calculation for paying my claim in full. I received a call to tell me the cheque had arrived in the mail. I approached the bank’s barrister to ask if she would like to have a chat in one of the conference rooms. She said she didn’t think there was anything to discuss. I said I thought that there was as I had just received a cheque to pay may claim in full. She said that she had been instructed to attend to oppose my claim for costs. I said that I guess we can get to the matter of costs at the proper time. She said she had prepared a document that has to be given to the judge which is a list of who is in attendance at the hearing. She said it was my job to complete this form but she had done it for me. I thanked her for this and returned to my seat. At 10:30 the usher called us forward, much to my surprise as I had prepared myself for a long wait. We entered the Judge’s office where he was sat at his desk. I said “Good morning your Honour” and he motioned to another desk, adjacent to his, for me to take a seat. The DJ opened the hearing with “Now Alphageek, I have here a letter from the Clydesdale Bank and it says it is in full settlement of your claim.” I told him that I had not actually seen the letter but I understood the letter and accompanying cheque amounted to the bank’s idea of settlement to the tune of £879.17. I had produced a spreadsheet last night bringing my schedule of charges that I was reclaiming and the daily interest up to today’s date. I handed the Judge and the opposing barrister a copy. My calculations did not agree with the banks in that I had calculated the settlement figure as of today’s date to be about £150.00 more. The DJ puzzled for a little while and I said “Sir, I think the defendant has not included the allocation fee and the hearing fee in their offer of settlement.” The barrister said she had been instructed to oppose these fees and that the bank did not want to pay them. The DJ then explained, at some length, why recent changes to the court fees system had obliged me to pay them before even getting a chance to “sit in this room” and if the bank were wanting to settle in full then they had to repay then. Miss Barrister, at the DJ’s suggestion, said she would need to take instruction. The DJ said let’s assume the bank will repay them to Alphageek and he re-did his calculations and stated a figure that was £2.00 higher than what I had worked it out at. He then asked me if there was anything else before Miss Barrister went away to take instruction. I said “Yes your Honour, I wish to apply for costs under CPR 27.14(2)(g)” to which he raised his eyebrows and blew out a breath as though he was surprised. He then explained why we had been called in first in the running order as he thought it was going to simply be a matter of making an order on the terms of settlement. He explained he had family cases to attend to so we would have to adjourn for an hour. Miss Barrister again re-stated that the bank was instructing her to oppose costs. The DJ explained to her that I was entitled to argue for them under the CPR rule I had quoted. He then explained to me that I would have to put forward a pretty good case as to the unreasonable conduct of the bank and that he “does not award many such costs.” I offered him a whiteness statement I had prepared, but he declined and said he needed to clear us out as Court rules dictated that family cases take precedence over monetary cases and we’d have to come back in an hour, as he had already stated. He told Miss Barrister to take instruction and said we should try to come to some agreement on costs and if we could not reach one, I would have to present my case for unreasonable conduct and he’d adjudicate. He had a quick scan of my Bill of Costs and told me that I could not charge LIP rate for time spent researching the statutes and regulations. I could ask for costs for dealing with letters sent and received and time spent at court etc. I said I had my laptop with the spreadsheet on with me but didn’t know if I could use it in court. He said I could and I stated that I would amend the Bill of Costs to take out the research time. We left the DJ’s chambers at 10:55 and returned to the waiting area. Miss Barrister went away to talk to the bank. At 11:05 I started to amend the Bill of Costs which didn’t take long and at 11:20 Miss Barrister called me over to ask if I would like to join her in a conference room. She said she had spoken to the bank and that they would pay the allocation and hearing fee and that they would need to see my revised Bill of Costs and audit (or do an account of them – can’t remember the exact phrase) and we would need to negotiate them after the hearing. I said I thought it was the DJ’s job to decide what costs are to be allowed (if any) and didn’t feel that getting in to a round of negotiation with the bank would assist matters. I showed Miss Barrister my revised Bill of Costs. She retired again to call the bank and came back a little while later with an offer of the missing court fees and about 1/3rd of my revised Bill of Costs. At this point, I had to weigh up the offer on the table against the possibility of the DJ not awarding costs at all. I had a pretty damning case to put as to their unreasonableness I thought, but there was a chance the DJ would not allow costs. I also got the feeling that the way he explained to Miss Barrister that I was entitled to ask him to consider costs and that we should go and try to come to an agreement was a message to them to stop being intransigent and for me to compromise. I told Miss Barrister to call the bank back and tell them I would accept their offer if they added an additional £100.00 to cover my disbursements. Five minutes later, we had a deal. While we waited for the DJ to finish his other cases, Miss Barrister and I had quite a lengthy chat about cases in general and all things barristerly (is that even a word?) – she was a really nice woman and told me this was her first bank / credit card charges claim. She told me all about the wigs and gowns they all have to wear and how you become a judge and I think we even chatted about the weather. Well, we are British after all! About 12:20 the DJ called for us again. We went back in to his office and resumed our seats. I told him we had reached a compromise on the issue of costs. I told him the total figure we had agreed and that it should be paid within 14 days. I think I should have explained in a little more detail as to how the figure had been arrived at and Miss Barrister jumped to my rescue and explained it to the DJ. He wrote up his order, prodded the recording machine to make sure it was recording and read it out. It gave them 14 days to pay my costs and the balance of the settlement (missing court fees) and (I can’t remember his exact terminology) but the case was stayed for one month. Meaning that it is not completely finished and if the bank renege on the costs agreement I would just need to write to the court and he would call us all back to sort it out. So all in all a good day. Just to recap: I got all charges refunded, interest they had changed to the Visa account after defaulting on my initial CCA request, Contractual Interest and 8% County Court interest, plus court costs plus about 35% of the costs I claimed under CPR 27.14(2)(g). So the cheque I received this morning for £879.17 is going to the bank shortly and they are to pay a further £160.00 of court fees and £300.00 costs within 14 days making a total of £1339.17. A BIG thank you to all who have helped on this thread and my others. I am so happy that I finally got it right when applying for costs and could only have done so with the help of many, many fellow Caggers. Donation sent to CAG.

Is there something in the banking code or case-law about this?

Does anyone have a copy of Hackney LBC -v- Mullen [1997] 2 A11ER 906 to hand?

More on this story here: Barclays refuses to help family save home | This is Money

Thanks for those links GuidoT.

Bill of costs prepared. I'm about as ready as I will be for the hearing on Wednesday.

...or "just as many twits" even?

Hearing fee paid on time.

Thanks GuidoT: Looks like it's a trip to the court for me tomorrow then! I should have put a cheque in with the bundle I know but I couldn't, and still cannot, find my cheque book!

Bundles away by recorded delivery. Does anyone know if I can pay the hearing fee tomorrow over the phone with a debit card?

I had a new one fitted last year and I'm sure it was under £100 fitted.

I agree. If no road side test was undertaken how can you be arrested and charged with the offence of driving whilst under the influence?

It is most likely that the virus changed the proxy server setting in Internet Explorer. Go to the Tools menu and pick Internet Options. When the dialog opens, click on the Connections Tab. Click on LAN Settings and make sure there are no entries in the Proxy Server settings area.

Thanks Shadow (and well done!)

CPR for agreement or charges were settled before hearing?

S, where are you at with your CapOne case?

I was just writing something similar Shadow. I guess it's the same trick they try when faced with a DSAR.

Thanks DX.

Thanks for the replies. I have printed a bundle for the bank as well - I will get it in the mail to them tomorrow.

I reply to the second CPR 31.16 letter, they wrote back stating this - I am sure this is just a stalling tactic but can someone just reassure me that they are not entitled to ask for this?

Isn't this unusual. Shouldn't the DJ have ordered bundles to filed with the court and exchanged between claimant and defendant? Also, they indicated at allocation that they would be calling 2 witnesses to give evidence at the hearing. Do they not have to notify me of who those witnesses will be? As far as I can make out from the latest directions, there is no directions for them to file a bundle or do anything else for that matter!

Remember this from post #96? Guess what arrived? That's right. Nothing.