Hi there does anyone know what the next step is if you have been to Court to get a Judgement to be set aside and it gets refused?? I am being taken to Court by someone but due to a temporary relocation overseas didn't fall in line with deadlines of returning forms to the Court and this is the basis on which I have been refused. I am really keen to have myself heard in this matter as I have serious mitigating circumstances but need to know where I go now to appeal this decision? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

We recently purchased a kitchen from Homebase and have had problems with the worktops where they are mitred and jointed. Water has entered the joint causing the worktops to swell and our fitter says that the worktops are faulty. Despite many letters and phone calls to Homebase they are refusing to co-operate. We feel our only option is to take them to Court, but if we choose this route, we would like to go armed with testimonials from people with similar experiences. Has anybody had an issue with the quality of their Homebase kitchen, specifically the worktops.

Hi there, we have received an email from Abbey today offering 65% of our claim due to financial hardship. Has anyone refused a 65% offer from Abbey and if so did they increase their offer?? We are not sure whether to just take it and then claim the rest once the test case is concluded. Their email confirms we can put in a claim for the balance. If anyone has been down this road would be good to hear from you. Thanx

Many thanks to those who replied ; and as one poster suspected, the hearing was in fact to lift the stay, not to hear the case. Update is as follows : I telephoned Abbey the day before the hearing to make one last attempt at an out of court settlement, and was told the following over the phone - 'We have sent you two letters requesting further information regarding your circumstances; as you have not replied, you have put us in a very difficult situation and we now have to send a barister to attend in court'. We had in fact never received any letters from the Abbey. We attended court, their barister was in fact a very nice guy, as was the circuit judge, and the hearing was put on hold for a further 2 months to enable us to send the requested forms to Abbey. The judge said he had no choice but to do it this way, as if he was to actualy hear the case, that we would all be on News at Ten ! The general 'read between the lines' was that the Abbey would settle out of court prior to the new court date, as no bank has yet attended an actual hearing. We sent the requested forms by recorded delivery the next day, and now sit once again and wait. . . . For the benefit of anyone going down this route, it would appear that any request to lift a stay is, in the first instance, always contested by Abbey, it is very much down to you to prove hardship to both Abbey and the court, and the only fast track answer seems to be an ongoing claim for Jobseekers Alowance, Income Support, or similar maximum benifit. I would love to hear from anyone who has had a claim settled out of court under Hardship; meanwhile, i will of course keep you all posted.

Hi, this is our first post on the forum; found it by chance while googling UNFAIR BANK CHARGES - HARDSHIP CASES. We are in court on Thursday 25th Sept with Abbey and would welcome any help and advice as to what the day might bring ! ! In return, we shall post full details of the outcome to perhaps help others. Our case with Abbey begins in Feb 07 when we wrote to them asking for the last 6 years statements. Despite sending a £10 fee as requested, no statements arrived, and in June 07 we made 'an application to grant an order for documents to be disclosed' via Bromley County Court. We were given a court date, but surprise, the statements arrived a couple of days prior to this. We used the statements to calculate a claim of a little over £2,000 including interest, and filed a claim with Abbey giving them the usual 14 days. No reply whatsoever, several more letters sent, we finally filed a claim with Bromley County Court in early August 07. The court gave Abbey 28 days to respond, in which time they informed the court that they were requesting stay pending the outcome of the test case. We were then 'in the system' and like many others, awaiting the High Court verdict. Our story further complicates, as in September 08 we went off to work in Tenerife in the travel business. We hade a U.K. c/o address for any Abbey/court letters. In May 08, we heared that some cases were being heared early if one could prove financial hardship. We wrote to the court requesting the stay be lifted, on account of now wishing to return to U.K. and needing the money for flights home and accomodation on return. Much to our surprise, we received a reply from the court in June, giving a Notice of Hearing on 25th September 08. Further to previous threads, it would appear it is not necessary to be in receipt of benefits to claim hardship. We have written and e-mailed Abbey half a dozen times since July asking for an out of court settlement prior to the hearing, and have received no reply. I understand it is common for banks to pay around 75% of the claim into your account a day or so prior to the hearing so as not to attend and set a precedent - i beleive it is true that no bank has yet gonne to court to contest a claim ? So, less than 3 days to go, no word and no money . . . . . Has anyone been in this situation and can give any advise as to what Abbey might do next ? We are quietly hoping for a payment tomorow or Wednesday, but then again, do Abbey know something we dont ? Any help much appreciated, and in return, a full update to be posted on conclusion. Many thanks,J and K