Well, Barclays finally decided to meet a deadline and, as promised, they called me this afternoon. They agreed to settle the matter in full, subject to the usual clauses etc, £2685. Thank you to everyone on this wonderful site for all your help and patience. I'll be sending the contribution towards the upkeep of this site once the funds clear. How can I change to title of this thread?

Update.. Went to South Shields CC this morning and requested a judgement... It turns out that Barclays did file a defence, but the fax arrived at the courthouse at 5:05pm, outside of the 4pm deadline for submissions. I saw the fax header and saw the date and time stamp at the top that the fax machine automatically gives. The clerk accepted my request for a judgement but warned me that, since the defence was received on the day of the deadline (even though it was past 4pm) it was likely that the judge would accept the defence and reject my request for a judgement. I called Barclays to tell them that I had filed for a judgement. Barclays were surprised because, they say, the fax was sent at 3:49pm and that they had a confirmation slip to prove that. Far be it from me to suggest that Barclays would fiddle the clock on their fax machine to suit their purposes. Surely they wouldn't perjure themselves like that would they? Anyway, I indicated to Barclays that I would be willing to withdraw my request for judgement if they were prepared to settle in full. Ms Connelly went away to talk to her supervisors and said she would come back to me by Friday with a settlement offer. I then walked back into the courthouse and told the clerk about the conversation with Barclays. It turns out that the number of claims vs Barclays has skyrocketed in recent weeks, and the judges and staff are becoming quite peeved at the amount of paperwork and phone calls they have to field, only to have Barclays employ their delaying tactics and then settle at the last minute. When I told her that Barclays were insisting that they filed defence at 3:49pm, it made her more angry that Barclays are expecting court staff to work to 10 minute deadlines (or worse still, tell untruths about the time of their faxes). The court say they are looking forward to Barclays contacting them and asserting that the defence was filed within 10 minutes of the deadline and calling court staff liars. Watch this space

By acknowledging the service, they have until 28 days after date of service to enter their defence. When was your case deemed to have been served?

Well, today is day 28 since the date of service and Barclays have not entered a defence.. I've been reading around about my options.. Am I right in thinking that I should contact the court and ask for a judgement to be entered? In brief, can someone tell me what this means, what the result will/should be? Cheers, Holtey

Well, a quick update. Case was filed with South Shields CC, and Barclays had until close of play yesterday to acknowledge. They didn't, and this morning the court received acknowledgement of service. As its 1 day past the deadline, am I entitled to ask for a judgement now?

Thanks

Its legal to record the call, its just not permissable as evidence in court if the other party has not been advised that the call is being recorded. As for the criminal blackmail thingy, I dont know, but I'd love if they reported me for it

Guys, Can you let me know what you think of the letter below before I send it? Cheers...

I managed to get a phone number so I left a message for them. I want to tell them about the journalist who has contacted me regarding the "must be stupid" comments and see what they think

Aargh! I've lost the letter they sent me with the settlement offer so I don't know who to write back to. Her first name was Marie. If this rings any bells, can someone let me know an address and/or phone number for her? Cheers..

Got a letter today from Barclays offering £1000 of the £2500 claim. Cheeky feckers. I shall enjoy writing rejecting this offer...

I put my branch.

Welcome aboard.. If you read the thread on this section of the forum, you'll see that almost everyone who has followed the correct procedure has won. Barclays play a game of brinksmanship, using every minute of every deadline to try to get you to back down. You can take the offer if you want, but if you go all the way, there's a very good chance they'll settle. It's up to you.

Well in that case, just carry on. They MIGHT be trying to confuse you. I would ignore that letter, and send your preliminary letter.

Best bet is to read the Step By Step Instructions thread.