Munchkin - bear in mind that a second, immediate complaint could constitute a "breakdown in the relationship between client and Bank" and they may well have valid grounds to close your account. Personally, I'd wait to make the second claim (others may disagree and please shout if you do). You may also find that when settling, the recent charges levied on your account may be part of the settlement offer.

I'd also be interested to hear comments on "decided cases". It's a bit frustrating knowing that some of the monumental battles fought by others on this site are not citeable because they happened outside a court room and no precedent has been set. Are these "decided cases" in fact the cases we are quoting to back up our arguments (Dunlop et al)?

Mimward - will be happy to keep in touch and compare notes. If the judge does grant my order there will certainly be some late nights gathering information, writing statements of evidence and putting bundles together. The pressure of that will be lessened knowing that there are other people out there doing exactly the same thing and it always puts a smile on my face when my 3 year old son comes into my study and asks me "Are you still fighting the nasty banks Daddy?" I would wish you luck but with the support from everyone at the CAG I feel we have the upper hand....

It seems to be a bit tough working our what current strategies / protocols are with the banks as, not only do they change them on a regular basis but they are also swamped with work and are defaulting on deadlines quite regularly. Are you using the traditional AQ or the new strategy with the draft order. The new strategy which can be found here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/53570-new-strategy-allocation-questionaires.html It seems to be working well with other people and I have decided to give it a go. Have a read and see what you think. It basically puts a much tighter timeframe in place (if approved by the judge) but in doing so, puts you under more pressure to deliver your court bundles. Other people with Lloyds have said that the phone was pretty swift to ring after they had adopted this tactic.

Thanks Gary

Mimward - I'm at exactly the same stage as you and am using this updated strategy. I have until Monday to submit my AQ. In part G of the N149 did you just put "See attached" or is there some special legal jargon that needs to be inserted to make mention of the "other information" that is attached as opposed to inserted in the box (because itr doesn't fit)?

That all sounds pretty standard.

Have a look at this: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/lloyds-bank/74454-hi-can-anybody-give.html

Ditto - with the recent FOS ruling against A&L I personally think it is becoming less and less likely. However, as Pondy says, it's still a possibility. I'd be amazed if they closed your account for £150 though.

Just out of interest, are you claiming CI or just going for charges, interst and CCA 84?

Pondfish - thanks for your reply. I'm going to go for it. The defence I have is in fact 10 points (1 point includes charges over 6 years being statute barred but these can just be excluded in negotiation). I have heard in several directions that this defence has never seen the inside of a court-room so Im keen to push ahead. I don't know if you saw this, it looks like one of the courts (Newark) is already getting fed up with these phony defences. Let's hope the sun is shining in Cambridge over the next few weeks... UPDATE Sent copy of my AQ to SC & M following their request just before Christmas. No surprises on their AQ!! Have today received the following letter from Newark County Court: General Form of Judgment or Order To the Claimant kazzaw Before District Judge ................. sitting at Lincoln County Court. EX PARTE IT IS ORDERED THAT The Court of its own motion is considering striking the Defence out as an abuse of process on the basis that it has settled all previous claims of this nature. If the Defendant objects to this course of action it is to file at Court within 14 days, a Schedule setting out a list of all claims it has pursued to trial and all claims it has settled. Dated 28 December 2006 I assume they won't be sending the Schedule within 14 days so will the Judge then order them to pay up? Is this happening a lot across the country or have I stumbled upon a good Judge?

Cfray6 - did you use the updated strategy for AQ? I'd be interested to know - I've got one to do tomorrow... Well done on the win - I hope mine is that easy...

Any takers...?

dsilverstein - funny you should mention that. I've just spent the last 2-3 hours reading it. What a truly amazing effort on Bong's part. My father has made claims against Barclays and Natwest, both claims included CI calculated in the way I described above. Barclays settled, not in full, but he did get more than charges + interest + CCA and he is currently at a stalemate with Cobbetts on a case for £20k. Cobbetts have tried every trick in the book and totally underestimated my dad who has spent the last 30 or 40 years in court rooms either fighting his own "battles" or as a professional witness for the prosecution. I'm sure it will be settled soon, again probably not for the full amount of CI but I'm sure it will be more than a standard claim. He is keen to push the boat out even further and tag on some compensation for distress just to see if he can actually get them into a court room. I don't know if anyone else has tried this but I tend to agree with him. Some people really suffer out there as a result of the banks actions and I read an article last year that quoted a couple of cases where people had committed suicide because of their debt spiralling out of control. An interesting thought....any ideas anyone?

Bong - have just spent the last few hours reading your thread and am in awe of the effort you put into that. You truly deserve that win - congratulations. It still amazes me that HSBC took you so far down the line, only to settle at the very last minute. It makes a mockery of the whole legal process. I know someone who has been fighting Cobbetts on a £20k case including CI since August of 2006 and they are STILL trying to play games with him (there have already been 2 complaints to the OSS). It just goes to prove one thing, win or lose, the lawyers still get paid! I wish I could get paid for losing in my line of work....ho hum. Anyway, heartfelt congrats and I'm sure the info in this thread will help many other people reach successful conclusions. Well Done!

Logic dictates it is 3 x £20 based on the fact that "o/d excess fees" with Lloyds are £20 a pop. Check exactly what it says on your statements but I think you'll find that's correct. It just means they've charged you 3 in one go. How thoughtful of them...

mcuth - thanks. I remembered that from last year and didn't have a clue where to find it. My memory is now refreshed and, having seen that other people have been successful using this new stategy, I've plucked up the courage to give it a go. I am convinced that all of the banks' legal representatives must be inundated with cases so there is a good chance that they will default. If not, I'm prepared to battle it all the way.

Suzwa - on that basis, having already sent a request for re-payment. Just push as hard as you can and see where you get. Good Luck.

Pondfish - would you HAVE to be at the hearing, even if you have an authorised representative acting on your behalf? I'm sure I saw a thread the other day involving someone who was making a claim on someone elses behalf (I think the claimant had a mental illness). I know it's not ideal but didn't realise it was in impossibility. Would you suggest taking it as far as you could pre-filing and just take what you can get?

£60 = 3 x £20???

Suzwa - that doesn't really leave you enough time to get all the way if the case goes legal. Lloyds are well known for dragging things out. If they do not settle pre-court I think you'll be really hard pushed to get a result before June. However, that doesn't help you very much seeing that you've already sent your letter asking for the money back. I suggest you see how it goes, make sure you are very swift to send your LBA and to file as soon as you can if they don't settle. Are you leaving the country for good or are you coming back? You should be able to appoint someone to represent you in your absence but there's quite alot of work involved and it might be quite a big ask for someone else to step up to the crease on your behalf. If you're coming back after a few months at AQ stage you can mention dates to be avoided, an AQ asks you for any days to be avoided in the next 4 months. I certainly think you could get to AQ stage before you go. Anyone got anything to add to that....?

MrI - it is highly likely that they will offer you a part-settlement which you should only accept as part-settlement and continue pressing for the rest. I am fighting a case for £642 + Interest + CI at the moment and they (SC&M) are defending it. It seems crazy to incur the extra cost of legal representation in cases so small but they continue to do so. Their lawyers must be having a field day!

I forgot to add. I notice that you are going after the student loans company for £7k. My wife has £8k of loans and we ended up in strife last year where, through inefficiency, my wife did not defer about half of the loan. My wife has never earnt enough to repay the loan and we now have two children of 3 & 2. It infuriated me to think that whilst there was no way my wife could pay this the student loan co still passed it on to a debt collection agency (Westcot). I had many a row with them on the phone begging them to at least describe the logic behind happily deferring one half of the loan and not the other but it was like banging my head against a brick wall. I would love to "have a go" back but didn't really feel I had any grounds for complaint seeing that it was my wife's responsibility to ensure the loan had been deferred. What are the grounds of your complaint?

Gooders - under the DPA Lloyds are obligated to store 6 years of your banking records. That would mean if you sent an SAR today, they would have to send you copy statements or charge schedules dating back to 16 March 2001. Did you open your account before or after 16/3/01? If it was after that date they are obliged to send you all records, if before, only records to 16/3/01. I have not heard of Lloyds being difficult over this.

Guys - be carefull when discussing interest as it can get very confusing. Overdraft interest, whilst part of the terms and conditions of your account, is not what people refer to as contractual interest or CI. In short you can claim: 1) Your Default Charges 2) The apportioned interest on those charges calculated by the spreadsheets on the site. If the above claim is not settled BEFORE you commence legal proceedings then, on commencement, you have the option to charge 8% interest in accordance with the County Courts Act 84. The CCA interest can ONLY be added when you file at the court, not before. CI is a different kettle of fish and would appear as point 3 in the above list. In simple terms look at it like this. If you go over your overfdraft limit the bank charges you an unauthorised borrowing rate of probably not far off 30%. Using the principle of reciprocity, on the basis the banks have taken money from YOU in an unauthorised fashion, it can be argued that you could charge the banks contractual rate on each charge from the date of the charge to the date of making your claim. ie. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. There has been success and failure with this argument but it is considerably more complex than a standard claim and would require a higher level of skil, determination and a considerable amount more research.