UPDATE: Mr Kinnear just rang to say that I hadn't included compensation for closing my account or wasted costs on my original claim and therefore I couldnt turn up in court on Friday and request this. He got me a bit flustered actually, and having hung up I realise that I didnt claim for compensation because I didnt know when I submitted my claim that they would close my account. I think I am going to throw in the towel on this particular claim and then perhaps approach the financial ombudsman about compensation for my account being closed. Is this the best option? I cant really see me turning up at court to admit I got my sums wrong, and then pursue 2 separate issues (compensation and wasted costs), as I'm not really prepared and quite frankly a little tired of all this now. Is this the best option? Thanks, Laxdale

OK so no one replied but as time is running out and Mr Kinnear doesnt answer his phone I have sent the following email:- Dear Mr Kinnear, Further to your letter dated 11th July 07 in which you state that I have miscalculated the chargees due; upon further investigation, I realise now that the reason for the discrepancy is that the summary of charges due to be applied to your account that accompanies each statement and which states that charges were due to be applied in the forthcoming 21/28 days does not always include all refunds of charges that were subsequently applied. Having now double checked every last charge and refund I am happy to admit that the total refunds received amounts to the full amount. However, I am still prepared to attend the mercantile court hearing on Friday 20th July to show how I reached the final figure and how the summary statements did not provide a true reflection of charges incurred and subsequent refunds. In addition I am happy to attend, with backing from a well known consumer website, to argue the case for a wasted costs order as well as compensation for my account being closed down as a result of my actions to reclaim the charges levied against me. However, I am prepared to write to the court to vacate the hearing prior to the 20th July on the condition that you are able to compensate me to the sum of £200 to cover both the compensation for my account being closed and for the wasted costs order. I am aware that this amount is considerably less than I can expect to receive in court having watched closely the outcomes of similar actions by individuals in a similar position. I therefore would appreciate a reply by the end of today (17th July 07) to confirm if this is acceptable. If not, I shall continue with my action in court on Friday armed with the full court bundle and examples of cases that would hopefully result in me receiving an amount in excess of £200.00 that I am requesting from your organisation today. Please feel free to ring me directly on 07872 *** *** or reply to this email. Yours faithfully, ***************** Will let you know if I hear anything !!!

Hi, I received a letter the other day from Ian Kinnear, Nationwide's locum solicitor that basically said that the amounts they were quoting were roughly right, although they had made a slight miscalculation and enclosed with the letter was a cheque for £2.97. Having been through my statements for the umpteenth time I have tonight realised that I have made a huge error in my calculations. Basically, I got my figures from the summary of charges that you receive with each statement. This summary tells you how much they are going to charge you, and then further down it says that payment will be taken in either 21 or 28 days time. Unfortunately for me, these summaries, dont always include ad-hoc refunds of charges that were made at a later date. Some refunds show on the summaries, but crucially, not all! Therefore, it would appear that my claim that I had been underpaid was wrong and I have pretty much received everything I should have. I am now about to send a letter conceding defeat and saying they have refunded me in full. However, I just wondered if, with the benefit of the people who read this forums vast experiences in these matters wether it was worth trying to ring/email (bearing in mind that my case is due to be heard on Friday, aaaargh!!!) Mr Kinnear to say, OK I agree that I've made a mistake and the amount refunded is correct, BUT (and it's a big BUT), is there anyway they would compensate me for CLOSING MY ACCOUNT and for WASTED COSTS/TIME. I probably wont have time now to prepare the wasted costs documentation but thought it might be worth a try. I really dont want to go to court now and admit I've got it wrong but I really need to get a letter sent to the court on Wednesday morning to avoid messing them about and to ensure they receive any communications before the hearing date on Friday. Really sorry for messing people about on here, but I was convinced I was right. Should I just give up now or is it worth pursuing, even just for the £200 I read somewhere people were getting for having their accounts closed. Is that right, or have I just dreamt it, and are they likely to agree? Indeed, if I ring Mr Kinnear, am I likely to speak to him, OR, if I email, am I likely to get a reply before the court date? I doubt it very much but thought someone on here might be more knowledgable than me. If so, help with wordings of emails or what to say would be greatly appreciated. Help please!!! (very scared and very disappointed) Thanks again folks, Laxdale

Letter received on Saturday offering the full amount and then a bit more over my original claim - £1901.44 in total!!! hurray!!! Worth it in the end. I take it I dont tell the court until the cheque arrives or should I let them know anyway, the case is supposed to be tomorrow but I guess Abbey will let the court know to withdraw the claim but I'm sure I read on here somewhere that you shouldnt let them know until the chq has cleared. Is that right? Or shall I be in trouble with court if I dont let them know today? Also - how do I donate to this fabulous site and how do I mark my thread as ***WON***? Oh happy days. Thanks folks for all your help. Couldnt have done it without you.

Received a letter yesterday offering about 1k, £600 less than my claim is for. Standard letter, ie there must be a charge for these defaults. Unfortunately I've been away on a course all week and just got back today so havent had time to do the bundle yet. I could do it tomorrow and post everything then as well, but I think I read somewhere it needed to be with bank and court 14 days before court date and my court date is next Tuesday (5th June), and in fact I'm not even sure if I got the letter advising me of the court date 14 days before that date. Not sure how to proceed? Shall I just call them tomorrow saying I will only settle for full amount or should I do the bundle and post it first class tomorrow in the hope it reaches both destinations on Monday? And if so, is it not highly unlikely that Abbey will have time to process it and respond before the actual court date the very next day? Any thoughts folks? (I can smell victory but dont want to mess it up at this late stage!!)

Milktrayman is the best!! Just to keep you in the loop. T ried ringing Nationwide today to say I'd got a court date and to see if they were prepared to settle for the £175 they still owe me plus £200 compensation for closing my bank account. Told them I'd got a court date, she really pushed me for the date, and when I eventually relented and said 20th July she pretty much closed down and said, we wont be in touch until the court hearing. I said that was fine as I would be able to claim both the £200 compensation via the ombudsman now, plus whatever it is you get for the bundle preparation time. I think the long-way-off-ness of the court date meant she could just leave it. They also said that according to their records my case had been closed. I happily pointed out that as I had been given a hearing date in the Mercantile court, it was fairly obvious that the courts disagreed.

Sorry about this but my previous post about the mercantile court was wrong, I should have posted that against my claim for the Nationwide. (had most of it back already just claiming £175 difference now). However, I did get a letter today saying that my Abbey claim (£1675.00 - Buenos Aires here we come!!) had a small claims court date of 5th June. Tried ringing Abbey and was told that they wouldn't settle or even contact me until the court date. I offered to settle without bundle costs etc but they werent interested. Fine by me. More money coming in my direction!! Can anyone point me in the direction of a thread that tells you about the bundles. Also, I'm debating wether the bundle work is worth it, ie do you only get it if you hand it in to the court and send a copy to the bank? Cant I just say I'd prepared it in the hope they settle before the court date? Thanks again and sorry for mix up re earlier post. 5th June is much better than 20th July!!

Update - Latest Letter Your case has been transferred to London Mercantile Court, which is based within the Admiralty and Commercial Court at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL. Please see for guidance, CPR59 and Practice Direction. Your case has been allocated the number ****-*** this number to be used in future correspondence. There will be a Small Claims Hearing in this case and in several others which raise the same or similar issue at 9.30 on 20th July 2007 in court 1, St Dunstan's House, 133-137 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1HD. The hearing is intended to give directions for the hearing of some or all of these cases in way which saves and time and expense. It is hoped that all parties will attend but if this is not practicable the Court will be pleased to consider the written views of any party provided that these reach the Court by no later than 17th July 07. Although some of these cases have been allocated to the Multi Track, it is the provisional view of the Judge that the costs rules for the Small Claims Track should apply to all of them. Yours.... ______________________ EEK again !! Having not been on here for a while, (as I've been waiting ages for this letter), I've kind've lost track on what I should do next. What stage am I at now? Does the Lloyds TSB thing mean any of the processes have changed. I realise the case doesnt mean much but thought the way we respond might have. Also, not sure about the CMIS and draft directions thing now either :-| All advice gratefully received.

I got the same letter, 9.30am in Court 1, St Dunstan's House - just trying to read up on what to do using the forums. Looks like there's a lot of reading to be done. Anyone else got this date or advice on what we should be doing now ??? Thanks again !

Update - Latest Letter Your case has been transferred to London Mercantile Court, which is based within the Admiralty and Commercial Court at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL. Please see for guidance, CPR59 and Practice Direction. Your case has been allocated the number ****-*** this number to be used in future correspondence. There will be a Small Claims Hearing in this case and in several others which raise the same or similar issue at 9.30 on 20th July 2007 in court 1, St Dunstan's House, 133-137 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1HD. The hearing is intended to give directions for the hearing of some or all of these cases in way which saves and time and expense. It is hoped that all parties will attend but if this is not practicable the Court will be pleased to consider the written views of any party provided that these reach the Court by no later than 17th July 07. Although some of these cases have been allocated to the Multi Track, it is the provisional view of the Judge that the costs rules for the Small Claims Track should apply to all of them. Yours.... ______________________ EEK again !! Having not been on here for a while, (as I've been waiting ages for this letter), I've kind've lost track on what I should do next. What stage am I at now? Does the Lloyds TSB thing mean any of the processes have changed. I realise the case doesnt mean much but thought the way we respond might have. All advice gratefully received.

can anyone offer any advice on the questions in my previous post? Thanks, Jonathan

thanks folks for your kind words of advice. Just re-read Abbey's defence and it refers to me as having a current bank account - I dont, I closed it several years ago having finally been able to escape their hideous cycle of charges. The defence also then talks about overdrafts, and that most of my charges were about exceeding the overdraft limit they agreed. I didnt have an overdraft of any kind and most of the charges were because of a few bounced direct debits and then because they kept helping themselves to charges the day before I was due to be paid, invariably putting me overdrawn which then led to more charges the following month. And so it went on, like it has for so many people. Anyway, I think my point is that I am feeling a bit more confident because their defence seems to be a standard defence that would appy to someone with an existing account and who had an overdraft limit. I have neither. My other claim with the Nationwide (which was nearly paid in full but not quite) has now been transferred to the mercantile court. They paid me back around £1500 but it was still about £170 short. I'm now not sure if I should have carried on but will keep you posted on both cases. Capital One are next in my sights... Bring it on.

EEK!!! Just had a letter back from Central London County Court that reads:- "Before District Judge Hasan sitting at Central London County Court, Civil Justice Centre, 13-14 Park Crescent, London, W1N 1HT. Upon reading the court file and allocation questionnaires filed by the parties And Upon the Court's own initiative IT IS ORDERED THAT 1) The case be transferred to the Mercantile Court at the Royal Court of Justice for the attention of his His honour Judge Mackie CBE QC 2) Take notice that this order having been made without notice, any party affected by it has the right to apply within 7 days after the service of the order to vary or set aside the order Dated 18th April. _________________ The letter is dated 30th April. Now I am very worried that I've done my calculations wrong and that I shouldn't have been so stubborn chasing that last £175.00 of my claim. Guess I will have to go through my statements again tonight but I'm sure I checked it and checked it at least 4 times. The other thing is I haven't heard about anyone being transferred to the Royal Court of Justice before. Please tell me I am not going to be "THE ONE"? Does anyone have any experience of this happening at this stage, bearing in mind I have had the vast majority of my money back but was revved up enough to pursue for what I saw to be the remainder and am now worried I might end up paying it all back and more in court costs. Scary. Is there anything I should be doing? I havent got a court date or anything but the CBE QC bit is enough to terrify me right now. All info greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jonathan B

Having read some more posts on here, I received today what appears to be some good news, ie that the AQ questionnaire stage has been dispensed with and my claim has been transferred to Clerkenwell & Shoreditch court. However, unlike some of the posts I've read, there is no mention of a court date. Not really sure what I should be doing next. Copy of the text follows:- Without hearing IT IS ORDERED THAT:- 1) The filing of an allocation questionnaire be dispensed with in this case unless the District Judge at the court of transfer orders otherwise ** Note: Any party affected by this Order may under Rule 3.3(5) apply to have it set aside, varied or stayed. Such a party must apply under rule 23.3 within 14 days of service of this order. ** Please note that an allocation fee may apply in this instance. Please contact the court of transfer for further details. Date order drawn: 28.04.07 _________________________ ________ So.... should I read up on AQ's? Can I expect to have to prepare a court bundle? What happens next? EEK! Any info, as ever, greatly appreciated... Thanks, Jonathan B Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: London Posts: 12 Jonathan B v Abbey - AQ Dispensed with... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oops. Forgot to mention that when I filed my claim online I didnt realise I had to send a breakdown of charges so have only just sent these last week to Northampton County court. Will they automatically forward these on? I also had a letter from Abbey asking for similar along with email address and phone numbers etc, but never got round to sending them these as I thought it odd considering I had written to them before and that I had got details of the charges from them in the first place. Is this bad judgement on my part. Worried that the court will think I haven't done everything I could to resolve this, ie give Abbey the info they asked for, even if it was after my claim was filed? I've already one 90% from Nationwide but still waiting to hear about the last 10%... it's the principle innit? All advice received with thanks... Jonathan B

Just to keep you updated... apparently the judge has made a decision but there is backlog in getting the things typed up. I know it was only another £170.00 or so but it was the principle and I am looking forward to knowing I got my money back in full. Currently battling with Abbey who are making folks do a lot more work but hopefully and end will be in sight soon. To all the kind folks that helped me with this earlier, thanks so much. Forums are the future, power to the people!!