Sorry keith, it is definitely a waste of time and totally frustrating to people like us who have to take time off work, not to mention all the time it takes compiling evidence and submitting the required "bundle"... I agree that it could have been done by post; it seems that the court just wanted to justify its £120+ fee.. My supposition is that the law would not be seen to be fair and just if the hearings dont happen, even if it is only for the judge to grant the stay; the court has to be seen to be dealing with each case on an "individual" basis, even if the cases are virtually identical and the results are going to be the same.

Hey psm, I am inclined to agree with you; what was very apparent to me today was how easy it is to forget that the courts are seeing hundreds of these cases on an almost daily basis; there is no arguement that the judge is not aware of and any order made is purely discretionary.. I'll be very intrigued to find out if anyone manages to not only remove the stay and get awarded damages....has anyone? I also agree that there was a "performance" element to today's proceedings; the judge kept interrupting the rep until he said the "magic words"; then she started nodding after which she turned to me to say that she was satisfied that the stay was applicable to my case; all before I even opened my mouth... Obviously she has heard all the arguements and the "hearing" was just a matter of formality; actually it felt more like she was a school teacher testing the rep "student" Thanks for all your help psm...all the best on your case..I'm very curious to learn the outcome... S

I would like to thank you all for your support; I walked in that room today as ready as I could ever be thanks to all your help and messages... Sx

Hey guys, Here as promised is a report of what happened at my hearing today: In a nutshell, the case was stayed. The judge did her best to deliver a persona of fairness by being quite stern with Abbey’s representative, telling him that she basically needed no schooling in the facts or reasons for requesting a typical “stay”; she expected, however, that the rep explain to her how the reasons for the stay were relevant to the specific details of my case. I basically watched as she chided him like a school child for repeating facts she was already aware of and the general attitude of reps who tend to come in expecting an automatic nod from the judge. The rep was reading word for word from a document he had been given by bank’s solicitors; a document she was quick to note had not been sent to me at all. There seemed no satisfying her, until he mentioned several articles in the document which, she explained to me later, covered all the points that my case would raise if it was heard today, in the OFT test case; which was enough for her to grant the stay. I went very well prepared indeed; but once she was satisfied with the rep from Abbey, she shot down all the points I attempted to raise, i.e. that the crux of Abbey’s defence was a BREACH OF CONTRACT one and could be addressed in the hearing today, Abbey’s slip shoddiness in not responding to the order of the court to send me their bundle, etc.. The judge used the blanket “…it is difficult for lay people to understand how the law works” statement, which I found totally patronising, then went on to explain how her hands were tied by her knowledge that the test case was going to cover all the elements of the case (as provided in the statement read by the rep); that the test case with the OFT was not just about the UTCCR Act and how it relates to banks’ Terms and Conditions; she made it impossible for me to air any other objections by raising the point that if she was to hear the case and make a ruling, the bank would immediately appeal on the grounds that it has proven in documentation submitted to the court that every point to be considered in my claim will be covered by OFT test case and that it is better for all parties that we wait for the test case ruling. She did press the rep for details (apparently for my benefit) of exact dates of when the test case would be heard to avoid any further prolonging the case and ordered that after the judgment, the bank be given a maximum of 14 days to officially inform myself and the court of the result and it’s proposed course of action (and time frame) in fulfilling what the High Court might order; should it go to the appeal courts, the bank would have 7 days to inform and propose a course of action once the appeal is concluded. To be honest, I had kind of switched off at this stage because it was obvious that today’s hearing was all about the STAY. It seems to me that whatever aspect of the case would get heard in small claims, rulings would be appealed on the grounds that the court did not concern itself with all the details of the case. Nonetheless, I did walk away feeling angry at what I considered a waste of time; why go for a hearing when a letter would suffice (I’m referring to the stay)? Apparently, I am one of the slightly more inconvenienced ones because the agreement on trying the test case was only made on the 27th (I think) of July which means that the stays have to be applied for individually until or unless a blanket ruling staying all claims for penalty charges against the banks is made. The odd point or two above is just personal opinion and my perception of how my case was dealt with today... ...that said, I couldn't help but be amused during the proceedings; I do have a tendency of looking like I've just left college, I look a lot younger than I actually am; I could have slapped her for for all the effort she was putting to explain what "law" was and how the legal system works - she must have thought I walked in with my mum having done my homework!!!!

Hey KnellyK, thanks! Will definitely report back......

Thanks guys!!!! Gearing up....... S

Thanks for the information psm, it is most helpful... I do have the "breach of contract" arguement in the defence/correspondence from Abbey; I have copied the arguements you used from your thread and will be taking that with me too... I have also used Gary's template on applying to have a stay removed. Thank you so much; the points you raise are brilliant and all the best on your case... S

Thanks dsilverstein, I'm working on that...I'm so sure that they are going to be playing that card on Monday....

Poppynurse, which court was your hearing going to be at?

Hi Jo and thanks for the support... I'm getting ready, preparing all arguements.... Will submit a post to outline outcome, whatever it may be S

Going to court on Monday, Abbey sent me the standard "applying for stay" letter, checked with court who told me no such thing had been granted and case was still going ahead.. Abbey has not even bothered to submit a bundle of any kind, nor made any offer... My bundle was submitted on time... Monday should be interesting..

I received the same letter lisam and I called the Court Manager to double check what the deal was. I was told that unless I had heard directly from the court on the issue, I was to assume that the case would still be heard on the date allocated. My hearing is on Monday at 2pm... Abbey has not submitted any bundle at all...

I also read somewhere on this site that to change anything, there is a form one should use; the form should be taken in on the day of the hearing with the amendments with the fee and an apology should be made to the court. Is this a potential course of action? I just want to get it right.. Instinctively, I just feel like writing to Abbey and the court, informing them of the amendments.... S

Thank you for your advice guys..... I dont know where my head was that day... Ordinarily if the dates were just out (2004 instead of 2003), I would have just left it as Charleyfarley has suggested...but I did not even add up the figures I originally submitted correctly...even though I added it up a thousand times... I just dont want things to come back and bite me in the ass...I am happy leaving the amounts the way I've submitted them..but does it matter that the total I wrote at the bottom of the table I prepared is wrong....apart from showing that I dont add well, will this count against me? I dont want Abbey refuting my claim by arguing that the dates are wrong...although that has nothing to do with what the arguement of the case is based on... S

Hi, I have been given a court date - 20th August. I had already started preparing my court bundle and discovered a made a mistake with some dates on my schedule of charges and missed one charge I want to claim. What is the procedure for submitting an amended schedule of charges to the bank and to the court? Do I have to fill in a form for the court, to make the change and will this require a fee...? S