Ok people, latest update: My brother has now had some paperwork from his local court stating that the hearing will now be JULY!!! Why is it this late? is it due to the sheer volume of people taking banks to court?? Also, DG rang him last week and left a message asking him to contact them on their usual number (which we now know doesn't excist) and he obviously rang it but didn't get a tone!! so i gave him rachel at DG's number and she never answers her phone!! What shall we do people? Thanks again-Craig

Hi all, iv just recieved my'Notice of transfer of proceedings' stating that the claim will be transferred to my local court, which is good news! However, the 2nd page is a shhet which says '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 PART 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' Does this just mean that there is going to be an Aq as always happens? It's just that in my claim against Hsbc i didn't recieve a sheet saying this, do you see what i mean?? Many thanks-Craig

Hi , i originally sent a letter to citi cards back on December 9th asking for £395 in charges and £119.03 in 8% interest. i then sent a second (lba) letter on january 15th asking for charges amounting to £763.34 (i had mistakenly just added up all the charges i had incurred but hadn't taken off the charges that they had refunded when i originally complained about each charge!) but not mentioning the 8% interest. Now, i haven't done anything about this for a while for a number of reasons, one of them being that i feel rather daunted about taking on Citi and another is that i was a bit weary about comleting the N1 form that you advised me to fill out, as opposed to the standard Mcol way! Now, what i want to know is in the bit on the N1 form where it says 'value', do i just put the amount of charges less the refunds(which is £590) and not fill out where this website advice says 'Overdraft interest' because i dont know exactly what that is, i dont think im claiming this!! Also, is 'Interest under s.69 County Courts Act 1984' the standard 8%? And if so, how do i work this out? Im not very good at using the spreadsheet! Please,please try and help me fill this out as i really want my money back and dont want to let them win!! All the best-Craig:sad:

Hi there, just a quick update for you: On the 26th of March i recieved from MCOL an acknowledgment of service, i just wanted to know what do Barclaycard normally do regarding a defence? Do they not bother or do they 'go the whole hog'? Many thanks to you all!

Hi there, just to update you: On the 3rd of April i recieved notification from MCOL that an acknowledgment of service has been filed on the 2nd of April,i am now waiting the 28days for Tsb/Sechiare Clark and Mitchel solicitors to file a defence, what do Tsb normally do? Do they file a defence or not bother? Id love to hear.... Also,iv recieved the standard letter from a Jaqui Coventry saying that they will give me the £12 per charge plus 8% interest, obviously i am not going to accept this, is it worth sending the standard letter saying 'thanks but no thanks'? All replies/help is greatly apprecieated,Thankyou!!!

ps-just tried alan burden on his number and his voice message says he has moved to another department so , apparently, we now have to go through paul kavannah on 0121 455 2109 Hope this helps anyone?

Hi again, Ok, iv completed the AQ and sent it (along with a copy of the Aq and schedule of charges to DG) on March 27th but since then have heard nothing!! Strangely, i just tried to ring DG on their number on their letter- 0121 455 2701 and i just got a long tone as if iv dialled the wrong number-Any idea what's happened to them? I also tried director enquiries but they had no 'DG SOLICITORS' in Edgbaston in Birmingham!! Anu ideas please? Thankyou once again:???:

ps- reference 'arrangement fee' being the new name for total charges?- The term 'arrangement fee' appears on my friends s/s in March 2003 and then again in july 2004 but inbetween those two in april 2004 is a 'total charges'!! What do you think? Thanks again for your help!!

Hi again Latty they are statements through the post, why do you ask? Your information is really useful thankyou so much!! Oh and i wont be using the advanced s/s, sound far too complicated to me!! Hey, for my claim i used martin lewis' online canculator because it's so easy, do you suggest i use the s/s on this website? And am i right in thinking that in the first 2 letters i only ask for the total of the charges and not the 8% interest? All the best-Craig

Hi, im currently helping my friend with his Hsbc claim and he has made me his own spreadsheet with varios 'charges' on, however, im not incredibly sure some of these 'charges' can be classed as charges. Some of the ones im unsure of that obviously appeared on his statements were as follows: 'unpaid item' 'arrangement fee' 'renewal charge' 'temp. limit fee' 'sterling draft' Has anyone any idea of what these are please? Also, he included lots of 'interest' on his spreadsheet, all for between £3 and £14, im guessing this is the interest he incurred for using his overdraft?? Thanks for your help-Craig:|

****BUMPY-BUMP**** Hi again, I filled out the AQ and sent the draft order etc and enclosed the cheque for £100 and made it out to the court in question and thought that was it for a while but my brother has just texted me to say that the cheque was returned as it was supposed to be made out to her majesty's service not the court so he corrected it and sent it back to the court!! Is this correct?? Im sure i haven't had to do that with my own claim!! By the way, i had to ask for the claim to be made out to the local court and not the court that was on the AQ, is this why maybe?

****BUMP**** Hi again, I filled out the AQ and sent the draft order etc and enclosed the cheque for £100 and made it out to the court in question and thought that was it for a while but my brother has just texted me to say that the cheque was returned as it was supposed to be made out to her majesty's service not the court so he corrected it and sent it back to the court!! Is this correct?? Im sure i haven't had to do that with my own claim!! By the way, i had to ask for the claim to be made out to the local court and not the court that was on the AQ, is this why maybe?

Hi again, I filled out the AQ and sent the draft order etc and enclosed the cheque for £100 and made it out to the court in question and thought that was it for a while but my brother has just texted me to say that the cheque was returned as it was supposed to be made out to her majesty's service not the court so he corrected it and sent it back to the court!! Is this correct?? Im sure i haven't had to do that with my own claim!! By the way, i had to ask for the claim to be made out to the local court and not the court that was on the AQ, is this why maybe?

Yeah im pretty sure what they are for and i can write them in an reprint it, no problem! I only have 1 concern: 1, Will the small possibility of the description of the 6 charges being wrong affect my claim in a big way? Ps-thankyou so very much for helping me again latty!!

Thanks for your post- First of all, i mistakenly used Marin Lewis's calculator to get the total of all the charges but i have written in exactly what charges they were ('Total charges', 'Overlimit charges' etc etc) on all but 6 of the charges(there were 25 in total) but i cant seem to find on his statements some of the charges that he originally put on the calculator!!) I just need to know what to do about the remaining 6 charges? ie-Will me not filling in what charges they were or me guessing, actually harm my claim??

Hi again, so just to confirm things- Iv started proceedings through MCOL against Barclayard, iv recieved the 'notice of issue' from MCOL so now i have to send MCOL the schedule of charges AND Barclaycard a schedule of charges(both with a brief letter explaining why iv sent the schedule and can they attach it to my claim?)???:-|

You mean this?- "Hi, i now have the AQ in front of me, also, DG have sent a letter asking for a list of all charges and interest, now, i have a list of every charge and the date (i used Martin Lewis's calculator) but they have no description next to the charges, will it be ok to send them this as i dont have the statements to hand, they are at my brother's house a long way away!! Please help if you can-Craig" Any ideas what i should now do? Im so sorry for getting all muddled up, please forgive my dullness!!

OH DEAR, OH DEAR, OH DEAR!!!! Im not happy!:-| :-| This is my problem: When i originally sent the first letter and the LBA to HSBC i had mistakenly asked for the 8% interest aswell, id sent them the printout of my brother's charges using the online calculator on Martin Lewis's website!! Now, iv just used the original printout of said charges and tried to correspond them with his 6 years of statements so i could write on the sheet the description of each of the charges BUT they dont all correspond!!! i have managed to put a description to 18 of the 25 charges but i have found that there were some charges that he'd not added on and 7 that i just cant find on his statements!! Please can anyone tell me what to do now??? Iv filled out my AQ and am ready to send but iv already put in on the MCOL exactly how much im claiming for!! Do you see waht i mean? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Thanks Latty, always appreciate your help, im just bumping this once more to see if anyone finds anything wrong with what iv done so far with the AQ: (Im just making SO sure that it's right because i dont want to mess this up for my brother!!!) So is this right: Now im a little bit rusty on how to fill out the AQ but this is what iv done: In Section G of N149 iv wrote: Please find the following attached to this allocation questionnaire; 1) Section G - other information 2) Draft order for directions This allocation questionnaire and its attachments were sent to the defendant on **/**/**. Then iv printed out 2 sheets and attached it to the AQ, the first sheet is: RICHARD **** v. HSBC Claim No: 7QZ1**** N149 Allocation Questionnaire Section G- other information The Claimant respectfully suggests that special directions may be made as per the attached draft order. If ordered, the Claimant believes the proposed directions will further the Overriding Objectives in that they identify the most fundamental issues in dispute (as detailed below), and allow them to be assessed in advance of the hearing so that this claim may proceed justly and expeditiously. - The crux upon which this claim rests is the actual loss suffered by the Defendant as a result of the contractual breach from which its charges arise. If the Defendant cannot substantiate the cost of each charge as proportionate to its loss incurred, it has charged contractual penalties contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and common law principles established since the early 1900's. - In the event that the Defendant's charges were accepted as being a fee for a contractual service (which is refuted), examination of its true costs is required to determine whether the price is reasonable as required by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. The Claimant believes that if the Defendant has the serious intention of defending this claim at trial as is indicated by its defence, that it is imcumbent on it to disclose such information. Further, the proposed directions are already routinely ordered in claims of this nature in the Mercantile Court in London, as well as in small claims track cases in Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield, Northampton and Mansfield County Courts. As the law relating to contractual penalties is long established, the Claimant believes the outstanding issues to be of fact. Accordingly, the Claimant respectfully requests that this claim be allocated to the small claims track, and estimates that the hearing of the claim should last no longer than one hour. Then the second sheet is as follows: Claim number 7QZ1**** Between RICHARD ***** - Claimant and HSBC- Defendant Draft Order for Directions The Claimant shall within 14 days of service of this order send to the Defendant and to the Court: a) A schedule setting out each charge repayment of which is sought, showing the date, amount, and reason given (if any) for that charge being made; b) Copies of any statement or other document relied upon as showing that each and every charge has been made; c) A statement of evidence of all matters relied upon as tending to show that the charges are irrecoverable as penalties or otherwise; d) Copies of decided cases and other legal materials to be relied upon. If the Claimant fails to comply with this order, the claim will be struck out without further order. 2. The Defendant shall within 14 days thereafter file and serve a response to the Claimant's schedule, stating in respect of each item claimed; a) Pursuant to what contractual provision such charge was made, producing a copy of the contractual document relied upon; b) Whether such charge is accepted to be a penalty, and if not why not; c) If such charge is alleged to be a pre-estimate of the Defendant's loss incurred by the Claimant's actions (whether or not such action is treated as a breach of contract between the parties), all facts and matters intended to be relied upon as showing that such was a proper estimate of such loss, and all evidence to be adduced at trial as to what the true cost of dealing with the matter was; d) If such charge is not alleged to be a pre-estimate of the Defendant's loss incurred by the Claimant's actions then facts and matters intended to be relied upon showing the basis upon which the charge was calculated and all evidence to be adduced at trial as to show that the charge was fair and reasonable. e) Any witness statements. f) Copies of decided cases and other legal materials to be relied upon. If the Defendant fails to comply with this order, the Defence will be struck out without further order. How does this look? Am i right in thinking that i now have to send a photocopy of the AQ and a photocopy of the 2 sheets and a photocopy of my schedule to not only the court but also to Hsbc(or should i say DG solicitors!)? (oh and the schedule is, unfortunately, a print off of the calculations using the calculator on Martin Lewis's website that i originally used and now i have written in the reasons for each and every charge!!) Please help me if you can to verify that iv done/doing this correctly, im not the brightest spark in the world, hence this long-drawn-out question, many thanks in advance- Craig

Ok people, Now im a little bit rusty on how to fill out the AQ but this is what iv done: In Section G of N149 iv wrote: Please find the following attached to this allocation questionnaire; 1) Section G - other information 2) Draft order for directions This allocation questionnaire and its attachments were sent to the defendant on **/**/**. Then iv printed out 2 sheets and attached it to the AQ, the first sheet is: RICHARD **** v. HSBC Claim No: 7QZ1**** N149 Allocation Questionnaire Section G- other information The Claimant respectfully suggests that special directions may be made as per the attached draft order. If ordered, the Claimant believes the proposed directions will further the Overriding Objectives in that they identify the most fundamental issues in dispute (as detailed below), and allow them to be assessed in advance of the hearing so that this claim may proceed justly and expeditiously. - The crux upon which this claim rests is the actual loss suffered by the Defendant as a result of the contractual breach from which its charges arise. If the Defendant cannot substantiate the cost of each charge as proportionate to its loss incurred, it has charged contractual penalties contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and common law principles established since the early 1900's. - In the event that the Defendant's charges were accepted as being a fee for a contractual service (which is refuted), examination of its true costs is required to determine whether the price is reasonable as required by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. The Claimant believes that if the Defendant has the serious intention of defending this claim at trial as is indicated by its defence, that it is imcumbent on it to disclose such information. Further, the proposed directions are already routinely ordered in claims of this nature in the Mercantile Court in London, as well as in small claims track cases in Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield, Northampton and Mansfield County Courts. As the law relating to contractual penalties is long established, the Claimant believes the outstanding issues to be of fact. Accordingly, the Claimant respectfully requests that this claim be allocated to the small claims track, and estimates that the hearing of the claim should last no longer than one hour. Then the second sheet is as follows: Claim number 7QZ1**** Between RICHARD ***** - Claimant and HSBC- Defendant Draft Order for Directions The Claimant shall within 14 days of service of this order send to the Defendant and to the Court: a) A schedule setting out each charge repayment of which is sought, showing the date, amount, and reason given (if any) for that charge being made; b) Copies of any statement or other document relied upon as showing that each and every charge has been made; c) A statement of evidence of all matters relied upon as tending to show that the charges are irrecoverable as penalties or otherwise; d) Copies of decided cases and other legal materials to be relied upon. If the Claimant fails to comply with this order, the claim will be struck out without further order. 2. The Defendant shall within 14 days thereafter file and serve a response to the Claimant's schedule, stating in respect of each item claimed; a) Pursuant to what contractual provision such charge was made, producing a copy of the contractual document relied upon; b) Whether such charge is accepted to be a penalty, and if not why not; c) If such charge is alleged to be a pre-estimate of the Defendant's loss incurred by the Claimant's actions (whether or not such action is treated as a breach of contract between the parties), all facts and matters intended to be relied upon as showing that such was a proper estimate of such loss, and all evidence to be adduced at trial as to what the true cost of dealing with the matter was; d) If such charge is not alleged to be a pre-estimate of the Defendant's loss incurred by the Claimant's actions then facts and matters intended to be relied upon showing the basis upon which the charge was calculated and all evidence to be adduced at trial as to show that the charge was fair and reasonable. e) Any witness statements. f) Copies of decided cases and other legal materials to be relied upon. If the Defendant fails to comply with this order, the Defence will be struck out without further order. How does this look? Am i right in thinking that i now have to send a photocopy of the AQ and a photocopy of the 2 sheets and a photocopy of my schedule to not only the court but also to Hsbc(or should i say DG solicitors!)? (oh and the schedule is, unfortunately, a print off of the calculations using the calculator on Martin Lewis's website that i originally used and now i have written in the reasons for each and every charge!!) Please help me if you can to verify that iv done/doing this correctly, im not the brightest spark in the world, hence this long-drawn-out question, many thanks in advance- Craig:confused:

***BUMP*** i was kind of after an answer as to whether his telephone request for the SAR counts as a 'proper' SAR? ie- as opposed to the standard letter that we all sent? My brother did it by phone and got his statements no problem!!

Hahaha, hi lateralus,yep im too busy! Thanks for the link, i was kind of after an answer as to whether his telephone request for the SAR counts as a 'proper' SAR? ie- as opposed to the standard letter that we all sent? My brother did it by phone and got his statements no problem!!

Hi, can anyone please help me? 50 days ago my friend rang Hsbc to make his subject data request, they said that they would send his data within 40 days. Every now and then my friend would ring them (08457 404040) just to check and everytime he did they toild him that his request was being processed. Now, 10 days ago(and every night since) he has rang them about the statements not arriving, they tell him that his request is logged and the statements have been sent. What i want to know is does he have to start again and do the SAR by post (recorded delivery) or does he 'have a leg to stand on' being as they admit that they have his request on their records? Please help us if you can, all the best-Craig:(

BRILLIANT!!! Thankyou mate!!

Thankyou, i actually meant this bit: Section G/H - other information The Claimant respectfully suggests that special directions may be made as per the attached draft order. If ordered, the Claimant believes the proposed directions will further the Overriding Objectives in that they identify the most fundamental issues in dispute (as detailed below), and allow them to be assessed in advance of the hearing so that this claim may proceed justly and expeditiously. - The crux upon which this claim rests is the actual loss suffered by the Defendant as a result of the contractual breach from which its charges arise. If the Defendant cannot substantiate the cost of each charge as proportionate to its loss incurred, it has charged contractual penalties contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and common law principles established since the early 1900's. - In the event that the Defendant's charges were accepted as being a fee for a contractual service (which is refuted), examination of its true costs is required to determine whether the price is reasonable as required by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. The Claimant believes that if the Defendant has the serious intention of defending this claim at trial as is indicated by its defence, that it is imcumbent on it to disclose such information. Further, the proposed directions are already routinely ordered in claims of this nature in the Mercantile Court in London, as well as in small claims track cases in Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield, Northampton and Mansfield County Courts. As the law relating to contractual penalties is long established, the Claimant believes the outstanding issues to be of fact. Accordingly, the Claimant respectfully requests that this claim be allocated to the small claims track, and estimates that the hearing of the claim should last no longer than one hour. Do i have to write that out in section G or can i simply print it and attach it?