Holteender vs Barclays Bank - My patience ran out ** WON **

[Holteender]

Statements finally arrived further to my SAR.

 

Also, the notes regarding my complaint were received. Interesting reading, without a doubt

 

So, preliminary letter is being sent today requesting £2565 in charges to be refunded.

 

I dealt with a Senior Customer Relations Manager at Barclays re my dyscalculia complaint. I'm going to address my letter to him and word it as a follow up to that complaint. Is that a good or bad thing, do you think?

[Holteender]

Well, the 14 days passed and I heard nothing from Barclays.

 

So LBA went in the post on Tuesday.

[Holteender]

Ok, the 14 day deadline from the LBA expires tomorrow and I've heard NOTHING.

 

Zip. Nada. Sweet F A.

 

Haven't even acknowledged receipt of either letter. I know all letters were delivered and signed for, I have the tracking numbers and confirmed delivery dates.

 

Should I be worrying? Should I proceed directly to Moneyclaim stage on Wednesday or should I call Barclays? I'd hate to file a claim in court if they've written to me but the letter got lost in the post or something....

 

All help would be gratefully received...

[BankFodder]

What you are experiencing from Barclays is normal for them and for anyother bank.

 

If you sent an LBA giving 14 days then at the expriy of the 14 days you go ahead and take precisely the action which you promised you would take.

 

There is no other point in sending an LBA.

Have you snet them the schedule of charges? If not then you should have. Send them one now, issue the claim and send them another as soon as the claim is issued.

[Holteender]

Thats cool, cheers BF..

 

The fact that they hadn't even written to say that they were investigating my complaint and would reply 4 years after my 14 day deadline had me worried.

 

Moneyclaim here I come...

[kooglesarmy]

Ha, I spoke to them today re: transfering money from my savings account to my current account to pay the overdraft off without my knowledge.

I asked where in the T&C's it said they could do that - "Dunno" came the reply.

"What are the T&C's then ?"

Reply - "Dunno, you set the account up before I was born"

How can they get away with that ?????????

[Holteender]

OK Ladies and Gentlemen, its 5pm on day 28 after the Preliminary Letter was sent. The preliminary letter and LBA were sent special delivery and signed for by someone at Barclays.

 

But I've heard bugger all from them in reply.

 

So I've got my N1 forms, my schedule of charges (plus interest) and all my letters together. All printed out in triplicate.

 

I'll be filing with South Shields County Court tomorrow morning, and I'll PM the mods with the Case numbers etc.

 

I started this as a bit of fun, to be honest, but as I totted up the figures and typed up the letters it made me more and more determined. Now it seems more real than ever, if you know what I mean.

 

Nervous, but looking forward to what happens next.

[Spotted Dog]

Good luck - stick with it !!

 

Spotty

[Holteender]

Right, its in and filed..

 

Will take a couple of days to be processed because of a backlog in South Tyneside.

[Holteender]

Got a letter today from Barclays offering £1000 of the £2500 claim.

 

Cheeky feckers.

 

I shall enjoy writing rejecting this offer...

[crashbandicoot]

Reading with interest Holteender...hit 'em where it hurts

[Holteender]

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..

[victimnomore]

I wouldn't worry about it - they all sing from the same songsheet!

 

Just send a "Dear Sirs" letter to Head Office Customer Relations. That'll keep em happy, bless 'em.

[Holteender]

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

[Holteender]

Guys,

 

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

 

Cheers...

 

 

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

 

 

I am writing with reference to your recent letter, and your offer of £1000 in settlement of my claim for refund of unlawful charges totalling £2,565.

 

Your letter was sent after the deadline I had stated for resolution of this matter and, accordingly, I filed with South Shields County Court upon expiration of this deadline, claiming the above amount plus interest (Case No. XXXXX). The claim total is now £2,774.22. Please see schedule attached.

 

I refer you to complaint reference number XXXXX, a case where I was grossly insulted by a Barclays’ telephonist. In the aftermath of this event, I have been approached by journalists from The Times and the BBC’s “Watchdog” programme requesting an interview with myself and a tape of the call in question.

 

I have supplied these individuals with the materials they requested but have embargoed them from reporting this case until I instruct them otherwise. I have also instructed South Shields County Court that proceedings be stayed in order to seek an amicable settlement with Barclays Bank.

 

If Barclays agree to settle this case in the amount of £2,565 before Friday 20th October I will suspend my legal action against you and will instruct the journalists not to proceed with their stories.

 

I trust that Barclays Bank will see fit to settle this case without delay in order to prevent further embarrassment to yourselves. If I have not received a positive response by close of business on Friday 20th October, I will proceed as above without further notice or correspondence.

 

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

Holteender

 

 

 

[victimnomore]

A couple of legal questions you need to have answers to before you send your letter (you may need expert advice);

 

Did you have the other party's permission to record their conversation? (I think you're legally required to)

 

Would your letter (a request for money in return for not going to the press) constitute criminal blackmail?

[Holteender]

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

[victimnomore]

What I didn't say before was, apart from those two points, I think your letter is great.

[Holteender]

What I didn't say before was, apart from those two points, I think your letter is great.

 

Thanks

[Welshman]

The word Blackmail crossed my mind too when I read it.

 

Be very Careful.

[Holteender]

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?

[Welshman]

No, unfortunately, for some unknown reason (well to the layman anyway) their acknowledgement is fine.

 

I often wonder why, if legally they have 14 days, why acknowledgments and defences entered at day15 and beyond is acceptable.

[Holteender]

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

[Welshman]

You need to ring the Court and confirm the situation with them. My local Court process for late submissions are allegedly automated and is flagged if that occurs BUT, bear in mind that it may be in their mail in-box waiting to be sorted.

 

Good Luck

[Holteender]

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