eyeballgod v MBNA (Optima)

[dx100uk]

sri you pointed to 1244 being the bal am i being blind .....

 

try:

http://www.egalegal.com/compoundWindow.html

 

 

dx

 

thanks slick

 

 

 

my post took 1hrs to appear..strange

dx

[eyeballgod]

Thanks Slick,

 

I did actually find the spreadsheet through the wiki in your signature on another thread. Using it, I can claim back £485.93. I have not entered a counter-claim so this would need to be done seperately.

As it stands at the moment, I have entered a holding defence, but have now received the documents listed in my previous post. I am currently waiting to hear back from MBNA about an offer I have made. I have made offers previously but MBNA have completely ignored them and chosen to go down the CCJ route.

I've got about a week before they have to respond to my defence so I will need to amend it in light of receiving the previously posted agreement.

[slick132]

Print off the spreadsheet showing charges and interest. You can use this in any negotiations about how much you actually owe.

 

If you have the chance to put in a more full defence based on info received from MBNA since they started proceedings, you can say you intend to reclaim penalty charges plus compound interest in restitution, based on the case of Sempra Metals v Inland Revenue Commissioners.

 

You will need to back this up with evidence which you'll submit in your court bundle if necessary.

 

But it would be simpler if you can negotiate on this before the case proceeds, as part of your offer to pay what you can afford monthly.

 

Shutting off now but will catch up tomoz if necessary.

 

8-)

[eyeballgod]

Well the 28 days have passed since I submitted my defence and nothing seems to have happened.

I also haven't heard from MBNA since I sent them an offer a couple of weeks ago.

Would it update online if anything was happening that I should know about?

[slick132]

Does the online system show your defence as received.

 

If so, the case should be transferred to your local county court for the process to continue.

 

If in doubt about this, contact the Northants court centre to see if they can confirm the current status of the claim.

 

8-)

[eyeballgod]

Yes - it was received on the 11th Jan.

How do I get updated about the case? I haven't had any updates at all - only a letter written by MBNA that referred to having had my defence.

Doesn't the claim get stayed if MBNA don't respond to my defence?

Forgive my questions - I'm not entirely clear on the order of things!

[slick132]

Hi EBG,

 

The sequence is :-

 

Claim filed at Northants Bulk Claim Centre

You acknowledge

You enter defence

Case transferred from Bulk Centre to your local court

AQ's sent to both parties by court

You file your AQ

Case reviewed by court and further Directions issued - normally this will state deadlines for filing of evidence by each party

 

That's a rough guide and individual cases may vary.

 

8-)

[eyeballgod]

Thanks for that Slick.

At the moment I have a short holding defence that I haven't updated since receiving documents from MBNA.

I haven't updated the defence as yet because I'm still trying to negotiate with MBNA and if I read correctly, it will cost £35 to amend my defence. There's no point in spending £35 if the case isn't going to go to court.

It's so frustrating as all I ever wanted to do is set up a payment plan with MBNA but they've simply ignored me every step. It's starting to look like they've gone back to ignoring me again now. I'm just worried that they'll try and gain a summary judgment due to my holding defence.

[slick132]

Noted.

 

Always take care though - even though you are trying to negotiate, they are trying to litigate.

 

So you must deal with each stage of the process properly.They'll take advantage if you miss any deadline.

 

8-)

[eyeballgod]

Interestingly I've just phoned the court and Optima have not responded to my defence. I also have not heard back from MBNA since I sent them a letter on 1st Feb.

Have they all gone on holiday?

Is there anything I can do?

[slick132]

Have you chased MBNA at all for a reply to your attempt at negotiation re charges and interest.

 

Or did you choose to enter an amended defence instead.

 

8-)

[eyeballgod]

Have you chased MBNA at all for a reply to your attempt at negotiation re charges and interest.

 

Or did you choose to enter an amended defence instead.

 

8-)

 

Hi Slick,

 

I haven't done either as yet. I'm getting a bit hacked off with not hearing anything from MBNA whenever I make them an offer to be honest. Is there any way I can get the claim struck out? It seems to me they are not following procedure and are wasting courts time.

[slick132]

Hi EBG,

 

This is what I warned about in post #34 above.

 

If you want to negotiate, you have to make this happen, even if you have to do all the chasing. You can then at least show you've made every effort to resolve matters outside of the court process.

 

I think they ARE following procedure and they don't have to respond to your holding defence. The next stage, as per my guide above, is for the case to be transferred to your local court. I don't see that you have grounds to seek a Strike Out at this stage.

 

I hope when the case is reviewed at your local court that you'll be given the opportunity to enter a full defence.

 

In the meantime, chase MBNA for a response to your attempted negotiation.

 

8)

[eyeballgod]

Well isn't that interesting - the same day I post on here that I haven't heard anything, Optima write me a letter saying they will be applying for a summary judgement if they don't hear from me by the 8th March.

I have been sending letters to MBNA directly and haven't sent anything at all to Optima. I shall reply to them explaining this, but it doesn't half look like they are watching this thread!

[slick132]

Hi EBG,

 

Our site is open to the public and you should assume that anything you post may be seen by the "other side".

 

It may be an idea to copy to Optima anything relevant that you've sent to MBNA.

 

At this stage, you need to do whatever you must, to avoid giving Optima the chance to get a judgement. Have Optima said what they are expecting from you by 8th March.

 

8-)

[eyeballgod]

Hi Slick,

 

Optima are just asking for a response to their letter with my settlement proposal. The rest of the letter is bluster suggesting I would be liable for £1500 costs if I defended against their claim.

 

What they don't know is that I'm not exactly a stranger to court. I have successfully defended myself in a criminal court. I know how much **** lawyers are full of and how far it gets them. I know they lie and I know what a judge will let them get away with.

At the end of the day, I'm an honest person not wanting to get totally ripped off by a loan shark trading as a legitimate company. A judge is a person and as such, they have empathy with other people. If they are given a choice between empathising with a person or a company, they will naturally choose the person.

 

Effectively, I borrowed £1200 and they want me to pay them back the best part of £4000. I will gladly sit down with a judge and talk this through - it's outrageous.

I have half a mind to reproduce the "agreement" they sent through, swap my name for their's and take them to court. All they did was print something out with a tick box - my 7 year old can manage that.

 

I have written more letters to Optima and MBNA re-iterating my offer to settle the debt, so I will see what they say - if anything.

 

Apologies - you may have gathered I'm getting somewhat irritated!

[eyeballgod]

Well now I can see why MBNA have been bollocked by the OFT.

I received this letter today: mbna optima 161110.pdf

 

So basically, they can deny I sent them letters, refuse to speak to me and plow on with taking me to court.

 

They have said I can complain to the financial Ombudsman, but I see in their booklet that they do not normally deal with cases where court action is due. I'm guessing this means I would be wasting my time contacting them and MBNA know they won't deal with it.

These people are shocking!

 

I so wish I had this letter before I sent off my responses earlier. Now I'm going to have to waste yet more time and money sending yet another letter to someone else saying the same things over again.

 

What is my best way forward from here? I want to complain to the OFT - these people are not doing what they are supposed to.

[slick132]

So, the bottom line here is that you have to deal with Optima.

 

Do you have proof of Posting or of Receipt of the letters to Optima. Get this from now on, either getting a free Certificate of Posting or by using Recorded Delivery.

 

Have you sent the letters, about trying to settle, to Optima. If not, do so now.

 

You cannot complain to the OFT in any event. Complaints would normally go to the FOS but, with ongoing litigation, you may have to use the court as the final arbiter.

 

8)

[eyeballgod]

I haven't been dealing with Optima at all to this point. I sent them a letter yesterday saying I'd been negotiating with MBNA. I'll now follow that up with another letter with details of my pointless negotiations.

If I can't complain to the OFT - who can I complain to? I take reassurance that a judge isn't going to look favourably on their behaviour, but they can't keep getting away with treating people this way. The OFT are the ones that told them to improve their practices and they clearly are ignoring them. I suppose there's always the possibility that the OFT will withdraw their license, but if no-one tells them how they are treating people, how would they know?

[slick132]

You can complain to the FOS usually but, as there's ongoing litigation, the FOS will say the court must decide on the case.

 

If you want to complain, you can do so to the FOS, to Consumer Direct or Trading Standards. But I don't think doing this will help your case just now.

 

8-)

[eyeballgod]

Well this has been going back and forth for a little while now, and what I'm finding a bit odd is that nothing has happened with the court.

Shouldn't I have had an AQ by now? I was told that Optima hadn't responded to my defence and I'm guessing they still haven't.

At the moment they are threatening to have my defence struck out and a summary judgement whilst at the same time trying to negotiate a settlement.

They are basically doing what MBNA should have done in the first place in trying to negotiate repayments. Of course, they are asking for far more than I could possibly afford or for a charging order organised at my cost.

I'm not going to agree anything that I can't afford, so I suspect this may well eventually end up in court.

As is stands at the moment, Optima are threatening to apply for a summary judgement if I don't amend my holding defence by Friday.

Am I right in thinking that the case has to be referred to the local court before this can happen?

It's starting to feel like they are trying to pile on the pressure in order to get me to agree to something I can't afford.

[slick132]

Hi EBG,

 

Have you written to Optima attempting to negotiate re the penalty charges and interest.

 

Have you contacted the Northants Bulk Claims Centre asking if you case has been transferred to your local court yet.

 

As I said before, Optima have no need to respond to your defence in the court process.

 

Optima can apply to the court for Summary Judgement if they wish although the court should review the case and give you the opportunity to file an amended defence.

 

Have you prepared an amended defence in light of any documents supplied to you in response to your CPR31.14 request or a CPR 18 request.

[eyeballgod]

Hi Slick,

 

I have been negotiating. It seems to have involved me offering an amount and them demanding the full amount. This has gone back and forth several times now and I have now stated that I cannot offer any more. Just to give rough figures - they are asking for nearly £4000, they are out of pocket by £1500, the rest is made up of interest and charges (£600 unfair) - I have offered £2000 as the most I can offer.

 

The last time I rang the court was at the beginning of March and all they told me was Optima hasn't responded - no mention of a transfer. Would they write to me to tell me it had been transferred?

 

I do find it odd that nothing has happened with the case in the five months since it was initiated. Is this normal? From what I've been reading on other threads the case is normally transferred fairly quickly.

 

I don't have a finalised defence written down as I'm not sure what my best approach is. The documents I got from the CPR 3.14 request haven't really produced any flaws in their case other than the unfair charges. I have submitted a SAR to MBNA to get more information from their records as they seem to be denying I sent them letters and they kept calling my workplace until they were threatened with OFCOM. At the moment I think my defence will revolve around MBNA's pre-court behaviour and the fact the agreement they sent is not something I recognise as having agreed to.

[slick132]

Then you should contact the Northants BCC and ask for an update on your case.

 

Have Optima agreed to reduce the a/c balance to reflect the penalty charges that you seek to reclaim, in accordance with your spreadsheet.

 

Have you posted a copy of any credit agreement they've supplied to you. If so, please confirm the post # where it is.

 

8-)

[eyeballgod]

Will give them a call tomorrow.

 

I only specified the amount of charges last week and am waiting to hear back. These people are not very good at compromise when it come to negotiating!

I was going to use the charges as part of my defence - I suppose if Optima reduce the amount accordingly I won't be able to.

 

The credit agreement is Post 13 in this thread.