Help Needed Please! Court Date Tbc Tonight

[whufc77]

Think i may of messed up slightly just wondering if somebody could shed some light please:

 

i have just read jonni2bad notes on 5. Money Claim On-Line (MCOL) Particulars of Claim etc. I submitted a moneyclaim 0n the 31/8/06, so i didnt get to read the notes! the following context is what i put down as my particulars of claim:

 

 

You have a contract with the defendant bank

 

dated 9/6/1992 and which is conducted on

their standard terms and conditions. I am

claiming the return of money taken by the

defendant in the way of charges over the

last 4 years plus the interest they have

levied on those charges. The bank's charges

are a disproportionate penalty and therefore

unenforceable as they are contrary to common

law. Further, as a disproportionate penalty

they are invalid under the Unfair

(Contracts) Terms Act 1977 s.4 and under the

Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts

Regulations 1999. Para.8 and sch.2(1)(e). In

the event that the charges are not a penalty

then they are unreasonable within the

meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services

Act 1982 s.15.

 

You have repeatedly asked the bank to

justify their charges but they have declined

to do so.

 

Please note that i did use these actual words hence starting with You have a contract, and further on you have repeatedly etc

Only after reading it through for the tenth time i realised my mistake! I also note that a few of jonni2bad's requirements are definently not on there, ie disclosure of schedule of charges etc...

I am due to have a defence issued by midnight tonight, obviously they have acknowleged the claim so im just getting a little nervous and am a little bit unsure of what to do know, i thank you all for your time and help on this matter..

Whufc77:confused:

[ukaviator]

Hi..

 

They have acknowledge the claim,so someone their end may have missed it.

Keep going with the claim,if you are that worried about it,you may be able to amend the wording by calling the Moneyclaim helpline. It may cost you £35 though, and you can't claim that back.

 

Good luck

 

Ukaviator

[whufc77]

Recieved my aq papers along with the submitted defence, which reads to the word like this:

 

 

This defence is the actual wording on the Notice of transfer of proceedings

• The defendant Lloyds TSB bank plc (the Bank) is a bank whose registered office is 25 Gresham street London ec2v 7hn. It is admitted that the claimant has been a customer of the bank at all material times.
  
• This defence is served without prejudice to the defendant?s contention that the statement of the claim is insufficiently particularised and is embarrassing. The defendant reserves the right to plead further to the statement of claim once they are sufficiently particularised.
  
• The defendant will object that the particulars of claim in this action disclose no reasonable cause of action against the defendant and makes no allegations against the defendant as to why the defendant should be liable to the claimant for the amount claimed.
  
• The particulars of the claim do not comply with the civil procedure rules as (amongst other things) they do not show how the sum of £xxxx.xx is arrived at and the particulars of the claim are too vague. The statement of claim shows no reasonable grounds for bringing the claim.
  
• The claimant should, therefore, be ordered to file and serve an amended claim to set out the basis in law and fact for his claim as there is no pleaded basis for the claim itself. The claimant should give full particulars of the charge he is seeking to recover, identifying each charge, the date and amount of the charge and why the claimant in each case he alleges it is a disproportionate penalty and thus unlawful.
  
• The defendant should then be given the opportunity to defend the proceedings further.
  
• For the avoidance of doubt, by opening an account with the bank, the customer enters into a commercial arrangement with the bank for the provision of banking services. The bank is entitled, as part of that arrangement, to charge for those services. At account opening a customer is provided with details of the bank?s charges , currently in a leaflet a guide to our banking charges. By using the account, the customer acknowledges that the charges are incorporated into the contract. For personal customers, a number of services are provided for free, notwithstanding that they are an expense to the bank. Such services presently include, but are not limited to, providing: CHEQUES, BANK STATEMENTS, THE FACILLITY TO MAKE PAYMENTSBY DIRECT DEBIT AND STANDING ORDER, DEBIT CARDS, ATMS (CASH MACHINES).
  
• By maintaining the account in credit, or within any limit agreed with the bank, the customer may avoid most if not all charges. If the customer fails to ensure that there are sufficient funds in the account to cover payments, whether by cheque, debit card, standing order or direct debit, the customer makes a request for a payment to be made from the bank?s own funds. If the bank makes payment, or returns the payment, it provides a service as specified in the leaflet and makes a charge in accordance with the terms of the contract. On page 1 of the leaflet, the bank explains that ?there are normally no charges for everyday banking at Lloyds TSB when your account is in credit. When you use an agreed overdraft, there is no monthly fee and we can only charge interest on the amount you are overdrawn each day. Where you go overdrawn without an agreement or where you use special services, such as copy statements, we will make a charge. This guide explains how these charges work, and when they will apply.

If you want to use a service that we haven?t listed, we?ll tell you the cost of that’ service before you give us the go-ahead?.

• There is no breach of contract; the charge cannot therefore be a penalty, consequently there is no requirement that the charge be a pre-estimate of the bank?s loss
  
• The customer is given advance warning of charges being imposed: statements show the charges, if any, the customer has incurred during the course of a month, and which appear as debits on the following month?s statement. Customers are warned by letter when they go overdrawn or over their agreed limit without arrangement with the bank. If the customer fails to remedy the position, and payments such as standing orders and direct debits are refused then again the customer is warned by letter.
  
• The charges are fair and reasonable, and it is denied that they are unlawful.
  
• The customer is notified of the charges in plain intelligible language at the conclusion of the contract, and on each monthly statement. The charge are terms which relate to the price payable by the customer for a service provided by the bank, pursuant to regulation 6 of the Unfair Terms in customer Contracts regulations 1999, are not the subject to the assessment of fairness.
  
• In the premises:

13.1 The charges are for banking services , and are not damages nor a penalty;

13.2 The bank is entitled by contract to impose the charges, which are fair and reasonable;

13.3 It is denied that the charges are unlawful or contravene any statute or regulation.

14. The claimant?s claim is denied in its entirety. It is further denied that the claimant is entitled to the sum claimed or to any sum from the bank.

 

 

I think i may have Messed up with my original MCOL claim i really do need a bit of help or assurance on this one!

 

Thank you

whufc77

[adamski]

I got the same defence, don't worry about it i did the same as you, its just a standard defence to all the claims against them this is the defence they use when people submit their claim using MCOL, it is different when using the court from.

Be reassured it is just like all the letters you receive a template response.

Regards

adamski

[whufc77]

Thanks for your reasurring words adamski

 

Are you saying that you used the same words as me 'YOU' not 'i' !

Also are you sure that i should not bother amending the errors on the text, ie using the word 'you' twice instead of 'I'?

 

Also should i of declared a full breakdown of charges on moneyclaim or are scm being anal about it?

 

look forward to your reply

 

Thank You

whufc77

[mooreda]

lloyds are getting boring now...... oh n by the way - scm are not settling claims until a Court hearing has been set - it appears the bank are settling cases in order of Court date

[adamski]

No i used the words defendent and claimant, i would not bother to ammend the text at this stage it does not matter, and it will cost you £30 odd quid to amend and the claim will have to be resubmitted.

Just send a schedule of charges to the court and Lloyds solicitors

Good Luck

adamski

[lancsman]

Agree with moorda Lloyds arent settling untill you are on the "courts doorstep"they may well foul up someday just hope whoever they foul up on gives em just cause to regret it!

When you write to the Ice creamsellers be sure to check that they have not only recieved the letter but it is actually in your file they do lose stuffwhilst selling ice cream!!

[whufc77]

thanks you guys for the help!

 

so i take it is ok for me to fill out and returm the aq form and attatch a schedule of charges with it, then post it back to the court and a copy to the scm sols!!

 

once again thanks alot

5% defenently on its way when i win!

 

Whufc77

[lancsman]

As far as i,m aware thats the way to do it,especially the copy to the ice cream sellers,do be sure they recieve and file it with your "stuff" I.E ring to confirm they have it (when i last rang they hadn,t got it,even though they signed for it AND Royal Mail said they,d got it!!)they are "awfully busy"selling ice cream!so things DO get mislaid....

[whufc77]

Does anybody know if i can add further charges at this stage, to my claim, charges are between 2002-2000, and current charges from april to today. or will i need to start another claim for settlement of this?

 

thank you

 

whufc77

[reload]

You can alter your claim at this late stage whufc, but it'll delay things by quite a while. Your best bet is to start another claim for it, IMHO.

[lancsman]

Once it got past the moneyclaim stage and a solicitor was appointed by Lloyds,they wrote to me asking for details of "each and every alleged charge,each and every date,how i came to such a total,how i calculated interest"

I told them practically from the start when they levied another charge on us that i would be claiming that..

When the judge ordered a stay "to enable the parties to reach an ammicable settlement".i got the 2cd letter from the ice cream sellers i re-iterated the following,

 

I sent them further details(dates and ammounts) of other charges that i was eventually going to claim; "Starement number**/**th june2006.£**.**not included in Original List i would be submitting these under the same legislation and to save any further cost or embarassment.please forward these details to your client for their consideration also".

I kept this information in any further communication with them and got this as part of the settlement." if you use this i hope it works for you.Ifit got to court i have no idea how you would stand putting this "further claim in"without going through the moneyclaim again but would have thought thejudge would consider it so as to not waste any more "court time and money".

best of luck.grind em down to their toenails....

[whufc77]

anybody have any idea as to when i should recieve a reply from my AQ handed in oct 20th.. phoned the court a couple of time and they are saying that its still with the judge ..

 

thank you

whufc77:confused:

[whufc77]

Called Stratford county court today to be told that my case has been transferred to the central London county court! Any body know why? How? And when im getting quite concerned with this news!

Whufc77

[whufc77]

well i received a reply from my local court today.. this is what it reads..

 

general form of judgment or order

Before district judge smith sitting at bow county court 96 romford rd stratford e15 4eg

Upon reading the court file

it is ordered that

Thecase be transferred to the mercantile court.

Dated 14 november 2006..

Is this good news or bad news? i still have no hearing date yet! can any body shed some light on this please..

 

kind regards

 

whufc77

[Michael Browne]

See Here:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/mercantile-court-cases-stays/