Kashie V Citi Cards - Contractual Interest?

[gizmo111]

You can try sending that letter but it is doubtful if a judge will order any directions until the hearing. But nothing lost if you send it now.

[kashie]

Thanks gizmo, but is this all i need to be sending in or is there something else that I need?

[megan34]

Something puzzles me - I read that the OFT said they would investigate any charge over £12 - well £12.88p is over £12 ??

[gizmo111]

Something puzzles me - I read that the OFT said they would investigate any charge over £12 - well £12.88p is over £12 ??

 

The yaren't charging £12.88 just alledging that is their cost.

[megan34]

ah I see;)

[kashie]

Just an update of things

My claim is still ongoing and relevant paperwork submitted for the 14th August directions hearing.

 

My husband had a cheque for full settlement amount on monday which was a nice suprise, I am keeping my fingers crossed they do the same for me. My husbands claim was only for 390 and mine is for over 600, so maybe I won't be so lucky.

[kashie]

Please help I'm really confused now.

 

My claim with Citi was due for a directions hearing on 14th August next week. I sent off the relevent paper work weeks ago along with the same paperwork for my husband who also had a claim to be heard the same day. (Also with Citi).

 

My husband recieved a full settlement in the post a couple of weeks ago.

 

I recieved this letter this morning.

 

Quote:

 

I act on behalf of CitiFinancial Europe plc and enclose a letter to the Court for your attention.

 

Yours sincerely

 

MR Brian Smith.

Solicitor.

 

Directions Hearing 14th August

 

I act on behalf of Citifinancial Europe plc and write furthe to the Order of DJ Hendicott.

 

I must repectfully decline to attend the Court on the 14th as this matter is a small claim amounting to no more then £637 (which the Defendant avers has not been paid) and to attend the Court for an allocation hearing and a final hearing would render the matter entirely uneconomic to defend.

 

Wtih this in mind, I would resectfully submit the following suggested dirctions to the Court to assist it in the conduct of this case:

 

1. Each party shall deliver to the other and the court copies of all documanets on which they intend to rely not later than 14 days before the hearing.

2. Signed statements of witnesses shall be prepared and copies included tn the documents mentioned in paragraph 1. This includes the evidence of the parties themselves and of any other witnesses whether or not the witnesses are going to come to court to give evidence.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Brian Smith

Solicitor.

 

Can someone tell me what I have to so here??

 

I also received along with this letter this morning a letter from the court stating that this claim has been stayed pending investigation from the test case with the OFT.

 

This reads:

 

Before HIS Honor Judge G Hickinbottom sitting at the Cardiff County Court, Cardiff Civil Justice Centre

 

Upon neither party attending

 

Upon reading the file

 

And upon it appearing that the issues in this case are to be considered in litigation currently before the Commercail Court (2007 Folio 1196)

 

It is ordered that

 

1. The claim be stayed with immeadiate effect pending the ulitmate determination of the Commercial Court litigation.
   
2. Permission to apply to lift the stay. Any application shall (i) be made on the notice to all other parties, (ii) include reasons why this claim should proceed before the ulitmate determination of the commercial court litigation and (iii) shall be reserved to the Designated Civil Judge (unless specifically released by him).
   
3. Unless the court has directions in the meantime, defendant shall, upon noitce to the claimant, apply for dierctions within three months of the ulitmate determination of the commercial court litigation.
   
4. The hearing listed for the 14th August 2007 had been vacated.

Dated 06 August 2007.

 

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that the Oft was only taking the banks as part of the test case proceedure?? and that this did not include credit card companies.

 

If this is the case are they within their right to put a stay on this case????

 

I am really confused and can only assume that because a huge amount of cases (Barclays) that were due for directions in Cardiff that day have been stayed that mine has been done also - possibly by mistake????

 

Any advice please?????

[kashie]

Can anyone help me with the above PLEASE????

[Enron]

It's letter writing time, will PM you in a mo.

[kashie]

Thank you loads wont screw up this time.

[Enron]

You'll like this one.. should hopefully get what you want done.

[kashie]

Hi Enron - I'm going to PM you my response from Citi after sending them copies of what I sent to court to have the stay lifted.

[gizmo111]

Hi Enron - I'm going to PM you my response from Citi after sending them copies of what I sent to court to have the stay lifted.

 

CAn you not post it here - there is no need to hide it as Citi know what it says as the ywrote it.

[kashie]

Lol thanks for response, I'm just really paranoid after the last boo boo I made. How do i forward a scanned image??

[Enron]

Mr Smith has his own special writing style, though it may be very frustrating to receive letters of this kind don't let it put you off your main focus....

 

Which will be trying to get the draft order adopted as Citi's defence exhibits and skeleton arguement are very sparse on any background figures, and putting the spotlight on any inconsistencies and holes in their defence and there are many.

[kashie]

hello gizmo,

manged to find another way to do this...... here's the famous letter.......

 

 

I act on behalf of Citifinancial Europe plc and enclose a letter to the court for your attention.

 

Might I suggest that you acquaint yourself with the facts before making such allegations against my client. It has NEVER requested a stay but has, on occasion, agreed to a request from a third party. It does defend itself but it does not do so to waste the court time but becasue it believes it has a right to do so.

 

Might I suggest also that you cease to hold other parties actions against my client and attempt to rely on thier actions in pursuit of your own claim. The circumstances are entirely different and the banks don't act in concert so these facts have no evidential merits. It is neither responible for them nor their customers. Your account was with my client. Your claim is against my client. you appear to simply be annoyed that client has the temerity to defend itself.

 

As for negotiation, I presume that your view of such would be that my client give you what you ask for. However the basis of the defence is that yo actually owed my client money when your accoutn charged off. If you had paid off the £1063.39 still outstanding then your claim for the money would have more crediblity.

 

Finally, I enclose a copy of a recent judgement involving my client so that you can be sure it does take cases to a hearing rather than merely to the door of the court.

 

Notwithstanding the above, I have authorized a write off the sum of £273 representing the difference between the amount of the default fees levied and what would have been levied using the OFT figure.

 

yours sincerely

 

 

MrBrian Smith

 

Solicitor.

[kashie]

What did you think?

[elsinore]

Mr Smith has his own special writing style

 

 

.......and that letter is a classic example, kashie.

 

Any further comment should be reserved for private discussion.

 

Els

[kashie]

Application for stay to be removed has been refused by the court.

[gizmo111]

Application for stay to be removed has been refused by the court.

 

Did you attend hearing?

 

Can you scan and e-mail me the order to gizmo111@consumeractiongroup.co.uk please.

 

Thankyou.

[kashie]

no there was no hearing.

[nbart]

I attended court today for a hearing that had been set aside from July. Citis' representative from a local firm of solicitors turned up late and was only given the court bundle citi was to rely on, as I was, this morning, one hour before the case was due.

 

The court bundle was prepared by Eversheds LLP, 1 Callaghan Square, Cardiff a firm of solicitors, head office London.

 

Having only had a few minutes to look through the bundle I recognise several pages that appear to have been used by Citi's internal solicitors and as such contained several inaccuracies. Are they employing different tactics? The bundle contains a skeleton argument of 14 pages, witness statement from John Allan Jones, oft report, case law Phillips v attorney general of Hong Kong, Potter v Citi, Dunlop v Newgarage

 

Pre the hearing I talked to the solicitor who told me he had not received my court bundle as apparently Citi hadn't received it. I produced a Royal Mail tracking receipt to show him that my bundle had been received and signed for at the Salford office. To cut down on paperwork for my bundle I submitted case laws, Government early day motion, oft full report, Dunlop v Newgarage, Murray v Leisureplay, UTCCR 1999, UCTA 1977, SOGA 1982, and Matnamara statement on cd with relevant passages in my evidence relating to the disc for the full reports. I did this as both times I have been to court the judges have had laptops. This obviosly would be up to the judge to accept but it does save enormous amounts of printing.

 

Immediately we saw the Judge, a deputy district judge, she informed us that she was under the impression that all such cases, regardless of them being for credit card claims, were to be stayed, but she wanted to confirm this from the district judge. She ajourned for 20 minuits to confirm. Meanwhile Citis' solicitor contacted Eversheds to confirm whether they wished to proceed today, as I had stated that I wished to proceed, they also said they wanted to procced today.

 

On returning to the judge she told us that although both parties wished to proceed she was staying the case. She quoted an order from Civil Judge Hume QC case 7QT4849 at Winchester c/c who gave his reason as to avoid large cost orders against the claimants if they lost. This wouldn't happen in this case as it was through small claims track. All the cases within the Carlisle district are all being stayed.

 

I hope this information will be helpful to other claimants.

[kashie]

thanks for your post nbart. i sent in the relavent paperwork explaining that credit cards are not part of the OFT test case etc to help list the stay on my credit card claim. they have refused this so obviously they are not interested in proceeding with any charges claims at the moment.

 

Where do we all go from here????

[kashie]

Still no response to the above any advice anyone????

[nbart]

Unfortunately we have to await the outcome of the oft case which could be weeks or months. I was told by the judge that as soon as there is an outcome I just contact the court for the case to be relisted, no court fees to pay.

Whatever the outcome Citi will loose out. If the fees deemed fair by the oft case are lower than the £12 suggested limit they will either pay the difference between that figure and the £30 fee they charge at present plus all court costs and interest, as they would bee deemed the loosing party, or disregard the figures from the oft case and continue to fight and loose cases in court, which judging by current solicitors' fees will cost them more in fees than is actually being claimed from them claimed.

In my case Citi never even offered the difference between the £12 oft figure and their £30 charges. The original claim was for £950. So far They have had to employ solicitors to attend court twice, a third time when the case is re listed, and will have to pay interest on the outstanding claim until the case is resumed. If they loose the case then it will have cost them many more times the cost of the original claim.