Becci v HSBC ****WON****

[Castlebest]

That has to be your parents

 

pete

[becci]

Right, so I sent my 2nd nudge letter last Friday (the one from one of lattie's posts).

 

No word from DG.

 

Phoned the court 2 weeks ago - they said the papers had been referred to the district judge and I should hear his decision in 2 weeks or so.

 

Just phoned the court again to see whether it had gone before the district judge yet and a very-nice-but-clearly-stressed-out-lady said it would be a further 2 weeks due to the backlog of (surprise, surprise) bank charges claims. The dsitrict judge will then either make an order (I think that's what she said) or refer it to a hearing. THe bad news is that, if it goes to a hearing it will likely by NOVEMBER before it's heard! And there's me thinking I was on the home straight!

 

Is this normal?? I'm feeling distinctly demoralised!

 

becci

[becci]

Anyone?

[syds mum]

hi becci.. chin up love you will get there!!! i have been battling since march... all good fun... just had hearing date thu for me and hubby (barclays and hsbc) 2, on 21st august and 1, 21st sept and 1, 24th sept... so the back log is genuine!!! which court you at?

[becci]

Hi syds mum, I am at Stratford on Avon court. Its only a tiny court, and when I've phoned them they've told me there are only 3 of them in the office and they are having a nightmare! Seems even the courts are wishing the stupid banks would just cough up and let them get on with their jobs!

 

We must be on a similar timescale cos I started at the beginning of April (after a mate told me he wrote ONE letter to Halifax and got a cheque for £4k+ a week later - grrrrrr!) So it looks as though I will end up with a hearing too! Don't it just drive you mad?!

 

becci

[syds mum]

certainly does love!!! but a bit of good news from my court today is that for 3 of my 4 claims i have only got to send a schedule of charges!!! which means i havnt got to do 200 page plus court bundle!!! still had it all ready to print in up when required but good news today!!! they will be running scared if all judges only ask for SOC cos we have no work to do but banks will be pushed into settlement quicker as we all know they dont have a bundle (dont think any bank have submmitted bundles as yet!!!). i have 14 days to send in SOC and then DG (solicitors for hsbc) have 14 days from that being recieved to sort out their bundle!! oh what fun!!! will keep you poosted on progress (my thread is HSBC bank charges if you want a quick look at my story) :)

 

debbie

[becci]

Right, so now we're getting somewhere! Received Notice of Allocation to Small Claims Track from the court today, saying "the hearing of the claim will take place at 10.00 on 4th October at .... and the hearing should take no more than 15 minutes".

 

Then attached to it is an Order saying:

 

The papers in this claim were considerd by District Judge Jones on the 3 day of July 2007 who allocated the claim to the small claims track to be heard on the first available date after 8 weeks (on a date and time to be notified to you) with a time estimate of 15 minutes.

 

The following directions apply to this claim:

 

1) This case is one of a number listed at the same time. Both parties must be ready for trial at that time. Depending on the number of cases proceeding on that date, the judge will give directions as to the order in which tehy will be heard, which amy involve grouping cases raising similar issues and/or adjourning some cases to a later date.

 

2) The Claimant shall by 4pm on 17/8/07 send to the defendant and to the COurt:

a) a schedule setting out each charge the claimant seeks to recover, showing the date, amount and reason given (if any) for that charge being made;

b) a secure bundle of copy bank statements or other documetns relied upon as showing that each and every charge has been made, with each page of the bundle clearly marked;

c) a statement of evidence of all matters relied uipon as showing that the charges are irrecoverable as penalties or otherwise;

d) copies of decided cases and other legal matierals to be relied upon.

 

In default, the claim shall stand struck out without furhter order.

 

3) The defendant shall by 4pm on 31/8/07 send to the claimant and to the COurt:...[then it goes on to list all the things the bank has to get together but I shan't type all that out unless I particularly need to!!]

 

Is this pretty much what everyone else is getting? Any advice re putting together all the above stuff would be much appreciated. I've bookmarked a load of threads like the Court Bundles for Dummies one so they should be a good start!

 

Phew! What a lot of typing!

 

becci

[Castlebest]

the directions are all over the place at the moment but yours are pretty standard, main things to note are;

 

with a time estimate of 15 minutes.

The Judge doesnt think this will get to court, what can he do in 15 minutes?

 

1) This case is one of a number listed at the same time

this is a block hearing so if it gets to court you wont be alone

 

And the rest is a description of a bundle, so yes court bundles for dummies has everything you need and just post anything your not sure about here.

 

pete

[becci]

Thanks Pete, you're a star, I feel much better now!

 

Is it worth sending another nudge to DG, or do I just wait til its time for my court bundle and give them a mega-nudge with that?! And with that in mind, is there any point sending the bundle early, or should I just wait til nearer the deadline? Probably I'm just being impatient!

 

So many questions...sorry!

 

becci

[Castlebest]

I think you should start looking at putting your bundle together but I dont think DG will do much no matter what you do untill a bit closer to your court date so maybe just another nudge for now.

 

pete

[becci]

Righty ho. I've sent nudges 1 and 2 in the "New--after 28 days--maybe no AQ" thread. Do you know where I can find a Nudge 3? Or should I just cobble something together along the lines of:

 

I enclose copy of my letter of [date of Nudge 2] and would draw your attention to the fact that a court date has now been set for 4 October 2007.

In the circumstances, I look forward to hearing from you shortly [yeah, as if!!]

 

What do you reckon?

 

becci

[Castlebest]

Think there's some in this thread too

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/hsbc-bank/71343-when-you-have-filed.html

 

failing that yep just mix and match the phrases and bring in your court date somewhere

 

pete

[becci]

This will be Nudge No. 3:

Dear Sirs

xxx v HSBC Bank plc

Claim no: xxx

I am writing further in this matter and confirm that a court date has now been set by xxx County Court for xxx 2007. I cannot understand why you have not contacted me out of courtesy to acknowledge the receipt of my earlier letters or the information enclosed. Perhaps you would like to discuss this with me.

Should this case proceed to court, I will be more than happy to show the judge my attempts at resolving this matter. I have yet to hear anything from your office. I appreciate that, due to the heavy volume of cases with which you are dealing, I have to wait until my case can be dealt with. However, I think this matter has taken considerably longer than is proper in dealing with cases in a timely manner.

I repeat my suggestion that in order to more speedily resolve this matter, I am willing to accept the sum of £xxx plus £xxx per day from the date I filed the claim until the date it is resolved as full and final settlement of this particular claim. Upon receipt of this amount, I will halt my claim against HSBC. I do not agree to waive my rights in respect of any other actions, nor do I agree to a clause of confidentiality.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

 

What do you reckon, guys?

becci

[freakyleaky]

Looks good to me! Get in in the post!

[becci]

Thanks, Freaky - I've done just that!

 

becci

[becci]

I've been patiently waiting for my "your case has been stayed" letter from the court, but nothing has matieralised. Could this mean that it will proceed as planned?

 

The thing is, my court bundle is due a week tomorrow (17 Aug). Is there any point in me putting it together, or will it just be a complete waste of time and photocopying?

 

becci

[jowalshy]

Have you rung your court to see of your claim has been stayed. If it has then I would try and lift it. Here is the thread to help you do this. Just follow the instructions and if yoou need any help, just ask:-

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/17065-application-removal-stay-updated.html

[freakyleaky]

Worst case scenario and your case is stayed, it will in effect be put on hold until the result of the test case. If you have sent all the documents in then when it is looked at after the test case you won't have much more to do. So carry on and get your bundle sent in.

Don't forget that while it is on hold the interest will be acruing daily! Lets hope that the influence of this site, mse and pc will persuade the judges in the test case to allow claimants to add this interest on.

[Castlebest]

Becci if you havent heard from your Judge then your case in going ahead.

 

pete

[becci]

Thanks everyone. That is what I was hoping, Pete, as loads of people seem to have already heard that their cases are stayed. I've tried phoning the court but its constantly engaged (probably all the peeps ringing up to find out about stays!!)

 

Pressing on with my court bundle. Just a couple of questions:

 

1. List of settled cases - do I print off EVERTHING ie all the settled cases for all the banks, or just pick the HSBC ones?

 

2. I opened my account as a child's account when I was about 8, so have no T&Cs. Ive downloaded the ones from 1996 and then 2006 when they changed. Do I chuck in the whole doc or just the bits relevant to bank charges?

 

Thanks guys n gals

 

becci

[freakyleaky]

Just use the hsbc settled claims and yes all the t&c's not just bits of them.

The 96 and 06 ones are fine!

[becci]

Phew! Court bundle delivered by my own fair hand last week and copy sent to DG. They've got til the 31st to get theirs to the court and me, so presumably I'll just have to wait and see what turns up. I imagine nothing will turn up and I'll have to go to the hearing on 4th oct. What worries me is that DG will just rock up on the day and ask the judge for a stay. Should I get the 'removal of a stay' paperwork ready just in case and take it with me on the 4th? Or am I just being paranoid?!!

 

becci

[Castlebest]

Get everything prepared in advance and make sure you know what to say to your Judge.

 

Keep reading other peoples threads to get an idea of what will happen, they play dirty as shown here

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/hsbc-bank/110900-anyone-heard-how-skintcumbrian.html

 

but dont get their own way automaticaly

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/hsbc-bank/94703-hdr-hsbc.html

 

I would think they will apply for a stay before the court date so you should be able to request it is set aside using standard forms and letters.

 

pete

[becci]

Well there was me thinking I had got away with it and my case was going ahead...when a letter arrives from DG yesterday:

 

We refer to the above matter. You have referred your complaint about bank chares for determination in Court.

We are confident that HSBC's charges are fair, transparent and lawful.

Since you filed your claim in Court HSBC (along with a number of other banks) has become involved in legal proceedings with the Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") in relation to bank charges which we believe will resolve the legal issues regarding the fairness and legality of your bank charges.

We will be applying to the Court for an order to stay your action until resolution of the bank's proceedings with the OFT.

Given the court case our client has also asked the Financial Ombudsman Service ("FOS") not to proceed with any other case they are hearing until the test case is resolved. FOS has indicated that as a general proposition it will indeed not proceed with cases which rely on the legal issues being considered in the test case.

Our client has asked the Financial Services Authority ("FSA") to suspend the normal timetable for dealing with bank charges complaints, and the FSA has agreed to this request subject to conditions that protect your rights.

We will keep you updated appropriately about the proceedings with the OFT. You can also check the latest position on our client's website at hsbc.co.uk.

We can assure you we have registered and stored your complaint. Please retain your bank records, as this will make it easier for you to support your complaint on resolution of the test case. Once the legal proceedings between the OFT and the banks finish, our client will resolve your complaint as quickly as possible.

As a general matter, we will ensure that your claim will not be adversely affected by the stay of your court proceedings.

 

So what now folks? Is there any point in applying for the stay to be lifted, or would I need to wait until the court have actually allowed the stay in the first place before I did that? My hearing was supposed to be on 4th October, so will the case just end up being stayed at the hearing?

 

Also, I don't know if it makes a jot of difference, but HSBC's deadline for getting their court bundle to me was last week, several days before I got DG's letter. Judging by others' threads they seem to have no regard whatsoever for the court's imposed deadlines.

 

So many questions! Would be v grateful for any advice.

[syds mum]

hi beth if HSBC should have met deadlines by 31st august and you have not herad from court regarding stay then get a judgement by default sent in asap... they have not complied with judges directions so therefore defaulted and you have the right to ask for judgement... just cos DGs have sent you a letter does not mean they have their stay!!! you have to hear it from court... i was very close tothe line with them putting in stay and me getting judgement!!! i got there first but even so you should go for judgement NOW... will just go and find my letter and post it for you..

debbie xx