Stay to be lifted - HELP!!

Loubie30

I received a letter from the court last month and do not know what step to take next. Do I write to the bank (Yorkshire Bank) to inform them I am not backing down (so to speak)! I have not heard from the bank regarding this as yet. Please help and if there are any templates I can use could you point me in the right direction. Thank you.

On Tuesday 29 December 2009

District Judge ordered that:

1. The stay of this action is extended until 29 March 2010, during which period the parties shall try to settle the matter or narrow the issues.
2. By 4pm on 29 March the Claimant shall notify the court in writing of the outcome (without disclosing any matters which remain subject to ‘without prejudice’ terms) and, if no settlement has been reached and the Claimant wishes to pursue the claim further, the Claimant shall identify by reference to the outcome of the test case, what, if any, grounds still exist for the claim and what, if any, further directions are sought. If settlement has been reached, the parties shall lodge a consent order signed by all of them.

To the Claimant: if you do not comply with the requirements of the above paragraph within any time limits imposed by that paragraph your claim will be struck out.

3. Because this Order has been made by the Court without considering representations from the parties, the parties have the right to apply to have the order set aside, varied or stayed. A party wishing to make an application must send or deliver the application to the court (together with any appropriate fee) to arrive within seven days of service of this Order.

Premier_2

If you write to the bank with the approach you "are not backing down", expect the defendant to show that to the judge as your attempt "to settle the matter or narrow the issues"

As to part 2, and assuming no settlement is reached, you need to do what it says i.e. you need to inform the court "by reference to the outcome of the test case, what, if any, grounds still exist for the claim and what, if any, further directions are sought."

My guess is that your original claim was based on the original templates available from this site, and as such there probably are no grounds.
It may be possible to revise your particulars of claim (which I think incurs a £75 charge), but such template letters are not yet available - they should be within the next 10 days.

Remember, as Martin says, "we will make MASSIVE in that - we have no successes yet - its new and untried." and also "to go to court ... is likely to be difficult, though if you’re willing to persevere and can get a grip on the law it is do-able.

There are risks involved in this, it will almost certainly involve paying a fee and also has a small risk of having costs awarded against you."

"The safest thing to do is plan your finances on the fact you WON’T get a payout, but cross your fingers in the hope you will"

Loubie30

Following on from this, I've received a letter from Yorkshire bank stating that they will not be upholding my complaint re: bank charges.

'The outcome of these legal proceedings means that the bank charges you have complained about do not amount to penalties at common law and that the level of them cannot be assessed for fairness under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations. We do not believe that there is any legal basis on which the amount of the charges can be challenged.'

'We are satisfied that the bank charges you seek to reclaim were properly charged and the outcome of the legal proceedings confirms our position. We are therefore not upholding your complaint and we will not be refunding the bank charges you have complained about. For the avoidance of doubt any offer of settlement previously made in relation to your complaint is withdrawn'.

I have to write to the Court by 29th March with the outcome of negotiations or it will be struck out. I'm a bit scared of going through with it as my knowledge in the law is a tad limited and if I don't win I'm assuming I will incur some costs (which I can't afford to do!)

Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated as I'm feeling a bit like a guinea pig at the mo!

natweststaffmember

Loubie30 wrote: »

Following on from this, I've received a letter from Yorkshire bank stating that they will not be upholding my complaint re: bank charges.

'The outcome of these legal proceedings means that the bank charges you have complained about do not amount to penalties at common law and that the level of them cannot be assessed for fairness under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations. We do not believe that there is any legal basis on which the amount of the charges can be challenged.'

'We are satisfied that the bank charges you seek to reclaim were properly charged and the outcome of the legal proceedings confirms our position. We are therefore not upholding your complaint and we will not be refunding the bank charges you have complained about. For the avoidance of doubt any offer of settlement previously made in relation to your complaint is withdrawn'.

I have to write to the Court by 29th March with the outcome of negotiations or it will be struck out. I'm a bit scared of going through with it as my knowledge in the law is a tad limited and if I don't win I'm assuming I will incur some costs (which I can't afford to do!)

Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated as I'm feeling a bit like a guinea pig at the mo!

You need to read the court guide on MSE and read it very carefully. You can apply to amend your POC(particulars of claim) but it will cost you £75.00 to do so(I believe).