Alliance & Leicester (merged)

paul_d_8

Rightie

Just done 3 court bundles (180 pages each!)

Going to send them off before asked so as to look efficient in front of the judge and the A&L SH*** watching this thread.

Before I do, 2 things I want to add:

1 - Nudge letter i.e. send A&L a letter saying I will settle for my charges less approx £2.50 a charge for their time etc. This of course will be without predujice pmsl. Mimi, do you know any good nudge letter links? Or have you sent one?

2 - Ive written a schedule of 'wasted costs' such as stamps, special deliveries, ink, paper, time @ £15 per hour etc to compensate me for out of pocket expenses. The reasoning behind this is (If the defence dont turn up) because I believe that A&L never had any intention of turning up. If I win in court, I will wait until the judge passes judgement then respectfully ask him/her to award such costs. Anyone think this is a bad idea?

Im not bothered about A&L having anyone there in court with them, let alone their 'imaginery friends' Claire. In all probability, they and their imaginery friends will shy away from disclosing their cost structures. Keep strong!

Just a message to all those who think they have made small, simple mistakes on their paperwork. I have been through all my paperwork thoroughly, and have noticed that on one letter, their date is incorrect; their copy of their covering letter for the AQ is dated before the court case commenced!! I can only assume some 'junior' in the office is copying and pasting standard letters. Losers or what?

Really excited now!! Im going to win, no doubt ... and in the small, almost inconcievable, chance that I wont, Ive only lost £220, but gained so muchknowledge and empowerment!!

Good luck everyone!!

paul_d_8

Mimi

One question ....

Why do you want A&L terms and conditions? should I be using them somehow?

neill41

Hi all,
i have followed the tips om this site to reclaim £560 from the alliance and leicester (sent off for my statements, sent in a request for my money back, threatened legal action) but to no avail. So on 20/5/07 filled a money claim form in claiming the £560, plus £150 interest, and the £80 court fees.
To my suprise, after only 4 days i received a solicitors letter from Wragg and Co, Birmingham, who stated they were representing the bank, and sent a photocopy of the Ackowledgement of service letter which said the bank was going to defend all of this claim.

Is this normal, or is the bank really going to see me in court?

Robclinton1

Of course it's normal Neil ... standard letters, standard reasons not to pay .... being that you're claiming for a small amount, they may.. MAY settle early, yet they may not... seems £500 and below they dont want to defend ..

They WILL almost certainly file a defence next to make you worried, and in paragraph 9 will possibly imply that you haven't 'particularised' your claim. At this point you re-send your spreadsheet and wait.

Read the last month of this thread and you will get the position ... We are all in a similar boat, but we WILL WIN!

No doubt.

As to your question 'is the bank really going to see me in court?'

The feelings of most are definately not. They have too much to lose in disclosing their cost structure, as this could affect future claims.

Anyway keep an eye on this thread.

The opinions of Robclinton1 are informal in nature. If in doubt consult a qualified, insured professional.

MimiJane

paul_d wrote: »

Mimi

One question ....

Why do you want A&L terms and conditions? should I be using them somehow?

When Lloyds TSB recently won a case, the guy did not have the T&C's in his bundle (even though he was knowledgeable about his claim), which didn't help I believe in the judge's decision in the bank's favour. People are now being advised to include them wherever possible.

Here's a link to two nudge letters, though obviously tailor them to your requirements :-

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/hsbc-bank/78873-new-after-28-days.html?highlight=allocation#post695176

Hope this helps.

grounded101

Hi, a quick question...


I got my notice of intention to defend on the 14th May and I spoke to the court to see if they had a defense filled on the 25th May and they hadn't but said A&L had until June 10th to do so.

Does anyone know how long it takes between getting a notice of intention to defend and the defense papers?

jackelliot

Hiya all,
got a defense letter which I'm told is standard bullsh*t and I should ignore the offer which is only about 12% of what I've asked for!! It looks like i'm going to court!! These questions are going to sound really thick, but here goes....

1) The issuing court is in Northampton (for some reason) are these issued randomly or is this the only court that deals with these cases?

2) I assume I have attend THIS court and I can't request it moving any closer than the 275 miles away from where I live?

3) I've not recieved anything from the court yet. Will I be told when the case will be heard and will they send me a list of things I need to provide?

4) Getting a bit scared now......£180 offered is a nice amount of money for me..................Although the £800 I'm claiming in nicer!!!!!

Any answers to these questions will be gratefully appreciated!!!!

Stephen_Leak

jackelliot wrote: »

Hiya all,
got a defense letter which I'm told is standard bullsh*t and I should ignore the offer which is only about 12% of what I've asked for!! It looks like i'm going to court!! These questions are going to sound really thick, but here goes....

1) The issuing court is in Northampton (for some reason) are these issued randomly or is this the only court that deals with these cases?

2) I assume I have attend THIS court and I can't request it moving any closer than the 275 miles away from where I live?

3) I've not recieved anything from the court yet. Will I be told when the case will be heard and will they send me a list of things I need to provide?

4) Getting a bit scared now......£180 offered is a nice amount of money for me..................Although the £800 I'm claiming in nicer!!!!!

Any answers to these questions will be gratefully appreciated!!!!

1. Northampton is where MCOL are located, so all cases start out there.

2. Your case will now be allocated to your local county court. You might get an "Allocation Questionnaire", but a lot of courts aren't using these any more, as they now know what these cases usually involve, how long they usually take and that the bank’s solicitors usually don't turn up.

3. The court will advise you of the date & time of the hearing. The next step is to start getting your court bundle up together. This is basically three copies of everything you already have: your list of charges, your letters to the bank and any letters from the bank. Depending on the actual defence, you might need some other more legal documents, but we can tell you what you need and where to find them. One set of copies will be waste paper, because the bank’s solicitors won’t turn up. They daren’t. The last thing they want is to have to answer some potentially very expensive questions, such as just how little it does cost them to administer a late payment, overdraft, etc.

4. Don't panic! However, "a bit scared" is good: it makes you careful.

Please read the Reclaim Bank Charges Help thread for information and the Reclaimed Bank Charges Success Stories thread for inspiration.

MimiJane

wintye wrote: »

Wow you're brave

They called 1 witness in mine and I'm panicking because they haven't called any in someone elses AQ. Do you really think they won't turn up?

Still telling myself they won't.

I think I may have made a couple of mistakes, can anyone advise???

1, On MCOL I have entered 1st defendant and 2nd defendant (A & L for both) as I was claiming on 2 current accounts, not sure now why I did it, do you think this matters.

2, I didn't send a copy of my AQ to the the solicitors, is this ok or should I send them a copy.

3, POC on MCOL entered the interest amount £3 less than it should have been. All other figures were correct including my main claim fugure. I have since sent an updated spreadsheet (with daily interest) to both solicitors and the court. Do I need to do anything about the poc being wrong?

Thanks for all your help
Claire

Hi Claire,

Don't kick yourself about making mistakes ... we'll all make errors by this stage and anyone that tells you otherwise is either lying, or doesn't realise they've made them:rolleyes: We're all trying to juggle all this into our busy daily lives and it's not easy. I've made half a dozen silly mistakes myself. The main thing is to recognise we've made them (as you have) and then do something about it if need be.

Don't worry about A&L putting down on the AQ that they intend to call a witness. I'm sure this is just scare tactics ... they can put down anything they like on the AQ, after all, they have no intention of turning up at court:rolleyes:

I'm not sure about your first point, but think that a 'phone call to MCOL would help and they'd be able to advise you and also on your third point, though can't see that £3 difference would cause problems, especially if you've put it right since.

I didn't receive an AQ, but have just read a question re. this on the CAG site and, yes, someone was advised to send a copy to the solicitor.

By the way, like Paul says above, A&L/Wragge are making mistakes all the time ... I keep receiving standard computer generated letters saying sorry for the delay and they're still looking into the matter and it's not far off court stage!

Let us know how you get on

x

Robclinton1

Mimi

I didn't realise that you couldn't put WITHOUT PREDUJICE letters in the court bundle. How do you go about letting the judge know about the shameful offers that the A&L have made us?

Is it better to omit their letter and our reply completely?

And also, what is the point of a final negotiation letter with A&L i.e. I will accept all charges less £2.50 a charge which I consider a reasonable charge, if I cant then put it in my bundle to show the court that I have made a genuine effort to negotiate?

Apart from a few loose ends, I'm ready with my court papers. For people who are dreading this stage, court bundles etc, don't worry, it took me 3 hours and actually focuses your mind on what has occurred so far. It also sorted my paperwork from a pile of scattered sheets into 3 perfectly filed erm er, yeah bundles .... kinda like spring cleaning for girlies methinks!! Oh no I'm in trouble now!

Don't worry Claire, there will be enough of us past court stage to advise you before you get there.

Also ENJOY IT, it's a life experience, and can only add to your knowledge. I for one am not scared by the whole solicitors letter malarky!

Advice of Robclinton1 is given on an informal basis. If in doubt consult a qualified, insured professional