Barclays Bank (merged)

theywontwin

Barclays Bank have sent a letter which we received today. Only took 4 days to get to us!! Anyway, they have made a goodwill offer of £1000 (total we are seeking in £4424.03 inc the interest). The paragraph in the letter says the following:

"I am willing to offer the sum of £1000 towards the total amount you are seeking. This is with the cost and inconvenience inherent in a further dispute in mind and is intended as a gesture of goodwill, in full and final settlement of your complaint"

The bits in bold, is it me or do they contradict each other? Some advice would be appreciated.

Also, what Barclays didn't know is that the N1 court form went in yesterday for the full amount of £4424.03. If we accept the £1000 as part payment, can we still go for the remaining £3424.03 in court and if so, how do we amend the court papers to reflect the new amount?

esmerellda

Don't accept it as part payment - write and say you submitted your claim, as notfied in your letter, in the courts on xx/xx/xx for the full amount - give totals, +interest+costs and that you will not be accepting their offer, and will continue with your claim through the courts

sbcsexeter

Hi

I have just received the copies of the defence that Barclays are using in my two cases agianst them - they went right up to the deadline for filing a defence, and now that I have read their defence (identical in both cases), I am more convince that they use there legal department to browbeat their customers who are claiming, by drowning them in legalese. For example:

Paragraph 1 of their defence states: The particulars of the claim do not provide details of the precise charges alleged to have been unlawful, or the dates thereof. To the extent it is alleged that the Claimant incurred bank charges on his account for unauthorised borrowings (whether unpaid fees for returned cheques, "Paid Referral Fees" or any other such fees), the defendant puts the Claimant to strict proof of each charge and the date thereof....

All that guff means is "Show us the statements"

Paragraph 2 states "This defence is summary in nature and the defendant reserves the right to amend this statement of case in due course"

means: We can say what we like, when we like, and we can change our minds when we like"

The only bit that worries me, is the final paragraph, which is a bit windy, like the rest of it, but it introduces a whole new tone to the matter, and I can see this putting quite a few people off when claiming....

Paragraph 10:

In the alternative, and without predjudice to the matters stated above, if (which is denied) the said charges and interest or any part thereof are unlawful or unenforceable as alleged by the Claimant, or at all and the charges were a consequence of the breach of contract by the Claimant, the Defendant has nonetheless suffered loss and damageas (sic) a consequence of such breach of contract in allowing the account to go into unauthorised overdraft. Accordingly, in the event that the Defendant is unable to rely on its express entitlement to enforce the charges as set out in paragraph 3 and 4 above, it will seek to recover to the extent necessary such loss and damage as it has actually suffered, which will not necessarily be limited to the value of the said charges, and the Defendant seeks to set off such sums against any liability owed hereunder to the Claimant.

I think this means - if it gets to court, we will try to screw you for more money than you are claiming, so go on - try it buster. At least they didnt try to put in a counter claim!!

I think this is a blatent attempt at intimidation - and this from a bank who proudly displays the crystal mark for "Plain English" on all its literature. It took me two hours of reading and re-reading the defence to be able to make head nor tail of it. Mind you, as my father says, you can always tell when a solicitor or lawyer is telling lies, 'cos his lips move.

To add insult to injury, after paying £120 to issue the summons, as the claim is over £1500, I now have to send the allocation questionnaire back to the court with a further £100 in court fees or run the risk of having the case struck out. I know I will get it back when I win. Maybe the next stage is to force banks (and solicitors) to put their responses in plain english, rather than hiding behind thous and therefores and herebyuntos..

Regards

Nigel

blaenau2000

BARCLAYS SHOWING ITS TRUE COLOURS, prepared to take, but not give back !

Wiggly_Worm

Help! Barclays being bullies and have entered a defence. Two things:

1) Should I start panicking? I'm overdrawn with them to the tune of nearly a grand (although a tax credit refund due soon should knock this down some), so that's not helping my jitters, but am I going to have to go to court with this? Shall I just keep following the letters/answers on the help thread and trust it'll work? Feeling more nervous now than when I started, but I hate them so much I'm prepared to brazen it out

2) I made a mess up on the court form (I think), so I believe I'm only claiming for the charges (about £300) but not the interest. Which is a pain, but still better than nowt I guess. Is there any way I can add the interest on still?

esmerellda

TRUST ............... and lots of reading will get you through...don't worry.

Re interest - you mean the 8% stat interest ? - when you start negotiations with barclays doesnt hurt to mention s.69 interest - worth a shot.

Alternatively you could amend your claim - but this would cost £35 which you wont get back so as thats over 10% of your claim probably not worth the hassle.

chichinwabuko

Hi Nigel,

I am in the same boat as you are. Barclays sent me the same line of defence, waited till the very last minute to file a defence too. whilst I am quite happy to take them all the way, I am a little concerned as to which point they would finally pay up, if they do. Do I have to wait till the court date to hear from them otherwise.

chichi

cathodetube

Anyone have the correct address for Barclays to reclaim the bank charges? I closed my account with them last year and luckily I had another account somewhere else. I have account number but not sure where to write to. They sound horrendous to deal with........good luck everyone.

Jinxs

phil4321 wrote: »

I've noticed that too m8...theres loads of HSBC, Natwest and halifax but a serious lack of Barclays success stories...not letting it put me off though...spoke to someone on the CAG chatroom the other day and they told me that they'd claimed £2000+ off them...Barclays took it right to the last moment before the court date...took her about 5 months in total...damn court dates can be months away
Anyway, hopefully us lot will soon be putting our stories on there......and we've got to remember is that its money we really were not expecting to get back, so it really shouldn't matter when we get it back...just that we do...preferably in full...with interest........

Hi All

Just be on Sucesses thread and Barclays paid up after 1st letter just approx £400 of what was claimed back. Wish that had happened to me I have entered my MCOL and barclays have said they are going to defend. Heard that there is a 3 month delay where i live for courts to set a date!.:mad:

tnook_2

Got the standard latter saying Barclays are dealing with my "complaint" and will get back to me on time for the return of Halley's comet. Sent my LBA yesterday giving them another 14 days to refund the charges. I expect this will end up going to court.