Reporting Banks for Abuse of Process at Court

Felix_the_Foccer

Just back from two weeks holiday and I read this article from the BBC with some interest ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6701231.stm

In it, it reads that .... Maria Dobson, from Newbury in Berkshire, highlights a way in which some claimants may be able to tap into this growing discontent among judges.

In February, she lodged her claim against the Abbey, for £3,865.86, at Newbury county court.

She then reached what is known in the procedure as the allocation stage.
It is then that a judge, after reading the claim and the bank's defence, will typically set a date for a court hearing.

But knowing that the Abbey, in common with all other banks, was highly unlikely to turn up on the appointed day, she adopted a different tactic.
"I put in a draft order, asking him to say that the Abbey was abusing the system and to throw out the case as an abuse of process," she said.

"I put in a list of cases that the Abbey had settled, and said they had settled so many a few minutes before going into the court room, I felt the bank had no intention of defending itself," she added.

The result was swift.

Judge Burgess agreed with Mrs Dobson. On 1 May, he struck out the Abbey's defence in a couple of brisk sentences and awarded her the money.


My claim is awaiting an allocation date at my local County Court at present.

Is this tactic of putting in a draft order to the court saying that the Abbey won't turn up one worth trying? .. and if so, where is the best place to get a list of cases of such etc?


Thanks in advance

Stephen_Leak

Interesting. Although the circumstances are different, I plan to do this, if Mint now decide to defend my claim.

Please read the Reclaimed Bank Charges Success Stories and Reclaimed Bank Charges Success Stories II threads.

crazyworld_2

I'm particularly interested in applying for abuse of process, I posted over at the CAG board about this, and will paste the message I posted here as well if anyone has any useful advice?

Now, I sent my letter before action 2 days ago to the Nationwide, and i've read on various message boards that it's now highly likely that i'm going to have to carry on to the court stage, so i've been searching round for some helpful tidbits to get myself fully prepared. I found some references to Graham Beale, the Chief Executive saying basically that their charges are unfair, but couldn't find a link, so I posted a link over at the Money Saving Expert forums for anyone interested to a BBC report.

I'm interested in firstly, whether anyone has used this statement to support their claim, and, also, after reading through some of these threads whether I could not only apply to the court to strike out the Nationwide's defence because of abuse of process due to their stalling tactics before settling all claims, but also the abuse of process because the Nationwide are fully aware of the unlawful nature of the charges?

Also, is there a form that I would need to fill in to strike out the defence, and when would I fill that form in? I have read threads on here relating to the judge in cases striking out a defence, but have not managed to find anything related to the questions above.

Thanks for any advice in advance.

Stephen_Leak

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

I plan to do this, if Mint now decide to defend my claim.

They paid up in full.

They did so originally, because it would not be cost-effective, etc, but also with a confidentiality/non-disclosure clause which, obviously, I could not agree to. So I wrote back and returned the cheque.

I surmised that they could either drop the clause, allow the case to continue to a default judgement on my terms, or defend.

If they had done the latter, I would have applied for abuse of process, because of their previous statement that it was not cost-effective.

Anyway, to their credit, they did the honourable thing.

crazyworld_2

Well done on getting your money back anyway Stephen.

stforbes1

i got a pre trial review from the courts today anybody know what that means ? also they may move courts why i live here ? also does anybody know how to strike out a defence and how its done as lloyds have no intention of turning up at court and are abusing the legal system

Twinkly

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

They paid up in full.

Just came across this post just now. Yay you, well done :beer:

dmg_3

Hmm this seems interesting, it certainly has basis for me to 'try' it at least.

Thanks for bringing it to my/our attention.

Regarding listings of settled claims close to/or on the court allocation date, I personally have no idea but will be tracking this thread to see if people do.

Lloyds for me if anyone knows...

crazyworld_2

dmg wrote: »

Hmm this seems interesting, it certainly has basis for me to 'try' it at least.

Thanks for bringing it to my/our attention.

Regarding listings of settled claims close to/or on the court allocation date, I personally have no idea but will be tracking this thread to see if people do.

Lloyds for me if anyone knows...

Hi dmg, there is a spreadsheet of claims over at the CAG website in the litigation section, however the spreadsheet doesn't seem to tell you in detail at what stage claims have been settled, which I think could prove useful when attempting to convince a judge that the defence should be struck out.

Fedz

Source: Banks branded 'vexatious defendants' - BBC Business.

People trying to reclaim overdraft charges from their banks have started using a new legal tactic - asking a judge to strike out a bank's defence as an "abuse of process".

In the past few months, tens of thousands of people have reclaimed millions of pounds after accusing their banks of levying illegal charges, going back up to six years.

In some cases, the banks have paid up quickly when presented with a detailed written demand for a refund.

In others, they have stalled, only to give in at the last moment - for instance, by paying up on the day of a court hearing, or by simply not bothering even to attend court to argue their defence.

This last tactic has started to irritate a growing number of judges around the country, who have begun making it known that they are not very happy at the way their time, and that of their courts, is being wasted.

But the example of Maria Dobson, from Newbury in Berkshire, highlights a way in which some claimants may be able to tap into this growing discontent among judges.

Abusing the system

In February, she lodged her claim against the Abbey, for £3,865.86, at Newbury county court.

She then reached what is known in the procedure as the allocation stage.

It is then that a judge, after reading the claim and the bank's defence, will typically set a date for a court hearing.

But knowing that the Abbey, in common with all other banks, was highly unlikely to turn up on the appointed day, she adopted a different tactic.

"I put in a draft order, asking him to say that the Abbey was abusing the system and to throw out the case as an abuse of process," she said.

"I put in a list of cases that the Abbey had settled, and said they had settled so many a few minutes before going into the court room, I felt the bank had no intention of defending itself," she added.

Struck out

The result was swift.

Judge Burgess agreed with Mrs Dobson. On 1 May, he struck out the Abbey's defence in a couple of brisk sentences and awarded her the money.

By this point, extra interest had pushed her claim up to £3,929.61.

This particular judge had, in fact, made a similar decision at Reading county court in March.

Meanwhile, Judge Thomas at Rhyl county court has made a similar order, against Lloyds TSB, without even being asked.

He has demanded that the bank supply, by 5 June, a list of all claims it has defended in court and all those not defended. Otherwise, the bank's defence will be struck out.

The claimant, Ben Manesh, said this was encouraging.

"The judge did this on his own initiative," he said.

"I can't see the bank complying with this request."

Vexatious defendants

The Abbey is one of the banks, along with the Yorkshire/Clydesdale and the Alliance & Leicester, which have been emboldened by two recent cases in which Lloyds TSB successfully defended two refund cases brought by customers.

Quite a few would-be claimants now say they are worried about pursuing their claims, believing that their chances of winning have been damaged.

But campaigners against bank charges believe that persistent, well-organised claimants are still very likely to win.

"You have heard of the concept of the vexatious litigant?" asked Marc Gander of the Consumer Action Group.

"Well the banks are the same, but in reverse - vexatious defendants, and on a massive scale," he said.

Robinms

Hi, I'm in the process of claiming about £1400 from Lloyds TSB. Currently I have a county court hearing set for 14th August. I have read recently that a lady named Maria Dobson won a case by trying a new tactic of convincing the judge that the defendant would waste the courts time and not bother turning up.

I would like to try the same tactic now, rather than wait for 2 more months.

Therefore, could anybody please supply me with a list of cases where Lloyds TSB have settled prior to going to court and/or where they didn't bother attending court.

Many thanks in advance.