paulomarto v RBS

[paulomarto]

Well my first post and am I glad I've found this topic, I've just today recieved the defence from my banks solicitor in the post so when i checked the internet to do more studying to prepare for the court hearing (if I get one) I found this and read that any I could provide an interview on BBC Radio in 2004 with Peter McNamara a senior end highly respected member of the banking industry saying charges are used to fund free banking for all personal customers, it started my brain ticking, so my question is.....Would I be able to provide this "whistleblower" video as evidence in court of a manager admitting that charges are unfair and excessive????

[paulomarto]

I recieved a letter from Cobbetts solicitor acting on behalf of RBOS including their defence and request for furhter information.

I was wondering are these standard defence templates. Much of the language used makes it hard for me to understand due to the leagal jargon.

Basically the defence says they cant plead until I have properly particularised, and so up to now there is no reasonable grounds for bringing a claim against them.

They then ask me to provide them with:

• My account name, number, and sort code
• Identify the date, amount, and reason for each charge
• and for each charge identify whether i feel the charge should not have been charged (and if so explain why I feel this), or whether I feel the charges should not have been charged in the amount (and if so explain why it shouldnt have been charged in that amount and identify how much I feel I should have been charged)
• It also asks for why I feel the charges are, as I stated, 'an unfair penalty under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999' in particular identify the regulations of the unfair terms in consumer contract regulations 1999 relied upon when making the statement alleging the "contractual provision(s) referred to are unenforceable"

Has anyone else recieved this? is it a standard defence template used for everyone? and how have you responded to this? what answers? and how did you respond did you send it to the solicitor and the courts? Is this what the Court allocation questionnaire is for???

[Nell2609]

I received my Defence yesterday. I am just going to start typing it up; it will be posted on Nell v RBS for you to make comparisons.

Mine did not ask any questions, though, which is what I expected. When you have had a look, let me know if it differs any from yours.

Here goes..

[Kurt_Hamster]

Originally Posted by paulomarto

I recieved a letter from Cobbetts solicitor acting on behalf of RBOS including their defence and request for furhter information.

This particular letter seems to come from Cobbetts when claims have been filed on MCOL where the full listing of charges hasn't been submitted due to lack of space.

[paulomarto]

yeah good point. I did use MCOL does this mean a date in court would not be sent yet until they get the information??

[Kurt_Hamster]

You do need to send them your schedule of charges. They are entitled to the info and it could come back and bite you in the ass if you don't. It won't actually delay your court date, but it could delay things once you get to that point.

[Parkvale]

Have you submitted a charge spreadsheet to the bank and the court ? If not then you will need to act quickly. You may have to amend your claim with the court also. By filling out an N244 application notice. Which will cost you £35 unfotunately non refundable.
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...on-notice.html Good luck.

[Kurt_Hamster]

I could be wrong, but merely submitting a schedule of charges shouldn't require a claim amendment. If the totals included in the PoC and the spreadsheet match up then it's just a question of clarification rather than amendment. Simply sending the list of charges to the court and to Cobbetts should suffice.

[paulomarto]

Great I think ill send the spreadsheat out but in case I need an ammendment I'll have to give the court a ring, I thought the MCOL was a bit vague should have expected them to ask for the spreadsheat though I have sent a spreadsheet to the bank, but suppose the solicitor needs it to know what they are dealing with. Thanx for the help people am gettin more and more unstuck now, im made up av found this site it's great!!

[paulomarto]

Ok I was preparing my response to further information required by cobbetts solicitors that they need my spreadsheet when I noticed that the first 2 charges on the spreadsheet that I sent to my bank were wrong (and consequently my total for charge value and interest, and so total amount to be claimed back) would be wrong.

My first charge was £13 on 8th September 2004 on my spreadsheet, however I noticed when checking statements back that it was in actual fact a charge of £35
The second charge was £27 on 11th October 2004 on my spreadsheet, however I noticed when checking statements back that it should have been £10 on 7th October 2004
These errors came due to me reading the line below or above the line that my charge was on on my statements.

I understand now that if I fill another spreadsheet with the correct information and send it to the solicitor then, not only because interest would have increased on the other charges, the total amount needed to be claimed back would have slightly increases due to increase in interest and an increase of £5 in the amount of charges being claimed back. How do I ammend this, should I send a new spreadsheet to the solicitor and courts with the new charge amount and interest amount and totals and take no other action. Or do I have to fill in a form for ammendment to my claim and file it with the court, which I believe costs £35 and is not refundable and can anyone remind me the form number I need to use if I have to do this?

Help much appreciated Thank

[paulomarto]

Another thing. My charges on my spreadsheet are all for unpaid direct debits and cheques, but some £10 charges for Maintenance charges for unarranged overdrafts. Am I able to claim these £10 charges back as well or is the judge likely to give a settlement just for the unpaid items??

[paulomarto]

I was wondering if anyone knows if I have to state the amount of the unpaid items when I tell them the reason for each charge or is this information irrelevant??

[Kurt_Hamster]

Just use the description that appears on your statement. That way you can't be accused of putting words in their mouths.

[grenadier2]

Hi

I received an almost identical letter to yours from Cobbetts last week and was in a right old state as I didnt even understand half of what they were asking me! The following day I received a letter from RBS offering to repay me the full amount I had claimed (but not the interest) . After the sleepless night I had worrying about the letter from Cobbetts, I decided to accept the £2200 and run!

You may get an offer from RBS very soon, just as I did. Good luck!

[the_purple_pig]

I am in the same situation: I received a partial offer from NatWest which I accepted, the a day later I received a letter from Cobbetts requesting heaps of information by 29 June.

I would rather drop the court proceedings as I am happy with the partial settlement, and have little free time in between now and the 29th June. Can I simply ignore the Cobbletts letter, or how do I go about ending the legal dance?

[nwuser]

I received a request for Cobbetts referring to CPR 18 - I followed the advice given ie sending another list of charges, bank account name and numbers and what the charges were for also mentioning the intimadatory nature of the request.

Then I received a copy of cobbets aq which said I had not responded to their request and asked the judge to strike out the claim.

I immediately sent a copy of everything to the county court along with the recorded delivery slip for the letter.

My question is:

Is it too late to send another letter to Cobbetts asking them to my request part 18 re charges and terms and conditions
ie:

I require that the Defendant supply a copy of the full terms and conditions which applied to the account at the time the account was opened.

I require that the Defendant supply copies of any amendments to the terms and conditions applying to the account, which have come into force since the account was opened.

Should be hearing from the county court this week - and want to be fully prepared.

[paulomarto]

nice 1 kurt will just say unpaid item DD or CHQ as it says on my statement then. thanx for ya help

[Kurt_Hamster]

Originally Posted by nwuser

I received a request for Cobbetts referring to CPR 18

Just checking as Cobbetts are notorious for using CPR18 even when it doesn't apply, but is your claim for less than £5000 or on the small claims track?

If it does then rules of disclosure under CPR18 don't affect you, they don't apply to small claims track cases.

[dooumm]

Thank god for your last post Kurt, my claim is under £5000

I recieved the same letter/defence from Cobbetts and choose to not respond in the way the demanded.

Instead I have sent them one of the nudge letters I found elsewhere on this site, with a list of my bank charges + interest, and a reduced offer to settle out of court.

That was on 12/06/07 as of yet I haven't had a reply.

One thing that is of concern to me is that as of yet I haven't sent anything to the courts as I filed my claim on MCOL.

Should I have sent a copy of the list of charges to the court when sending this recent letter to Cobbettts and maybe even the letter to show I am trying to resolve the matter out of court.

(I do not have a court date as of yet)

Cheers,
dooumm

[Kurt_Hamster]

Originally Posted by dooumm

Thank god for your last post Kurt, my claim is under £5000

I recieved the same letter/defence from Cobbetts and choose to not respond in the way the demanded.

Instead I have sent them one of the nudge letters I found elsewhere on this site, with a list of my bank charges + interest, and a reduced offer to settle out of court.

That was on 12/06/07 as of yet I haven't had a reply.

One thing that is of concern to me is that as of yet I haven't sent anything to the courts as I filed my claim on MCOL.

Should I have sent a copy of the list of charges to the court when sending this recent letter to Cobbettts and maybe even the letter to show I am trying to resolve the matter out of court.

(I do not have a court date as of yet)

Cheers,
dooumm

Yes, you are always best sending to the court a copy of anything you send to Cobbetts (with the exception of letters with a a "without prejudice" heading). You don't have to do a specific letter per se, just make sure the claim number is clearly visible so the clerk can add it to your "pile".