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Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

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  • Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

    Claim started July 2006

    Thought it best to update of full details of claim before I ask questions etc.

    Charges £300 Interest 31.20% £972.49 interest at 8% daily rate 28p at the time July 06 this was total amount claimed £1392.49 including court costs etc.

    In July 2007 they paid £156 into my account out of the blue, I wrote and informed them I was not accepting this as full amount and would continue with the claim.

    The court then stayed my claim I contacted the court saying it was a credit card but was told it was the judges decision to stay all claims etc.

    Had letter from court in March Before the claim is listed for hearing the judge has ordered a preliminary hearing, Hubby has a prelim 19th April to enable final disposal of claim under grounds it has no real prospect of success.

    Citi say in order to save costs of attendance they invite him to withdraw the claim and pay their costs to date of £225 + vat.

    I need to respond by 7th April.

    Now what to do?

    I read somewhere on a forum someone had success with FCO with Citi increasing their offer from a few hundred to £900 just a couple of hundred short of amount claimed which included interest.

    Can I write to Citi and copy to the Court withdrawing my claim then proceed through FCO

    Should I explain that the big media case didn't affect credit cards and I believe my case is still strong etc and also should I redo my charges into a new spreadsheet not adding the 31.20% which they dispute and just add the 8% from 2006 to date, and would I be expected to take their £255 court costs off that amount as well as the £156 they have already payed?.

    So many questions I do apologise but I really don't know what to do next. (Citi seem quite nasty in court reading someone elses experience)

    Thanks for everyone's help its much appreciated.


    I should add I havent yet been to court with this and I'm not very wise on all the legal stuff
    Last edited by skintlass; 2nd April 2010, 18:01:PM.

  • #2
    Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

    I have replied to this already on your thread at BC.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

      Thanks for that trying to get as much help as possible

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

        Any claim for costs would need to be based on an argument that you had behaved unreasonably or pursued a claim with no prospects of success, which effectively caused someone to incur costs unneccessarily. That cannot be the case here, because you are still within the ambit of the original claim and also, the court had no right to stay a claim that was completely unrelated to the Test Case. You have to pursue the court to do the job it has been paid for.

        As for Citi's costs, only a court can award costs. This is just Citi trying to cash in on a court mistake, in the hope that you won't know your rights.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

          I need to respond to Citi by tomorrow (I could fax it) and I assume to the court re the preliminary hearing and any help with what to put in the letter would be much appreciated.

          Many Thanks

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

            £300 charges - you would be awarded in court about £160 plus 8% stat interest - so basically the £156 is the refund of charges (difference between the £25 penalty charge and the £13.42 they are getting away with in court) so the only remaining argument is the interest, which at 8% from 2006 would only be in the region of £100. Just putting that here as a likely outcome without much argument. Of course you can argue the £13.42 as well - thats Kafk's area with Citi really so am sure he'll advise you on that bit.

            Not sure whether you received the £156 or not, if not then I would continue with the hearing - its a credit card and not affected at all by the Supreme court Judgment. If you have had the £156 then I'd probably withdraw and go through FOS and argue the costs with citi.

            Have Citi applied to the court for the claim to be struck as no prospect of success or is that off the courts own motion ?
            #staysafestayhome

            Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

            Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

              Its not clear why you are so concerned about the deadline from Cti. The are taking advantage of the court's incompetence to try to bully you into discontinuing with your claim and pay them costs that they have no right to seek, as you have done nothing that can be classed as unreasonable behaviour, and these are the only grounds that can be used in Small Claims to seek costs through the court.

              If you go along with their threats, then you will lose the claim, the court fees and pay them for their costs. Unless you want to do this you should fight to get the claim properly heard and fight for what is owed. In my case, Citi conceded the amounts over £12 and interest on these at 8%. They did this in the hope of then getting costs awarded as well, on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour because I had rejected an offer of more than the settlement (though it was still only half of the total claim).

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

                My Husband has had the £156 they paid it onto the card, I am concerned because I havent had any threats for costs/court etc before and I really don't know what I am doing, I started these claims a few years ago when It was a case of write a letter, fill in the spreadsheet and get your money back, although all mine were stayed I was too late in finding out about claiming back charges etc, Maths is not my strong point and I do not have a clue about the legal stuff so Lamb to the slaughter comes to mind.

                Thanks for everyone who is helping me though.

                Tomorrow I will fax Citi that I am continuing my claim .
                Last edited by skintlass; 6th April 2010, 20:20:PM.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

                  Point out to them the following and see how they respond.
                  1. Their payment that you did not agree to was way short of the claim.
                  2. The claim was wrongly stayed because it is completely unconnected with the Test Case on bank charges.
                  3. They have no grounds or authority to seek costs from you and you will bring this matter to the attention of the court.


                  I should add that there may also be grounds here for a complaint of professional misconduct against the solicitor involved, so bear this in mind. It would be good to see the letter asking you to withdraw and seeking your consent to costs.
                  Last edited by Kafka; 7th April 2010, 07:36:AM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

                    Just to update...this one has been sorted off forum and a letter has gone to the defendants with copy to the court. This has given an unexpected chance to raise the wrongful strikeout with the court and to report the unprofessional behaviour of Shoosmiths.

                    I'm hoping this will get the defendants trying to settle out of court.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

                      Bumping this up

                      I've been corresponding by email but Shoosmiths are being very obstructive and still threatening to seek costs at the hearing on Monday. I've suggested that the thread needs to be updated to get more help and plan action urgently.

                      Awaiting Skintlasses confirmation on this.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

                        Firstly I will apologise for expecting help at such short notice but we never expected things to go as far as this. The claim is in my Husbands name and He wont be able to get away from work on Monday but I could go on his behalf. I am hopeless at confrontation and get tongue tied.

                        I have had a letter today from Shoosmiths enclosing their schedule of costs, by way of service, in readiness for court on Monday.

                        Basically it lists the costs of the solicitor at £110 per hour, attendances on client, claimant and others at £11.00 per letter, Attendances on documents, Disbursements agents fee for attending, profit costs, vat 17.5% and comes to a total of £387.75.

                        It also says that the costs estimated above do not exceed the costs which the claimant is liable to pay in respect of the work which this estimate covers.

                        They offered my Husband a further payment of £89.93. stating If agreed, this would mean that they had has refunded all charges claimed, plus interest at 8 per cent.

                        we declined hoping for a more realistic offer and that followed with a abrupt email but no furthur offer.

                        Will the court see that it shouldnt of stayed by credit card claim? At the time the judge in charge stayed all charges claims! wont it look bad on the court to admit they shouldnt of stayed it etc?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

                          The issue of stays is not a matter of opinion here but a matter of law. The Test Case on bank charges and the subsequent Supreme Court appeal never dealt with regulated agreements and so the findings of the Test Case were never going to impact on credit cards. The court made an error in staying the claim and a further error by seeking to dismiss the claim on the grounds that the claim has no reasonable prospects of sucess following those judgments.

                          By trying to capitalise on these errors and even claim costs against you for bringing the action, Shoosmiths have themselves acted unreasonably and unprofessionally.

                          Right now it seems that the urgency is to prepare the details for Monday so that the court does not dismiss the claim. The court also needs to be made aware of the defendant's unreasonable and deceitful behaviour. Unless this is fought, I suspect that they will push to get the whole claim dismissed and claim as much in damages as they can. It is vital that you attend on Monday fully prepared with the facts and counterarguments.

                          We need to see the POC and their defence from the original paperwork.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

                            POC

                            The claimant holds account no ---- with the defendant From 05/10/03 to 06/06/06 The Defendant debited charges iro of purported breaches of contract. Defendant has been supplied with list of charges and interest. Claimant contends a-The charges exceed the Defendants losses caused by such breaches: b-The term permitting the Defendant to levy such charges is Unenforceable under Unfair terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, Unfair Contarct Terms Act 1977 and at common Law. c-If charges are a fee for a service, then they must be reasonable under S.15 of supply of goods and services Act 1982.
                            Claimant claims a-Return of amounts debited of £300,b-Interest of 31.20% - £972.49 as per contarctual rate of interest c) Interest under section 69 of the county courts act 1984 at the rate of 8% up to the date of judgement or earlier payment at a daily rate of 28p
                            Any default notices to be removed
                            Costs allowed by the court.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Citi Preliminary asking for costs too - Help needed Please

                              Ok, those are the old POCs from RUC (actually taken from bankchargeshell) designed to fit the character limit for MCOL. Those were more simple days, but even so, you would expect them to attempt to strike out due to insufficient cause of action rather than citing the SC judgement..

                              Comment

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