Can the bank ‘UNCLEAR’ cleared funds?

[des8]

Hi and nice to hear from you again.

IMO going for a second bite of the cherry would have been fraught with risk as it may well have been regarded as an abuse of process.
A judge, assessing and balancing all the circumstances of the case. could well regard the second claim as being something which should have been raised in the original claim.
After all, the second case would be based on identical arguments and facts as the first, saving only the amount claimed.
The risk was not in the soundness of your original claim (altho' I seem to recall there were many doubters!) but the risk of it being struck out and damages awarded against you.

But what do I know compared to a lawyer?

[Nicola Bell]

Hi,

you too Des8, thanks for your comment and glad to see you are still 'beagling' away helping others.
Yes, you're right, the risk was partly abuse of process and 'res judicata'. However, I really think it would have come down to the opinion of the judge on the day as I had been able to show that the sum I claimed in the small claims was already clearly mine and the bank had no right to take it and the second amount would have been the 'mine by default' money. Obviously the cost of trying to win this (in my view cast-iron ha ha) case was that it was too big an expense to risk from the start, the banks only risk customers' money.
Still, good one to have tested it and maybe it will be useful for someone else who has a similar case and where the sum involved is less than £10,000 so small claims can be used.
NB