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We took out a loan on 26/05/05 with A&L for £15000. Due to my becoming ill and my husband having to take time off from work and a lower wage, we fell behind in March 2006. Despite having our case managed by CCCS (not an IVA though) and making a token repayment, which most other credit cards and lenders have agreed to, Alliance and Leicester did not accept this, bypassed the debt collection agency, instructed a solicitor and we have now received a court claim. However, the amount is for £17180.12, not including the court fee or solicitors costs. We have only missed 6 payments of £180, so I am a little worried as to why we owe so much!
We are currently claiming back £250 charges from a current account we had with them which we closed in Dec 2005.
What I would like to know, if anyone would be so kind as to advise is...1) Why is the amount now so high? 2) I am sure that alot of the extra money is charges, do I counter claim these back or not bother or just admit the £15000 and state I'm not prepared to pay the extra £2180.12? As I only have 14 days to enter a defence, I dont have the time left to request all charges on the account.
If anyone could help or has any advice, I would be very grateful.
I m no expert but have worked in finance for quite a while, You should have had at some point before now correspondance detailing the outstanding ammount. This should tell you what charges have been applied, when and what for. If you haven't ask them or the court to provide this as a starting point. and by the way what the hell are cccs doing? they should be liasing with the bank on your behalf and keep you fully informed.
Suggestion; PM one of the moderators asking them to look at your thread, include a link to it in your message.
Good luck
Normally I would say place the account in dispute which means that no further action can be taken until the dispute is resolved. I must confess that I am not sure where you would stand on this as the matter has already gone to court
I would suggest that it is perfectly reasonable to ask the solicitor for a Breakdown of the amount and how they have arrived at this figure. Presumably there will be charges which you could dispute in your defence. You could also point out that you have offered to make token payments via CCCS, and ask for this to be considered again. Do all this in writing and send a copy to the court so they know you are trying to resolve it. In the letter ask the solicitor if it would be possible to settle the matter without resorting to the court, or at least allow more time for you to submit a defence as you have not been provided with all the relevant details.
Were you given any notice that this would happen or has it come out of the blue? I would have thought there must have been some warning that they would take this action.
When the Liberals and Conservatives were in opposition they both agreed that banks should pay back high bank charges to customers. Nothing seems to of happened since they came into power as a coalition. PPI insurance has been sorted now they should turn their attention to bank charges and help customers get exorbitant charges refunded.
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Alliance & Leicester Moneyclaim issued 20/1/07 £225.50 full settlement received 29 January 2007
Smile £1,075.50 + interest Email request for payment 24/5/06 received £1,000.50 14/7/06 + £20 30/7/06
Yorkshire Bank Moneyclaim issued 21/6/06 £4,489.39 full settlement received 26 January 2007
Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.
Need more advice if possible! I've requested a Breakdown of the charges etc from the solicitor but when I do receive them, do I admit all but the charges, therefore entering an admission AND a defence or do I do a counterclaim?
Hi Dingerbell I am in a similar position - have a look at my HFC loan thread.
The amount is high becuase when they take you to court they are asking for the interest you would have paid had the loan been paid over the full term if that makes sense
I have to go and pick up children from school now, but have a look at my thread - I'm with CCCS to.
Its in debt and baliffs
got to dash but I'll be back on later and I'll have a look at your thread then
One more thing, if I go ahead and admit all the money, does it mean that at a later date, I wont be able to lodge a claim for the unlawful charges? I only ask because I have until this Tues to lodge my admission and/or defence.
oh and re Caro - give you a warning - they send a default notice to you but when you call cccs they stend to say yes that happens nothing you can do etc etc....its only this site makes you realise you can do something about it.
Thanks for your messages, I look forward to your advice. I am thinking or perhaps putting a defence into the whole amount on grounds that I do not have, and never have been supplied with all the account charges and transactions. Does that sound ok?
Not really to be honest - you need to admit to the actual loan but you need to make clear that you 1) have requested the information off of them and they havent sent it 2) you have an arrangement in place through CCCS which you have been paying. - the dates etc of this.
I'll PM you my defence....obviously you have to deal with your own circumstances - if theres unfair charges you defend those parts of the claim, otheriwse admit it - make it clear you offered what you can afford - the worse that can happen is the judge orders you to pay what you are already paying threough CCCS (IMO) - hopefully the judge will not order costs and sols fees against you as you already made arrangements to pay before they took it to court.
1.Save as is specifically admitted in this Defence – the Defendant denies each and every allegation set out in the particulars of Claim.
It is admitted that the Defendant has an Affinity Loan Account with the Claimant numbered 00000000000000
It is admitted that the Defendant has an outstanding balance on the account to the value of £6058.41, as detailed in the particulars of claim.
The Defendant contests the amount of £1009.93, the ‘Collection Charge’ as entered in the particulars of claim by the Claimant.
The Collection charge is a disproportionate penalty and therefore unenforceable as it is contrary to common law.
Further, as a disproportionate penalty, it is invalid under the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977 s.4 and under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 Para 8. and sch.2(1)(e).
In the event the Collection Charge is not a disproportionate penalty then it is unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15.
The Defendant has repeatedly asked the Claimant to give a Breakdown of this charge in order to justify the amount but they have declined to do so.
The Defendant has offered a reduced monthly payment, through the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, to the Claimant for repayment of this account. This offer was made to the Claimant on 22nd June 2006. This proposal included a full financial statement with regards the Defendant.
The amount being paid to the Defendant each calendar month is £66.36.
The first payment was made on 18th August 2006 and received by the Claimant on the 25th August 2006.
The account was transferred to Restons Solicitors by the Claimant on the 10th August 2006.
The Defendant contacted Restons Solicitors on the 14th August 2006 to discuss the repayment proposal. Restons Solicitors agreed to contact the Consumer Credit Counselling service to arrange the new payment instructions. The Consumer Credit Counselling Service have not received any communication from Restons Solicitors.
The proposal for repayment was sent to Restons Solicitors by Consumer Credit Counselling Service on 14th August 2006.
A breakdown of the Collection Charge applied by the Claimant was requested from Restons Solicitors. This request was refused and no breakdown has been received by the Defendant.
A letter requesting information from the Claimant was sent to Restons Solicitors by Royal Mail Special Delivery on 30th August 2006. A copy of this letter will be presented to the court. A reply to this letter has not been received.
Be aware from my thread that this hasnt worked yet - I am waiting to hear back from the judge re HFC trying to get the defence struck out.....
Thanks for the info. I understand what you are saying but where you have written that "I admit outstanding balance of £6058.41" what would I put there because all I have is a figure on the court papers. I have no Breakdown of figures whatsoever, so I dont know if there is a collection charge, penalty fees or over-projected interest have been added on. I'm sure they have because the original loan was for £15k and they are asking for nearly £18k back!
Sorry for all the questions but I dont want to admit the whole amount and find that once I've done it, I cant defend any unlawful charges or such like. Does that make sense?
Thanks so much for your help!!
Yes thats okay -0 we want to get it right. Have you contacted the creditor and ask them for a Breakdown ? Try asking the solicitor for it ?
The default notice should have detailed the breakdown ? at least to the debt and any collection charges?
Can you post their particulars of claim ??
I'm not sure if you can ask for more time to enter your defence. Have you acknowledged the claim ???? usually you acknowledge within 14 days and defend within 28 days -
Which bit is ok? Admit the whole amount? But would I then be able to defend the unlawful charges after I have officially admitted the whole lot?
I had one default notice and it didnt detail the charges, all it said was that unless I paid up, the matter would be passed to a solicitor.
I contacted both the solicitor and the A&L for the Breakdown but neither have responded.
Particulars of Claim
1. Claimant made a loan to Defendant. 2. Claimant sent default notice to Defendant requested overdue payments to be made. 3. The amount claimed has not been paid. 4. Particulars of the notice sent to Defendant are put in the schedule below.
Advice re outstanding loan gone to court...
agency, instructed a solicitor and we have now received a court claim. However, the amount is for £17180.12, not including the court fee or solicitors costs. We have only missed 6 payments of £180, so I am a little worried as to why we owe so much!
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