Thanks for the support. The forums gave me much needed reassurance and guidance. I will make a donation today.

Update on the claim. Today was the day for the hearing, it was scheduled for 12pm. I went into the court and approached the usher to sign in, but he couldn't find my name on his papers and told me to go to the office downstairs. I spoke to a clerk downstairs who looked at my papers and claim number, she looked it up on the system and turns out they cancelled the claim yesterday. So I guess I kind of won. I really wish it went to court though. Do they lose out on court fees since it was so close cancelling?

Yes I saw that mistake immediately upon the first read back. It is of course fixed now. How is everything aside from that?

Okay I've drafted up a witness statement now let me know what you think. I'm sending it off now anyway but it would be important to get any feedback for the hearing. Just noticed a critical typo after submitting to this forum, at the order sought part at the bottom I've mistakenly put claimant when I meant to type defence. It's amended now. Witness statement.doc

I don't the capacity to make a PDF document right now but here are the pages as JPEG. claimant_ws_.pdf What is the required structure I need to make of my witness statement? I assume it differs somehow from the Claimant side.

The case has been assigned to the Court I chose and they have sent me and the court their evidence and witness statement. I read false information online I took for regulation as the deadline for evidence to be submitted 14 days before the hearing. I overlooked there was a deadline for 19th of september. My critical error. I've been extremely busy for personal reasons around this time and they sent me their statement 5 days before the deadline. I rang up the Court and they suggested it will be up to the Judge whether he will consider my evidence but it may carry less weight. I'm in the middle of frantically drawing it all up now.

Hi there so an update on the case . I'm getting pretty anxious about this now. Looks like they're going to proceed. I'm not sure of what I need to do to submit documents as evidence. I investigated on vodafone's files. They failed the SAR and didn't give me any information during the time frame. I phoned up and asked them what the bills were for and they couldn't find the details on the system. They know that there is a balance outstanding that has been passed onto to Lowell but most of that is a culmination of unpaid months where I didn't use the service at all since it should have been properly cancelled by them.I But before that there is a hefty bill of £90 odd pounds from August. I asked them what that was and they couldn't find out. Looking at my bank statements, I'm all paid up for July and the money went out successfully. But somehow that bill was £90 something pounds. The man on the phone also told me that there was a credit to my account of £60 and the bill was made £30 for the month but the following month it went up to £130 for some reason. He couldn't explain why but he told me I could go in the shop and I could print out the statements so I did. When I went to the Vodafone shop they looked on the system and I could see I made a phone call to vodafone lasting 40 minutes at the end of August. Obviously me being incredulous at the cost of bill and cancelling. After that my account remains unused. The most interesting thing is that looking at the system you can see all the statements up to July and after August starting in September. The month of August has been totally removed from the system. There literally is no record of it, I saw it on the screen myself and even the staff there had no clue why that was the case. With this information how can I proceed . I am happy to pay for what I used but I absolutely do not want to pay for some stupid admin error on their part. Help?

Sorry I'm not sure what this means. Can you explain please? No, I haven't moved. I'm living at the same address. They asked for a driving license, passport or utility bill.

A little update on this case, I received a Directions Questionaire filled out by Lowell. How do I respond to this action? Also, received back from Vodaphone the SAR form with my postal order enclosed. They refused the request on the grounds that I failed to identify myself. Should I retry now that GDPR is now in place?

Fair enough. I removed that paragraph and submitted it. Hopefully if I win I can get it removed. Is there anything I should be doing now that it's submitted? Thanks for the help and guidance.

Final draft -------------------------------------------- Particulars of Claim: 1) The Defendant entered into an agreement with Vodafone under account reference 000000000 ('the Agreement'). 2) The Defendant failed to maintain the required payments and the service was terminated. 3) The agreement was later assigned to the claimant on 31/08/2017 and notice given to the defendant. 4) Despite repeated requests for payment, the sum of £201.09 remains due and outstanding. And the Claimant claims a) The said sum of £201.09 b) Interest pursuant to s69 County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum to the date of issue, accruing at a daily rate of £0.044 but limited to one year being £9.52 c) Costs The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim are vague and generic in nature. The Defendant accordingly sets out its case below and relies on CPR r 16.5 (3) in relation to any particular allegation to which a specific response has not been made. 1. Paragraph 1 is accepted. I have in the past entered into a contract with Vodafone, however I do not recall the exact details or recall any outstanding balance and have requested that the claimant verify the exact details of this claim by way of a CPR 31.14 request. The claimant has yet to comply. 2. Paragraph 2 is also noted but again I do not recall any breach and therefore the Claimant is put to strict proof to: (a) show how the Defendant has entered into a Agreement/Contract; and (b) show how the Defendant has reached the amount claimed for; and © show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim; 3. On the alternative, if the Claimant is an assignee of a debt, it is denied that the Claimant has the right to lay a claim due to contraventions of Section 136 of the Law of Property Act. 4. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4), it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed. 5. Notwithstanding the above should the alleged amount claimed include an early termination charge(s) amounting to the entire balance of the remaining contract, OFCOM guidance states that any Early Termination Charge that is made up of the entire balance of the remaining contract is unlikely to be fair as it fails to take into account the fact that the provider no longer has to provide and pay for their service. 6. It is noted that the claimant has issued a default on the defendant's credit file starting from Feb 2018, for the amount of £201. This was then increased to £285 to reflect the costs brought about by invoking this Court Claim: Original Sum £201 Court Fee: £25 Legal representative's cost: £50 Total default sum £285 The default amount is not only unfit for this purpose, it does no longer constitute fees that the defendant has been shown to be liable to, which is clearly unlawful. As such the defendant demands that the claimant remove and strikeout the default altogether from the record unless accurate information is reflected, including but not limited to the sum, date and lender. 7. By reason of the facts and matters set out above, it is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief claimed or any relief. I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true. Signed: Infused Dated on the day 3rd of May 2018

Issue date is 05 April 2018. Would it be okay to include this paragraph to my defence? 7. It is noted that the claimant has issued a default on the defendant's credit file starting from Feb 2018, for the amout of £201. This amount is supposed to reflect the defendant's alleged balance but clearly the incorrect date and issued under the claimant's name, 'Lowell' which is again incorrect and unlawful. The default on the credit file for April 2018 was then increased to £285 to reflect the costs of legal fees for this County Court Claim. This figure does no longer contitute fees that the defendant has been shown to be liable to, which is clearly unlawful. As such the defendant demands that the claimant remove and strikeout the default altogether from the record unless accurate information is reflected, including but not limited to the sum, date and lender. Alternatively this one? 7. It is noted that the claimant has issued a default on the defendant's credit file starting from Feb 2018, for the amount of £201. This was then increased to £285 to reflect the costs brought about by invoking this Court Claim. Original Sum £201 Court Fee: £25 Legal representative's cost: £50 Total default sum £285 The default amount is not only unfit for this purpose, it does no longer constitute fees that the defendant has been shown to be liable to, which is clearly unlawful. As such the defendant demands that the claimant remove and strikeout the default altogether from the record unless accurate information is reflected, including but not limited to the sum, date and lender.

How is this for a defence? Will this be okay for me? It's an amalgam of two similar cases from the forums. Particulars of Claim: 1) The Defandant entered into an agreement with Vodafone under account reference 0000000000 ('the agreement'). 2) The Defandant failed to maintain the required payments and the service was cancelled. 3) The agreement was later assigned to the claimant on 31/08/2017 and notice given to the defendant. 4) Despite repeated requests for payment the sum of 201.09 remains due and outstanding. And the Claimant claims a) The said sum of 201.09 b) Interest pursuant to s69 County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum to the date of issue, accruing at a daily rate of 0.044 but limited to one year being 9.52 c) Costs The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim are vague and generic in nature. The Defendant accordingly sets out its case below and relies on CPR r 16.5 (3) in relation to any particular allegation to which a specific response has not been made. 1. Paragraph 1 is accepted.I have in the past entered into a contract with Vodafone however I do not recall the exact details or recall any outstanding balance and have requested that the claimant verify the exact details of this claim by way of a CPR 31.14 request. The claimant has yet to comply. 2. Paragraph 2 is also noted but again I do not recall any breach and therefore the Claimant is put to strict proof to: (a) show how the Defendant has entered into a Agreement/Contract; and (b) show how the Defendant has reached the amount claimed for; and © show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim; 3. On the alternative, if the Claimant is an assignee of a debt, it is denied that the Claimant has the right to lay a claim due to contraventions of Section 136 of the Law of Property Act. 4. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4), it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed. 5. Notwithstanding the above should the alleged amount claimed include an early termination charge(s) amounting to the entire balance of the remaining contract, OFCOM guidance states that any Early Termination Charge that is made up of the entire balance of the remaining contract is unlikely to be fair as it fails to take into account the fact that the provider no longer has to provide and pay for their service. 6. By reason of the facts and matters set out above, it is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief claimed or any relief.

I'm at the stage where I want to start a defence but I'm unsure how to and effectively go about this? Is there a particular way that I can get the court to adjourn and go down a complaints route with more time to spare? Ultimately I just want this default removed. It's clearly falsified but I want to make sure that when I get it removed they won't put one back on. If possible I'd like to avoid paying for anything as I don't think I owe any of it but if need be to just quickly end the ordeal I'm willing to settle but only at no affect to my credit report. Any ideas as to how I best go about this?

So I received a reply back from Lowell and they said: "We confirm receipt of your letter requesting a copy of the agreement, assignment and default/termination notice in respect of the above account. Furthermore was can confirm the account was actioned appropriately following receipt of your acknowledgment of service. As this account is a telecommunications account it is not regulated by the consumer credit act 1974 and therefore the supplier may not have retained a copy of the agreement. The terms of such an agreement are deemed to be accepted when the deal on the sim card is broken and it is inserted into the mobile device. At this point calls can be made and received and access is available to other facilities that may have been provided as part of the terms. You can view up to date terms on the supplier's website. A default notice is a technical document which is applied to a credit agreement should the customer fail to repay their account over a prolonged period of time. As mobile phone have a service agreement, a default notice does not apply and is therefore not issued. We have enclosed a copy of the notice of assignment as requested." The rest of it isn't important. ------------------------ Particulars of Claim: 1) The Defandant entered into an agreement with vodafoneicon under account reference 0000000000 ('the agreement'). 2) The Defandant failed to maintain the required payments and the service was cancelled. 3) The agreement was later assigned to the claimant on 31/08/2017 and notice given to the defendant. 4) Despite repeated requests for payment the sum of 201.09 remains due and outstanding. And the Claimant claims a) The said sum of 201.09 b) Interest pursuant to s69 County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum to the date of issue, accruing at a daily rate of 0.044 but limited to one year being 9.52 c) Costs Have you received prior notice of a claim being issued pursuant to paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) ? I received a letter entitled Pre-Legal Assessment which said that they intend to take legal action to recover the debt if I didn't contact to agree a repayment plan. What is the value of the claim? £ 201.09 ( £285.61 incl court and legal fees) Is the claim for - a Bank Account (Overdraft) or credit card or loan or catalogue or mobile phone account? Mobile phone account. When did you enter into the original agreement before or after 2007? After. Has the claim been issued by the original creditor or was the account assigned and it is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim. Assigned and debt purchaser issued the claim . Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? I don't think so but Lowell seems to think I did. Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? No. Lowell have put a default on my credit report starting from last month. Which is incorrect. Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Default sums” – at least once a year ? No Why did you cease payments? The contract term ended, I phoned up and cancelled the account but sometime after that I received notice that I hadn't paid the bill after two months and incurred data charges and late payment fees. I phoned up and told them I had cancelled but they refused to accept it so I terminated the call and ignored the letters . What was the date of your last payment? Not sure. I'll have to dig it out . Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? Yes. Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt management plan? No. ----------------------------------------------