Thank you so much dx.

Really appreciate this, I will read through and prepare tonight and post my defence tomorrow online.

THANK YOU once again.

if you wish post it here 1st not due till / by 4pm Tuesday

Hi,

I have prepared my defence as follows (red text is for reference to the claim only)

1.The defendant entered into an agreement with Three mobile under account number XXXXXXXXXX

2. The defendant failed to maintain the required payments and the service was terminated

3. the agreement was later assigned to the claimant on 23/12/2014 and notice given to the defendant

4. Despite repeated requests for payment the sum of £349.49 remains due and outstanding

And the claimant claims

a) the said sum of £349.49

b) interest pursuant to s69 county courts act 1984 at the rate of 8% from the date of assignment to the date of issue, accruing at a daily rate of £0.077 but limited to one year, being £27.69

c) Costs*

1. The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim are vague and generic in nature. The claimant's’ particulars of claims disclose no legal cause of action as the claimant's statement of case is insufficiently particularised and does not comply or even attempt to comply with CPR part 16.2 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.

2.The claim is denied. I have requested information pertaining to the claimants claim by way of a CPR 31.14 request sent on 13.10.2017 and which the claimant received it on the 14.10.2017

The claimant has failed to respond.

3.The claim is denied the Claimant has not served a Notice of Assignment pursuant to the law of property act 1925 and the Claimant is put to strict proof to:*

(a) show how the Defendant has entered into an agreement; and

(b) show and evidence the nature of breach;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;

4.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 if 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.

5. As per Civil Procedureicon Rule 16.5(4), it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed.

Should it read "crediticon" and "Procedureicon"?

Is there anything else I should do/fill in on MCOL when submitting my defence?

Do I have to attach any supporting documents, i.e. CPR request or proof of postage?

Thanks again for all your help, this is all new to me and I really appreciate your support and advice.

You have not made a response to their point 2...you cant deny a claim simply because they have made no response to a CPR 31.14 request.....disclosure follows allocation.

" Do I have to attach any supporting documents, i.e. CPR request or proof of postage? "

No.... you cant anyway if submitting on line...that comes later when you submit your evidence.

Andy

Hi,

Thanks for your advice, should I put in the following?

2. Paragraph 2 is noted, I do not recall any breach and I have never received a Default Notice. To date, no statement of the alleged account has been received.

Or what would you suggest? Apologies for my naivety and I appreciate your advice.

Many Thanks

2.Paragraph 2 is noted .It is accepted that I have had a contractual relationship with Three Mobile in the past...however I do not recollect the details or recall any outstanding balance and have therefore requested by way of a CPR 31.14 details of the agreement and breach/termination of the alleged outstanding balance.As of this date the claimant has failed to comply with my request.

So the above takes in their points 1 & 2

Hi Andy,

Many thanks.

I have amended it to read in full as follows:

1.The defendant entered into an agreement with Three mobile under account number XXXXXXXXXX

2. The defendant failed to maintain the required payments and the service was terminated

3. the agreement was later assigned to the claimant on 23/12/2014 and notice given to the defendant

4. Despite repeated requests for payment the sum of £349.49 remains due and outstanding

And the claimant claims

a) the said sum of £349.49

b) interest pursuant to s69 county courts act 1984 at the rate of 8% from the date of assignment to the date of issue, accruing at a daily rate of £0.077 but limited to one year, being £27.69

c) Costs*

1.The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim are vague and generic in nature. The claimant's’ particulars of claims disclose no legal cause of action as the claimant's statement of case is insufficiently particularised and does not comply or even attempt to comply with CPR part 16.2 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.

2.Paragraph 2 is noted. It is accepted that I have had a contractual relationship with Three Mobile in the past, however I do not recollect the details or recall any outstanding balance and have therefore requested by way of a CPR 31.14 details of the agreement and breach/termination of the alleged outstanding balance. As of this date the claimant has failed to comply with my request.

3.The claim is denied the Claimant has not served a Notice of Assignment pursuant to the law of property act 1925 and the Claimant is put to strict proof to:*

(a) show how the Defendant has entered into an agreement; and

(b) show and evidence the nature of breach;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;

4.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 if 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.

5. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4), it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed.

6. On the alternative, as 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 and Section 82A of the consumer crediti Act 1974.

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.

Is this okay?

I presume I leave out the red text when submitting?

Also, should it read "crediticon" and "Procedureicon"?

Your advice is much appreciated and any suggested changes welcomed.

Thanks

I presume I leave out the red text when submitting? Correct

Also, should it read "crediticon" and "Procedureicon"? Removed above.

Defence now ready

A huge thank you. It is really good to know that there are people out there who are prepared to help and support me. I really appreciate all the advice and support.

I will submit my defence and await the next steps.

Thank you once again.

Hi,

I have now received two letters from Lowell Solicitors. There are as follows:

Received 2-3 days ago:

“We write further to the above mentioned matter and your recent correspondence received at our offices dated 8 October 2017.

We can confirm the above balance relates to a former Three Mobile account which was taken out on 28 June 2012 and the last payment was in the sum of £30 on 30 May 2013. The mobile number linking to the account was XXXXXXXXX and the original balance was £349.49 which was made up of the early termination fee of £285.41 and airtime debt of £64.08.

As this account is a telecommunication account, it is not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and therefore the supplier may have not retained a copy of the Agreement. The terms of such an agreement are deemed to be accepted when the seal of 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 the up to date terms on the supplier’s website.

The Notice of Assignment is enclosed herewith and we note you have filed your Acknowledgement of Service which provides you with 28 days to respond to the Claim. In this case you have until 25 October 2017 to respond to the Claim as you deem appropriate. Failure to respond within this time period may result in us applying for a County Court Judgement (CCJ) in Default to be entered against you. This would mean further costs and could make it difficult for you to obtain credit, mortgages or even some employment whilst it remains unsatisfied on your credit file for six years.

We trust this clarifies our position, I you wish to speak with a member of our team, please telephone us between 8:00am and 8:00pm Monday to Friday or between 8:00am and 2:00pm Saturday on 0113 335 3334.”

Received today:

“We refer to the matter shown at the side of this page.

Please find enclosed a copy of the Directions Questionnaire which we have now lodged with the Court. You will shortly receive a copy of the same directly from the Court for completion and return. The Court will use the information contained in both our copy and yours to make decisions about how the case should proceed.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss this further please contact us on 0113 335 3343.”

They have selected “Yes” to “Do you agree to this case being referred to the Small Claims Mediation Service?”.

I am guessing I need to wait for the letter from the Court, however do I need to do anything else at this stage?

Many thanks for your help and advice.

no

await your n180

shame they've shot themselves in the foot by clearly stating all but £64 is unlawful early termination fees

Hi dx,

Will do, thanks for the advice.

That's good to know that they have shot themselves in the foot!

Thanks again.

Hi,

I have now received the N180 and would be grateful for any advice regarding completing it. Should I select to use the Small Claims Mediation Service?

Also Lowell Solicitors have written again sending me a copy of the Notice of Assignment (though not on any letterhead) and advised that they have contacted their client, Three Mobile, to raise a request for further documents and that they will contact me once they have their client's response.

The N180 has to be with the court by the 20th November.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

don't forget to be reading other threads to know what is to come and what to do....

yes to mediation

1 wit YOU

read is obv

3 copies

1 court

1 their sols [remove email/phone]

1 for you file

Hi dx,

Thanks for your speedy response.

I am reading lots of threads at the moment and trying my best to get my head around the process and what is to come, though it does get confusing and i am very grateful for all advice.

Ok, will tick the mediation box and the rest looks pretty obvious to complete.

Just one question, if I put my phone number of the form to the court do Lowell get a copy and so may hound me with phone calls?

Thanks once again, I couldn't do this without your support.

now go read my last post...

Hi,

I have just received an email from the mediation service as follows:

The above parties have all filed a Directions Questionnaire (N180) and have all requested mediation.

Provisional Appointment Time & Date

A telephone mediation session of up to one hour is available to you Monday to Friday between 9:30 and 13:30, which needs to take place within 21 days of this email.

Please note that this is not a confirmed appointment and you will receive a further letter/email to advise if mediation is going ahead.

Owing to a high level of referrals at the present time, mediation appointments are limited. If we are unable to contact you before the appointments for this date are booked; your case will be transferred to a court to be listed for allocation. If you would like to increase your chance of securing an appointment please call us as soon as possible on 0300 123 4593.

Mediation can only be arranged if we are able to verbally complete the mediation criteria with all parties. We will try to call you within the next 8 days and, if we are able to secure a mediation appointment, we will send you confirmation. If you do not receive an email, or letter, confirming the appointment, the appointment will not be taking place.

Please note that Mediation appointments are limited and can only be re-arranged under exceptional circumstances.

Mediation Requirements

Please read the following 3 statements:

Yes

No

1. For mediation to be successful there needs to be some flexibility from all parties and a willingness to listen and consider each other’s positions. Can you agree to this?

2. I can confirm that I have enough information about the claim to allow me to enter into negotiations and that I do not require any further evidence from the other party before I can mediate

3. I am available to mediate on one of the following days

(You must tick at least 1 of the following, you may tick more than 1 if applicable)

I am available between 9:30 & 13:30 on a Monday

I am available between 9:30 & 13:30 on a Tuesday

I am available between 9:30 & 13:30 on a Wednesday

I am available between 9:30 & 13:30 on a Thursday

I am available between 9:30 & 13:30 on a Friday

Mediation is only available to you if you can answer YES to all 3 statements above. If you cannot answer YES to each of the 3 statements, mediation is not suitable for your case.

If you have answered yes to all 3 questions and you would like to try mediation, please also complete the following table and return the email to [email protected]. (You may have to click on reply before you can complete the boxes above and below)

Sorry for being dumb, but this is all new to me and so any advice as to what I should say would be welcomed. I have not received a copy of the agreement between Three and myself from Lowells and only the Notice of Assignment.

Do I let the mediation happen and just keep saying that I want a copy of the agreement as mentioned in Lowell's Particulars of Claim and until I get that then I cannot discuss further?

Or do I just answer NO to Point 2 of the mediation questions that asks do I have enough information to enter into negotiations as I do not have a copy of the Agreement yet?

All advice would be welcomed once again.

Many Thanks

Well you should have been reading some threads then...

You'd know what to do then rather than posting all that up

If you have not received all the paperwork (there is no agreement. You never signed one?) So you say no to the paperwork question when they phone

Interesting chat with the mediation service,

the guy's opening comment was

"I am presuming that as this Claimant is Lowell then you will not have the info you require"

and then said

"there is virtually no chance that you will receive the information requested from Lowell".......

.clearly Lowell are not popular with the mediation and court service.

He suggested I write to Lowell again requesting the copy of the agreement, would this be a good idea?

or best just left for the time being and wait for the next stage?

they will hold the case in mediation for the next 3-4 weeks and then transfer it to the county court.

If I don't update again before Christmas,

then I wish you a Merry Christmas and thank you for your help and support.

that's usual for lowells

or indeed any DCA issuing claimforms..

they hope for a non contested default rubberstamped judgement where no human ever checks anything.

dx

Interesting chat with the mediation service,

the guy's opening comment was

"I am presuming that as this Claimant is Lowell then you will not have the info you require"

and then said

"there is virtually no chance that you will receive the information requested from Lowell".......

.clearly Lowell are not popular with the mediation and court service.

 

He suggested I write to Lowell again requesting the copy of the agreement, would this be a good idea?

or best just left for the time being and wait for the next stage?

 

they will hold the case in mediation for the next 3-4 weeks and then transfer it to the county court.

 

If I don't update again before Christmas,

then I wish you a Merry Christmas and thank you for your help and support.

Hence the reason for the following..mainly due to the likes of Cabot and Lowell.

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?481827-The-Pre-Action-Protocol-for-Debt-Claims-is-made-by-the-Master-of-the-Rolls-as-Head-of-Civil-Justice.-1st-Oct-2017

And no you dont make any further requests.

Andy