Absolutely agree Andy - if you say you win most then of course I believe you but the judge I had was absolutely adamant and that was the frustrating thing.

Thats true but that also means a CCJ which in turn means 6 years or so of no credit or at best VERY expensive credit - I know some people will say great no credit but the bottom line is if you want to hire a car , buy " stuff " (!) and generally run your life then sensible , affordable credit really is essential. I could have paid £5 a month with no CCJ - that was my point. Please don't think I am blaming anymore - at the end of the day I only have myself to blame for getting into this situation in the first place BUT I would strongly urge people to do deals with these companies outside of the court system - more and more of these cases will now be happening as clearly its very lucrative for companies like 1st credit ?? Of course form a " moral " point of view maybe it is wrong - they have " resurrected " a 14 year old debt which i have no doubt they paid around £50 for and turned it into £2500 - marvellous and great for them ?? I actually don't blame 1st Credit anymore than I blame Wonga - clearly they are " disgusting " companies who don't care about the misery they inflict upon people in order to gain profit but I blame the government for allowing them to do it ?? As I said before I should have done a deal with them BEFORE going to court and I would urge others to do the same.

Firstly , apologies for the length of time updating the post - I would say I have been in shock !!! Essentially , it was an unmitigated disaster !!! Got to court and the lady representing 1st Credit asked me if I was interested in doing any kind of deal to settle - I actually thought this was quite encouraging and after it was clear they would be looking at around £1500 I thought I may as well take my chances. There was one magistrate who I suppose I owed describe as " firm but fair " - the lady from 1st credit took around 10 minutes outlining their case that essentially I owed the money !!! It was then my turn but before I spoke the magistrate asked me if I recognised the transactions on the credit card - I replied as it was nearly 17 years ago I GENUINELY had no idea - he then asked me did I accept that I had been making monthly payments over a period of time to reduce the debt which clearly I had and I agreed to this point. I set out my defence that I felt a " reconstructed " agreement was not adequate and even then because my debt was pre 2006 then the Carey judgement was not relevant - I also made the point that no default agreement had been served. The magistrate adjourned the hearing for maybe 20 mins to give him time to reference the Carey jusdgement and again at this point I tried to argue that it was relevant. After 20 mins or so we came back and the magistrate said that he was going to " stand behind " the Carey judgement and I was ordered to pay the debt - interestingly the magistrate also agreed with 1st credit that they did NOT have to issue a default statement as I had not paid the 2% of the debt each month and therefore was in default anyway ?? In the end I have to pay approx £500 in court fees as well as interest on the debt brining the total bill to nearly £2500 which I have to pay within 14 days and frankly can't so now my credit rating will be rubbish again after I have tried to claw things back over the last few years or so. Once again thanks for all the help form everyone on this board and I fully appreciate everyone's best intentions but from my personal experience I would urge anyone in a similar situation to me ( I have no doubt companies like 1st credit will no web looking round at " stayed " cases and try to gain judgements from these cases ) to be careful with the decisions they make. The bottom line is that I could have agreed to pay 1st credit £5 a month for what would essentially be the rest of my like (!!) - I accept not a great scenario but a far far better one than having to pay £2500 in 14 days ?? I firmly believe ( and of course my personal experience suggests this ) that sometimes you have to " know when you are beaten " and going to court against these companies who are very experienced in these type of cases is only going to end one way ?? Many thanks indeed again and I hope people can gain some insight into my experience.

Well I am " live " at the court and the judge has called an adjournment for the 1st credit solicitors to get a copy of the Carey case ??? I tried to put the point across that Carey was not relevant but clearly I didn't do it very well !!! Any help in turning this around for me in the the few minutes would be greatly appreciated as the claimants are going to ask for interest as well !!!

Many thx Andy - I will go through it all again later.

Thx Andy - apologies for labouring this but the reconstructed agreement / pre 2006 - do I mention this ??? Will update as soon as I get back !!!!!!

Andy Apologies for troubling you. Thank you very much indeed for all you help with my court case with 1st Credit - I am in court tomorrow and of course I do feel a little nervous !!! One are that I am slightly unsure about - !st credit have only sent me a " reconstructed agreement " and also no actual copy fa default - the fact that the original credit card was taken out BEFORE 2006 does that mean they can't do this OR will it be at the judges discretion ?? Essentially I am going to say that I don't owe the money and asked for a copy of the agreement which of course has never been provided ?? Does that make sense ?? Thanks once again for all you help.

Just wanted to say thank you VERY much indeed again for everyones help in this matter and in particular Andy for very kindly helping me with my witness statement. I am due in court on Wednesday and essentially i am going to explain to the court that I have never received a copy of the original agreement etc and as far a sI ma concerned what they have sent me so far is grossly inadequate - fingers crossed but whatever the result thanks once again.

Brilliant !!! Many thanks again Andy. I have managed to get the court date vacated and another one is to be listed after the 26th August as I am on holiday but of course will let you know the outcome ASAP. Thank you once again for all your help in this matter.

Andy - Thank you VERY VERY much indeed. In all honesty I am a little out of my depth but will do my my best to present this defence and hopefully get the rigth result - thanks so much once again !!!! One point you make about them not letting me know the debt has been signed to me - did they not write to me with that document ?? Finally , when they see this defence do you think there is a chance they may " give up " at this point without the need for a hearing or do you think they are so far down the road now that they will carry on ?? Thanks again Andy

Thx Andy - sorry - I know I sound ungrateful (!!!) its just I find this SO intimidating and 1st Credit really are going for the " jugular " and I shudder to think how much I will ahem to pay if they win this case !!! Thank you so much again.

Apologies - I know of course everyone is very busy but I just wondered if anyone had the chance to look a the downloaded documents and can help me with my defence ?? It absolutely has to be with 1st credit / the court by the 20th and I am leaving it very late ?? Thank you very much indeed again for any help I can get.

" Hopefully " - thats what I am terrified of !!!

I know - or indeed the Spirit is chasing this debt from around 2005 ?!?!?! The " agreement " doesn't even have my address let alone signature - it just seems like a standard set of terms and conditions ?? The thing is - when you get sent these type of documents with such a huge bundle etc it is just SO intimidating / worrying but i suppose they know that which is why they do it ??

Here is the new PDF - Thx again Andy - the notice of assignment is in the new PDF new ws scan.pdf