Yeah, I'm going to phone the courts this week to see if they've received the notice. However I'm not sure we can claim costs for a discontinuance, can we? Elkus

Ok, time for an update... After sending off our defence, the courts sent a letter back stating that they had received the defence and that the claimants have 28 days to respond, etc etc etc. We weren't expecting much of a response this side of the New Year so were a little bit surprised to receive a letter from Howard Cohen. Here's the contents of said letter: "We can confirm that we have been instructed by our client to discontinue the county court claim issued against you as the claim was instructed in error, therefore, please find enclosed by way of service upon you a Notice of Discontinuance." And sure enough, attached to the letter was the following: So, they discontinued! However I have a question regarding this notice, something I'm not 100% sure of... Am I to assume that if we make a payment they'll drop the case? Or is this just their way of saying we owed them in the first place and they're just dropping it without expecting anything from us? Elated and confused! Not a good combination! But in any case, many thanks for all your help and support in getting this result! It's very much appreciated! Kudos all round I think! A happy Elkus

Hey SC, I've been reading your thread with interest, which helped give us the confidence we can do this Thanks for the support! Elkus

Ok the defence is now in! I'll keep everyone posted when I next receive something Elkus

That thumbnail is a bit small, you're probably better off using an image hosting provider to host the images and just link to the image. Photobucket is a popular one and there is a thread on using it somewhere in this forum. But I would hazard a guess that the PoC looks very similar to mine... And yes I would get the CPR letter sent recorded delivery ASAP. Remember to PRINT BUT NOT SIGN your name at the bottom! Don't forget to also date the letter as well as it gives them a reference date to work from. Elkus

I too have a case with Howard Cohen (well, my wife does), so it would be interesting to see how they manage your case in comparison with mine (see my thread for details!). Can you post the full PoC (minus personal details) so we can have a look at it, along with the request you made to them and their response (also minus personal details etc)? When I wrote to them asking for their copies of the documents under CPR 31.14 they very quickly provided the documents without question. I'd be interested to see why they refused in your case? It could be that they don't have said documents... Also, did you receive a Default Notice or a Notice of Assignment from them prior to the claim being issued? Elkus

Right you are then! So in either case the account has been 100% terminated... I think that's cleared that one up! Thanks for the advice, Elkus

Aha now I understand! Do they have to state the account has been terminated, or does the issuance of a DN and the follow-up court claim automatically render the account terminated? Still not 100% sure on this one cos they could claim the account hasn't been terminated and issue a 'correct' DN at a later date... Other than that I'll get the defence sent later on in the week once I fully understand what I'm putting there! Elkus

Great, thanks very much! That's pretty much what I was looking for but was a bit put off by the long defences :? However I have a couple of questions to ask, if you don't mind? As you say I need to be fully aware of all the facts, so I'd like to clarify a couple of points: I assume we're referring to the lack of documentation supplied with the claim? I gather this is standard practice with online applications (although last time I saw a claim come from Northampton it had all the referenced materials attached) and is 'acceptable'? I'm also assuming that we're not including the fact that they sent the materials under my CPR request, so is this relevant? I've always been curious about this... What exactly does pleading embarrassment achieve? Haven't we already asked for this under CPR? They did send me a copy when asked, although it is of dubious nature... But apart from that, thanks again, you've all been really helpful with your suggestions (Can there ever be too much praise??) Elkus

Hey folks, Just a quick shout to say that my defence should be in by Friday, and I would like some help with putting one together! Is anyone able to advise please? Thanks! Elkus

Was that what your wife said? Usually a court date is not set until both parties have stated their position (admittance, partial defence or defence) and had a chance to put their paperwork through to the courts. This can take several months. Elkus

Hey bggs, thanks for subbing Would be great if you could get some good tips from this thread! After all I'd be glad to help someone else if their problems are similar to mine... Elkus

Hello 42man, Thanks for the heads-up, but the first link has a defence where the CA has yet to be provided. I have been sent a copy of our CA which hasn't been signed by the creditor so could I state that they have failed to provide a valid copy? Or should I work on something else for my defence? The second link has a witness statement but I'm not sure if that's what I should be providing yet as it's only the defence I need to produce! I'll have another trawl through the forums for a suitable defence but so far I'm not having much luck Elkus

Oh, one thing I've been meaning to ask... Remember that this is my wife's account, and that the account had been going for about 3 years. She changed her name a year ago when we married, and was sent a new card with her new name on it. Should a new agreement have been provided along with the card? I'm eager to chase this one up as my defence should really be in by Friday (as the deadline is Saturday 29th) and I'm hoping to discover more avenues for our defence. Elkus

Hey folks, I've been reading through quite a few posts for a suitable defence but all I seem to come across are those for where the CA etc have not been provided. Would anyone have a template for a defence where the requested documents have been provided? It would also need to consider the following points about the provided documents too: 1) The CA has not been signed and dated by the creditor, merely rubber-stamped. 2) The DN provided was not originally sent to us, nor was it received. The provided copy does not have an issue date, only a due date. Plus the format is poor. 3) The NoA was also not sent to us, nor was it received, as per their claim on their PoA. If anyone can suggest any further points it would be very much appreciated! It may also be worth mentioning that we're not disputing the fact that we owe money on the account itself, but are contesting the manner in which we had a claim made against us... Seems a bit unfair when the DN is only asking for about £40, which is something I can afford to pay them. Thanks for your help! Elkus

Hello again With a week to go for the defence submission date, I figured it's about time we started to come up with a suitable defence... I'll be looking at some other defences to help me get one together, so if anyone's got any helpful suggestions I'll be glad to hear them Elkus

Ok will do, and thanks for all the advice folks! It's been much appreciated so far Many thanks, Elkus

Hi Andy, Thanks for clarifying what I suspected, although I don't see any harm in putting that in my defence. Even if the view is eventually taken that this is a valid CCA there is still the issue of the DN which can still be argued. Would arguing the validity of the CCA have an affect on the case if it were to be successfully disputed? Many thanks, Elkus

Ok, this is the biggest photobucket will let me make it. If it's still too small I'll chop it in two halves and do it that way... Copy of application

This could get confusing... There's an authorised signatory box at the very very bottom which is filled in with just a bunch of numbers, but the box that states "Agreement signed for and on behalf of GE Capital Bank Limited" has not been signed or dated, but there's the "COMPLETED" stamp next to it. The top half of the form doesn't state terms and conditions anywhere but it does have headings such as "Key Financial Information" and "Other Financial Information" and so on. I'll see if I can get a much larger copy on photobucket as it shrank the original! Elkus

Only contains my wife's signature, but their section had been stamped with "COMPLETED". The top of the form says "DEBENHAMS RETAIL PLC STAFF ACCOUNT REQUEST" in black at the top, and the next line says "Please read this application carefully..." etc etc. So does this mean this is an application form and not the Credit Agreement as requested? Elkus

Hi Andy, That was my immediate thought upon reading the copy DN. As I now have 2 weeks to submit my defence, what would be the best thing to say to that end? I've read a few submissions by others but they mostly seem to deal with missing copies and failures to adhere to the requests. Not sure what's best to say considering I now have (rather dubious) copies of all the paperwork I asked for. Many thanks, Elkus

You're correct, the DN was not dated and only gave the due date. The CCA was copied onto a sheet of A4 so it's very small! The top half with the signature states the following somewhere: Interest rate of 26.478% Minimum monthly payment of £4 or 4% Additional charges info And that the agreement is non-cancellable If there's anything else I should be looking for, please let me know! Many thanks, Elkus

Credit Agreement supplied by Howard Cohen

Hi Andy, The DN says exactly as you see it, that's the whole of the page. The pics are hosted by photobucket but I'll see what I can do! Elkus