Judgement has now come through the post Scan1.pdf

I bet for a lot of their claims it’s not worth sending a solicitor to the hearing, which makes me wonder why they bother taking legal action in the first place? I guess the more cases they lose the better. Judge said I’ll get a letter through the post with his decision and reasons so I’ll update the thread when I get it. Thanks to all who have helped me with my success today, I’ll be making a donation too.

Well I walked in, the judge immediately said please have a seat. He then explained why the claimant had no representation (not cost effective, etc). He then said I've dismissed the case. He'd dismissed the case before I'd even said anything. His main reasoning was that there no original agreement, and so he couldn't say if a breach of contract had occurred. He also said there was no default notice, or statement of account as to how I owed the alleged £102. He agreed that the 3 bills they had provided were confusing as they were all different amounts. And then he asked if I wanted to say or add anything. I didn't know what to say other than thanking him for agreeing with me. I was done in 5 minutes.

I won

Yes they've already said they aren't coming. But that on it's own doesn't guarantee I'll win?

The day has come for this to be decided, 2pm today is the time it's listed for. Their witness statement landed on my door mat exactly 2 weeks ago, and theres nothing new in there, everything they've already sent before. They won't be coming so it'll be me and the judge. I'm just going to spend next couple of hours going over everything again and get my argument clear in my head. Any tips would be appreciated, and wish me luck!

It doesn't specifically tell you where to send it, only that that is where the hearing will take place.

When I send the witness statement, do I just send it to the main court address? County Court at Leeds, Leeds Combined Court Centre, The Courthouse, 1 Oxford Row, Leeds, LS1 3BG. Or does it have to be sent to anyone/department in particular? Can't find the information

That’s great I’ll do that. Is my witness statement ok now? I’ll need to post it tomorrow to make sure they get it by 1st.

Attempt 3! My witness statement: I, XXX, being the Defendant in this case state as follows; I make this Witness Statement in support of my defence dated 4th December 2017 and in response to the claimant’s claim dated 21st September 2017 which was submitted through County Court Business Centre. 1. It is my understanding that the claimant is an Assignee, a buyer of defunct, disputed or bad debts, which are bought en masse as portfolios at a much reduced cost to the amount claimed ...10p to 15p in the pound and which are already written off as capital loss and claimed against taxable income by the original creditors. The claimant then issues claims en masse with little or no evidence or documentation as a ‘fishing exercise’ claiming the full amount of alleged debt to maximise profit. 2. As an assignee or creditor as defined in section 189 of the CCA this applies to this new requirement on assignment of rights. This means that when an assignee purchases debts (or otherwise acquires rights under a credit agreement) it also acquires certain obligations to the borrower including the duty to comply with CCA requirements (such as the rules on statements and notices and other post-contractual information). The assignee becomes the creditor under the agreement. This ensures that essential consumer protections under the CCA cannot be circumvented by assigning the debt to a third party. 3. Background Save insofar of any admittance it is accepted that a contractual relationship did once exist between myself and Talk Talk Ltd. On receipt of this claim I could not recall the precise details of any agreement or any debt, numerous years having passed since the alleged agreement date, and therefore reasonably sought clarity and information from the claimant. I formally requested via CPR 31.14: A copy of the original agreement; A statement of account; A copy of the terms and conditions as applicable at the time of the agreement; A copy of any Default Notice/ termination notice; A copy of any notice of assignment showing the claimant’s legal right to take action Having made a claim the above data should have been immediately and fully available from the claimant and as per the above formal requests duly sent to the defendant to allow a swift conclusion. 4. Disclosures The claimant has supplied some documentation but has failed to comply fully with my formal requests. The claimant has failed to provide: A copy of the original agreement A statement of the account showing completely and exactly how the amount claimed for has been reached A copy of a default notice/termination notice A copy of a legal notice of assignment showing the claimant’s legal right to take action. I received copies (no originals) of three bills: 25th April 2014 - £120.74 26th May 2014 - £122.29 25th June 2014 - £102.67 All of the bills are for different amounts, with the June bill being less than the April bill. I find it hard to believe that the amount due could decrease over time unless a payment had been made. None of the bills state that they are the “Final Bill” or that the account has been closed. Subject to the above, should the alleged amount claimed include an early termination charge(s) amounting to the total balance of the remaining contract, OFCOM guidance clearly 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. I also received a document purporting to be a ‘notice of assignment of debt’ however it is highly inconsistent in that, it is unsigned, it contains no formal company information e.g. company number and tax details and is not in the format of other letters that have been sent by the claimant. It also has “Reprint” in the background, which means in fact it could have easily been produced the day before it was sent to me for the purposes of this case. Furthermore it is dated 28/05/2015 and this DIRECTLY contradicts the statement made in the particulars of claim, that notice was given on 31/03/2015. 5. Conclusion The claimant has failed to comply with my formal requests, is in default and therefore I must assume that this is due to the claimant not having any of the above mentioned legally required documentation and has merely issued a speculative claim in the hope of obtaining an undefended default judgment. Statement of Truth I also would like to know what happens if I don't receive their witness statement by the 1st June? 1st of June is 2 weeks before the hearing and it's in the judges directions to serve at least 14 days before. Can I report them?

Is this any better? WITNESS STATEMENT OF (Defendant) --------------------------------------------------------- 1. I make this statement in support of my defence to the claim above. 2. This claim is in respect to termination fees under a contract to supply Land and Mobile Line Telephone Services to (Address) 3. The Particulars of Claim submitted by the claimant advises the contract was entered into on 22nd November 2012 but with no termination date, and with a balance of £102.67 4. Save insofar of any admittance it is accepted that a contractual relationship did once exist between myself and Talk Talk Ltd. On receipt of this claim I could not recall the precise details of any agreement or any debt, numerous years having passed since the alleged agreement date, and therefore reasonably sought clarity and information from the claimant. I formally requested via CPR 31.14: A copy of the original agreement; A statement of account; A copy of the terms and conditions as applicable at the time of the agreement; A copy of any Default Notice/ termination notice; A copy of any notice of assignment showing the claimant’s legal right to take action Having made a claim the above data should have been immediately and fully available from the claimant and as per the above formal requests duly sent to the defendant to allow a swift conclusion. 5. I do not recall having received a Notice of Assignment, as stated by the Claimant and despite my request for a copy of said document, under CPR 31.14, the Claimant has failed to provide me with such, at the time of the request. Since then the claimant has sent me a “Reprinted” copy of the assignment. However, it is highly inconsistent in that, it is unsigned, it contains no formal company information e.g. company number and tax details and is not in the format of other letters that have been sent by the claimant. It also has “Reprint” in the background, which means in fact it could have easily been produced the day before it was sent to me for the purposes of this case. The account number on this letter also doesn’t match the original Talk Talk account number as it does in all other documents. Furthermore it is dated 28/05/2015 and this DIRECTLY contradicts the statement made in the particulars of claim, that notice was given on 31/03/2015. Therefore the Claimant is to provide 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; 6. While I resided at (the address) I was married, and it was my wife at the time that dealt with all services and bills. 7. I left the matrimonial home in June 2013 due to a non-molestation order issued by Bradford County Court in favour of my ex-wife and was therefore unable to access anything after this time. 8. Without the original agreement I cannot advise if this agreement has been taken out fraudulently. 9. The claimant has also supplied recreated copies (no originals) of three bills: 25th April 2014 - £120.74 26th May 2014 - £122.29 25th June 2014 - £102.67 All of the bills are for different amounts, with the June bill being less than the April bill. I find it hard to believe that the amount due could decrease over time unless a payment had been made. None of the bills state that they are the “Final Bill” or that the account has been closed. 10 Subject to the above, should the alleged amount claimed include an early termination charge(s) amounting to the total balance of the remaining contract, OFCOM guidance clearly 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. 11 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.

That is correct. But as you say I need to prepare my statement now so I can get it to them (court and claimant) by the 1st June. Hearing 15th June.

Ok, well I found a good witness statement in another case (not telecoms), and I've tried to adapt it, but I might need your help to further fine tune it: My witness statement: I, XXX, being the Defendant in this case state as follows; I make this Witness Statement in support of my defence dated 4th December 2017 and in response to the claimant’s claim dated 21st September 2017 which was submitted through County Court Business Centre. 1. It is my understanding that the claimant is an Assignee, a buyer of defunct, disputed or bad debts, which are bought en masse as portfolios at a much reduced cost to the amount claimed ...10p to 15p in the pound and which are already written off as capital loss and claimed against taxable income by the original creditors. The claimant then issues claims en masse with little or no evidence or documentation as a ‘fishing exercise’ claiming the full amount of alleged debt to maximise profit. 2. As an assignee or creditor as defined in section 189 of the CCA this applies to this new requirement on assignment of rights. This means that when an assignee purchases debts (or otherwise acquires rights under a credit agreement) it also acquires certain obligations to the borrower including the duty to comply with CCA requirements (such as the rules on statements and notices and other post-contractual information). The assignee becomes the creditor under the agreement. This ensures that essential consumer protections under the CCA cannot be circumvented by assigning the debt to a third party. 3. Background Save insofar of any admittance it is accepted that a contractual relationship did once exist between myself and Talk Talk Ltd. On receipt of this claim I could not recall the precise details of any agreement or any debt, numerous years having passed since the alleged agreement date, and therefore reasonably sought clarity and information from the claimant. I formally requested via CPR 31.14: A copy of the original agreement; A statement of account; A copy of the terms and conditions as applicable at the time of the agreement; A copy of any Default Notice/ termination notice; A copy of any notice of assignment showing the claimant’s legal right to take action Having made a claim the above data should have been immediately and fully available from the claimant and as per the above formal requests duly sent to the defendant to allow a swift conclusion. 4. Disclosures The claimant has supplied some documentation but has failed to comply fully with my formal requests. The claimant has failed to provide: A statement of the account showing completely and exactly how the amount claimed for has been reached A copy of a default notice/termination notice A copy of a legal notice of assignment showing the claimant’s legal right to take action I received copies (no originals) of three bills: 25th April 2014 - £120.74 26th May 2014 - £122.29 25th June 2014 - £102.67 All of the bills are for different amounts, with the June bill being less than the April bill. I find it hard to believe that the amount due could decrease over time unless a payment had been made. I also received a document purporting to be a ‘notice of assignment of debt’ however it is highly inconsistent in that, it is unsigned, it contains no formal company information e.g. company number and tax details and is not in the format of other letters that have been sent by the claimant. It also has “Reprint” in the background, which means in fact it could have easily been produced the day before it was sent to me for the purposes of this case. Furthermore it is dated 28/05/2015 (a date format not used on other correspondence from the claimant) and this DIRECTLY contradicts the statement made in the particulars of claim, that notice was given on 31/03/2015. 5. Conclusion The claimant has failed to comply with my formal requests, is in default and therefore I must assume that this is due to the claimant not having any of the above mentioned legally required documentation and has merely issued a speculative claim in the hope of obtaining an undefended default judgment. Statement of Truth

Thanks for clarifying Andy. If the notice of assignment of debt has "REPRINT" plastered all over it, can I mention this in my witness statement that it's not the original and could have been fabricated? I doesn't even have the Talk Talk account number on it, some other one, probably their own.

It says 14 days before hearing to court and other parties. But then above you said don't blink first.