Jump to content

HadEnough

Registered Users

Change your profile picture
  • Posts

    459
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation

6 Neutral
  1. I was told it couldn't be passed on when it's in dispute without a final response. I have spoken with Restons and they are refusing to extend the date for defence as they believe the CPR and CCA information has no bearing on my defence. I have asked for this in writing. They are being very uncooperative. In the mean time i have been on to the guy handling my FOS complaint at Sainsbury's and he is sending me a copy of the original credit agreement hopefully before the defence date. What should i do now? Can i say in the defence that i have no proof they own the debt until i receive the CCA & CPR paperwork back from them? Do I still maintain that it is made of penalty charges? I'm really worrying now, I need to file my defence by weds...
  2. Help anyone? I have sent cpr request should i send cca request too even though i have the credit agreement? also, sainsbury's have been in touch to say the have the statements and paperwork which they will send out. Am i still ok to defend the full claim once Ive receive these? It will take some time to go through and see what i actually do owe if anything at all after charges and interest are taken off. i am also wondering whether they might drop the whole claim if i show them in my defence that the account was definitely indispute when it was passed to debt collectors...
  3. Thnaks for responding I am sending a CPR today, they have already sent me a copy of the credit agreement, it is hard to read the T&C's as its a photocopy The problem is that i only have till the 23rd of july to file my defence. I do not know what to put on the form. I havent mentioned that before I came on to this site for advice I trawled the internet debt advice websites where I was advised to contact the FOS by the National Debt Line. I called them on the friday before i went away and made an official complaint against the OD as advised. While I was away I received a call from the OD, they were courtious and were asking what the issue was. I spoke with them regarding the account being in dispute when it was passed on to DCA and the penalty charges being added while the account was in dispute. He said he would look into my account and see what he could find but as it was more than 6 years ago they may not have any account information on the debt. If it was passed on he said they may not be able to provide anything at all. IF so, this means that the only statements for the account start from after when the AVI was set up and shows when it ended that I was paying the minimum again but the penalty charges and interest were more and therefore not bringing me back into my arranged credit limit. Do i file a defence based on the account being made up mainly of penalty charges and interest and that the account was in dispute when many of them were being applied? Should i also state that sainsburys passed the debt without sendinga a final response to the dispute? The only paperwork i have recieved from the claimant is the credit agreement statements from the last six years showing clearly that penalty charges and interest were being applied and the minimum i was paying was not bringing it back into my credit limit. I have posted regarding my fos complaint with sainsburys on the post before. I think this is relevant as they have said they might not be able to provide me with account statements beyond 6 years. This would make it impossibe for me to know exactly what is charges and what is not
  4. I just back from my hol, before i left I decided to defend all of the claim. Just wondering if anyone has looked at the POC's?
  5. I am going to leave my acknowledgement of service until mon pm just before I leave for the airport. If anyone can shed some light on my situation by then that's great. I really want to know before I reply to the courts whether I should defend all of the claim or only part of it? If i defend only part as I do know a small amount that isn't penalty charges and interest, i need to give a figure that I believe I owe. I simply cannot do this before I go away due to work commitments and I may not have all the statements ( after working it out it may turn out that I do not owe anything too). If I do have a reasonable argument for the way I have been treated and I can defend all of the claim on these grounds I would like to know. I SAR sainsburys and received only statements a few years back.
  6. i really need some advice on whether i have reasonable argument that the account was in dispute when it was passed on to the DCA. Also, do I have an argument against not paying the penalty charges back?
  7. Hi All, My problem is this (this could turn into a rant due to me frustration, so apologies now lol): I got a credit card with Sainsburys bank in 2003 In 2006 I had an accident and ended up out of work, as a result i incurred an awful lot of overlimit and unpaid DD charges plus interest. I went for debt advice and was told to offer a £1 a week for the foreseeable future while I got back on my feet. (At the same time I nearly lost my house and had to VS my car and i was suffering with anxiety and depression) What I wasn't told by Sainsbury's Bank is that the agreement to pay a £1 stopped after 12 months. I didn't receive a letter to inform me of this until I received a letter saying thank you for setting up a DD. By then they had started charging my account with interest and all the charges. The DD were coming out at the minimum but the chrages and interest were swallowing it up and I was not paying anything off at all. After getting advice I put the account into dispute (which I was told would freeze interest and charges while we worked it out) This did not happen and they continued to take payments. (this was causing me to incur bank charges too so I cancelled the DD that I didn't set up in the first place. I sent out a letter of complaint and officially put the account in dispute. We negotiated via letter ( some of which I have) and they offered to refund a small amount of the charges. While this was going on they were still sending debt collection letters too) I sent a letter saying thank you for your offer however I will only accept a full refund of all charges and interest applied to my account, I then said I would then be willing to set up a standing order to pay back an amount that I could afford per month and obviously not use the card again... I never received a reply although I sent the letter 3 times recorded delivery (I might have the proof somewhere...) While awaiting a response it was passed to a debt collection agency, then another, then another and has been so for the past 5 years. In this time I have attempted to sort this out by explaining to the debt companies that the account is still in dispute but they will not listen and insist I owe it. The amount in question is £2770, the majority of this is charges applied before and during the dispute. I received yet another different debt agency letter last year and stupidly thought that I was over the 6 year mark. The reason for this is that I did not ask or acknowledge the debt willingly after they revoked the £1 agreement and forgot that they had took it upon themselves to set it up themselves. (they have also done this in 2011 with my new account, I have no idea how they got my bank details) They didn't take anything and a dd wasn't registered with the bank so I must have cancelled it in time) As I have had approx 8 different debt agencies sending letters but never taking it to court I assumed it was because they knew that an account with charges etc was not going to be an easy one to win. I wanted to get this resolved but my experience of courts has not been a fair one. I have a letter stating that I am seriously disputing the amount owed and i have a response from Sainsbury's offering a refund of some of the charges. Can anyone offer advice on where I stand with this please? If I have to pay all of this when I did try to resolve it 5 years ago I will be devastated, especially as most of it is unlawful penalty charges... Sorry for such a long post andthanks in advance.
  8. Before I give up on this problem, I would like to know if anyone thinks there is anything else i can do. The injustice of what has happened is really getting to me. Is it six years from cause of action or when i found out about it? I know we've already gone on about this however i just wanted to get peoples opinions one last time. I was going to complain to fos but it's past the 6 month mark. Could i do anything else?
  9. Thanks for your help steampowered I will post the outcome
  10. Thank you for your comments, i am waiting for the solicitor to contact me with regards to the part 36 offer. I have asked what I shoukd expect the success fee to be and that I would make an offer after I have an idea of that. I also want to ask what else I need to take into consideration costs wise that isnt yet on the claim. As far the attempted house sale in 2010, I do have all the reports regarding this matter, it is looking like its going in my favour however i am glad of your explanation and i heed your warning. I really do want this settled asap but wanted to make sure I get as much as I am entitled to. Can you tell me what is meant when they claim for 'damages' though please?
  11. Hi I currently have had a negligence claim issued against the structual engineer and the surveyor of my property, as a result of their negligence i have not been able to sell my property with out work being done to rectify the problem. I contacted a no win no fee solicitor and they have taken the case on, an expert witness has agreed there is negligence however it has been decided that both engineer and surveyor are liable. As a result they have now served the claim form against both and I received the following email on friday. what I am having trouble understanding is why the CFA I signed in 2011 does not cover the barristers success fee and as a result I have to pay a maximum 25% of the money i recover from one defendant to them. My paperwork says that it is reclaimed from the otherside. Also, they are asking me to consider making an offer to settle it early however i do not know exactly what the claim is worth as the claim was made for the amount for fixing the problem, plus £1000 for loss of enjoyment plus damages (which I have no idea what this includes or refers to) The house has also lost value since I attempted to sell it in 2010 so i will lose out there too. There is also other costs such as accomodation whilst works are completed which they have asked me to give a cost of. The reason i have posted this is because I am now concerned that my solicitor might be looking for the easiest option and rather than looking after my best interests and getting me what I deserve. I would like advice on whether this is how these claims usually proceed and could i be losing out if I make an offer? Is there anything I can ask the solicitor to ensure that are acting in my best interests? Is the explanation on the CFA in the email correct? Thanks for any help/advice given. Email from solicitor I am writing to update you in relation to your claim. As you are aware, I served the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim in Decemberl ast year on both --------. I am pleased to confirm that both Defendants have instructed solicitors; These are both firms I have dealt with on many occasions, as they often act for professional indemnity insurers. I have spoken to the solicitors at both firms dealing with the claim. As you may recall, it was necessary to issue a protective Claim Form in August last year in order to avoid your claim becoming statute barred. I delayed service of the court papers until such time as we had obtained expert evidence, as it was not entirely clear when the claim was issued whether liability rested with either or both Defendants. In Professional Negligence Claims, there is a protocol which the Courts require the parties to follow which, amongst other things, sets various time limits by which certain stages of the litigation process have to be carried out. Ordinarily, a Letter of Claim is sent to the Defendant(s)following which they have 21 days to acknowledge the Letter of Claim and thereafter 3 months from the date of the Letter of Acknowledgement to provide their formal response known as the Letter of Response, in which they need to state whether they accept or deny liability. It is not uncommon, and it is the case here, that we have had to issue protective court proceedings before the Letter of Claim has been sent. Accordingly, the way that this is dealt with is to stay theproceedings to enable the Protocol to be complied with, i.e. a Letter of Claim sent and a Letter of Response provided by the Defendant. In light ofthis, having spoken to the Defendants’ solicitors, we have agreed a stay of approximately 3 months to 2014 so effectively, the court proceedings are now “on hold” to allow the Protocol to be complied with. However, interestingly, when I mentioned to solicitors that I would shortly prepare a Letter of Claim, they were of the view that all the information they needed was in the Particulars of Claim therefore, it was not necessary to repeat this information in the Letter of Claim (as it will obviously increase legal costs). Instead, solicitor hasasked me to provide any documentation in my possession by way of disclosure so that they can assess the merits of your claim. They made the point thatbecause the alleged negligence took place so long ago, their client is of the view that they are unlikely to have retained any paperwork and so they are really reliant on your documentation. The courts positively encourage early disclosure of documentation and certainly, if the Letter of Claim had been drafted before court proceedings were issued,I would have provided thisi nformation with the Letter of Claim. Accordingly, I will now go through the paperwork that you provided to me (it is not particularly voluminous) and I will provide a copy of any documents, which are disclosable to solicitors. They then intend to review the paperwork and they can utilise the period of the stay in which to do so. I mentioned to solicitors that solicitors had confirmed they did not require a Letter of Claim. However, they did not give me a substantive response at that time whether they were prepared to take the same view, and so I will write to them shortly to establish whether they simply wish me to provide disclosure of the same documents provided to and simply rely on your case as pleaded in the Particulars of Claim. In the meantime, I indicated on a without prejudice basis to solicitors (I did not unfortunately have the same conversation with solicitors as the solicitor was rushing to leave the office before the Christmas break and so the focus was on agreeing the Consent Order) that early settlement of this claim would be preferable before legal costs increase. As I am sure you will appreciate, it would be easy for legal costs to escalate and become disproportionate to the value of the claim,particularly as there are a total of 3 sets of solicitors involved in this matter. I therefore suggest that you consider putting in an early offer of settlement at this stage. We have quantified your claim to the extent of the cost of the rectification works and a nominal amount for stress and inconvenience but there are other elements of your claim that still require quantification. For example, you mention that you would need to be out of your property for up to 8 weeks whilst remedial works are carried out. Are you able to provide me with an indication of what your likely costs of accommodation would be during that time? Once we have a better idea ofthe total value of your claim, you will need to consider the level of offer that you wish me to put forward on your behalf. The idea is to put forward an offer that will hopefully be seen as commercially attractive to the Defendants and as such, you have to be seen in making the offer to be conceding some ground on the full amount that you are claiming. The offer is without prejudice and is made for the purposes of negotiating settlement only; the Court would not be shown the offer during a trial when they are determining what damages to award you if you have succeeded on the issue of liability. The offer made would be done so as what is known as a Part 36 Offer. The advantage of making a Part 36 Offer is that it can provide costs protection. Once we have a figure in mind, I will explain to you in greater detail the implications in relation to costs of making a Part 36 Offer. In considering what level of offer to make, I would also like to remind you that your barrister does have concerns about the quotations you provided, which I share. I appreciate that when we have previouslyspoken, you have stated that the works required will not form any betterment of your property but I still think that this could be the subject of some attack and so this needs to be reflected in any offer that you consider putting forward. In making the offer, I would also be suggesting to the Defendants (as I will be putting the offer to both of them) that liability is apportioned on a 50:50 basis. Obviously, once the Defendants havereviewed the papers, they may be of the view that one party has greater liability than the other on a percentage basis or alternatively, one or both Defendants may deny liability entirely but if that is the case, it does not necessarily mean that they will not look to settle the matter commercially. At the end of the day, if, for example, the offer you put forward was £, it is much more attractive to a Defendant to know that they would actually only be paying £ each. Finally, I need to explain a funding issue with you. As you are aware, you entered into a Conditional Fee Agreement with this firm,which covered your claim against and was worded so that it covered any other Defendant related to the matter. In light of this, your CFA with this firm covers your claim against both defendants, which is obviously advantageous to you, as it became apparent very close to limitation that may potentially have some liability in this matter. However, I have been contacted by your barrister, and she has looked at the wording of her Conditional Fee Agreement and it covers the claim against one only. This means that the CFA does not cover the work that she has carried out in relation to , albeit that they are inexorably linked. Her clerk has therefore just sent to me another CFA for this firm to enter into with Counsel, which covers the claim against . The second Conditional Fee Agreement covers all work that Counsel had carried out on or after December 2013 (which isthe date that she drafted the Particulars of Claim) in relation to Group. However, in April of this year, some sweeping reforms, called the Jackson reforms, took place and the basis of Conditional Fee Agreements changed at that time. Prior to 1st April 2013, parties entering into a Conditional Fee Agreement were able to charge the Defendant (in the event that the claim was successful) a success fee in addition to their base costs. Post 1st April, the solicitor/barrister entering into a Conditional Fee Agreement is no longer able to recover a success fee from the Defendant and instead is entitled to recover up to 25% of the settlement or judgement sum awarded to the Claimant. This means that in the event that I recoverdamages for you, whilst I will recover my costs, disbursements and success feefrom the Defendants and Counsel will recover her fees and success fee from the Defendant, the extent to which she will be able to recover her fees in this way only extends to , as that is the Defendant covered by the original CFA that Counsel entered into. In respect of Counsel’s fees relating to work carried out in respect of after 6th December, Counsel would still be able to claim her base costs from but would be able to charge you up to 25% of your damages under the new regime. Whilst this is the technicality’s of the new regime’s CFA, I have spoken to Counsel and she had indicated that she would be prepared to take a pragmatic view on theproportion of your damages that she would actually seek to recover from you. Would you please confirm that you are happy for me to enterinto the second CFA with Counsel.
  12. Ok Thats interesting news... i will do some reading thanks. Got to say though that my understanding of legal wording and jargon is very limited. I'm sure its done in purpose...
  13. Good morning Apple I thank you for 'keeping me in the loop', I have been checking my thread everyday. I realise that you must be helping others and obviously have a life of your own. I feel bad that I can't do anything to help. If there is anything You can advise me to do please let me know. I will pm you again as the information I want to give you is of a personal nature. In the meantime I patiently await your response (with quite a lot of intrigue)
  14. That's fine thanks, I know you must be busy. Did you receive my pm? Not in my sent items so wasn't sure if it went.
×
×
  • Create New...