Heres a second draft of my statement, still got some tidying up to do i think. The defendent disputes the debt in full. On the evening of 31/5/2012 I returned home to find a brown envelope had been posted through with no postage mark or address on it and just my name written in blue biro, I wrote the date upon the envelope in red biro for future reference. I opened the envelope to find a letter with documents stapled to it claiming to be a statutory demand and all dated 8/5/2012, these documents were all dated some three weeks prior to being posted through my door and this left me confused as to the validity of these documents and left me no time to address the issues presented to me in the claim. On the 6/7/2012 I recieved two more letters from Hamptons legal, one for each of the debts claimed in the statatury demand, warning me they intended to petition for bankrupcy within 14 days should I not agree to any of the terms provided to settle the debts that they allege to be liable for, it was at this time I realised the previous statatury demand may infact be genuine but it still left me in some confusion as to the date and service. I immediatly wrote to Hamptons legal in order to inform them that; A. I dispute the claims and I require all documents relating to the claims pursuant to s.77/78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. I require Lowell to provide me with a true copy of the credit agreements relating to the alleged debts, together with any other documentation including the notice of asignments that the Act requires them to provide. In addition to this and in order to further determine the facts I have written subject access request letters under CPR 31.14 to the original creditors named in the Statutory demand. B. I have also informed the claimant that the validaty of the Statutory demand is questionable due to the unknown date of service and that this has caused me great distress and anxiety, as a result I intend to to complain to the OFT about the conduct of the claimant as I believe they are employing under hand tactics and are clearly contradicting the debt collection guidance issued by the OFT that states Statutory Demands should not be used for debt collection purposes and due to both of these underhand tactics the claimant is not fit to hold a credit licence. The defendant avers that the claimant is committing a gross abuse of process by not having made any attempt at any kind of personal service and simply posting the demand without a postmark or date. I refer to the authority of Judge Boggis QC - RE AWAN - [2000] BPIR 241 'In my judgment, bankruptcy is one of the most serious forms of execution that can be brought against a debtor. In any bankruptcy proceedings it is, in my view, absolutely clear that the provisions as to service must be followed exactly. In light of the frivolous nature of this demand the defendant gracefully requests the judge dismiss the demand and in light of the distress to myself and my family at having to deal with this the claimant request the judge grants costs in the defendants favour (in the indemnity or standard) I refer to - I respectfully request that the court give consideration to awarding these costs on the indemnity basis or, in the alternative, on the standard basis as I believe, in any case, that they have been proportionately and reasonably incurred and/or are of a proportionate and reasonable amount. In support of this request, I would also like to refer the court’s attention to the authority of the High Court in the case of:- Hammonds (a firm) v Pro-Fit USA Ltd [2007] EWHC 1998 (Ch) In this case, Mr Justice Warren confirmed that it was usual for an indemnity award to be made:- 27 So far as disputed debts are concerned, the practice of the court is not to allow the insolvency regime to be used as a method of debt collection. the court will dismiss a petition based on such a debt (usually with an indemnity costs order against the petitioner).

Good morning Vint, 42man and everybody else ofcourse!! This morning following a dodgy nights sleep I finished my letter of dispute to Hamptons plus the additional CCA and will go post it shortly by recorded along with SARs for the OC's, wouldnt mind a wise eye to look over the hamptons letter first though if thats ok or maybe nessacery as wouldnt want to make a silly error at this stage? And I would like to say agian thanks for your patience, I know ive been silly not dealing with this sooner, never again will I make that mistake.

just the thought of spare cash makes me . I appreciate all the great free opinions and even the not so great free opinions some folk have! I will donate at some point as I want to help with the costs of running this place and would hate to see banners everywhere!

deleted for sanity

Thankyou Vint, I badly needed your posts so so much today and I thank you and everybody here for your patience and understanding. I am going to make a donation to cag tonight as soon as I get these letters written, I think you guys n gals deserve it!

The following link is what i need, good stuff! If post 18 is true, is Hamptons really Lowells? http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?149346-Statutory-Demand-Set-Aside-Form-6.4

NO!! I have been a fool and failed to take note of the opinions here, have just recoverd from a serious case of head in sand syndrome despite 42mans warnings weeks ago! I dispute the Debts untill I have oppurtunity to view the original agreements etc and I am as mad as hell that Lowells are abusing the insolvency regs like this, I honestly cant believe a petition for bankrupcy can be made before a CCJ is obtained! Today I have prepared SAR's for the OC's and a CCA for Lowells and they will be sent tomorow by recorded delivery. I am a bit worried about sending Lowell's a SAR directly and not even sure its worth it as the SD time limit has expired. All I know about bankrupcy is what I have learned today and i suspect my only salvation may lie in a notice of opposition but lets not jump to far ahead yet. Over the weekend I hope to complete 6.4 and 6.5 ready for monday morning, hopefully I can pull this back around, hopefully and if not kiss goodby to my redundancy pay because im not losing my house over this although JSA will not pay my mortgage and work as we all know is like rocking horse s#&t!........... Signing on next week aswell I intend to attempt to present my set aside application to the court in person on Monday morning but I am sruggling to put in words why I have delayed doing this since I have had the SD for weeks but not entirely sure when it was served as explained at the start of thread. The last few weeks have been pretty stressfull tbh but the help here really takes the age of the stress!

Ok. ive caught up with you a bit 42man, I see what your saying about the out of time demand, by that do you mean a CPR to Hamptons and if I do that they are just going to petition for bankrupcy correct? cue palpitations!!

I know I made a big mistake ignoring this so long, Its woken me up I can tell you. I hope at the very least that this thread serves as a warning to others that they must apply to set aside any Hamptons legal SD before the dust settles below the post box!

Here's the two letters I recieved today, posting following reading your links above thanks!! Abuse the insolvency service! They are giving me a further 14 days to pay the reduced amount ontop of the SD time limits! That could be interesting if they petition before then?? POST SD 2.pdf POST SD 1.pdf

Thankyou, I really appreciate your input and attention! After a good head scratch im pretty sure the shop direct financial is not statued barred, im going upstairs to dig around in my paperwork to check.

I think there maybe a possibility the debts originate from some time ago but I cant remeber for sure, I will be sending SAR and CC today.

Heres the SD in full sd.pdf

Hi Folks, Thank you all very much for your replies, especialy you 42man! Im sorry I didnt reply sooner, I have been a bit stressed recently with general life and doesnt help I just been made redundant (again) . Sadly I stuck my head in the sand for a few weeks and havent done anything with this yet, today is definatley the day as I recieevd two letters this morning from Lowells, warning me I am at risk of being made bankrupt. I will scan and post shortly along with everyhting else if its not to late!. Can I still apply to have this set aside whilst I wait for my SAR and CC requests even thoough I dont know when I was served so....? Apologies for typos, in a bit of a spin this morning!

There is no date on the envelope, just my name in blue biro and private and confidential. As such I have no idea when it was served and if it even has been.

I think the SD is clearly invalid as the date on the letter and the actual date served are way off by three weeks! Surely a process server wouldnt sign off on that? And further more would Lowells/ Hamptons stump up the £350 to proceed with a petition?

Thanks for the info, according to your leaflet they can serve by posting it through the letter box by hand as you say but they will have to lodge a statement of truth when or if they petition for bankrupcy. It still leaves me puzzled as to what date the documents were served! Certainly not early May as claimed! And im not keen on acknowleding this SD as it smells fishy with the dodgy dates.

Well thats just it you have hit the nail on the head! I thought it had to be handed in person, they have no proof of service apart form there own witness. I dont know if it is even served let alone what date it was served! The insane muddle is if I send CCA and set aside to court I acknowledge it then and why should I do that if I dont have to! I think there may have been other correspondance in the past that has been filed accordingly and certainly ignored phone calls, I dont recall taking the debts on! Whats even madder is they are doing this without even attempting to obtain CCJ first!!!!

Hi folks, I have spent some time today trying to understanding Statutory demands, having aparently recieved one hand deliverd last week. I just wonderd if there was a final consensus on how these things from hamptons should be handled, ie ignored, cca'd, apply to set aside etc. Below I will give brief details on this situation and would welcome any comments. cheers So some day last week I came home and found a brown envelope had been posted through, no post mark and only my name on it written in blue biro. Nothing else apart from the words "Private and confidential in" red. Inside lurked a letter and SD from Hamptons legal both dated early May, a good 3 weeks before it was actaully served?! Also inside with hamptons letter is a SD under section 268(1)(a) of the insolvency act 1986. Debt for liquidated sum payable immediately. by Hamptons on behalf of creditor Lowell portfolio l ltd. The sum demanded is for two different debts of which I recall not, both total around the 2k mark . But from what ive read hamptons add the debts up all the time? I'm in two minds wether I should send a CCA to hamptons and start work on a set aside defence or just ignore it as scare tactic? Whats the word these days? Also is the SD served as it was just posted through by hand no post marks no proof?

Hi, the hearing is for summary judgment and I dont know why its at Gateshead as I stated on the AQ that I was not prepared to travel the length and breadth of the country to defend myself against the allegations of third parties (perhaps maybe thats why its at gateshead lol). Im certainly not going all the way up there, so I need to get it moved. Any ideas how one goes about requesting this? I also have stumbled upon this thread, and it has provided a possible defence I could persue. I think my CCA is atleast unenforcable as there is no statment of my right to cancel: this from (post 9 at bottom of thread) http://www.reclaimtheright.eu/forum/showthread.php?162851

Do you think writing to NR somthing like: "Dear Nr, it has come to my attention that you are guilty of mis selling the PPI . You informed me verbally that in order to have the loan I also had to take the PPI. In view of this I request that you restructure the loan, removing the PPI element that was mis sold, not forgeting to recalculate the amount charged for credit as you also charged interest on the amount for PPI which is against CPR somthing or other." I have to get moving on this now as I am running out of time, the court hearing is 1st of Nov!

Hi, thanks for posting and apologies it took so long to reply. They are going for judgement and the date is set at Nov 1st! I am going to write to NR and ask them to remove the PPI cost and redo the loan without it, although as you say my time scale is really short! I really could do with finding out if the adding of the ppi to the loan amount invalidates the cca, any idea?

Hi Mand, sorry it took me so long to reply. I have received all docs requested and they all seem in order The only defence I have left is the PPI being mis sold and added to the loan amount so ive paid interest on it Trouble is I cant find a definitive answer on whether this invalidates the CCA or not so im chasing my own tail. In addition to this ive been allocated a hearing at Gateshead on 1st Nov, theres no way im going all the way up there so need to somehow get it moved to a more local court. As things stand I think I may get my first CCJ,

Thats the embarrased defence I have used, it has served me well once before just hope it holds up still. Glad to hear I will proberbly have some time then before this goes to trial as I am now in possesion of the docs requested in the CPR31.14, but need to look through them properly at some point. The AQ is sat hear waiting to be posted, I have untill this friday. I have filled it out following the guide here but havent posted yet just incase I need to change anything following any advice here.

In the XXXXX County Court Claim number XXXXXXX Between Northern rock (asset management) PLC and XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX Defence 1. Except where otherwise mentioned in this defence, I neither admit nor deny any allegation made in the claimants Particulars of Claim and put the claimant to strict proof thereof. 2. The Defendant is embarrassed in pleading to the Particulars of Claim as it stands at present, inter alia: - 3. The claimants’ Particulars of Claim disclose no legal cause of action and they are embarrassing to the defendant as the claimant's statement of case is insufficiently particularised and does not comply or even attempt to comply with CPR part 16. In this regard I wish to draw the courts attention to the following matters; a) The Particulars of Claim are vague and insufficient and do not disclose an adequate statement of facts relating to or preceding the alleged cause of action. No particulars are offered in relation to the method the claimant calculated any outstanding sums due, or any default notices issued or any other matters necessary to substantiate the claimant’s claim. b) A copy of any evidence of both the scope and nature of any default, and proof of any amount outstanding on the alleged accounts, has not been served attached to the claim form. 4. Consequently, I deny all allegations on the particulars of claim and do not know what case I have to answer 5. Further to the case, on xx xx 2010 I requested the disclosure of information pursuant to the Civil Procedure Rules Part 31.14, copies of the documents mentioned in the Particulars of Claim, namely the Credit Agreement, the Notice of Default, the written demands and the Registration certificate. 6. Despite the fact that the Civil Procedure Rules 31.15 demand a response within seven days, my request for information under the Civil Procedure Rules 31.14 has been ignored. Since the claimant has refused to disclose the requested information it is submitted that I do not hold sufficient information to compile a full defence to the claimants allegations at this stage 7. It is my opinion that the claimant is trying to frustrate matters in refusing to disclose the documents requested and the claimant is ignoring the overriding objective and the courts attention is drawn to the fact that the claimant has refused to respond to my legitimate request. It is submitted that the claimant taking this course of action places me at a clear disadvantage and there is no apparent reason why the claimant would seek to withhold this documentation from me. 8. The courts attention is drawn to the fact that the without disclosure of the requested documentation pursuant to the Civil Procedure Rules I have not yet had the opportunity to assess if the documentation the claimant claims to be relying upon to bring this action even contains the prescribed terms required in Consumer Credit (Agreements) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1553) which was amended by Consumer Credit (Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (SI2004/1482). The prescribed terms referred to are contained in schedule 6 column 2 of the Consumer Credit (Agreements) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1553) and are inter alia: - A term stating the credit limit or the manner in which it will be determined or that there is no credit limit, A term stating the rate of any interest on the credit to be provided under the agreement and A term stating how the debtor is to discharge his obligations under the agreement to make the repayments, which may be expressed by reference to a combination of any of the following-- 1.Number of repayments; 2.Amount of repayments; 3.Frequency and timing of repayments; 4.Dates of repayments; 5.The manner in which any of the above may be determined; or in any other way, and any power of the creditor to vary what is payable 9. The courts attention is drawn to the fact that where an agreement does not have the prescribed terms as stated in point 8 it is not compliant with section 60(1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 and therefore not enforceable by s127 (3). The courts attention is also drawn to the authority of the House of Lords in Wilson-v- FCT [2003] All ER (D) 187 (Jul) which confirms that where a document does not contain the required terms under the consumer credit act 1974 and the Consumer Credit (Agreements) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1553) and Consumer Credit (Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (SI2004/1482) the agreement cannot be enforced 10. Notwithstanding points 8 and 9, both debtor and creditor must sign any such agreements in the prescribed manner. If such a document is not signed by the debtor the document cannot be enforced by way of section 127(3) Consumer Credit Act 1974 11. The claimant is therefore put to strict proof that such a compliant document exists 12. It is neither admitted or denied that any Default Notice in the prescribed format was ever received and the Defendant puts the Claimant to strict proof that said document in the prescribed format was delivered to the defendant. I note that without service of a default notice under s87 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 the claimant would not have a right to demand repayment of any sums under an agreement or to terminate an agreement 13. Notwithstanding point 12, I put the claimant to strict proof that any default notice sent to me was valid. I note that to be valid, a default notice needs to be accurate in terms of both the scope and nature of breach and include an accurate figure required to remedy any such breach. The prescribed format for such document is laid down in Consumer Credit (Enforcement, Default and Termination Notices) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1561) and Amendment regulations the Consumer Credit (Enforcement, Default and Termination Notices) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3237) 14. Failure of a default notice to be accurate not only invalidates the default notice (Woodchester Lease Management Services Ltd v Swain and Co - [2001] GCCR 2255) but is a unlawful rescission of contract which would not only prevent the court enforcing any alleged debt, but would also give rise to a potential counterclaim for damages where damage occurs to my credit rating (Kpohraror v Woolwich Building Society - [1996] 4 All ER 119) 15. Without Disclosure of the relevant requested documentation I am unable to assess if I am indeed liable to the claimant, nor am I able to assess if the alleged agreement is properly executed, contain the required prescribed terms, or correct figures to make such an agreement enforceable by virtue of s127 Consumer Credit Act 1974 16. In view of the matters pleaded above, I respectfully request that the court gives consideration to whether the claimant’s statement of case should be struck out as disclosing no reasonable grounds for bringing the claim, and/or that it fails to comply with CPR Part 16. 17. Alternatively, I respectfully request the court orders full disclosure of the documentation requested in point 5. I will then be in a position to file a fully particularised defence and respectfully request the courts permission to amend my defence accordingly. Statement of Truth I xxxxx xxxxxx, believe the above statement to be true and factual Signed ………………… Date