Weightmans/HFC County Court Claim

[Hopeful1]

Surely you mean "Richard", not "Chris", don't you? (I may even change my username now...)

 

The effects of that milkshake are everlasting aren't they?!!

 

Welcome back, by the way - hope you're now less stressed and feeling a bit better?

 

I second those hopes. I hope you receive good results for your assignment too.

 

[Hopeful1]

AQ faxed - hooray! Another deadline bites the dust.

 

Further Update:

 

Legal complaints say, W'mans have responded to them but they want further info from them. Even if nothing comes of this at least it must be making W'mans a tad uncomfortable and letting them know they can't get away with everything that easily.

 

So, anyone who hasn't complained, DO IT NOW!!

 

The more attention that is drawn to the way these people operate the better.

[Hopeful1]

I've received W'mans AQ, they have:

 

requested 1 month stay to negotiate

noted my intention to submit an amended defence

requested fast track

stated costs will be over £3500

 

That's it in a nutshell

[cashins]

requested 1 month stay to negotiate

 

Hmmmm, don't seem that keen to get on with it do they.

 

David

[NitrousOxide]

I've received W'mans AQ, they have:

 

requested 1 month stay to negotiate

noted my intention to submit an amended defence

requested fast track

stated costs will be over £3500

 

That's it in a nutshell

Trying to frighten you with costs and fast track is a big sign of desperation in my book.

The fact they want a stay gives the game away IMHO.

[geoffmr1]

Do Weightmans pluck their costs from thin air or something?? They reckon their costs will be £4500 in my case & its not even a difficult one.

 

As for the 1 month stay, that seems to be standard practice with them. I also asked for a 1 month stay because at least it shows a willingness to negotiate. In truth I asked for it as a breather to try & read up a bit more about things.

[Hopeful1]

Trying to frighten you with costs and fast track is a big sign of desperation in my book.

The fact they want a stay gives the game away IMHO.

 

I quite agree. They did it in their point by point response to my CPR too.

 

Do Weightmans pluck their costs from thin air or something?? They reckon their costs will be £4500 in my case & its not even a difficult one.

 

As for the 1 month stay, that seems to be standard practice with them. I also asked for a 1 month stay because at least it shows a willingness to negotiate. In truth I asked for it as a breather to try & read up a bit more about things.

 

They probably ask for the stay 'cause they may be the ones risking losing. They must know half of these cases are on dodgy ground.

 

To be honest, if i can negotiate charges and PPI i will be happy to come to an agreement. But if i have to contest in court then i will. I'm not giving in to suit them.

[spiritgirl59]

To be honest, if i can negotiate charges and PPI i will be happy to come to an agreement. But if i have to contest in court then i will. I'm not giving in to suit them.

 

Hiya Hopeful1

 

It doesn't matter if you end up negotiating AT court like I did as long as you get a settlement to suit you.

 

If they do get the Judge to agree to fast track, (which is what happened to me as you know) just be aware of the costs involved if you were to lose - not being a harbinger of doom here mate, but it was something that the Judge spelled out to me before sending us off to discuss the matter, and it was the main reason I decided to agree to negotiate.

 

Good luck!!

 

Love SG x

[car2403]

If the Court stays the claim for a month, send them this;

 

It is noted that this claim has been stayed for a period of one month, at your request.

 

How would you like to progress with those negotiations?

 

If they don't reply, send this letter to the Court after the stay is lifted - then, when the issue of costs comes up, you have evidence you've tried to negotiate and that they didn't reciprocate.

 

This is exactly what I'm doing with GE Money - the Court forwarded my letter to them saying "what directions do you require now, then?" and giving them until this Friday to reply. Nothing yet!

 

[polly55]

good luck with this, these animals boast about doing this ´by bulk´ we´re not even people to them, really. keep us posted

[Hopeful1]

Thanks for that Chris. W'mans referred to the fact that they were aware i intended to submit an amended defence. I do wonder exactly how confident they feel regarding this case. In some ways i think complaints i've made to various people has gone against me as it's forced them to find and supply info but i also suspect it's made them a little uncomfortable as they are still being asked questions about their practice.

 

We shall see.

 

SG - thank you for your words of wisdom. It's good to hear from you. Hope all is well

[Hopeful1]

good luck with this, these animals boast about doing this ´by bulk´ we´re not even people to them, really. keep us posted

 

It's sickening how they carry on. I am a great believer in what goes around comes around though. If all the CAGgers make their lives difficult, hopefully their lot will come sooner rather than later

[polly55]

hey hopeful, these people are making their reputation by securing unsecured loans (take a look at their website). they dont care about losing occasionally to us. its part of their budget. these are big guys. you have to have something good to go to court with in order to get costs against them. take good care.

[Hopeful1]

hey hopeful, these people are making their reputation by securing unsecured loans (take a look at their website). they dont care about losing occasionally to us. its part of their budget. these are big guys. you have to have something good to go to court with in order to get costs against them. take good care.

 

 

Thanks for the warning Polly.

 

I've seen their website and actually posted some of it up near the start of this thread. It is becoming more common for sols to do this for companies now. Unfortunately it's too easy for them to get what they want. They started all this with me before HFC had even located the file - that's how confident they are of getting their own way.

[polly55]

A couple of things before you go into court with these guys. Have you served them with a schedule of costs? they'll serve you with one, make sure you've served them with one. and you might win, its entirely possible, if the judge thinks all theyve got is a crock of s***, he'll award you costs, just make sure you've got them all prepared.

[polly55]

by the way, they don't alway s get their own way, if youve seen my thread youll see they got stuffed this time thanks to cag. people really do need to stand up to them. they only win when people roll over and play dead.

[Hopeful1]

Quick update:

 

A reduced f & f offer of £11,000 has been offered.

 

My query regarding charges has been poo-pooed 'cause they were included in agreement. They also want to know on what basis will i be contesting the PPI.

 

They will be willing to accept a regular repayment offer.

[spiritgirl59]

Hiya Hopeful1:)

 

I was just having a re-read of your thread and noticed a comment about a Tomlin Order from Paul, I think, would you believe it I now can't find the post but I am having "one of those days" today LOL

 

Anyhow it is little old me who has the Tomlin Order. I agreed to it at court with SC&M's Barrister re the Lloyds TSB claim, on the advice of the Judge at the first part of the hearing.

 

When SC&M got fast track agreed, the Judge then asked me if I was aware of what that involved, and I said I wasn't. She then explained to me that "if I lost" I would be liable for very hefty costs and it was at that point she said "Mrs Spiritgirl, did you borrow the money?" and I said "Yes I did". She then said that Lloyds were entitled to repayments, that I could possibly lose the case and then be liable for those hefty costs, and suggested that we had a recess so that the Barrister and I could go away and discuss the matter. (Bearing in mind they did of course have a CCA at that point - having left it till the last minute to supply one as Weightmans have done with you the bar stewards!!)

 

I wasn't prepared to risk going any further at that point, I got the distinct impression the Judge was trying to "hint" to me that they would win to be honest. I did make a very strong point in open court that they should have provided all documentation in the very beginning and she agreed with me wholeheartedly on that point and gave their Barrister a "look" which was very satisfying.

 

They came up with the Tomlin Order which I agreed was fair because it meant all interest was stopped, I could make repayments monthly at a rate I felt comfortable with which we negotiated there and then, and the matter was therefore at an end with no CCJ against me. The only drawback with mine is that if I fail to make 2 repayments in a row they can apply for a CCJ, but I shan't be giving them the chance to do that and will make my payments regularly. Having said that there IS the proviso that if in the future I cannot afford the repayments on the Tomlin Order for any reason, I can apply to the Court to have those repayments adjusted downwards. I can also make extra repayments if I can ever afford it, to help get rid of the debt more quickly, so the Tomlin Order is quite flexible.

 

My Tomlin Order doesn't have any dates on it as to when it ends, just the details of the repayments and its been stamped by the Court. I got a repayment book from Lloyds to make the monthly repayments in cash at the bank and am making a note in there of how much the debt is going down.

 

I hope this helps Hopeful1. I can't advise you what to do my friend, because all our circumstances are different, but if you get to court like I did, and you feel things are not going your way, then there IS the option to discuss a Tomlin Order. I got the feeling SC&M were only too glad to discuss it as well, I honestly doubt they wanted the case to go to fast track with all the palava involved, even though they (I felt) had a very good chance of winning.

 

Love & hugs

SG x

[Hopeful1]

Hi SG.

 

Thank you for sharing all that. It really does help. That's the beauty of this forum, as it gives us all a chance to share experiences and increase our knowledge.

 

You're right, Paul did mention the Tomlin Order. I am keen to come to an arrangement but i really want to have a go at fighting the charges and PPI 1st. Hopefully i can do this before we get to court. If not the Tomlin Order may come in very handy

[Hopeful1]

Not much to report with regards to court dates or responses from the terrible 2 aka HFC / Weightmans.

 

I do, however, want to urge people to make complaints about these companies if they treat you unfairly / unlawfully.

 

I can't go into any details at the moment, but one of my (many) complaints is being looked into very carefully. A conclusion has not been reached yet and it may not go in my favour. One thing i do know though, is that lives are being made uncomfortable and i am at least a little thorn in their side

[Hopeful1]

I rang the court today as i've not heard anything since submitting my AQ. Apparently the case has been stayed until the 2nd week in June. I was advised to submit my amended defence ASAP.

 

I will need to ask for help with that, if anyone fancies volunteering?!!

 

I am assuming i will have to base my defence on the directions i submitted with my AQ:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/131502-weightmans-hfc-county-court-11.html#post1496306

[car2403]

Why has to been stayed?

 

Why do you need to amend your defence?

[Hopeful1]

Why has to been stayed?

 

Why do you need to amend your defence?

 

 

Hi Car. Both parties had asked for time to negotiate.

 

The original defence was based on the fact i had no credit agreement or anything else i had requested. Since submitting this, documents have been sent to me. I'm off to work now but will be back on tonight.

[Hopeful1]

Right.

 

My default notice is dated 3rd March.

 

I don't know what date i should have received it.

 

It states i was to pay by the 13th March.

 

This only gives me 10 days from when the letter was WRITTEN.

 

There were also incorrections Paul pointed out, which are confirmed in the text below.

 

Does all this invalidate it?

 

Default Notices

Section 87(1) of the 1974 Act allows the creditor to send you a default notice giving you fourteen days from the date you receive it to pay the arrears. The default notice must contain all of the necessary information under the Consumer Credit (Enforcement, Default and Termination Notices) Regulations 1983 ('the 1983 Regulations'), which includes

• a statement saying the notice is a default notice served under section 87(1) of the 1974 Act
  
• a description of the agreement
  
• the name and address of both the debtor and the creditor
  
• details of the breach (i.e. late payment) and, if the breach can be remedied, the date by which it must be remedied or, if the breach is not capable of remedy, the amount required to be paid after the expiry of the specified date;
  
• a statement saying: if the action required by this notice is taken before the date shown no further enforcement action will be taken in respect of that breach
  
• a statement saying: if you do not take the action required by this notice before the date shown then the further action set out below may be taken against you
  
• a clear and unambiguous statement saying that if the action is not taken by the date specified, what it will do (for example, if will it terminate the agreement and recovery possession of the motor vehicle)
  
• if the agreement is one of hire purchase or conditional sale, a statement saying: but if you have paid at least one third of the total amount payable under the agreement set out below (or any installation charge plus one third of the rest of the amount payable). The creditor may not take back the goods against your wishes unless he gets a court order. (In Scotland, he may need to get a court order at any time.) If he does take them back without your consent or a court order, you have the right to get back all of the money you have paid under the agreement set out below
  
• if an amount of money is required to be paid, the amount before deducting any rebate on early settlement
  
• statements saying:
  if you have difficulty in paying any sum owing under the agreement or taking any other action required by this notice, you can apply to the court which may make an order allowing you more time
  if you are not sure what to do, you should get help as soon as possible. For example you should contact a solicitor, your local trading standards department or your nearest citizens' advice bureau
  

[cashins]

Hi H

 

It's invalid as it dosen't give you 14 days and I am sure others will be able to pick holes in it too.

 

Glad to see you are still hanging in there!

 

Good luck

 

David