Lowell Portfolio (Barclays) have issued a County Court Claim....help!

[classylady18]

Hello everyone,

 

I really need some advice....

 

I defaulted on my Barclays current account (£2518 owed) after losing my job (i almost lost my home but managed to sort the repossesion order out...phew!) this was last year just before the OFT case went to court. I wrote to Barclays about my bank charges which were just over £2600, after a couple of letters to and fro they offered me £2000 as a goodwill gesture but would have to settle the remaining £518, i declined this, i never heard anything else from them until a delightful letter came from Robinson Way & Co demanding the full amount. I contacted them and told them the account was in dispute, was called a liar etc etc demanding £150 a month - i hung up and told them where to stick it !

 

I emailed Barclays (Thomas Hickley) asking why they had given my information to this DCA and requested they recalled my account as it was in dispute- i never got a reply. I then recieved letter from Barclays saying my debt has been sold to Lowells, next day a letter from Lowells, then another 4 or five over the next few months.

 

I really should have contacted them but i have been ill for the past few months and it has taken a back seat. Now i have got home from work and found a County Court Claim issued against me for the £2518 plus costs - the claimant is Lowells Portfolio 1

 

I am panicking now as i have managed to clear all of my other debts since losing my job and now i face a CCJ even though it is entirely a result of charges.

 

Im really worried about what i should do, can anyone tell me if Barclays are legally able to sell a debt that is 'in dispute' ?

 

Im considering asking my mortgage company for an advance so i wont have a CCJ on my credit file.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated

 

Classylady18 x

 

P.s - i thought i should mention that Lowells have searched my credit file without my consent - is this legal? There is an entry shown on my Experian report by Lowell as an unrecorded enquiry

[slick132]

Hi ClassyLady and welcome to Barclays forum.

 

Did you get as far as Filing your claim against Barclays at court and has your claim been Stayed. Or please confirm where your claim stands at the mo.

 

You can fully defend this claim on the basis of the bank's charges to your a/c and we'll help you do this.

 

And you WON'T need to get a loan to avoid any CCJ.

 

Please confirm the date by which you must acknowledge the claim.

[classylady18]

Hi

 

Thank you for your reply, in answer to your questions....

 

I did not get to the stage of filing my claim in court. The last thing that happened was a letter from Barclays ladst year offering me £2000 as a 'goodwill gesture' which i declined, i heard nothing else form them after this.

 

I have 14 days from 26th July to return the court papers, i think i get an extra 14 days to prepare my defence but im not 100% sure.

 

I really don't want to get a loan to pay this off but im worried that i wont win in court and end up paying a fortune in court costs.

 

What do you suggest i do next?

 

Thank you for your help

[slick132]

Please confirm this is a personal and not a business a/c.

 

Ideally, you should have taken court action against the bank after you refused their offer. Instead, the bank have taken the initiative and taken you to court. No matter, this will be defended by you successfully.

 

Let me re-itterate, you do not need to consider taking out any loan - the o/draft is covered more or less by the unlawful charges on the a/c.

 

You need to update your SOC (schedule of charges) to include all charges to date.

 

Is the o/d made up partly or wholly of bank charges and are they still adding chgs and/or interest.

 

Have you been defaulted on this a/c since you sent the bank your Prelim Letter - if so, please confirm the relevant dates.

 

I'll come back about exactly how to d/w the court claim

[classylady18]

Hi Slick,

 

Yes this was a personal current account.

 

I realise now that i should have issued a claim against them last year but i was facing repossesion and could not afford to pay the fee. (big regret!)

 

Would my schedule of charges still be the same as last year, as the bank account was closed by Barclays before i began the reclaiming process?

 

My o/draft on the account was £900 and the rest was made up of bank charges. They are not adding any other charges or interest.

 

I believe the default was issued by Barclays before i started reclaiming the bank charges.

 

I hope i have answered everything okay

 

Thanks for your help, im feeling a little more positive now!

[slick132]

Hi CL,

 

Good - you SHOULD be feeling positive about this.

 

If you used a Site spreadsheet, when you open it now it will give you up-to-date s.69 interest figures, so your overall claim will have increased.

 

Alternatively, as the o/d was made up mainly of charges, have a look at the Advanced spready here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/Spreadsheets/England/Complex-bank-charges-calc.xls. This will enable you to claim interest on the charges on a more advantageous basis. See what you think and fill it out to compare the figures with your first spready.

 

I'll come back about your defence.

[slick132]

Hi CL,

 

Have you rec'd a Notice of Assignment.

 

Do you know if the debt has been sold or has the Claim been made on behalf of Barclays.

 

Please confirm the exact wording of the Particulars of Claim.

 

Was the Claim issued through MCOL, Northampton.

[classylady18]

Hello Slick,

 

I recieved a Notice of Assignment from Barclays i think early february, the date it was assigned was on 30-01-08 (my birthday )

 

As far as i can see tell the debt has been sold, the Claimant is showing as Lowells not Barclays.

 

I do not have the paperwork with me at the moment as I am at work, so i

i will let you know the exact wording once i get home.

 

The claim was issued by Northamton County Court.

 

I hope this helps

 

Thanks

 

Classylady18 x

[classylady18]

Hello again,

 

Should I hang fire on sending back the acknowledgment of service??

 

Trying to worry but not sure when to send it back.

 

Thanks

CL

[noomill060]

Dont panic- you will wipe the floor with these scumbags.

 

Simply answer the questions that slick132 has put to you.

 

The cavalry is on its way- honestly.

[classylady18]

Thanks noomill !

 

This site is great, you are all so kind!

 

I will answer the questions i have missed once i get home, then its wipe the floor time hopefully!!

[noomill060]

[bunchofbankers]

Hi all, got a pretty simple question: if you are over £25 in the red when you are charged, can you still get the £25 charge refunded? or do you have to be below £25 in the red to be able claim back? thanks

[bunchofbankers]

sorry, think i'm on someone elses prob, any tips anyway?

[slick132]

Hi CL,

 

There's plenty of time to d/w the AOS so no rush nec'y. Take your time and we'll get it right.

 

Come back re the POC please.

 

BunchofBankers - If you've been charged by your bank for going o/d, you can set about claiming it back. Please start a thread for your own case in the appropriate forum.

[classylady18]

Okay. I will be back on in about an hour when i get home and put all of the details on for you

[classylady18]

Hi Slick,

 

Right i've got some information now.

 

The Notice of Assignment is on Barclays letterheaded paper and reads;

 

We here by give you notice of the assignment of the debt due to us from you in respect of the balcnce of £2581.86 outstanding on your Barclays Bak Plc account.

 

On 30/01/2008 your account was sold to Lowell Portfolio 1 ltd.

 

Any further communictaions and payments must therefore be addressed to Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd.

 

Then it gives their address as Enterprise House etc.The letter is date 13/02/08.

I also had a letter from Lowell Portfolio1 on same date 13/02/08 saying that the account had been sold to them and Lowell Financial Ltd have been appointed as duly authorised collection agents etc etc.

 

On the bottom of the letter it says all communcations and payments must now be addressed to Lowell Financial, PO Box 172 Leeds is given as the address.

 

Which letter am i ment to believe ?!?!

 

Particulars of Claim says the following, word for word...

 

The Defendant entered into an agreement with the Assignor, regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Defendant failed to comply with the terms and the agreement was terminated in accordance with the statutory notice of default.

The benefits of the agreement were assigned to the Claimant. Debt assigned on 30/01/08 by Barclays Bank Plc.

 

and the Claimant claims;

 

1. £2518.86

2. Statutory interest pursuant to Section 69 of the County Courts Act (1984) this is at a rate of 8.000% per annum from the 31/08/08 - 18/07/08

£0.00 and thereafter at a daily rate of £0.00 to date of judgement or sooner payment.

 

Agreement 846008400171; 30/01/08

 

Ref: 846008400171

 

Interestingly i have just noticed that the Claimant shown at the top left of the Claim Form says Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd, but at the bottom of the page where the Claimant must sign, it is signed as Lowell Financial as the Claimant and not Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd. This seems wrong to me???

 

I hope i havent waffled too much, but my head is buzzin around with all this information!

 

Thanks for all your help everyone, couldnt do this without u!

[slick132]

Hi CL,

 

Thanks for that.

 

You should acknowledge the claim within 14 days of the date of service. You will say you intend to all of the claim. You will also make a counterclaim against Barclays for the amount of charges which you are reclaiming.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about Lowell's names - you'll win this regardless.

[classylady18]

Thanks Slick.

 

I will get the the AOS done tonight.

I am abit unsure of what i write, can you give me any pointers?

 

Also how do i make a counterclaim against Barclays? Would this be on the same form or would it be a separate claim?

 

Thanks

CL

[noomill060]

Once we get the AOS out of the way, we can can make a start on your defence and counterclaim.

 

Thats when the fun starts!

[classylady18]

The AOS is going off in the post today

 

One question... how do i counterclaim against barclays? Would i put this on the same defence form as the Lowell Portfolio one or would it be a separate claim? Im abit confused

 

Thanks

CL

[noomill060]

All will be made clear, classiclady, fear not.

 

Lets see what the reaction from Lowells is, first.

[classylady18]

Thanks Noomill, I just wanted to get it clear in my mind.

 

I assume that i will have to pay a court fee for the counterclaim, do you know where i would be able to find out how much i am likely to have to pay upfront? I am going to have to try and budget for this, I have a feeling its going to be over £100 which is alot for me to find out of my wages.

 

Classylady18

[noomill060]

Yes, you will have to pay a court fee. Your local court will be able to tell you, or you will be able to find it on the moneyclaim online website.

[slick132]

If the counterclaim is between £1500 and £3000, the fee is £80.

 

However, if you claim Contractual Interest on the charges and not just s.69 Statutory Interest, your c/claim may well exceed £3K and the fee would then be £100.

 

Noomill's more knowledgeable about Contractual Int't and may help you decide if you can/should claim it.