Claim form Received today

[Docman]

hi darcus

 

Firstly, stop creating dirty laundry!

 

Second, as goldlady points out, there are many people out there in the same position. here we try to help each other as well. You should acknowledge service of the claim form. You can do this on line. Follow the instructions that came with the claim form. The password is on the claim form itself.

 

Third, get some further information from HBOS. Don't bother with a CCA request or a SAR under the Data Protection Act. They take too long and it's a bit late. Instead, use the courts rules (Civil Procedure Rules or CPR) to get documents. i suugest a letter using CPR 31 might be appropriate. An example is below -

 

Dear Sir,

 

Re: (Claimant's name) v (Your name) Case No:

CPR 31.14 Request

 

On (date) I received the Claim Form in this case issued by you out of the (Name) County Court.

 

I confirm having returned my acknowledgement of service to the court in which I indicate my intention to contest all of your claim.

 

[Prior to the issue of proceedings I had delivered a request for the production of the agreement mentioned in the Claim Form and on which you rely. That request was ignored][delete if no such request was delivered]

 

Please treat this letter as my request made under CPR 31.14 for the disclosure and the production of a verified and legible copy of [each of the following / the] document(s) mentioned in your Particulars of Claim:

 

1 the agreement. You will appreciate that in an ordinary case and by reason of the provisions of CPR PD 16 para 7.3, where a claim is based upon a written agreement, a copy of the contract or documents constituting the agreement should be attached to or served with the particulars of claim and the original(s) should be available at the hearing. Further, that any general conditions incorporated in the contract should also be attached.

 

2 the assignment*

 

3 the default notice*

 

4 the termination notice*

 

5 [any other documents mentioned in the Particulars of Claim]*

 

* delete if not mentioned in the Particulars of claim.

 

[Although your claim is for a sum which is not more than £5,000.00 and will in all likelihood be allocated to the small claims track for determination upon my delivering a defence, at this moment in time I have not delivered my defence and the case has not been allocated to a track. In consequence the provisions of CPR 27(2) are of no effect and you should not seek to avoid compliance with your CPR 31 duties by claiming otherwise]#

 

# delete if claim for a sum exceeding £5,000.00

 

You should ensure compliance with your CPR 31 duties and ensure that the document(s) I have requested are copied to and received by me within 7 days of receiving this letter. Your CPR 31 duties extend to making a reasonable and proportionate search for the originals of the documents I have requested, the better for you to be able to verify the document's authenticity and to provide me with a legible copy. Further, where I have requested a copy of a document, the original of which is now in the possession of another person, you will have a right to possession of that document if you have mentioned it in your case. You must take immediate steps to recover and preserve it for the purpose of this case.

 

Where I have mentioned a document and there is in your possession more than one version of that same document owing to a modification, obliteration or other marking or feature, each version will be a separate document and you must provide a copy of each version of it to me. Your obligations extend to making a reasonable and proportionate search for any version(s) to include an obligation to recover and preserve such version(s) which are now in the possession of a third party.

 

In accordance with CPR 31.15© I undertake to be responsible for your reasonable copying costs incurred in complying with this CPR 31.14 request.

 

If you require more time in which to comply with this request you must tell me in writing. You must tell me before the time for compliance with this request has expired. In telling me you require more time you must tell me what steps you have taken and propose to take in order to comply with this request and also state a date by when you will comply with this request. In addition your statement must be accompanied with a statement that you agree to an extension of the time for me to file my defence. Your extension of time must be not less than 14 days from the date when you say you will have complied with my request and you must state the new date for filing my defence.

 

If you are unable to comply with this request and believe that you will never be able to comply with this request you must tell me in writing.

 

Please note that if you should fail to comply with this request, fail to request more time or fail to agree to an extension of time for the filing of my defence, I will make an application to the court for an order that the proceedings be struck out or stayed for non-compliance and a summary costs order.

 

I do hope this will not be necessary and look forward to hearing from you.

 

yours faithfully

 

 

Send this letter by recorded delivery ('Signed For' in Royal Mail speak). Sign your name electronically, use an unusual font and put it in italics.

 

Fourth, sit back and relax for the next two weeks. There is nothing else you can do for now. In a couple of weeks, you will need to draft a defence. Come back and people will help.

[Docman]

Acknowleding online is easier, quicker & cheaper and you can print off a confirmation.

[Docman]

Darcus

 

here's a starter for ten. You will need to amend as necessary. Also I have not covered the claim for interest and I think it should be added. Can someone more knowledgable add the appropriate wording at the end?

Edited March 20, 2009 by MARTIN3030
personal bits deleted

[Docman]

Darcus

 

There isn't much point in waiting until Sunday if you have more or less finished your defence. you might actually be late if you wait until Sunday.

 

Can I also advise amending what is paragraph 20 in the draft defence. normally creditors make reference to a Defulat Notice. i now see that Halifax doesn't, so you need to replace paragraph 20 with the following

 

"

20. The claimants also state in their Particulars of Claim that the Claimant has requested payment but that I have failed to pay the sum demanded. It is neither admitted nor denied that any demand was ever received.

[Docman]

I suggest putting it in as a new paragraph number 26 just before the heading 'AND THE DEFENDANT' and renumber the remaining paragraphs.

[Docman]

Darcus

 

I've edited by deleting the quotes from the Act which now brings the total characters below 8000.

 

DARCUS Defence v2.doc

[Docman]

It means the idiots at HBOS have taken the letter from the court and your defence as a COMPLAINT under their rules!

 

Let them carry on and do not give them the satisfaction of quoting their own reference number. The only reference you need to quote on any letter now is the case refernce from the Court.

[Docman]

I suggest you contact the court and ask if HBOS responded to your defence. If not, ask if the claim has been stayed. Don't bother with the Haifax complaints team.

[Docman]

Hang on. I've got to ring my storage copany to get the defence I drafted out of the long term vault. Its that old.

 

What excuse did HBOS give to the court?

[Docman]

Hi Darcus

 

I've now re-read the draft defence. I don't see any problem knocking out the bank's SJ application. They are just trying it on. When you have it, can you post up a copy of their application. You will have to submit a witness statement challenging their application which is why you need to post up what they are telling the court.

 

Doc

[Docman]

Have they actually sent you a copy of the signed credit agreement that contains all the terms prescribed by the Act?

[Docman]

Hi darcus

 

First, I suggest you complete and return the allocation questionaire to your local court. Second, I would write to the solicitors to point out that they have not sent you any documents since you filed your defence and that therefore they have misled the court in their recent application, a fact you will point out to the court in your witness statement in due course.

 

BTW, having looked at the 'agreement' they sent you, did you notice that the parties to the signed application form [for that is what it is] were yourself and HALIFAX plc but the terms & conditions were from Bank of Scotland plc. And it is not the case that one company became the other or that both became HBOS plc. Both the English company and the Scottish company were kept separate and both became subsiduaries of the newly created HBOS plc. Halifax dealt with retail banking and mortgages south of the border whilst Bank of Scotland remained the retail operation in the north.

[Docman]

It's always better to try and settle claims without a full court hearing if only because going into court is not an easy experience. That said, I wouldn't deal directly with the HBOS solicitors at this stage. You are only likely to get a glorified debt collector on the other end of the phone anyway.

 

Instead I would opt for the court's mediation service. Worst case scenario is that if the claim went the whole way, you would have independent evidence that you had tried to resolve matters.