Court Papers issued over something I never signed up for HELP!

[colecc]

Hi everyone,

I am a 19 year old sole trader, who has been self employed since last February. Last June i received a cold call (my details are available online) from a sales rep trying to sell me advertising. To cut a long story short, the rep was saying that he must get an answer and how good the offer was. Stupidly I went along with his pitch, but made it clear i must speak to my colleague (my Dad) before committing to anything. At 19 I was not going to enter into a deal worth a staggering £45000 without taking advice. I told the rep I would have to let him know. I could not get in touch with my Dad, and i received another cold call from the same rep telling me he must have an answer as other companies would be after the exclusive advertising opportunity (yes I know). The rep told me I could reserve the space by sending a confirmation email over saying I would go ahead with the advertising, which at the time i thought nothing of. He dictated how I should word this email, which I now know was stupid. I didn’t think anything into this, as the rep made clear on the phone the contract would need printing and signing to complete the deal, something I NEVER did. The small print stated that this document (order form/contract) constituted the contract and to this date it has never been signed.

Anyway, after a lot of dispute, the company in question went ahead and printed crude adverts with basic details of my business. I have been invoiced multiple times ever since, had letters from bailiffs which had finally culminated with court papers being served, demanding a total of £2500.

I have copies of all correspondence with this company. I have applied for an ‘Acknowledgement of Service’, but I am approaching the deadline. Any help with this matter would be very much appreciated! As you can imagine I am very worried and can no way afford the amount being asked for even if I wanted to pay.

I could really do with any help regarding the defence, such as how it should be laid out/worded, and what points are most important to included.

Any help would be very much appreciated, and thanks everyone for taking the time to read this.

[colecc]

The deadline is quickly approaching so if anyone could offer any advice it would be great, thanks

[GamekeeperToPoacher]

Hi welcome to CAG

 

I am confused as to your situation.

 

You say that you received letters from bailiffs then that they are taking you to court then an acknowledgement of service.

 

It would be useful if you scanned the relevant letters, removing any personal information, and posted it to photobucket and place links here ready for a more knowledgeable person to advise.

 

Did you return the information saying that you intend to defend in full?

 

Regards

 

GK

[colecc]

Hi,

 

thanks for the quick reply, my dad has the letters at the moment but I will try and get them back today.

 

The alledged contract between myself and this company has been in dispute for over 6 months. I have received numerous demands for payment for adverts i never asked for. This then led to payment demands from a debt collection agency, who must of been instructed to collect payment from me. After refusing this, I have now been issued court papers. I returned the papers saying I intend to defend in full when i applied for the 14 day extension.

 

Thanks again

[GamekeeperToPoacher]

If you have received an N1 you would be best to put it on photobucket as above. Obscure details but make sure that the particulars of claim can be seen.

 

Were other documents attached? as in contract etc?

 

If not you should send of a CPR request and be perparede to submit an embarrassed defence.

 

You are in the right place here.

GK

 

I am not a lawyer and offer the best advice that I can - if you think it is useful feel free to tickle my scales

[colecc]

Thanks GK,

 

What is an N1?

 

No other documents were attached, as mentioned I never signed a contract, the claim is purely based on an email i sent saying I confirm I will go ahead, something which i was misled into sending.

 

Sorry but what is a CPR request, and what would an embarassed defence be?

 

Thanks again for all your help

[GamekeeperToPoacher]

Ni is the claim form

 

CPR see here " CPR 31.14 Request

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 document(s) mentioned in your Particulars of Claim:

1 the credit card 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 default notice

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.

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, 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

I would add something along the lines of

You are also obliged to send me any further documents you wish to rely on in Court.

The reason being if they rely on for example statements of the account which they haven't sent you, you have grounds to request the claimants amend their Particulars of Claim and you shall be allowed to amend your defence."

 

 

An embarrassed defence is put in when/if they do not send the info - don't worry we will find one for you if you need it.

 

 

When is the defence due in?

 

 

GK

[GamekeeperToPoacher]

BTW above has been stolen/borrowed from elsewhere on the site

 

GK

[colecc]

Hi GK,

 

The defence is due next Thursday but I am looking to complete it by next Tues.

 

Basically is the CPR 31.14 a list of requests I am sending to the claimant? Am I asking for all the info which was omitted from the original court documents? Should this letter be addressed to the person representing the company named on the papers?

 

Thanks again GK for taking the time to help me, it is appreciated.

[GamekeeperToPoacher]

Hi Colecc,

 

I am getting slightly concerned now due to the short time scale

 

I would immediately send off the CPR request by recorded delivery - do not sign it - or sign it using a 'special sig' or rule a line through the sig so they are unable to use it. (Photoshop may be there alleged friend) - give them 7 days

 

Also note that you will have to edit the above as it is for a CC

 

I think we will have to use a holding defence but would prefer if someone more knowledgeable would help here.

 

I would recommend that you give it another 24 hours or so here and then hit the triangle and ask for site team assistance.

 

Who has issued the N1 and is it from Northampton?

 

If it is from Northampton you can put your defence in online.

 

Regards

 

GK

[colecc]

Hi GK,

 

It is not online, and is not from Northampton.

I will try and put a CPR request together now, however I am still slightly unsure as to what I am asking for in it?

 

does the CPR request need to be sent before the defence, and is it sent to the person mentioned on the court papers as the claimants representative?

 

Thanks

 

ColeCC

[42man]

What do the particulars of claim say....?

[42man]

I really need to know this in order to help you.....

[GamekeeperToPoacher]

Phew,

 

Thanks 42 I was just about to ask for the POC.

I am so pleased to see you here and hope I have not messed up

 

GK

[42man]

I have to nip out....if you can put down the Particulars Of The Claim, i'll post up back here in an hour or so.....

[colecc]

Hi,

 

My Dad took the court papers to read and has gone away for the weekend, I didnt realise how important they would be. I have just returned from a 2 hour round trip to the court the papers were issued from to find it closed at 12pm for the bank holiday.

 

Is there anything I can do in the mean time? should i be getting the CPR request together? I can have this sent special delivery on tuesday to arrive for wednesday, which is still within the deadline for my defence. should this CPR be sent before my defence is filed? I take i should still file my defence by the deadline no matter when the CPR is filed, read or replied to?

 

Many thanks for all your help, and if by some way I can get the particulars/court papers before the re-opening of the court on tuesday then I will get them posted on here.

 

Many thanks for all your help during this worrying time, any advice will be much appreciated

[42man]

Can you ring him.....

 

the CPR needs to be in line with what is written on the court papers.....

 

Your defence will be something along the lines of....(this is a basic starting defence NOT the CPR) i'm not up with commercial debt, so i'm only giving my opinion on this.....

 

1 The Defendant denies ever having been indebted to £xxxxx and denies any business relationship with XXXXX

 

2 The Defendant repeats paragraph 1 of his/her Defence and denies a debt to the Claimant.

 

3 The Claimant's claim to be entitled to £XXXXX for debt, to statutory interest or to any monetary or other relief of any kind is denied.

 

4 The Defendant denies having any signed agreement with the alleged creditor.

 

I BELIEVE THE FACTS SET OUT IN THIS DEFENCE ARE TRUE

 

Signed:

 

Dated:

 

 

 

-----------

 

This is the CPR BUT.....this needs to be geared with whatever is in the Particulars Of Claim.....(unless they have attached any of the documents). You need to try and understand what is being said here...and I can't stress how important it is that this letter is made in line with the claim form.....you can bet they won't back down for a debt of this size, but if their paperwork isn't in order then woe betide on them...my feeling is without a signed contract they will struggle....but again this is my feeling....

 

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

[colecc]

Thanks you very much everyone for your help.

 

I have tried getting the papers, but they are locked in a flat no one has access to until tuesday.

 

Basically I cannot do anything without these papers, but am I right in thinking i should do my best to get a CPR AND a defence together over the weekend?

 

Is there anything that matters if a defence and a CPR are submitted at the same time?

 

When I do get the papers on Tuesday, I can amend both the Defence and the CPR to tie in with the Particulars of Claim, and then send the CPR Special Delivery on Tuesday to arrive Wednesday, and file the defence Wednesday to reach the deadline of Thursday. Is this right?

 

Also, should the CPR be addressed to the person whose name is on the Court Papers?

 

Many thanks again for all your help, and I would be very greatful if you could let me know of anything else I should be doing before Tuesday!

Thank you

[GamekeeperToPoacher]

Hi Colecc,

I should hate to get out of my depth here but would suggest that the defence should be on the lines above and the CPR but I am unsure of the timing! No doubt 42 will be along again soon

 

GK

[colecc]

Thanks GK and 42, I guess I should get something finished for Tuesday and then make any neccessary alterations before submitting the Final documents.

[GamekeeperToPoacher]

Go for it and we will help where we can

 

GK

[colecc]

After spending some time reading up, I am coming to the conclusion that at this late stage a CPR 31.14 would be of little or no use, as I have to file a defence the day after sending it so would have no reply anyway. Is this right? Also, without having the papers to hand I would not know whether a 31.14 or a CPR 18 would be more appropriate?

 

Am I right in thinking that at this stage I need to get the best defence I can together for submission? Or should I continue along the CPR 31.14/CPR 18 request route? Does anyone have any more info on a CPR 18?

 

Are there any templates for filing a defence available? I have been reading different threads about different types of defences (e.g. Holding Defence) but am not sure which would apply here or how I would lay it out.

 

Any help would be very much appreciated!!

 

Thanks you

[GamekeeperToPoacher]

Hi Colecc,

 

It would be really useful to have a look at the particulars of claim. If I recall correctly they should send documents with the N1 but rarely do - they are, I believe, hoping that you will do nothing and that they will get the judgement by default.

 

I cannot recall the timescales here and so am unsure on what grounds you can defend.

 

At worst I would put in a holding defence - basically "I need more information before I can make a decision on the claim - and would like permission to amend my defence when I receive the information"

 

You should have come across something suitable in other threads.

 

Hopefully 42Man will be along soon,

 

GK

[colecc]

I have now got hold of the particulars of claim which state:

 

The claimants claim is for services rendered in respect of advertising, to the defendant by the claimant at the defendants written request. The claimant confirms they have fulfilled all contractual obligations of which full particulars have been delivered before this action was commenced.

 

This then goes on to list the amount being claimed for.

No other documents were attached to this.

[diamondgirl]

Have you managed to get any of the information 42man has mentioned. It really is needed to help you out.

DG