Claim Form Recieved - advice needed if possible

[I've got no money]

How much is the claim for?

 

When did you get the summons? - you need to check the response pack and find out when the defence is due - at this point I would send of the acknol of service saying that you intend to defend all of the claim

 

You need to get more information - send a CPR 31.14 ASAP - give them 7 days to respond. - presumably as you have a fax send it by fax. If there is no reply then on the 8th day send a chasing letter with a copy of your original letter telling them that if they don't respond in within a further 7 days that you will apply to the court for both an Order and costs

 

If you don't want a CCJ and you have no defence you need to write to the other side without prejudice and offer a monthly payment on the basis of a Tomlin Order - that is that they agree to only enter a judgment if you default on the arrangement

[I've got no money]

Yes - a fax receipt is fine in terms of the CPR 31.14 - although you need to send the original acknol of service to the court.

[I've got no money]

There are several options. Within the county court there is CPR Part 18 - request for further particulars of the claim - which I think is more about explanations rather than detail.

 

Incidentally there is also 31.16 BUT that applies to pre action disclosure so it doesn't apply where the claim has been issued

 

There are then several other ways, outside of the case to get information - the CCA and the DPA

[I've got no money]

Hi, I've got no money.

 

I have tried the CCA route, to which their response was the claim! Are they obliged to give me just what is referred to in the POC or do they have to supply supporting documents if they expect to rely on them Thanks

 

No - have a look at

 

PART 31 - DISCLOSURE AND INSPECTION OF DOCUMENTS - Ministry of Justice

 

Which is the CPR Pt 31 which covers disclosure.

 

In terms of what they have to disclose CPR 31.14 specifies certain things that you are entitled to

 

HOWEVER CPR 31.6 creates a duty, in standard disclosure, to disclose documents on which they a party relies AND documents which adversely affect their case.

 

So the duty is much wider than 31.14

 

In terms of the production of statements showing how the sum arrived has been calculated as its' likely that they are going to support your case (if they show unlawful charges) or they will have to rely on as they show how the sum claimed has been arrived at I'd argue that they fall within the duty to disclose.

 

In civil proceedings the normal process is:-

1. Summons

2. Defence

3. Allocation to Track - Directions

4. Disclosure

5. Witness statements

6. Trial

 

In CCA cases it doesn't tend to work out that way because the either the

summons doesn't contain enough information or you don't have all of the documents to allow you to draft a proper defence. So you end up either doing a CPR Part 18 or a CPR 31.14 request at the very beginning to get you the info for the defence - once that's happened the standard process carries on so it goes to Allocation and then to standard disclosure etc .

 

Thats's the general idea, although of course there are sometimes hiccups along the way...

[I've got no money]

Can I just check - have you filed the AoS

 

What you could do is write back to them and ask in the circumstances if they will agree to extend the time for filing the defence to 14 days after they reply to your CPR 31.14 request.

 

When is your defence due?

[I've got no money]

I've just checked - the defence is gonna be due around the 20th May...you've got time to see if they'll agree to extend the time.

 

I would do a letter asking for an extension - if they haven't agreed by the 16th - you can either file a holding defence or make an application to the court to extend the time for service of the defence - it'd probably be easiest to file a holding defence

[I've got no money]

Can you email it...does their letter head have an email address on it or could you fax it

[I've got no money]

There is no email address, but I could fax it. Is a fax receipt acceptable confirmation of receipt? Thanks

 

Yes - personally I'd fax it and send a hard copy in the post

[I've got no money]

I think that they have a problem - the 3rd of January 2009 is a Saturday - they have only allowed 14 days from the 3rd up to the 17th

 

That's wrong - service would be deemed from the 6th - two business days after posting - the DN should take effect from the the day after service - that's the 7th - you should have 14 days after that which would take you up to the 20th January - the DN is defective

[I've got no money]

In terms of the AQ - I'd allocate to the fast track - have a look at the N150 and tell us if you have got any queries.

 

As far as the amended defence is concerned what I would do is amend it and send a copy to the other side and ask for their agreement - if they decline you then need to apply for an Order on an N244

[I've got no money]

I'll sort out an amended defence in the next couple of days

 

An N244 is an application notice - its' the form you use when you ask the court to do anything. There is, unfortunately a fee of £75 - you may however be able, on grounds of income to have the fee reduced or waived in its' entirety

[I've got no money]

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you I've had some computer problems think that the agreement is CCA compliant but I'm not an expert however I think that the DN is defective before I draft an amended defence has anybody got any comments on the CCA

[I've got no money]

Fast track gets you enough disclosure whilst at the same time limits costs...its' also appropriate for the Fast track if the the hearing is likely to last less than a vday

[I've got no money]

So you need to do an amended defence

 

Do you want to have a go at drafting one or do you want me to and we'll comment on it

 

42man the DN is actually dated January - they've put the wrong date on the PoC

[I've got no money]

Hi IGNM,

 

If you have something already in your arsenal then that would be great or alternatively I could put something together this evening and you could then tear it apart for me . I have put this evening aside to do the AQ as well, as they have to be in by the 5th...........I take it that the amended defence is in addition to the draft directions to strike out on the basis of the defective DN. Thanks

 

I haven't got anything particularly drafted already - I tend to use my own as a starting point

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/197867-arrow-mbna-ignm-pt.html#post2147014

 

I'm not gonna have a lot of time to do it until later tonight - I'll knock something up later

 

You'd need to put a draft direction in the AQ giving you permission to amend - thinking about it you won't get a direction (in the AQ) to strike out the claim - you need to make a separate application for that.

 

Have you posted all of the documents?

[I've got no money]

Hi IGNM,

 

I have just had a read of your defence (very comprehensive ). The only thing which struck me was the fact that you mention a statutory 7 days in respect of the default notice and not 14

 

It used to be 7 days - it was increased to 14 days - yours comes under the new rules and is 14

[I've got no money]

Hi IGNM - thanks for all your help.

 

I have posted up all the documents earlier. In the AQ there is a section F headed "proposed directions". 42man has suggested a draft direction above, which appears to be a request to strike out based on the defective DN.

 

Should I use this direction and submit an amended defence? In my holding defence, I did reserve the right to submit an amended defence, and was simply going to send a copy to the court and a copy to the claimant (and wait for them to tell me I had done it wrong )

 

You need to have either the consent of the other side or a specific direction giving you permission to amend - so you need to apply for it in the AQ, and attach a copy of the amended defence to the AQ and send a copy to the other side - putting the strike out stuff in as 42man suggests won't do any harm - because of the nature of a strike out I'd be surprised if the court just struck out the claim - I s'pose that you might get an order for a strike out hearing - yes put it in - if they don't action it you can always apply for a strike out later

[I've got no money]

The court has no power to allocate a claim over 5k to the SCT UNLESS both parties consent - if the case stays in the SCT they won't have any chance of recovering £7k costs.

 

I'd expect the claimant to write to the court and point this out - I suspect that there'll be an allocation hearing.

 

As the court hasn't done anything about a strike out I'd suggest that you apply on an N244 for an Order striking out the claim