OOer..I have been taken to Court...help please?

[UK_Widowmaker]

Hi All,

 

Just recieved a County Court Letter this AM...and need a bit of advice please?

 

Story is:-

 

I purchased a new Boiler about 3 years ago from British Gas... they used a credit company (possibly their own) called GEMoney.

 

I had been happily paying this off, until about 6 months ago...and got into difficulties, and in a panic..I deliberately cancelled my Direct Debit.

 

Nothing happened for two months...and I used that time to sort out my finances.... I recieved a letter from GEMoney about falling behind, and I wrote back to ask them to send a Direct Debit Mandate, and made an offer to continue paying my usual amount + an extra £20 per month to clear the arrears.

 

I got a very snotty letter back from them with no D/D Mandate form, with red writing all over it, demanding full payment of £4255.34 (a figure that seems very high to me..as we have been paying this off since 2006)

 

Heard nothing else until today..when the Court letter appeared..but it's not GEMoney...But a company called 'Link Financial Ltd'

 

I have had to send a CCA in the past to a Debt Collection agency who I supposedly owed money too..which I didn't..and they left me alone.

 

My Question is... I have 14 days to defend their claim..can I still send a CCA and request a full statement of account to these Link Financial lot?...I have never had any comms with them at all!...and I wish to ensure that

a) I owe the amount stated

b) I want to somehow defend myself..as I have shown willingness to pay.

 

I would also like to know if I can extend the 14 day period from the court to await these documents.

 

Thank you very much for any advice in advance

[GhostDebt]

Hello UKW

If you acknowledge service first, this increases the time to file your defence from 14 days to 28 days from date of service.

 

Also it would be appropriate to send a CPR 31.14 request letter to them for copies of documents.

 

If you need any assistance I will offer my support but there are more knowledgeable people on here than me, who should be along shortly to assist as well.

 

Regards

[The_Grumlin]

Hi,

 

So prior to court action, did you get a DN (Default Notice) from either GE or LINK?

Did you get a Letter from Link tell you they had "purchsed" your debt?

Did you get any letters information that legal action was about to commence i.e. letter before action?

 

Can you post up the "particluars of claim" (POC) that are on the court claim form, if they up to the usually standard of LINK they will be very short and vauge. I assume this is a standard bulk claim from Northampton?

 

As GhostDebt has said you will need to send a CPR 31 or 18 request to link, dependant on the POC.

 

But first acknowledge service first. There are a number of standard holding defenses on here copy one down now and amend to suit your details and requiements. I and others on here well versed in Links' tactics so don't wait for documents to be supplied get a hold defense done now and ready to post off before the 28days are up.

[UK_Widowmaker]

Thanks for your help and advice.

 

No Grumlin..I had no idea the debt had been sold on at all...and don't remember seeing anything in reference to a legal action either...all i recieved was that letter as far as I can find in my 'file'

The particulars of the claim are:- (as you say..vague)

 

"The defendant is indebted to the claimant under the terms of a credit agreement dated 03/04/06 and assigned to the claimant.

The Agreement is regulated by the consumer credit act 1974

The agreement provided that interest would be payable before and after a judgement. The right to proceed for subsequent interest is reserved

default occured in payment and the loan was called in under S.87"

 

that's about it.

[Writerchris]

watching thread UKW

 

;o)

[The_Grumlin]

Well, if Link have not sent you their standard "sale of debt" letter then they have no right of action (as regard Law of Property). It is a requirement that to take action in their own name you need to be informed of any assignment of the debt through a notice of assignment (Link's "sale of your debt" letter or a letter from GE stating that have sold your debt to Link). This can be fleshed out in your holding defense.

 

I think going down the SAR route may be a tatical option at this time to establish if a letter was every produced, just before a CPR request is made? Link have the ability of making questionable document appear out of thin air.

[the_shadow]

Hi Widowmaker,

 

You need to acknowledge the claim and if you wish to defend all the claim.

 

a SAR wont be responded to prior to the defence being put in, you can CPR Link although they more than likely wont respond to your request prior to the defence deadline.

 

Most likely you'll need to put in an embarrassed defence until the required paperwork gets in.

 

In short:-

SAR GEmoney

CPR 31.14 Link

 

You need to get sight of a)Credit Agreement b)Default Notice c)Notice of assignment to Link at the very least...

 

In my humble opinion... better advice will no doubt come along shortly ;-)

 

S.

Edited July 23, 2009 by the_shadow
word tombolla got stuck in wrong position :-)

[The_Grumlin]

you can CPR Link although they more than likely wont respond to your request prior to the defence deadline.

That can be take as a fact, they never do.

 

As The Shadow has stated do the CPR and acknowledge service and state you intend to defend all of the claim.

[UK_Widowmaker]

OK Thanks again chaps...just a quick one please.

Do i send the CPR to GEMoney (the original creditor) or to Link?

 

And on my Court document..do i write all of this as my defence?

 

Basically, any help with what to actually write as my defence would be very welcome...I am sorry for being a pain

[the_shadow]

OK Thanks again chaps...just a quick one please.

Do i send the CPR to GEMoney (the original creditor) or to Link?

 

And on my Court document..do i write all of this as my defence?

 

CPR goes to Link, SAR to GEmoney.

 

You only acknowledge the claim online, this gives you extra time to file a defence which we need to wait till the last minute to file as you "may" get something back from Link in reply to the CPR (and pigs might learn to fly).

 

S.

[UK_Widowmaker]

yeah..it's a funny one..I dont deny I owe them money..have offered to pay..(GEMoney that is)but I want proof of the amount, I want the CCA and I want to know why I wasnt informed of the sale of debt

[UK_Widowmaker]

CPR goes to Link, SAR to GEmoney.

 

You only acknowledge the claim online, this gives you extra time to file a defence which we need to wait till the last minute to file as you "may" get something back from Link in reply to the CPR (and pigs might learn to fly).

 

S.

 

Wilco Shadow..thanks

[the_shadow]

Wilco Shadow..thanks

 

Need to mark on your calendar when the 28 days are up as the defense will need to be submitted a couple of days prior to that.

 

S.

[the_shadow]

I think you've already spotted it but CPR 31.14 letter can be found in first post here.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/159445-getting-them-reveal-their.html

 

S.

[UK_Widowmaker]

Thank you Shadow, yes I had found the required CPR 31.14 letter..am off to send it Registered post now...and have just completed the Acknowledgement of Service online..so just a waiting game now I guess?...When I hear anything, I will post back (or if I get a random panic attack!!)...many thanks to all so far for your words of encouragement and advise...never a pleasant experience to have to wade through, but made all the more bearable by people who are willing to help!..thank you all

[trooper68]

Thank you Shadow, yes I had found the required CPR 31.14 letter..am off to send it Registered post now...and have just completed the Acknowledgement of Service online..so just a waiting game now I guess?...When I hear anything, I will post back (or if I get a random panic attack!!)...many thanks to all so far for your words of encouragement and advise...never a pleasant experience to have to wade through, but made all the more bearable by people who are willing to help!..thank you all

 

Widowmaker, seems the demand is far to high for a boiler, I bet there is charges to the account, you sould also request via FO that they explain the charges. I may be a punt, but, you may find the FO will investigate. I've found that the charges applied to my account had intrest at a high rate. Had £2100 removed via FO.

 

Trooper68

[The_Grumlin]

Have a look at these threads, might help you at least to know how link opperate:-

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/166060-zhanzhibar-link-financial.html

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/dca-legal-successes/122742-help-required-court-claim.html

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/156156-help-mum-being-taken.html

[The GodMother]

This is the standard CPR request.

 

Account In Dispute

 

Dear xxxx,

 

I acknowledge receipt of your notice of intended legal action sent by your company on 3rd July 2007 which was received on 6th July 2007.

Please be aware that any proceedings will be extremely vigorously defended and that a counterclaim will be made against ** DCA **. I am unable to respond further at this time, since you have given me inadequate information to investigate the claim. Please note that under the Overriding Objectives, you have a duty to act reasonably at all times.

 

As you are aware, under the pre-action protocols of the Civil Procedure Rules, your letter before action should have included the following information:

4.3 The claimant's letter should —

(a) give sufficient concise details to enable the recipient to understand and investigate the claim without extensive further information;

(b) enclose copies of the essential documents which the claimant relies on;

© ask for a prompt acknowledgement of the letter, followed by a full written response within a reasonable stated period;

(For many claims, a normal reasonable period for a full response may be one month.)

(d) state whether court proceedings will be issued if the full response is not received within the stated period;

(e) identify and ask for copies of any essential documents, not in his possession, which the claimant wishes to see;

(f) state (if this is so) that the claimant wishes to enter into mediation or another alternative method of dispute resolution; and

(g) draw attention to the court's powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with this practice direction and, if the recipient is likely to be unrepresented, enclose a copy of this practice direction.

I note that your letter failed to enclose copies of the essential documents upon which you will seek to rely, failed to ask for acknowledgement of the letter, failed to ask for a written response within a reasonable period of time, and did not draw attention to the courts powers

to force all parties to comply with the practice direction.

I intend to provide you with a full written response, but as yet I have not got adequate information to investigate your claim.

To enable me to investigate this claim I require specific information regarding the account to be provided forthwith. Given that this matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, you are obliged to disclose under the Civil Procedure Rules, the information and documents detailed below.

If you fail to disclose this information, I may apply to the court under Part 18 and part 31 of the civil procedure rules.

I will be unable to respond to your claim without this information, and by failing to supply it before starting legal action you would breach the overriding objective of the Civil Procedure Rules.

 

Request for disclosure;

I request that you send me information vital to investigating your claims, including:

1. A true copy of the executed credit agreement and any terms and conditions that applied to the account at the time of default and at the time the account was opened.

2. All records you hold on me relevant to this case, including but not limited to:

a. A transcript of all transactions, including charges, fees, interest, repayments and payments and both the original amount of the loan and any repayments made to it the account.

b. Transcriptions of all telephone conversations recorded and any notes made in relation to telephone conversations by your company, or by any previous creditor.

c. Where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual

intervention in relation to my account formerly held with ** CREDITOR **.

d. True copies of any notice of assignment and/or default notice or enforcement notice that you or the original creditor sent me, with a copy of any proof of postage that you hold.

e. Documents relating to any insurance added to the account, including the insurance contract and terms and conditions, date it was added and deleted (if applicable).

f. Details of any collection charge added to the account; specifically, the date it was levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial breakdown of how the charge was calculated, and what the charge covers.

g. Specific details of the fees/charges levied by any other agency in respect of this account and a detailed breakdown of said fees/charges and what each charge relates to and on what date said fees/charges were levied.

h. A genuine copy of any deed of assignment, or proof that you have a legal right to this money.

i. A genuine copy of any notice of fair use of my data as required by the Data Protection Act 1998

j. A list of third party agencies to whom you have disclosed my personal data and a summary of the nature of the information you have disclosed.

3. Any other documents you will seek to rely upon in court.

4. A copy of your complaints procedure, as required by the Consumer Credit Act 2006.

5. Clarification of the date you acquired the debt, what organisation you acquired it from, their registered office, their company number (if any) and what legal title they had to this debt, and what credit license number they had at the time that the debt was purchased or entered into.

 

Please note, I will respond to your claim in full within 14 days of your providing this information. I must advise you that if the information is not forthcoming, or if you start proceedings without furnishing this information, it will be reported to the Court that you are denying me the opportunity to settle this matter amicably.

 

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

 

I await your rapid response.

Yours Faithfully,

[UK_Widowmaker]

Hi all...follow up help needed please??

 

Ok, the score is..I didnt put in my defence in time, as I was awaiting my documents from Link Financial...Foolishly I believed Link when they assured me the documents would arrive in time!...So judgement was made against me on 2nd September.... Documents arrived on..you guessed it... 2nd September...But here is the rub!!

 

I have been ordered to pay £4,340.34..... My original credit agreement (which they finally sent) says the cost of my boiler was £4,211.40

 

Well, I had been paying off my boiler for 21/2 years when all this crap kicked off (I have ALL my bank statements to prove this)..but as I had no documentary proof until now as to how much I owed, I have gone past the Judgement date.

 

Please can someone advise me if I have any course of action I can now take?..As I feel totally trapped in a spiralling situation, all because of a mistake on my part...but I never wanted to default on payment..and I am being ripped off Blind

 

Many Thanks for any help and advice in advance

 

(special mention to Shadow..I f*cked up on your advice!..sorry)

[yubnub]

Small bump for you..

 

I have only recently joined on here - one thing I have learnt already is never trust/believe or relay on anything any DCA tells you.

 

I realize that you have learnt this the hard way,

 

I am sure that a more knowledgeable cagger will be along to help with some specific advice regarding your next options,

[The_Grumlin]

Unfortuantely this how DCA's work and in particular LINK. Never ever trust anything they say in regards to delivery of documents for court cases.

 

You might be able to get this set a side, also check the statements from Link and look closely at the charges that have been applied to the account. You may be able to reduce the balance by recliaming as such unlawful charges.

[the_shadow]

Ok, they have obtained judgement, you now need to apply to set this aside ASAP and in this case I do mean ASAP!!!

 

Your defence has to clearly state that the amount they are claiming is incorrect due to the payments you have made and you'll need to show proof of these payments against the balance.

 

You'll need to throw yourself at the mercy of the court and state you were awaiting these documents and mistakenly didnt file an embarrassed defence due to assurances you were to receive these forms/information prior to the defence filing date.

 

The form is N244 and there is a fee for the application.

 

Only other option is if you have the money pay off the CCJ and get it removed from the register for a small fee, this can only be done in 30days from judgment I believe, after that you can satisfy but not get it removed.

 

Let us know the way you want to progress....

 

S.

[UK_Widowmaker]

Hi Shadow / Grumlin..thanks for coming back on this one.

I can't afford to pay it off in one go Shadow, so i will need to go the N224 route.

Is the N244 the form to set aside? (looks like it I guess, but also looks like a Criminal form too!)

 

I have Bank Statements proving I was paying off GEMoney..would I need to send all those with the form too?..or will this go to a hearing?

 

Thanks again

[The GodMother]

Those will go to the hearing and used as part of ur evidence.

 

If u have documentary proof eg a letter saying they would get u the info by a set date in time for ur defence then send that to the courts with ur n244.

 

Also if u are on benefits then the £75.00 fee gets waved. Needs to be IS jsa.

[UK_Widowmaker]

Hi again.

I have downloaded and am in the process of filling out form n244

Couple of questions I need advice with please?

 

1) Will I be required to attend the hearing?...will it be held in Northampton?..eeek!..thats a long journey!

 

2) the bit about "How long do you expect the hearing to take" doesnt make any sense to me..how am i supposed to know that?

 

Many thanks