Charges from 8 Shop Direct Accounts,** FashionWorld and Studio Cards WON!!**

[sea-sidelady]

I have altered your title (again) to show which ones you have won.

 

Sorry for the cagbots....

[st8]

A while has passed since successfully claiming charges back from Studio Cards and Fashion World for my mom. With only the Shop Direct group to go (which is the biggest claim) they weren't budging over Christmas time.

 

I have been busy since Christmas but I have just got around to claiming through the small claims court with Shop Direct a couple of days ago.

 

Today I received a Notice of Issue from the courts so the balls rolling now and they have 14 days to respond. It would be great if they paid up but I have a feeling these are going to milk it just like they did with you sea-sidelady .

 

Has anyone else had any experience with Shop Direct through the small claims court? My mom's claim is for around £1,000.

[DT&FE]

St8 well done for you endeavours to date.

 

I wonder if we could tap into your experiences? The OH had an account with this crowd and following a SAR we found that over £1300 was applied in charges when we questioned this the stated that they debt had been sold and that that's the end of it!!

 

Can we still claim the charges back and can they sell this on without informing us?

[maroondevo52]

Hi DT&FE.

 

Think they're talking garbage, they took the charges, claim them back from them.

 

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[Bookworm]

Hi DT&FE.

 

Think they're talking garbage, they took the charges, claim them back from them.

 

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

And make sure they pay the charges back to you, not to the DCA. They chose to offload the debt, that's their problem, they're still the ones you paid all these years, so make sure they can't wriggle out of it.

[st8]

St8 well done for you endeavours to date.

 

I wonder if we could tap into your experiences? The OH had an account with this crowd and following a SAR we found that over £1300 was applied in charges when we questioned this the stated that they debt had been sold and that that's the end of it!!

 

Can we still claim the charges back and can they sell this on without informing us?

 

Hi DT&FE,

 

Which company is this? I would still claim back from the catalogue and remind them that it was them who took your money so you will be pursuing them for it, no one else.

 

It's very strange for a catalogue to sell the debt. Have you had any major problems with them and they have threatened court or the bailiffs before?

[Bookworm]

st8, it really isn't strange at all, far from it, especially when they get challenged with CCa, as they know they can't supply one, and from them on, know they won't get a penny from the person.

 

grattan kept my account for a few months after I challenged them, then passed it ot EOS and have now told me they sold it to an unknown called Atlantik, which isn't even registered at Companies Hiouse, lol.

 

Come to think of it, I haven't heard from Kays for a while now, I suspect the next I will be hearing will be when a DCA who's purchased the alleged debt for pennies will be trying to bully me in paying, lol.

 

My DD's account (made exclusivelt of charges) has been flogged off to Lowell's.

[st8]

Thanks for the info Bookworm. It makes sense, would I be right in thinking they rarely sell off debt when you are simply requesting charges back?

 

I don't know much about it, but has the "company" (in your case it isn't a company at all!) got any legal right to demand money from you if a catalogue sells them your debt for pennies. Don't you have any say in this?

Edited March 19, 2010 by st8

[st8]

Just getting back onto the topic of this thread for a second. It was the last day for Shop Direct to acknowledge my mom's claim, or put in a defence, today. Phoned the court and they haven't received anything.

 

So now it's time to request a default judgement. Or is it?

 

The only problem I can see is that they may apply for it to be set aside. How easy is it for them to do this? The claim was sent to the address I have been using to correspond with them since the start. All their letters come from this same address too. So can they get away with saying they didn't receive it?

 

Also, if the claim does get set aside, what implications does this course me and what would be the next steps? I can't find any detailed information about this.

 

Thanks

[Bookworm]

Thanks for the info Bookworm. It makes sense, would I be right in thinking they rarely sell off debt when you are simply requesting charges back?

 

I don't know much about it, but has the "company" (in your case it isn't a company at all!) got any legal right to demand money from you if a catalogue sells them your debt for pennies. Don't you have any say in this?

Exactly. A DCA has no right whatsoever, since you do not have a contract with them. If the creditor decides to sell the debt to mitigate their losses, that is of course for them to do if they want to, but that's really not your problem... The DCAs will of course try to tell you otherwise with big threats, bla bla bla... but if you know better (and people on CAG DO know better! ), you can just happily ignore them or send them packing.

[Bookworm]

Just getting back onto the topic of this thread for a second. It was the last day for Shop Direct to acknowledge my mom's claim, or put in a defence, today. Phoned the court and they haven't received anything.

 

So now it's time to request a default judgement. Or is it?

 

The only problem I can see is that they may apply for it to be set aside. How easy is it for them to do this? The claim was sent to the address I have been using to correspond with them since the start. All their letters come from this same address too. So can they get away with saying they didn't receive it?

 

Also, if the claim does get set aside, what implications does this course me and what would be the next steps? I can't find any detailed information about this.

 

Thanks

Give it a few more days in case they have entered their defence late, as the courts will usually give them some leeway. Or you can go for it straight away, knowing that it will force them into action one way or another... Depends how pugnacious you feel.

 

If you obtain a default judgment, they will either a) accept judgment, pay in full and it's all game,s et and match to you, or b) have to ask (and pay) to get the judgment set aside. All they have to do is give a valid reason, such as "court claim not received", and the judge will usually grant it and the clock is reset, they then have to submit a defence, etc, etc ... and then they will settle, sooner or later. Either way, it's up to them whether they want to drag it along or not. ;-)

[st8]

Give it a few more days in case they have entered their defence late, as the courts will usually give them some leeway. Or you can go for it straight away, knowing that it will force them into action one way or another... Depends how pugnacious you feel.

 

If you obtain a default judgment, they will either a) accept judgment, pay in full and it's all game,s et and match to you, or b) have to ask (and pay) to get the judgment set aside. All they have to do is give a valid reason, such as "court claim not received", and the judge will usually grant it and the clock is reset, they then have to submit a defence, etc, etc ... and then they will settle, sooner or later. Either way, it's up to them whether they want to drag it along or not. ;-)

 

Cheers! I sent the letter to request default judgement late today. So it still gives them a couple of days, but I think they've had long enough and hopefully they will just pay up sooner rather than later. No doubt they'll drag it out though

[st8]

I received a letter this morning from the courts saying the defendant filed an Acknowledgement of service on 24 March with the intention of defending all of the claim. I requested default judgement on 19 March by recorded delivery and it was delivered and signed for on 22 March. They don't seem to have acknowledged this!

 

So they have 28 days from the date of service, so they have until 2nd April to file a defence.

 

Does anyone think they will go all the way?

Edited March 25, 2010 by st8

[Bookworm]

Nope.

[st8]

Nope.

 

You sound very certain, I hope you're right

[sea-sidelady]

They normally take it this far (to see if you back down) then give in at the last minute.

[st8]

I hope they give in

 

My claim was deemed to be served on 4th March. They then acknowledged the claim so have 28 days from this date. So does that give them until the end of tomorrow (31st march) as we include the 4th March?

 

On 19th March, I sent the court my slip, from the Notice of Issue form, to request for default judgement. But because Shop Direct acknowledged the claim (after I requested default judgement!) they sent it back to me.

 

If they don't file a defence, how do I request default judgement again now? This slip has already been filled in and stamped by the courts so I can't use it again. The form is not on the Small claims website either so I can't download it and fill it in with my claim details.

[st8]

We spoke to the court today and they have received a defence from Shop Direct, which they have sent us so we should receive it soon.

 

I hope they back down as we certainly aren't going to. The next step is allocating a court date so anyone who has ever gone to court with a catalogue over claiming charges back please post your experience here .

 

They can still settle though but they are really annoying me now

[sea-sidelady]

I got as far as a court date on one of mine with JD, then a cheque turned up.

[st8]

Hi all,

 

I have sent this message to sea-sidelady and bookworm but I'll also post it here for the many knowledgeable and experience claimers on this forum .

 

I was wondering if I could get some advice. I received the defence from Shop Direct today along with the Allocation Questionnaire. The questionnaire is simple enough but I am a little unsure what to put for two of the questions.

 

The first one is Section A, entitled Settlement. They are asking if I would like to use the free mediation service to settle the claim. I would be happy to use this but is this appropriate for reclaiming catalogue charges? Should I put Yes or No?

 

The last question I am unsure of is Section G, entitled Other information. They are asking if there is any further information I can provide that will help the judge manage the claim. I can't think of any further information which would help, but am I missing something obvious to include?

 

Lastly, the defence from them is fairly straight forward and it is from the Consumer Affairs Manager at Shop Direct. On the defence form he has provided his email and phone number. Is it worth contacting him to try and settle the claim or should I keep shush?

 

Here is the defence:

 

The defendant confirms providing credit account facilities to the claimant and applying charges to those accounts in response to the claimants failure to make the required contractual payments. These charges were applied in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit agreement between the parties. The defendant denies that such charges are unfair or are penalties. The defendant denies any liability to the claimant.

 

Thanks so much for any help or advice you can give!

 

I was a little reluctant to post this here as they may be watching from Shop Direct. But we are prepared to go to court if we need to and won't be backing down. Though, of course, it would be better for both parties to settle outside of the courts. We would prefer this but if they are adamant and they really want to go to court then we'll go all the way.

 

All the best,

 

Steven

[delicarik123]

subbing - well done so far:D

[sea-sidelady]

Here is the guide for filling in the AQ. Also tick NO for mediation.

 

http://www.consumerforums.com/resources/templates-library/48-bank-templates/125-allocation-questionnaires-a-guide-to-completion-

[st8]

UPDATE on Shop Direct Ltd

 

After completing the Allocation questionnaire, I emailed the person at Shop Direct who was dealing with the claim (details given on the defence form). Just to confirm that I had sent the AQ and do intend to go all the way. I also pointed out that I was more than happy to settle outside of the court.

 

A couple of days later I received a reply with a settlement offer. This included a refund of all charges, as well as the court fee, but not the interest I was claiming.

 

The interest totals about £200 and after the effort and time I have put into this claim I wanted the total amount I was claiming. I kindly refused the offer, explaining I would only accept it as a partial settlement and not a full and final settlement.

 

I didn't hear from them and instead received a hearing date letter in the post from the courts. So Shop Direct had carried on with the process of going through the courts.

 

The hearing date is sometime in July, almost 3 months away. I emailed Shop Direct again confirming that I had received the Hearing date and will be sending them, and the courts, all paper work I will rely in at the hearing. This was an excuse to open up easy communication again and I also gave them an opportunity to reply to my last email.

 

They replied stating that the original offer will stay open until the hearing date. At this point it is very clear what they are doing. I don't think they have any intention of going to court and if I hold on for 3 months I reckon that they will pay up the full amount in the final week before the hearing. Their tactic is to delay things but I can't do anything about the hearing date.

 

We planned to use this money to pay off my mothers credit card in full. She owes £850 on it and only manages to pay min payment (100% interest) every month. So she pays around £40 each month, which she may as well throw down the drain. So that's another £120 wasted if we wait 3 months for the sake of an extra £200.

 

Considering this, I have now accepted the offer under the condition we receive it within 7 days. The guy says he has raised the cheque, and will send it out as soon as he has it. He expects to have it by the end of this week or early next week.

 

The total claim now stands at just over £900, so enough to pay off the credit card.

 

To cut a long story short, I have (ALMOST) had success with Shop Direct Ltd now. Just need to receive the cheque and get it cleared.

 

Watch this space as next week, if all goes well, I would have successfully claimed back over £1,500 from all the catalogues! :grin:

[sea-sidelady]

So she pays around £40 each month, which she may as well throw down the drain. So that's another £120 wasted if we wait 3 months for the sake of an extra £200.

 

Considering this, I have now accepted the offer under the condition we receive it within 7 days.

 

Well done. :grin: I personally think you have made the right choice accepting the offer. You can get the debt paid off. 1 less on the list.

 

I have now accepted the offer under the condition we receive it within 7 days. The guy says he has raised the cheque, and will send it out as soon as he has it. He expects to have it by the end of this week or early next week.

 

You want to make sure they keep to that, as they have been known to try and delay it. Easy solution is to send the acknowledgement letter, stating you will not cancel the court action until you have received it. (it is in the library)

 

 

The total claim now stands at just over £900, so enough to pay off the credit card.

 

To cut a long story short, I have (ALMOST) had success with Shop Direct Ltd now. Just need to receive the cheque and get it cleared.

 

Watch this space as next week, if all goes well, I would have successfully claimed back over £1,500 from all the catalogues! :grin:

 

Watching!! :D

[st8]

Thanks sea-sidelady, I'll send them the acknowledgement letter just incase they are planning to use any delaying tactics