Court Papers recieved/Debtor without a leg to stand on

[Nicola85]

I've just recieved court papers for a store card debt and I need some advice.

 

I'm being taken to court over a debt. To be honest I don't think I have a leg to stand on. The debt is mine. I now have no money to pay.

 

I also don't have a defence if I fill in that I deny the debt. The debt is mine and I have recieved a CCA.

 

If I fill in the forms and accept that the debt is mine, I'll be given a CCJ.

If I fill in the forms and deny that the debt is mine, it's more than likely that the creditor will prove it's mine, I'll still be given a CCJ and I'll have to pay more.

 

I won't be able to turn up to court on the day as it's in Nottingham and I'm severely ill and can't attend. So I'll end up with a CCJ.

 

Could anyone give me some advice on what my options are. I have no idea what I'm going to do if I get a CCJ. I'm on benefits that pay next to nothing, I don't have an income, owne my own home or car and I have no goods for them to take.

[reallymadwoman]

First of all, take a step back and try to approach this calmly. If you've only just received the papers, there's no desperate rush to do anything at all and you can take the time to get some advice. It sounds as if the claim has been issued through MCOL so there should be a reference on the papers which allows you to acknowledge service online, which you should do as soon as possible, but at least well within 14 days. This will give you an extra 14 days in which to decide what to do.

 

Worst possible case is that, after considering all advice, you decide to admit the claim and make an offer of payment. In your circumstances the creditor would be stupid not to accept whatever you can reasonably afford, but if they don't a judge will decide what is reasonable based upon your income, which if you're on benefits will be next to nothing. You say you have no assets so to be honest I think the creditor is being ridiculous even trying to take this to court.

 

So that you can get the best possible advice, could you please answer the following questions:-

 

1. Who is the original creditor, and who has issued the proceedings? Have you ever had a notice of assignment?

 

2. What correspondence have you received from them prior to issue? Do you have anything headed 'default notice' or 'letter before action'? If so, could you either remove all your personal details, including any bar codes, and post copies on this thread, or type up the wording of those letters, again without any personal details.

 

3. Have you had advice as to whether the CCA is enforceable? Again remove personal details, and post it up on here.

 

4. Do you know if any charges have been applied to the account?

 

5. What, exactly, do the particulars of claim say? Don't include the exact figure they are claiming, but round it off a bit.

 

If you decided to dispute this, the claim would be transferred to your local court and you would not have to go to Nottingham. Unless you owe rather a large amount, disputing the claim is unlikely to cost you anything extra over and above what they are already claiming, and since you can't pay them you are going to end up with a CCJ if you don't dispute it so it has to be worth at least exploring the possibilities. A CCJ is not the end of the world. No one can take money you don't have or goods you don't have or send you to prison for it.

 

I know it's easy for me to say, but try not to worry about it. Once you've given us some more information you'll get advice as to what your options are and be in a much better position to decide what to do.

[Nicola85]

First of all, take a step back and try to approach this calmly. If you've only just received the papers, there's no desperate rush to do anything at all and you can take the time to get some advice. It sounds as if the claim has been issued through MCOL so there should be a reference on the papers which allows you to acknowledge service online, which you should do as soon as possible, but at least well within 14 days. This will give you an extra 14 days in which to decide what to do.

 

Worst possible case is that, after considering all advice, you decide to admit the claim and make an offer of payment. In your circumstances the creditor would be stupid not to accept whatever you can reasonably afford, but if they don't a judge will decide what is reasonable based upon your income, which if you're on benefits will be next to nothing. You say you have no assets so to be honest I think the creditor is being ridiculous even trying to take this to court.

 

So that you can get the best possible advice, could you please answer the following questions:-

 

1. Who is the original creditor, and who has issued the proceedings? Have you ever had a notice of assignment?

 

The original creditor was House of Fraser. They are Santander Cards UK. The debt collector was Viking Collection Services. But I never had a notice of assignment form Viking Collection Services.

 

The letter of assignment I got today from Howard Cohen Solicitors says:

 

We hereby give you notice that Santander Cards UK Limited have by assignment dated 13th january, 2010 and made between Santander Cards UK Limited and CL Finance Limited absolutley a debt in the sum of around £1000 due and owing by you to them for the balance due under the acount number >>> and you are required to pay the same benefit of CL Finance Limited accordingly.

 

2. What correspondence have you received from them prior to issue? Do you have anything headed 'default notice' or 'letter before action'? If so, could you either remove all your personal details, including any bar codes, and post copies on this thread, or type up the wording of those letters, again without any personal details.

 

I've not had any paper work from House of Fraser except for monthly statements and at the bottom of the statement it always said that the balance owed had been transfered to a debt collector. I've never recieved a default notice or letter before action but thats their word against mine. The only letter I've recieved was 22/09/09 telling me that Santander Cards UK account had been transfered to Viking Collection Services. Since then I've been waiting for Viking to write to me but I recieved no more letters till today when I recieved the Court paers and a Notice of Assignment.

 

3. Have you had advice as to whether the CCA is enforceable? Again remove personal details, and post it up on here.

 

I've never asked for a CCA the debt collector never sent me any letters saying they had my debt.

 

4. Do you know if any charges have been applied to the account?

 

A lot of charges have been applied to the account it started out around the £800 mark and now it's around the £1000 mark.

 

5. What, exactly, do the particulars of claim say? Don't include the exact figure they are claiming, but round it off a bit.

 

The letter of assignment says: A claim has today been submitted to the County Court for issue. You should respond to the Claim immediatley upon receipt.

 

Payment in full of around the £1000, being the total ammount shown due in the Claim including costs, will prevent judgement being enterd against you.

 

If you decided to dispute this, the claim would be transferred to your local court and you would not have to go to Nottingham. Unless you owe rather a large amount, disputing the claim is unlikely to cost you anything extra over and above what they are already claiming, and since you can't pay them you are going to end up with a CCJ if you don't dispute it so it has to be worth at least exploring the possibilities. A CCJ is not the end of the world. No one can take money you don't have or goods you don't have or send you to prison for it.

 

I know it's not the end of the world. It's just I'm severley i'll and any stress of balliffs visiting me and court visits can put me in hospital. Heart conditions run in my family and I just lost my Grandad a few weeks ago to a heart attack. I don't want the same thing to happen to me.

 

I know it's easy for me to say, but try not to worry about it. Once you've given us some more information you'll get advice as to what your options are and be in a much better position to decide what to do.

 

Thank you so much for your advice. I'm reading it well and trying to take it all in. Your all being very helpful. Thank you.

[cymruambyth]

How old is the account? Have every received a default notice?

If you have not received any paperwork, read this thread which explains about sending a letter under CPR 31.14 to get them to send you paperwork.

[supasnooper]

It appears that the links Cymru has posted have disappeared.

 

I think it would be these two -

 

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

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/241827-legal-action-how-start.html

[Nicola85]

The account has been open since 2005.

 

So I now fill in the acknowledgement of service form and the defence form that says I deny the debt and then I send a letter to the DC asking for paperwork?

Edited January 23, 2010 by Nicola85

[Nicola85]

Should I send this letter to Howard Cowen Solicitors who are acting on behalf of CL finnance?

 

You will need to edit this, send by recorded to the claimants solicitor and keep the receipt

 

 

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 default notice*

 

* 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.

 

[Nagasis]

The account has been open since 2005.

 

So I now fill in the acknowledgement of service form and the defence form that says I deny the debt and then I send a letter to the DC asking for paperwork?

 

All you need to do at this point is acknowledge the claim and state you intend to defend the claim in full (if you are intending to do that). Do not enter a defence yet.

 

Once you have acknowledged then send the 31.14 request.

 

However, you have still not typed up what the POC'S are?