MBNA + Restons + Court Summons - Help Please

[damsel in distress]

Hi Guys. I hope I don’t come across as a totally helpless and useless damsel in distress, but I’m a complete newby to this forum (or any other for that matter) and I really would appreciate some help navigating these pages and dealing with a hostile creditor.

Background: I took out a Virgin (MBNA) Credit Card around 2005 and up until my husband was made redundant in May 2008 and became ill in September 2008 I was managing my minimum payments. However, as a result of our joint income being dramatically reduced I got into difficulties over time. In May 2009 the local CAB put me in touch with Payplan who have been managing my various debts since that time.

When I contacted Payplan my unsecured debts amounted to approx £55,000.

Since then, two major Creditors that account for £20,000 of this debt have agreed to the Payplan debt management offer. Two more have yet to make up their minds (while interest accrues) and one major creditor, Virgin MBNA, has turned hostile.

Virgin/MBNA belatedly suppressed the ongoing interest charges and overdue fees on my account; however, they rejected the Payplan debt management offer. They have continued to accept the pro-rata payments I make to all my creditors via Payplan, however, because I cannot afford to increase my monthly payments to MBNA and because I have not been able to take advantage of their ‘special offer’ to settle this debt at a much reduced figure, they issued a Default Notice under s.87(1) of the CC Act 1974 on 4th December 2009. Then, in the early part of January 2010 I received a letter from Restons Solicitors dated 5th January 2010 informing me that they had been instructed to claim the full amount from me. Unfortunately, despite providing Restons with the requested details of my income and expenditure and explaining my circumstances to them, they have issued proceedings in the County Court.

A County Court Claim Form was issued on 20th January 2010, the particulars of which refer to a Default Balance dated 4th January 2010. Interest has also been added to the claim from 4th January 2010 until 19th January 2010 (albeit in the wrong amount) and thereafter until judgment or sooner payment pursuant to s.69 County Courts Act 1984? Is that allowed in Consume Credit Act 1974 contracts?

I should mention here that I am not seeking to avoid this or any other of my debts, but I do feel that MBNA are trying to bully me into paying them what I do not have. My husband and I are both becoming extremely stressed and we have considered selling our jointly-owned house, but in the current market it would only sell for about £140,000 (if at all) and approx £50,000 is owed on the mortgage. I have also considered an IVA, but because our mortgage is due to be settled within the next five years (God willing) I have been told this would not be a sensible option for me. Is that right?

Anyway, I’m sorry to go on, and thanks for listening. If there are any knowledgeable ‘Caggers’ out there that feel they can help this damsel in distress, then I would be extremely grateful.

[42man]

What are the particulars of the claim if I may ask ? this might help - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/159445-getting-them-reveal-their.html And do stick to the deadlines on Court Claims if you wish to defend all.

[42man]

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

[tinkerbell20]

Hi Guys. I hope I don’t come across as a totally helpless and useless damsel in distress, but I’m a complete newby to this forum (or any other for that matter) and I really would appreciate some help navigating these pages and dealing with a hostile creditor.

 

Background: I took out a Virgin (MBNA) Credit Card around 2005 and up until my husband was made redundant in May 2008 and became ill in September 2008 I was managing my minimum payments. However, as a result of our joint income being dramatically reduced I got into difficulties over time. In May 2009 the local CAB put me in touch with Payplan who have been managing my various debts since that time.

 

When I contacted Payplan my unsecured debts amounted to approx £55,000.

Since then, two major Creditors that account for £20,000 of this debt have agreed to the Payplan debt management offer. Two more have yet to make up their minds (while interest accrues) and one major creditor, Virgin MBNA, has turned hostile.

 

Virgin/MBNA belatedly suppressed the ongoing interest charges and overdue fees on my account; however, they rejected the Payplan debt management offer. They have continued to accept the pro-rata payments I make to all my creditors via Payplan, however, because I cannot afford to increase my monthly payments to MBNA and because I have not been able to take advantage of their ‘special offer’ to settle this debt at a much reduced figure, they issued a Default Notice under s.87(1) of the CC Act 1974 on 4th December 2009. Then, in the early part of January 2010 I received a letter from Restons Solicitors dated 5th January 2010 informing me that they had been instructed to claim the full amount from me. Unfortunately, despite providing Restons with the requested details of my income and expenditure and explaining my circumstances to them, they have issued proceedings in the County Court.

 

A County Court Claim Form was issued on 20th January 2010, the particulars of which refer to a Default Balance dated 4th January 2010. Interest has also been added to the claim from 4th January 2010 until 19th January 2010 (albeit in the wrong amount) and thereafter until judgment or sooner payment pursuant to s.69 County Courts Act 1984? Is that allowed in Consume Credit Act 1974 contracts?

 

I should mention here that I am not seeking to avoid this or any other of my debts, but I do feel that MBNA are trying to bully me into paying them what I do not have. My husband and I are both becoming extremely stressed and we have considered selling our jointly-owned house, but in the current market it would only sell for about £140,000 (if at all) and approx £50,000 is owed on the mortgage. I have also considered an IVA, but because our mortgage is due to be settled within the next five years (God willing) I have been told this would not be a sensible option for me. Is that right?

 

Anyway, I’m sorry to go on, and thanks for listening. If there are any knowledgeable ‘Caggers’ out there that feel they can help this damsel in distress, then I would be extremely grateful.

 

 

If the Default Notice date is 4 December 2009 what date did it give for compliance?

[diamondgirl]

If your not able to scan the particulars of claim please type them up but dont put exact figures on. It does help everyone understand exactly what they are claiming.

Also top left of the claim form does it give two different creditors name or just one?

What date have you got acknowledge it by?

DG

[axxsabian]

just bumping, just about to recieve court claim from mbna/restons so want to know how to proceed, thanks

[lookinforinfo]

Damsel in Distress-try not to stress. Easier said than done I know but you are in good hands with 42man and he will help you.

 

Do not think about selling your home, you will still need somewhere to live after and probably at a higher cost than your current mortgage.

You did the right thing by contacting your creditors when you knew you were facing problems and the Court, should you get that far, will take a dim view of MBNA's actions. In addition, if it did come to Court, they may well allow you to repay MBNA at a lower rate than the one you are paying now, let alone the one they want you to pay.

 

Do you have access to a scanner to be able to show your Default Notice and Court papers? If you can please post them up for 42man to see but as Diamond girl has already said, remove your name, address and financial details before showing them.

[damsel in distress]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I have scanned the default notice and court papers but unfortunately I cannot see how to upload them. Could you please advise how I do this.

 

Also does anyone know if, in the event of a CCJ being registered and a subsequent charging order being registered against my property, will interest continue to accrue from Judgement until the debt is settled?

[damsel in distress]

Hopefully the two documents will now be on this post, fingers crossed.

Edited February 18, 2010 by damsel in distress
sensitive information contantained

[cerberusalert]

Scan the documents to a jpeg file & save to 'My Documents'. Go to TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting & left click 'Choose', another page will open listing folders in your computer. Double left click 'My Documents' & left click the file you want to upload. Left click 'Open', the box will close then left click 'Upload Now' on the webpage. The page will refresh giving a list of options, copy the URL & paste it back here. Left click 'Post Quick Reply' & voila your agreement will appear "just like that" as Tommy Cooper would say.

[cerberusalert]

You posted them up at the same time as I posted.

[damsel in distress]

Hello 42Man, I have uploaded the default notice and claim form for your kind perusal. If possible I would like to respond to the claim either tomorrow or Saturday - or take whatever action you suggest. Many thanks.

[damsel in distress]

Thank you for your help with the uploading

[cerberusalert]

The DN is defective, the 4th Dec was a Fri so it could not have got into the postal system until Mon 7th Dec. You then have 4 days postage as it's assumed to have been posted 2nd class, then you have 14 days to remedy which would mean that the date you would have to remedy by is 25th so it is 4 days short.

[damsel in distress]

Thanks for your comments, I gather that's good news but I'm not sure why. What should I do next?

[cerberusalert]

Yes it's good news, because they have issued a court claim for the full amount they have unlawfully rescinded the agreement on the back of a defective default notice, which for you is an absolute defence..... you were unable to remedy the default & to make things even worse the DN was issued over the Xmas period when neither the Post Office nor banks were working so you would have been unable to remedy within the time frame they gave anyway.

[damsel in distress]

I really appreciate your help as I am starting to panic. This is all new to me and I really appreciate having someone on side to help and guide me. Thank you ever so much.

Thank you for the good news but …

After I received the default notice I then received a letter from Restons dated 5th January 2010 (received on the 9th January 2010) requesting payment in full.

At this point I had not found your website and I went into panic mode.

I tried to contact them by telephone but kept getting an ansaphone. I left a message but also sent a letter the same day (11th January 2010) confirming receipt of their letter but querying why they had sent it to me as my financial problems were being dealt with by a debt management company – Payplan.

I received a telephone call from Restons on the evening of the 12th January 2010 asking if I was in a position to pay the full amount or make an offer of an increased payment. They confirmed they had requested a copy of my income and expenditure from Payplan as they (Restons) had not had sight of it although their client (MBNA) had. I confirmed I would send them a further copy but I also confirmed that my circumstances had not changed.

I would point at that although MBNA had been accepting my payments via Payplan since May 2009, it would appear they had never formally accepted the arrangement.

The following day (13th January 2010) I sent a further letter to Restons enclosing a copy of my income and expenditure taken from Payplan’s website and again confirmed that my circumstances had not changed and therefore I was not in a position to make an increased offer of payment.

Would you like me to upload copies of my two letters to Restons?

Does my correspondence to Restons put them back in a strong position?

[cerberusalert]

It doesn't matter what you have sent it doesn't negate the fact that they had unlawfully rescinded the agreement on the back of the defective Default Notice. The letter you received from them on the 9th puts you in an even stronger position because it bars them from discontinuing their claim and issuing a compliant Default Notice.

[damsel in distress]

In simple terms, where does this leave me and what action do I now have to take? I have not yet acknowledged the claim, should I now do so?

[cerberusalert]

I'll move your thread to the Legal Forum now where you'll get advice from the legal wallahs on how to go about defending this.

[cerberusalert]

I'll as the other team members to advise your next move.

[damsel in distress]

Thank you very much for all your assistance. Hopefully I will get some sleep tonight, which will make a change. Thank you again.

[supasnooper]

Yes you must complete the Acknowledgement of Service.

 

 

I'd advise that you read these links for some background info on how this dynamic duo operate -

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/dca-legal-successes/170484-fairbyblue-mbna-restons-court.html[url=http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/dca-legal-successes/170484-fairbyblue-mbna-restons-court.html][/url]

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/160395-restons-court-action.html

 

 

and please do re-read the links that 42man posted earlier in the thread.

Edited January 29, 2010 by supasnooper
hyperlink not showing properly

[damsel in distress]

Thank you. Should I acknowledge service now or is there anything to be gained by waiting until the death? Also should I be asking for a copy of my credit agreement from either MBNA and/or Restons?

[supasnooper]

please do read the leaflet that came with the claim form as it will inform you of the timescale that you need to follow

 

The Acknowledgment of Service should be completed ASAP