statutory demand from IG Spreadbetting Compnay

[Danthevan]

I also have a statutory demand from IG. I refused to pay them because after several incidents over a year or so I came to the conclusion that they were not 100% fair (basically I want to say they cheat but its hard to use the word). Eventually I had a private investigator banging on my door who was trying to serve the SD. As I had a hangover that day I did not open the door and then I had to leave my property anyway.

I wrote to IG compliance to explain my grievance. However, when I returned to my property a few weeks later I found a recorded delivery letter had been signed for and delivered even though my house was empty at the time. It was the IG compliance final response letter and the SD was also there in an unstamped envelope. The SD was out of date by over 2 months. I went to the Royal Mail website and typed in the tracking reference on the envelope. The letter had been delivered and and the image of the signature looked like someone had tried to make it look like my name. I wrote to IG compliance to complain that they have somehow forged my signature on the recorded delivery docket and not surprisingly they refused to discuss it. Meanwhile I rang the court the other day and found out I have a bankruptcy hearing coming up in March. It seems very underhand and unscrupulous for IG to go to those lengths to serve an SD but does it give me grounds to set aside? I'm not sure how to proceed with this but obviously I do not want to be declared bankrupt neither do I want to pay. I would appreciate any advice.

Edited February 10, 2010 by Danthevan
clarification

[42man]

What you need to do if there is a bankruptcy hearing coming up, is to ring the court and get copies of ALL the paperwork in the file, if the demand has been posted then it can only have been granted this by a judge (after reading an affadavit from a process server who would look at this and consider if enough had been done to attempt personal service, only if a judge decides that personal service has been attempted will he/she allow it to be posted) - (who you should also check on the OFT web site to see if he/she has a licence) If you feel there has been some tampering of a signature then the affadavit will state that you signed for the delivery.....if you look carefully at the process and it has been done incorrectly then this could be grounds to set aside....you will need form 6.19 and an affadavit to go with it as well as a witness statement.....if there has been an abuse of process this is enough for the judge to throw it out....however for a judge to consider it then it would have to be on your affadavit / form 6.19 - you need to go to the court to get all the paperwork first.....

 

Bit of case law here which you might like to use

 

Judge Boggis QC - RE AWAN - [2000] BPIR 241

Then r 6.15 says:

(1) Service of the petition should be proved by affidavit.

(2) The affidavit shall have exhibited to it -

(a) a sealed copy of the petition, and

(b) if substituted service has been ordered, a sealed copy of the order;

and it should be filed in court immediately after service.

'In my judgment, bankruptcy is one of the most serious forms of execution that can be brought against a debtor. In any bankruptcy proceedings it is, in my view, absolutely clear that the provisions as to service must be followed exactly. The rules provide in terms that the petition must be supported by an affidavit of service showing how the petition was served, and express reference is made to substituted service and the way in which that then is to be proved, which involves the affidavit of service having with it a sealed copy of the order.' - JUDGE BOGGIS QC - SITTING AS A JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT

[Danthevan]

Thanks 42 Man for your very informative response. I have phoned the court and they are sending me the papers. I would love to just pay them and get it off my plate but I can't. Does anyone remember a story in 2008? where a trader had lost tens of millions betting on banks and he went missing and IG were chasing him. I've tried searching for this on google news but can't find it. It would seem that if you lose £50 million to £10 billion, you get a bonus and a pension meanwhile the small guys get hassled and all the stress and end up making up for the losses. Its wrong in my opinion. Anyway....I will let you know how this proceeds.

[MDK]

I agree with you completely about how totally unfair this whole system is.

People get chased and fined for dropping litter (not that I agree with dropping litter of course), yet the banksters get away with holding the world to ransom and get big bonuses as well. Politicians fiddle their allowances for thousands and just get a slap on the wrist!

[Danthevan]

I'm struggling a bit here. I feel like I'm running out of time. In their last email IG said they would "respond in due course" . I waited and have wasted a week for a response. 3 Days after that email they put in the Bankruptcy petition. As I am away from home I found out by telephoning the court. The petition was made 16 or 17 days after I first saw the SD. The petition states, however, that SD was served by substituted service about 5 weeks before I saw it. I am currently busy preparing my case with the FOS. What should I do about the court? Get a solicitor? Go to the press?

Hi, the court sent me the papers and there was no affidavit from a process server, just the statement from the solicitor that it was served by substituted service. Nothing else. Also you say that the process server should have a license and this is search-able on the OFT website but I can't find that.

Thanks very much for your help anyway.

Also, can I get my account activity log by using subject access request. The problem I had with IG was that I was not allowed to complain as they held the information in my activity log and they won't allow me to see it and then they deny what I want to complain about. Now they're taking me to Bankruptcy court.

[Danthevan]

Solved!

Edited March 2, 2010 by Danthevan

[Danthevan]

OK ..I'll make this very brief.

 

A big firm took me to Bankruptcy court over a disputed debt.

For 4 Months I had this case hanging over me.

On the day of the Hearing, at the court, I found out that they had adjourned the case for some reason.

To me it feels like they used the court process to purely put pressure on me to make me pay.

They didn't even have the courtesy to let me know there would be an adjournment and I turned up and wasted money for nothing.

Is there anything I can now do?

[Danthevan]

Well, the Financial Ombudsman has just given his decision on my case. Taken him almost 19 months. He's awarding "significant" (in FOS scale) compensation for distress and inconvenience against IG Index.

However, I have gathered a lot of evidence during my case and this evidence appears to show that IG Index deliberately withheld information until after the second hearing and from the ombudsman. As a result I settled with them at a sum much greater than I needed to. The question is, is this fraud? And if so how do I, or should I proceed?

[42man]

Great news.....I presume you paid all the monies off before any bankruptcy hearing...it sounds like they hadn't carried out the proper service anyway....please keep us posted as this will certainly help others in a similar situation.

[Danthevan]

Yes, I settled before the 3rd hearing, because initially the FOS adjudicator had agreed with IG Index.

However, it still went to court over costs because IG Index wanted me to write that they had made a concession and post it on a financial forum.

I knew they were in the wrong, so I couldn't.  they wanted to put a gagging order on me.

At the hearing, the judge ordered me to pay a proportion of their costs because he assumed as I had paid an amount that I had admitted it was due and the merits of the case were not discussed.