Restons Sols and John Lewis - Court Action

[SirTrev]

Hi

 

Not sure what happened there, but both posts have now appeared!

 

The deadline is tomorrow, and I have sent it by special delivery, do you think it is necessary to use the online facility too?

[banker_rhymes_with]

Hello SirTrev!

 

Sorry to labour this, but have you tried to file your AOS on-line?

 

Only keep saying this because if you did so this evening, you would not be over the Deadline and would be 100% safe on the AOS front.

 

...you mentioned having the case transferred to a local court...

 

Because you are a Litigant in Person, when you file your Defence within +14 days from AOS, then the case should automatically be transferred to your Home Court.

 

Northampton is a bulk issue centre, and used by the banks for speed and/or to sneak in dubious Claims where they don't have all the paperwork in the hope they will win by default...such as someone not sending back their AOS on time, for example, hence my concern!

 

...is a personal appearance likely to be necessary?

 

Oh, yes!

 

Sorry, but if it does get that far, then you will need to Defend yourself. Plenty of time to get up to flying speed, but you now need to start reading on CAG how these things work, and get yourself boned up on the details.

 

The key is you must get your head around the issues ASAP, although it's all on CAG. You just need to dig deep now, and get reading, asking questions, and helping yourself to victory.

 

Cheers,

BRW

[banker_rhymes_with]

Hello SirTrev!

 

The deadline is tomorrow, and I have sent it by special delivery, do you think it is necessary to use the online facility too?

 

I thought the Deadline was Today, but I wasn't sure, only going by the dates you gave earlier.

 

If there's any doubt, just get on there now and file the AOS. It is dead easy to just say you are defending the lot, and it will only take you 5 mins to do.

 

Better safe than sorry.

 

Cheers,

BRW

[SirTrev]

Hi BRW

 

I've submitted that online, as you say, better safe than sorry!

 

With regard to the personal appearance, it is actually in my wife's name and I assured her an appearance wouldn't be needed! Would I be able to attend as her representative?

 

Starting to get a bit nervous now about doing everything right, I guess that it can't make the situation worse by taking this course of action can it? If we lose, then we can still only pay back what we can afford, is that right?

[banker_rhymes_with]

Hello SirTrev!

 

I've submitted that online, as you say, better safe than sorry!

Great, I was getting worried you may blow the AOS Deadline and end up getting grief from the enemy.

 

With regard to the personal appearance, it is actually in my wife's name and I assured her an appearance wouldn't be needed! Would I be able to attend as her representative?

Yes, you should be able to. You can attend as her McKenzie Friend, but it's sometimes allowed for you to speak on her behalf as a lay representative. I'm no expert there, but people have done this many times.

 

I'd recommend the book that you can buy from CAG by Judge Patricia Pearl, it's a superb guide to how the Court system works. It's geared for Small Claims, but much of what she says is relevant in Fast Track and Multi-Track too. Buy that ASAP, and get reading.

 

Starting to get a bit nervous now about doing everything right, I guess that it can't make the situation worse by taking this course of action can it?

You are right to be nervous, but that is only sensible. This is a serious game, but you can beat them if you work hard to get up to speed.

 

I regret I cannot promise anything, and you could end up owing more than they claim you owe now, i.e. if they win, and add their costs.

 

But that's the issue. Do you take it on the chin and pay them just because they make a half-hearted attempt to goad you into paying them, or do you stand up for yourselves and fight back. The choice has to be yours, and you must get it out of your head that you are making anything worse.

 

To stress, these people do not care about you or your family, and will push you around to get paid, even if they have no legal right.

 

At the moment, they have not demonstrated any legal right, so you are only exercising your own rights to challenge them to either get their act together, or to back off.

 

If we lose, then we can still only pay back what we can afford, is that right?

Yes, a Judge will only make you pay what you can reasonably afford, so if it's £10 a month, that is all they will get.

 

I do appreciate this is daunting, but if you get going, I suspect you will soon see how this all works, and then you will feel much stronger and more willing to fight back.

 

Thousands of people came to CAG in the same position, and many will tell you how things turned around for the better.

 

This has to be your own fight, so it's VIP you bring yourself up to speed.

 

The Defence has to be in within the next 2 weeks, but at the moment, that can be the two liner mentioned above.

 

In reality, you probably have a few weeks beyond that to get sorted and ready, but there are steps you must nail as you go along.

 

Please read the Threads I added above, and come back when you have done so. Then ask any questions needed to fill in any blanks.

 

HTH

 

Cheers,

Keith

Edited April 6, 2010 by banker_rhymes_with
Typo

[SirTrev]

Thanks, I'll spend the next few days getting up to speed.

 

Again, I really appreciate the help!

[SirTrev]

Hello again

 

I have now submitted the defence, a day before the deadline and made a subject access request. I am wading my way through the above advice, and hoping that I get it right! Does anyone know the likely timescales from here?

 

Thanks to all the help so far, I just hope that I can use your knowledge again...............I have a feeling that I will be needing it!!

[SirTrev]

I have now received the SAR information from Restons, any pointers as to what I need to look for?