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    • Well done. Are you able to tell us more about how it went on the day please? HB
    • when mediation call they will ask the same 3 questions that are in their email you had to accept it going forward. simply state 'i do not have enough information from the claimant to make an informed decision upon mediation so i refuse. end of problem.  
    • Food prices, including a $40 chicken, has stoked fury and calls for big foreign supermarket chains to come to Canada.View the full article
    • Which Court have you received the claim from ? Civil National Business CEntre Name of the Claimant ? Lowell Portfolio i Ltd How many defendant's  joint or self ? Self   Date of issue –  15 Feb 2024 Particulars of Claim What is the claim for – the reason they have issued the claim?  The claim is for the sum of £922 due by the Defendant under and agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for a Capital One account with an account reference of [number with 16 digits] The Defendant failed to maintain contractual payments required by the agreement and a Default Notice was served under s.87(1) of the Consumer Credit ACt 1974 which has not been complied with. The debt was legally assigned to the claimant on 16-06-23, notice of which has been given to the defendant. The claim includes statutory interest under S.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of the issue of these proceedings in the sum of £49.15 The Claimant claims the sum of £972 What is the total value of the claim? £1112 Have you received prior notice of a claim being issued pursuant to paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) ? I dont know the details of the PAPDC to know if it was pursuant to paragraph 3, but I did receive a Letter of Claim with a questionaire/form to fill. Have you changed your address since the time at which the debt referred to in the claim was allegedly incurred? No Is the claim for - a Bank Account (Overdraft) or credit card or loan or catalogue or mobile phone account? Credit Card When did you enter into the original agreement before or after April 2007 ? no Do you recall how you entered into the agreement...On line /In branch/By post ? Online Is the debt showing on your credit reference files (Experian/Equifax /Etc...) ? Yes Has the claim been issued by the original creditor or was the account assigned and it is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim. Assigned/purchaser Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? I was aware, I'm not certain I received a 'Notice of Assignment' from Capital One but may have been informed the account had been sold without such a title on the letter? Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? Yes Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Sums in Arrears”  or " Notice of Arrears "– at least once a year ? Not since the debt purchase, and not from Capital One. Why did you cease payments? I can't remember - it was the tail end of the pandemic and I may not have had enough income to keep up payments - I am self-employed and work in the event industry - at that time. I also had a bank account that didn't allow direct debits and may have just forgotten payments and became annoyed at fines for late payments. What was the date of your last payment? Appears to be 20/4/2022 Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? No Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt management plan? No Here is my Defence: Defence - 1. The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim are vague and generic in nature. The Defendant accordingly sets out its case below and relies on CPR r 16.5 (3) in relation to any particular allegation to which a specific response has not been made. 2. Paragraph 1 is noted. I have in the past had an agreement with Capital One but do not recognise this specific account number or recollect any outstanding debt and have therefore requested clarification by way of a CPR 31.14 and section 78 request.. 3. Paragraph 2 is denied. I am unaware of having been served with a Default Notice pursuant to the Consumer Credit Act 1974. 4. Paragraph 3 is denied. I am unaware of any legal assignment or Notice of Assignment pursuant to the Law and Property Act 1925 Section 136(1) 5. The Defendant has sent a request by way of a section 78 pursuant to the Consumer Credit Act 1974, for a copy of the agreement, the Claimant has yet to comply and remains in default of said request. 6. A further request has been made via CPR 31.14 to the Claimants solicitor, requesting disclosure of documents on which the Claimant is basing their claim. The Claimant has not complied and to date nothing has been received. 7. It is therefore not accepted with regards to the Defendant owing any monies to the Claimant and the Claimant is put to strict proof to: a) show how the Defendant has entered into an agreement and; b) show how the Claimant has reached the amount claimed for and; c) show the nature of the breach and evidence by way of a Default Notice pursuant to sec 88 CCA1974 d) show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim 8. As per Civil Procedure 16.5 it is expected that the claimants prove the allegation that the money is owed 9. On the alternative, as the Claimant is an assignee of a debt, it is denied that the Claimant has the right to lay a claim due to contraventions of section 136 of the Law of Property Act and section 82A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 10. By reasons of the facts and matters set out above, it is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief claimed or any relief. .................. Please note that I had to write a defence quite quickly as I hit the deadline. At the time of writing the defence, I hadn't been able to find correspondence from Capital One, but had since found default letter etc. I submitted CCA request and CPR 31.14. However, I didn't get any proof of postage or use registered post for the CPR (an oversight) but did with the CCA request. I received a pack which included a letter from Overdales, going over the defence I'd filed, as well as letters of Lowells and reprints of letters from Capital One. But I have no idea if this pack is in response to the CCA request or the CPR ! I would have expected two separate responses ... although I do know they are both the same company. Looking over the pack today, and looking through old emails .. I find some discrepancies in the Capital One default letters (notice of default and Claim of default). They are both dated *before* an email I have stating that a default can be avoided. The one single page of agreement sent (so not the full agreement) has a 16 digit number at the top in small print, next to 'Capital One' which corresponds to a number called 'PURN' printed at the top of each of the 10 pages of ins and outs of the account (they're not official statements, but a list of monthly goings) yet no mention anywhere on either of the account number. I cant really scan them at the moment - I can later tomorrow, but that will be after the mediation call I'm sure. I guess I may be on my own for this mediation ... I am not certain the CCA request has been satisfied .. or if the CPR has been . And then I appear to have evidence that the Default notices provided are fabricated ? Yet, I do have (elsewhere ... not at home) Default letters from Capital One I can check ..
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Cousins Furniture and Sociopathic Behaviour


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Caught between a stone and a hard place.

The story so far...

 

Back in early January 2010 my wife and I visited Cousins Furniture store in Dudley West Midlands.

We purchased an Elgar electric recliner leather 2 piece suite for approx £1750. Delivered 2 weeks later, the drivers spotted a gap between one end

of the seat cushions where the 3 seater is joined, it comes in 2 half's. They like me thought it looked odd as there was no gap the other end.

They gave me the option to reject it or keep it. I rejected and they took it back. I rang Cousins customer service who said their independent technician

report said the gap was acceptable and they were ready to return it to me. I said I want a replacement or a refund. They refused and wanted to return it.

 

To keep the story short, after several letters, phone calls etc, and getting nowhere, my wife and I visited their warehouse in Oldbury to view the Elgar

again. The attractive young lady employed by Cousins and trained to lie, cheat and bull s**t, said she did not have the authority to offer me a refund.

So I asked to speak to someone who did. Just at this moment a senior manager confidently swaned his way into the warehouse to simply repeat what

they had already stated, there was nothing wrong with it and he would not even acknowledge there was a gap and I could not have a refund. I was

ready to blow my top but kept my cool and said I wanted to avoid the hassle of taking them to court, although I had no doubt I would win as the fault

was so obvious to all but the blind. So I said can we choose another suit instead. Yes, he said still wearing the same arrogant sociopathic grin in spite

of my obvious displeasure. They agreed to refund the full amount for the Elgar less a 20% deposit for our second choice suite, the Katya. But there was

a catch, apparently we would have to wait 12 to 14 weeks for delivery as that’s how long it would

take to get from China. Yes, like everything else these days, the suite was ‘Made in China’.

 

We had sold our old leather suite to make way for the Elgar, so they agreed to supply a loan suite. The loan suite was disgustingly filthy and stank like

an RSPCA kennel. I should never have accepted it but I was sick of all the hassle, so before my wife came home, I gave it a thorough clean. Even now it

still whiffs. Also, the electric recliners didn’t work as they had not supplied power units. When I asked where they were, they said they could not be

found. Not to be out done, I use my 12v laptop charger, works a treat although a little inconvenient.

 

Fourteen weeks came and went with not a word from Cousins as to where our Katya was. Then on the 30th of April we received a letter from their

‘Order Progress Dept’, saying they were now expecting delivery at UK docks on the 17.5.10 plus 5 days transport to their distribution centre.

This would make delivery a month over due. It is now 17th of June 2010 and still no sign of a delivery and not a word from Cousins.

 

I would like to cancel and purchase from somewhere else.

My question is: What would you do and what are my options legally.

 

 

The 3 seater they delivered showing gap.

31785082.jpg

 

The other end with no gap.

31785101.jpg

31785082.jpg

premi-katy-2.5pp-lea.jpg

Edited by gob smacked
spelling error
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Have you had a read of the sale of Goods Act (SOGA) you have more weight behind you than Cousins would like you to believe!

[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Sale of Goods Act Fact Sheet - BIS

 

Any true Brummie would complain until the cows came home, give em hell!

Who ever heard of someone getting a job at the Jobcentre? The unemployed are sent there as penance for their sins, not to help them find work!

 

 

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Hope they come up with the goods, this sounds very like the problem I had with Harveys about 7 years ago, they must employ sociopaths too because after much chasing to speak to a manager the classic excuse was "all our managers are out on the road". To cut long story short, took them to small claims court and judgement against them, by the way, I took photos of the offending items, had to send the bailiffs in to one of their stores to get the money!

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I also took photo's of the display Elgar in their Dudley store which had no gap. They had removed frame fixing brackets so the 2 half's

could be shoved closer together. When I pulled the 3 seater apart I took photo's that clearly show the missing brackets. I imagine they had purchased

a job lot from China and were trying to cover up the fault.

 

Elgar display 3 seater showing missing brackets.

31785114.jpg

Edited by gob smacked
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UPDATE:

 

They delivered the new Katya suite on Wednesday 23rd June, of course there was a problem. One side and front corner of the single seat chair was

'caved in' quite badly around the up/down switch. Looked like it had been kicked in. I had to point this out to the driver and he wrote 'damaged' on

the delivery note. He said he would phone their office and they would send out an independent repair technician to fix it within 5 days.

 

Damaged side of chair.

37116288.jpg

 

Other side undamaged.

37116292.jpg

Edited by gob smacked
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We would like to apologise for the further concerns raised by our customer. The furniture was inspected by an Independant Technician and also a member of our Customer Service Team pre delivery and no concerns were raised.

 

We have arranged to visit our customer within the next 24 hours with a view to resolving the concern.

 

Cousins Customer Service Team

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We would like to apologise for the further concerns raised by our customer. The furniture was inspected by an Independant Technician and also a member of our

Customer Service Team pre delivery and no concerns were raised.

 

We have arranged to visit our customer within the next 24 hours with a view to resolving the concern.

 

Cousins Customer Service Team

 

 

 

This is a typical Sociopathic response, a half hearted public apology without any admission of guilt or sense of shame for all the trouble they have caused.

I wonder if they are sending the same 'Independant Technician' and 'Manager' who said there was nothing wrong with the Elgar.

I find it strange they call their 'Technician' Independant, is this because he is self employed (for tax purposes) and they think customers will be duped

into thinking he is impartial, in spite of the fact he appears to work for them on a very regular basis.

I will let you know the outcome of the 'Concern' after their visit at 4pm tomorrow.

 

Definition Of a Sociopath

Profile of the Sociopath

 

.

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I wouldn't read too much into that apology by the unapproved customer services rep, doubtful he has been in touch with the site team to inform them of his position and intent.

Who ever heard of someone getting a job at the Jobcentre? The unemployed are sent there as penance for their sins, not to help them find work!

 

 

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Excellent photos, problems very clearly illustrated.

 

Hi miss muppet and thanks for your continuing interest.

 

Yes they sent the same old team, Paul the 'Independent Technician' and pretend Mr nice guy Richard the Sociopathic manager.

First we discussed pleasantries like how Richard’s satnav sent him to the wrong address making him late, but we soon moved on to the main event,

the damaged chair. Paul came to the obvious conclusion that the chair had been damaged in transit. He said they would need to take it away

to repair it and would collect it on Tuesday and return it Thursday. I accepted the offer of a loan chair, on condition it was clean and did not smell.

Richard said he would look into why the loan suite we received was delivered in such a bad state and then apologised, although I felt the apology

wasn't genuine as when saying it he stepped back and looked away.

I then broached the old question of why he would not offer a refund on the Elgar when it was obviously faulty.

At this he offered me the choice of a repair or refund. He said we now had a different contract on a different suite,

and he was not disputing the Katya was damaged. He said we would have to agree to disagree.

I didn’t like the idea of having to search for a new suite all over again, we had already waited/wasted SIX MONTHS and still counting,

so I said I would rather they repair it.

I had intended to show them the pictures on this website (the gap in the seat) but forgot and so lost the opportunity to show how crass

his original managerial judgement had been. He then remarked that Cousins is a family business (hopefully not Cosa Nostra). I took that to

mean he felt they were looking after us, but in reality he was just doing the bare minimum to hang on to the sale and keep them out of court.

So not much consolation for all the trouble they have caused and not even the slightest hint of compensation.

 

 

 

.

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I had a similar situation with 'Bensons beds' and after their attempt at customer care, I voted with my feet, told them that they could come and collect the bed as i was going elsewhere.

 

If their customer service is as bad as you have said, then I wouldn't even begin to give them the satisfaction of paying them good money, besides what will happen if a few months down the line there is another problem with the suite? You'll just end up in the same position you are now, personally, I would wait until they collect it, and tell them you don't want it back and you want a full refund, go elsewhere, it's a buyers market, there are other more reputable companies out there who will rip your arm off for your custom.

Who ever heard of someone getting a job at the Jobcentre? The unemployed are sent there as penance for their sins, not to help them find work!

 

 

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IMO this one has already proved beyond any doubt that they have it's customers best interests at heart, I would elsewhere and armed with the information you now have, ask them 'hypothetically' if you had an issue with their products what could you expect from them to rectify the issue.

 

Apparently DFS are another one to avoid.

 

Boo;)

Who ever heard of someone getting a job at the Jobcentre? The unemployed are sent there as penance for their sins, not to help them find work!

 

 

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IMO this one has already proved beyond any doubt that they have it's customers best interests at heart, I would elsewhere and armed with the information you now have, ask them 'hypothetically' if you had an issue with their products what could you expect from them to rectify the issue.

 

Apparently DFS are another one to avoid.

 

Boo;)

 

Ay... :confused:

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Yes apologies, slight typo there, should read as;

IMO this one has already proved beyond any doubt that they Don't have it's customers best interests at heart, I would go elsewhere

Who ever heard of someone getting a job at the Jobcentre? The unemployed are sent there as penance for their sins, not to help them find work!

 

 

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You were so right. They returned the damaged chair today and in spite of their assurances that it would be repaired as good as new, it's not a very good job.There's a slight bulge where it should be flat and the switch is in a dip where it should be flush with the flat surface and unlike the main chair it is aligned vertically and not horizontally.

These people are complete a**e h***s, they do not deserve to have any customers. They rang and asked me to pay for

the remaining balance and when I asked for a discount for all the trouble they had caused and the fact the repair to the chair was a poor job, Richard the Sociopathic manager refused point blank and would only offer a refund.

I said I needed time to think it over. I think I will go for the refund.

Can you recommend a good furniture store?

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Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to recommend a good furniture store, however I wouldn't use cousins...

 

A refund is the ONLY way to go, lodge a complaint with TS via Consumer Direct about the manager and the store, I certainly wouldn't let it lie, you never know your complaint might be the one that gets him the sack or the store investigated.

 

If you can, once you have got your refund get the name and address of his area manager aswell, and lodge a formal complaint to him.

Who ever heard of someone getting a job at the Jobcentre? The unemployed are sent there as penance for their sins, not to help them find work!

 

 

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