link claimform - rbs card debt

[nigrob]

Hi , my wife has just received a MCOL from Link Financial.

The debt goes back to 2001 and we are sure that no payments have been made since 2003.

Also the claim includes statutory interest @ 8% which in previous letters they have said that they will not add interest onto the original sum.

She does not even know from whom the debt is and she is unaware of any credit agreement from link financial.

 

Can someone advise of the best way to respond to the MCOL please.

 

Many thanks

[twofoot]

You need to acknowledge the clain online. Then I'd send a letter to the claimant stating the alledged debt is SB and you will be defending on that basis as well as claiming. You could also use cpr to request a full statement of account and the credit agreement. See what others think.

[nigrob]

Hi twofoot , what is cpr ??

[harrassed senior]

Court Procedural Rules (or something like that?)

[SF2010]

Hi Nucurro

 

I have also been taken to court by Link but fighting hard with lots of help from Caggers!! Dont despair! See my thread where you will see exactly what to send. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?263512-HELP!!!-County-Court-Claim-Received-for-Debt-Sold-10-years-after-Default

 

 

First things first is to reply to the court claim on line, they give you a password on the form to do that. You will need to register first. Acknowledge the claim and advise that you intend to defend ALL of the claim, this gives you 28 days to ask for information from Link to prove that they own the debt and the debt is enforceable. If they dont send you everything (and they probably wont) you can file an embarrassed defence, but we can get to that later and this is also on my thread. You must file it before the 28 days have expired, having sent Link the CPR's promptly, you will have time so dont worry.

 

Send the CPR 31.14 and CPR 18 to Link quickly. You need to enclose a £1 postal order with the CPR 31.14 and make sure you send it recorded delivery. From now on keep all letters and envelopes too. If they do come back eventually with a copy of your orignal credit agreement, do not despair, again this does not prove that they own the debt. You will then know who the Original Creditor (OC) is and I would recommend that you send the OC a Subject Access Request with a £10 fee, asking for all of the information they hold on you. They will not tamper with their letters, but Im not sure about the claimants. Oh and dont call them!! I did that and they started calling me, but they only did it once, as Caggers advised to tell them to correspond in writing only and thats exactly what i did.

 

If you can post a copy of the letter on here, removing all personal information first, like your name & address, claim number etc (I used photobucket.com) so we can see the details. If they have mentioned a Default, they need to show you a copy of the default notice. They also need to prove they have legal right to the debt by i.e have a Deed of Assignment. You also need to see copies of all payments made and any charges added during the full duration of the agreement to date. I am still battling, but so glad that I came on here for help. Others will be able to help too.

 

Also, I sometimes found information a little confusing, but people are very patient and will help and explain.

 

Good luck! I'll keep watching your thread and help if I can.

 

SF2010

Edited August 11, 2010 by SF2010

[itsamomentintime]

Hi , my wife has just received a MCOL from Link Financial.

The debt goes back to 2001 and we are sure that no payments have been made since 2003.

Also the claim includes statutory interest @ 8% which in previous letters they have said that they will not add interest onto the original sum.

She does not even know from whom the debt is and she is unaware of any credit agreement from link financial.

 

Can someone advise of the best way to respond to the MCOL please.

 

Many thanks

 

in your defence, you need to explain that this account is statute barred, meaning it cannot be recovered through the courts

[nigrob]

Hi SF2010 , just read your thread and wondered if as someone suggested to send the CPR 31.14 and CPR 18 and also the CPR 31.15. Thanks or the help so far , will upload the letter later today.

 

Nicurro

[SF2010]

Hi Nucurro

 

The 31.14 is much the same as the 31.15, but the timescale for a reply to the 31.15 is only 7 days, rather than 14 days for the 31.14. Link eventually sent me a copy of the credit agreement, but not in the timescale given. They will probably not send it within the 14 days. The 14 days is calculated from date of posting and they are working days, so, send this off as soon as possible. Just warning you so that you dont feel like giving up if it turns up, like I did. Its not unusual, so dont be scared if they do send it eventually. It doesnt substantiate their claim on its own. They will probably send you a letter to say it could take up to 30 days as they have to get it from the Original Creditor, but having made a claim, they should have already had all of the particulars to make the claim (I hope your getting the drift).

 

Whatever you do Do Not delay sending in your embarrassed defence to the court within 28 calendar days from the date of acknowledgement. If you dont do that, a judgement will be made against your wife. As a great Cagger said to me, they should have all of the necessary documentation prior to making acourt claim, but they rely on people getting scared and just giving in. I understand that they even offer you a Tomlin Order which is where a judgment made against you doesnt show on your credit file, but you will be paying them money. I dont believe they can offer anyone a Tomlin Order as its at a judges descretion and a solicitor needs to draw up papers to request this from a judge. Somehow I cant see them doing that on our behalf. Once agreed you have acknowledged the debt and they have what they want. I havent had the priviledge of such an offer yet.

 

I used the 31.15 much later when they wrote to me with a letter to sign to accept judgment. As my defence was already filed, I didnt want to seem as though I had ignored their attempts to sort out this claim out of court. I wanted evidence which I could produce that clearly stated what the requirements were. I knew full well that they wouldnt provide what I had asked for, so it was just a way of keeping my defence sound just in case it gets to court. I added that I wouldnt respond to any further correspondence until they fully complied with the CPR requests. I have had another letter since, but do not intend to respond as I made it very clear in the last letter. I can give you a copy of that letter when you need it. Just take this one step at a time.

 

Im still going through it so really do understand the way it feels. Their actions have been exactly as other Caggers described and so many people who dont know about their actions end up with judgments against them because they dont feel they can do anything about it. Do you have a house? As I have been told that if they find that out, they run to the courts with a claim. They told me they were intending to get a second order on my property if I couldnt afford to pay as they dont do payment arrangements. In a way, I am glad they said it as this was how I came to find this site.

 

I was very scared, still am sometimes, but please remember there has been some time in between all of these letters and correspondence I talk about in my thread. I would really just take actions one step at a time. I placed reply due by post it notes on my letters which enabled me to see at a glance when I should expect a response. I also prepared my Embarassed Defence and just waited until it was time to send it and then pasted into the section on the court website. The date for them to advise the court of whether they wish to proceed has passed, but I need to wait for the court to advise me further. Im hoping that I get a letter saying that is has been stayed, although I do believe they often go to court even if they dont have what is needed to win. I have nothing to lose, so will take it all the way if I have to.

 

Stay strong!!

 

SF

[nigrob]

Hi , do i need to put on the back of the postal order that it is for CPR 31.14 to prevent them paying onto account?

[SF2010]

Hi Nicurro

 

Sorry I wasnt in touch sooner, I have had the flu and was knocked off my feet. The letter says that it can only be used for the purpose of the CPR31.14 so dont worry about marking anything on the postal order. Hopefully you have sent it by now. if so, it doesnt matter if you did mark the postal order with CPR31.14.

 

I hope all is coming together a little. You will get stronger as this matter unfolds and you see that there is one or two things which they usually cannot produce but are essential for their claim. Im not saying that I will win, but Im definetly going to fight and I would encourage you to do the same, rather than be easy pickings for what can be very ruthless and underhanded actions.

 

SF

[SF2010]

Nicurro please see my thread for latest update. The court claim has been stayed, because they didnt reply to my defence within the 28 days allowed. They would now have to apply to the court for an order to lift the stay. I dont know if there is a time limit on it being stayed, before it is struck out, or if it remains stayed forever!

 

Keep posting the latest as it transpires and I will try and help. If you need help urgently, click on the little triangle on the bottom left of your last post and ask the site team to request someone to look at it urgently for you.

 

Wishing you well

 

SF

 

Just keep going and dont let them take your money without a fight.

[nigrob]

Hi ,CPR 31.14 and CPR 18 have been sent , also the court has now been told i intend to defend the claim. Waiting for response from Link now.

 

Thanks for the help so far.

 

Nic

[jimbo45]

Hi there

If the last payment was in 2003 the debt might be Statute Barred. If it isn't already you should be able to see from the SAR when your last payment was made.

 

If it's nearly statute barred see what you can do to dely any proceedings until the debt IS statute Barred . I suspect that this is the last roll of the dice for some desperately hungry DCA who is chancing this.

 

If you haven't got the SAR yet send your 10 GBP postal order off to the OC and demand it. You can also delay Court procedings yet again as you can say you need this for your defence.

 

If the debt IS Statute Barred --then that's enough -- No Case to answer -- Case dismissed --Next Case please M'Lud.

 

Statute Barred is just that THIS DEBT CANNOT BE COLLECTED --end of story.

 

Cheers

jimbo

[SF2010]

Hi Nicurro

 

Jimbo is right, good advice. Send off the SAR to the orginal creditor's asap. It will cost £10, but it will be well spent. They will not tamper with any of their documentation, but I cant say the same for the DCA involved. They seem to be pretty notorious of doing the opposite. If they resort to this though, its easily checked on here by Caggers and once they have started down that road, you will be able to gather it as evidence which makes it more likely that they will just put it to bed and chance their luck with some other poor souls.

 

In the SAR you are looking to find all of the documents you asked for in the CPR 18 and 31.14. If they havent got them, its not likely that Link could have them. If you do find that its Statute Barred, then thats even better.

 

I myself have just made a court claim of almost £200 due to the orignal creditor not responding fully to my SAR. I know I have 2 old accounts and only received limited info on 1. This involved all costs relating to requesting the SAR and chasing their compliance with that request. They MUST provide with all information they hold within 40 calendar days. This was not done. I can advise you about this if needed later on. I also made a complaint to the Data Commissioner on the date that I filed my court claim.

 

After that has been resolved and I can be comfortable that I have all of the information in relation to what the OC has, I will SAR link too, using the money I claim back from the OC. It would be sweet to find that they dont comply and I make a claim in court in relation to them too. If I received any more communications from Link, I will write a complaint to FOS in order that they are notified of their actions.

 

So, next step SAR !!

 

Good luck!

Edited August 19, 2010 by SF2010

[nigrob]

Hi ,sent the two letters on 13th August had no response at all. Completed the MCOL to say i have receieved the papers & i intend to defend all of the claim.

What do i do now ????? Do i need to go back to the MCOL summons ?

Please advise

[Deb T]

subbing to this

[SF2010]

Hi Nicurro

 

Calculate 14 working days since you sent the letters to Link. If this has now passed, you should send Link an account in dispute letter. This letter advises them that they havent complied and until they provide you with the information they cannot substantiate their claim. See my link to my thread in an earlier post.

 

You should put in your 'embarrassed defence' on line on or around the 23rd calendar day after you acknowledged on MCOL. This way you can demonstrate that you have given them ample time to provide you with detailed particulars of the claim before filing your defence.

 

MBNA would have 40 days to reply to a SAR, so if you sent one, you need to calculate when that time expires so that you are ready to send them a letter before action.

 

 

I find it best to keep a little post it note on all of your letters so that you can see at a glance when responses are due and lets you know quickly when its time to take the next step.

 

Nothing out of the ordinary is happening now, so dont please panic. It wasnt likely that you was ever going to get a response to the CPR's within the required timescale as advised earlier, this is very much about not letting Link wriggle out of substantiating their claim and its not likely that they can.

 

Did you say how old this debt is?

 

Remember no telephone discussions! If they contact you, tell them to put it in writing.

 

 

If you get anything in the meantime get in touch.

[sisgen10]

Hi Nucurro

 

I have also been taken to court by Link but fighting hard with lots of help from Caggers!! Dont despair! See my thread where you will see exactly what to send. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?263512-HELP!!!-County-Court-Claim-Received-for-Debt-Sold-10-years-after-Default

 

 

First things first is to reply to the court claim on line, they give you a password on the form to do that. You will need to register first. Acknowledge the claim and advise that you intend to defend ALL of the claim, this gives you 28 days to ask for information from Link to prove that they own the debt and the debt is enforceable. If they dont send you everything (and they probably wont) you can file an embarrassed defence, but we can get to that later and this is also on my thread. You must file it before the 28 days have expired, having sent Link the CPR's promptly, you will have time so dont worry.

 

Send the CPR 31.14 and CPR 18 to Link quickly. You need to enclose a £1 postal order with the CPR 31.14 and make sure you send it recorded delivery. From now on keep all letters and envelopes too. If they do come back eventually with a copy of your orignal credit agreement, do not despair, again this does not prove that they own the debt. You will then know who the Original Creditor (OC) is and I would recommend that you send the OC a Subject Access Request with a £10 fee, asking for all of the information they hold on you. They will not tamper with their letters, but Im not sure about the claimants. Oh and dont call them!! I did that and they started calling me, but they only did it once, as Caggers advised to tell them to correspond in writing only and thats exactly what i did.

 

If you can post a copy of the letter on here, removing all personal information first, like your name & address, claim number etc (I used photobucket.com) so we can see the details. If they have mentioned a Default, they need to show you a copy of the default notice. They also need to prove they have legal right to the debt by i.e have a Deed of Assignment. You also need to see copies of all payments made and any charges added during the full duration of the agreement to date. I am still battling, but so glad that I came on here for help. Others will be able to help too.

 

Also, I sometimes found information a little confusing, but people are very patient and will help and explain.

 

Good luck! I'll keep watching your thread and help if I can.

 

SF2010

 

 

 

There is no charge for CPR requests and if you have sent them £1 they may well take that to be a payment to the account which could reset the statue barred clock. £1 payments are for CCA requests. CPR requests do not cost.

[SF2010]

My error

 

You are right, however, I dont think Link can hold it against Nicurro as I dont think they would be able to convince anyone that this was done as acknowledgement of the debt.

 

I did provide a link to my thread and just trying to help out another.

 

Regards

[nigrob]

Hi guys , i am now ready to file my defence , is this the defence i use as i have receieved no info from Link since requesting it.

In the Northampton county court

Claim number CLAIM NO

 

 

Between

 

 

 

Link Financial LTD - Claimant

 

 

 

and

 

 

 

 

 

NAME - Defendant

 

 

 

 

 

 

Defence

 

1. I NAME (1st line of address TOWN) am the defendant in this action and make the following statement as my defence to the claim made by Link Financial LTD

 

Except where explicitly stated below the Defendant neither admits nor denies any of the assertions or claims made by the Claimant.

 

2. The Defendant is embarrassed in pleading to the Particulars of Claim as it stands at present, inter alia: -

 

3. The claimants' particulars of claims disclose no legal cause of action and they are embarrassing to the defendant as the claimant's statement of case is insufficiently particularised. In this regard I wish to draw the courts attention to the following matters;

 

a) The Particulars of Claim are vague and insufficient and do not disclose an adequate statement of facts relating to or proceeding the alleged cause of action. No particulars are offered in relation to the nature of the written agreement referred to, the method the claimant calculated any outstanding sums due,or any other matters necessary to substantiate the claimant's claim.

 

b) A copy of the purported written agreement that the claimant cites in the Particulars of Claim, and which appears to form the basis upon which these proceedings have been brought.

 

c) A copy of any evidence of both the scope and nature of any default, and proof of any amount outstanding on the alleged accounts.

 

d) A copy of any termination notice served under section 76 and/or section 98 of the CCA, on the alleged account.

 

e) A copy of any notice of assignment compliant with the provisions of the Law of Property Act 1925, on the alleged account and proof of original service of said assignment to the defendant.

 

f) The defendant requested information referred in the claim under CPR 18 & CPR 31.14 from the claimant by (METHOD OF POST). The request was received by the claimant on the (DATE), compliance with the requests has now expired. The defendant wishes to make the court aware that the claimant is trying to frustrate proceedings and denying the defendant an opportunity to file a defence and counter claim.

 

4. Consequently, I deny all allegations on the particulars of claim and put the claimant to strict proof thereof

 

5. I respectfully request the courts permission to submit an amended defence should the claimant file a fully particularised Particulars of Claim

 

I respectfully request that the court consider striking out the claim under cpr 3.4.2(a) because it is not fully particularized nor offers any legal cause of action.

 

I respectfully request that the court consider striking out the claim under cpr 3.4.2© because, in light of the failure to respond to both cpr 31.14 & 18 requests, the Claimant is unable to substantiate their claim with documentary evidence.

 

Statement of Truth

 

 

I (NAME), believe the above statement to be true and factual

 

 

Signed (NAME)

 

Date DATE OF DEFENCE

 

 

Thanks

[SF2010]

Thats the one Nicurro! I posted it into a word document first to take out those links and add dates, then just copied and pasted onto MCOL.

 

SF2010

[nigrob]

HI , just been to MCOL to put Defence in , it says that they received my Acknowlegement on 23/08/2010 and that judgment has been entered on 13/09/2010.

I therefore cannot file the defence.

Still not heard from Link.

Any advice ???

[SF2010]

Hi Niccuro

 

It would seem that your have not selected the correct acknowledgement of service advising you intend to defend the claim in full. This should have given you 28 days to file your defence. 14 days is just the standard acknowledgement of claim.

 

Ok, I think the best action now would be to click the warning triangle on the left hand side and ask the site team for some help. They will ask particular Caggers to come and give you advise in relation to these circumstances. I'm sure it has happened before, so search the threads for more info in the meantime.

 

I will also have a look and post a link if I find anything.

 

SF2010

[nigrob]

Hi , i know i aknowledged the claim and ticked the i intend to defend all the claim box.......

[SF2010]

Hi Nicurro

 

It appears that you will get notifcation of the judgement and you can apply to have the judgment set aside. I have found 1 thread, its not very detailed, but here it is http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?238838-judgment-for-claiment-help-please.

 

I hope someone will come along who can give you more advice on having the judgment set aside. Did you send and get a response to your SAR?

 

As you havent had any details from Link, hopefully this will enable you to have it set aside. You could also call the courts and ask them how to go about this.

 

Im very sad to hear this and hope you will get this sorted out.

 

SF2010