Capquest Statutory demand

[richivee]

Dear all

 

I have received a statutory demand letter from Capquest for an old credit card (EGG) debt that they have purchased, the total amount they say is due is £997 of which £465 is interest accrued since assignment of the debt. The original debt is from 2001 ish and no payment has been made for over 8 years.

 

Should i just ignore this as Capquest bully tactics or should i get it set aside at court?

 

best wishes and thanks

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

I would get this set-aside on the grounds that this debt is Statute Barred by virtue of the Limitations Act 1980 so long as you are sure no payment has been made in the last 6 years nor any acknowledgement of any debt in the same period

[richivee]

Thanks Silverfox, should i send a CCA or just go straight for the set aside?

[silverfox1961]

Don't bother with the CCA. It is not required (in my opinion) I would get this set aside and go for costs

 

This post gives guidance on a costs claim

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?133153-Statutory-demand-for-credit-card-debt%28bankruptcy%29Help!&p=1529356&viewfull=1#post1529356

[richivee]

thanks again, is this the correct wording for the witness statement form 6.5?

 

 

Apply for the statutory demand to be set aside as I believe that the creditor issued this statutory demand as an abuse of process intended to pressure me into paying the full amount of an alleged debt when such pressure is contrary to the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidelines.

Under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 "an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued."

The Office of Fair Trading say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that "it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

The last payment of this alleged debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless the respondent can provide evidence of payment or written contact from myself in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that they are no longer able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that "continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970".

The applicant does not admit that the debt exists. The respondent is put to strict proof that that the alleged agreement was entered into between HFC Bank Ltd and the applicant; and at what place and on what date and upon what terms.

The respondent is put to strict proof that the alleged debt has been properly assigned.

Furthermore the statutory demand states that the debt was assigned to CapQuest Investments Ltd on 01 December 2002, a search of Companies House reveals that CapQuest Investments Ltd was not incorporated until well after this date on 29 September 2004.

 

Accordingly, the applicant respectfully requests that the statutory demand be struck out or set-aside.

[richivee]

also i've just remembered that CrapQuest took this to Northampton county court in July 2008, i responded via the online moneyclaim system, i responded with 'i intend to defend all of this claim' and i submitted a defence and sent CrapQuest a CPR then i never heard anything else from them or the court, does this have any bearing on the new statutory demand?

[richivee]

any extra advice on whether the previous county court proceedings that weren't progressed when i contested them would have any bearing on the current statutory demand? advice much appreciated

[silverfox1961]

Once a court claim is initiated, the SB clock is halted but if the debt was already SB when they filed at court, that would have been your defence.

 

Have you checked your credit file to make sure they didn't get a CCJ by the back door.

 

Hopefully someone with the required experience will be able to advise further

[richivee]

yes i keep a regular eye on my credit record these days, no ccj recorded. I filed my defence and sent them a CPR 18 but didn't get any response from them or the court

[DonkeyB]

If there is a stayed claim, their correct route for enforcement should be an application to lift the stay, I would aver. This is becoming vexatious. Perhaps you should apply to lift the stay and have the case struck out?

[DonkeyB]

If you have the case number, call the court and check the status.

[richivee]

just rang the court, they said there is a stay on the case as the claimant didn't respond, apparently there is no time limit on this even though the case is nearly 3 years old, should i just proceed with the set aside for the statutory demand? and should i mention the county court thing in my witness statement?

 

thanks for your advice

[DonkeyB]

Need a procedural brain on this. There is incomplete litigation, so I believe the issuing of an SD is vexatious in the extreme. 42man, are you there?

[DonkeyB]

Suggest you PM 42man and ask him to look in.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/member.php?157054-42man

[42man]

I would agree that this is a serious abuse of process and you should mention the stayed case and the fact that it has been stayed for the length of time that it has.....vexatious and unlawful trying to do this and sending out a statutory demand whilst it is the subject of a county court claim and CLEARLY substantially disputed. I also URGE you to report this to the OFT too....make sure you claim your costs back too....SHOCKING behaviour...

[DonkeyB]

Thanks for looking in 42man – thought this was a bit of a vexatious case.

[richivee]

Thanks for looking in 42man – thought this was a bit of a vexatious case.

 

 

thanks for all your advice, i'll mention this to the judge at the set aside hearing plus ask for costs

 

will definitely report them to the OFT too

 

cheers

[42man]

I should add it to your defence if you can......

[richivee]

thanks again, can you have a read through my witness statement below please and see if this right? I've added the info about the county court claim in 2008 and all the information from the CPR18 i sent to Capquest, is this the right thing to do? Also should i mention costs in here?

 

 

 

2. That I ©

 

Apply for the statutory demand to be set aside as I believe that the creditor issued this statutory demand as an abuse of process intended to pressure me into paying the full amount of an alleged debt when such pressure is contrary to the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidelines.

 

Under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 "an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued."

 

The Office of Fair Trading say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that "it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

 

The last payment of this alleged debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless the respondent can provide evidence of payment or written contact from myself in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that they are no longer able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

 

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that "continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970".

 

The applicant does not admit that the debt exists.

 

The respondent is put to strict proof that that the alleged agreement was entered into between EGG Banking PLC and the applicant; and at what place and on what date and upon what terms.

 

The respondent is put to strict proof that the alleged debt has been properly assigned.

 

The applicant previously received a Northampton County Court claim from the respondent on 28th July 2008 for this alleged debt, the applicant indicated the intention to defend the claim and filed a defence. At the same time the applicant sent a request for information under Part 18 of the Civil Procedure Rules to CapQuest Investments Limited asking for the following information:

 

1. A true copy of the executed credit agreement and any terms and conditions that applied to the account at the time of default and at the time the account was opened. True copies of any notice of assignment and/or default notice or enforcement notice that you or the original creditor sent me, with a copy of any proof of postage that you hold.

 

1.1 If copies of any of the above documents are to be relied on in court rather than originals, a copy of the Notice of proposal to adduce hearsay evidence required under s2(1) of the Civil Evidence Act 1995 together with proof of the authenticity of the document(s) as required under s8(1)(b) of the Act, including but not limited to:

 

(a) a copy of the procedure(s) used for copying, storing and retrieving documents

(b) a copy of the relevant log entry showing the time and date of the scan or copy, the name of the member of staff making the copy, the method used for copying, storage and retrieval and time and date of destruction of the original document(s)

© copies of internal and external audit reports covering the entire period from the date of the copy to the present to demonstrate that the procedures have been complied with

(d) copies of Quality Assurance accreditation certificates covering the entire period from the date of the copy to the present to demonstrate that the procedure(s) and audit process(es) comply with the appropriate quality standards

 

2. All records you hold on me relevant to this case, including but not limited to:

 

a. Transcriptions of all telephone conversations recorded and any notes made in relation to telephone conversations by your company, or by any previous creditor

b. Where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my account formerly held with Original CREDITOR.

c. .Documents relating to any insurance added to the account, including the insurance contract and terms and conditions, date it was added and deleted (if applicable).

d. Details of any collection charge added to the account; specifically, the date it was levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial breakdown of how the charge was calculated, and what the charge covers.

e. Specific details of the fees/charges levied by any other agency in respect of this account and a detailed breakdown of said fees/charges and what each charge relates to and on what date said fees/charges were levied.

f. A genuine copy of any notice of fair use of my data as required by the Data Protection Act 1998

g. A list of third party agencies to whom you have disclosed my personal data and a summary of the nature of the information you have disclosed.

h. Copies of statements for the entire duration of the credit agreement.

 

The respondent did not reply to the request for information and no further communication was received for the respondent or the court regarding the claim.

 

Accordingly, the applicant respectfully requests that the statutory demand be struck out or set-aside.

[nicklea]

Just a small point, but I would suggest that you clearly state that when they started the court claim agianst you in 2008 that the debt was already statute barred then.

[richivee]

something like this?

 

The applicant previously received a Northampton County Court claim from the respondent on 28th July 2008 for this alleged debt, the applicant indicated the intention to defend the claim and filed a defence on the grounds that the alleged debt was Statute Barred. At the same time the applicant sent a request for information under Part 18 of the Civil Procedure Rules to CapQuest Investments Limited asking for the following information:

[nicklea]

Yes, as otherwise they may try and claim that they started court proceedings within the 6 year timescale and so the debt isn't statute barred

[richivee]

i'm off to the court today to submit my set aside application, will keep you posted of the outcome

[DonkeyB]

Nothing will happen today. Hopefully, soon you’ll be given a date for a hearing.

[richivee]

ok i've received a date form the court for next week for the hearing, and today i received a letter from Capquest today saying they are willing to agree to the statutory demand being set aside without wasting the courts time as long as i agree to not make an order for costs.

 

sounds good? however, they also included a witness statement from their legal support department disputing that the account is statute barred saying that the last payment was received in 2006 via a doorstep payment, they have included a list of payments but i have no recollection of making them or any bank statements from that period to be able to check.

 

Now i'm really stumped, do i accept their offer to set aside without going to court and if so where does that leave me? Any advice appreciated