wescot SPV/? claimform - old Golfish card ' *** Settled by Consent ***

[citizenB]

Yes, they would probably have been able to obtain the number from papers submitted at court.

 

Did you contact them ?

[stubumbles]

Nope ... I decided there was no point. I sent the letter above off today which they should get tomorrow.

 

EVENT DIARY AND THE RESPONSES BASED ON GREAT ADVICE HERE

 

17/01/12: I received the claim below from Northampton Bulk, issue 12/01/12, Wescot (WCS) as claimant:

 

POC: This claim is 680.00 being monies owing to the Claimant in respect of a credit agreement between Goldfish and the Defendant under account number xxxxxxxxx. The agreement was terminated as the Defendant failed to maintain the agreed terms. In accordance with pre-action protocols the Claimant has attempted to contact the Defendant and agree a repayment plan. The Defendant has failed to respond or maintain a suitable arrangement. Goldfish has sold and assigned all rights, title and interest under this agreement to Wescot SPV Limited.

And the Claiment claims interest pursuant to section 69 of the county court Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum from 10/11/2002 to 11/01/2012 totalling 496.00 and thereafter at a daily rate of 0.15 to date of judgement or sooner.

 

(NB: Barclaycard bought Goldfish in 2008 from Discover Financial Services who took over Goldfish in 2006.)

 

18/01/2012: I received letter from WCS dated 15/01/2012 stating they wrote to me 31/03/2007.

 

( NB: I have no knowledge of that letter?)

 

19/01/2012 to 24/01/2012: After looking through my creditor files for 2002, I found letters over other debts with lists of creditors and none of them were for Goldfish. In fact no paperwork to do with Goldfish or any connecting me to a Goldfish/WCS account. I also checked with both main CRA’s and found no mention of WCS/Goldfish. I do know from bank statements that had some debts that had involved WCS (4 in all) which I had stopped paying in May 2006 when I moved home but none connect me to a Goldfish account?

 

25/01/12: I acknowledged service online on 25/01/12.

 

28/01/12: I sent a CPR31:14 special delivery on 28/01/12 and in which I asked for:

 

1. The agreement. You will appreciate that in an ordinary case and by reason of the provisions of CPR PD 16 para7.3, where a claim is based upon a written agreement, a copy of the contract or documents constituting the agreement should be attached to or served with the particulars of claim and the original(s) should be available at the hearing. Further, that any general conditions incorporated in the contract should also be attached.

2. The default notice

3. The termination notice

4. The Notice of Assignment

5. The Deed of Assignment from the Original Creditor to prove your legal entitlement to issue this claim.(NB:I discovered since that I'm not entitled to this.)

 

07/02/2012: As I had not received a reply within the designated time, I sent my defence thus:

 

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

 

2. The Claimant’s Particulars of Claim disclose no legal cause of action and they are embarrassing to the Defendant as the Claimant's statement of case is insufficiently particularised and does not comply or even attempt to comply with CPR part 16. 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, has not been served attached to the claim form.

 

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 has not been served attached to the Claim Form.

 

d) No copies of statement of account or statements have been provided that show how the claimant has arrived at the sum they are claiming.

 

3. On receipt of the Claim Form the Defendant sent a CPR 31.14 request for a copy of the agreement and supporting documents which forms the basis of this claim

 

4. The documents requested were, in addition to the agreement as above, a copy of the Default Notice, the Termination Notice and the Notice of Assignment. To date no response has been received from the Claimant.

 

5. It has been confirmed via the Royal Mail Website that the above letter was received and signed for.

 

6. Consequently, I deny all allegations on the Particulars of Claim and put the Claimant to strict proof thereof

 

7. I respectfully request a stay in proceedings until such time as the Claimant complies with the requests outlined in paragraphs 3 and 4 above or until the Court orders its compliance with the same. I will then be in a position to file a fully particularised Defence and Counterclaim and will seek the Court’s permission to amend my statement of case accordingly.

 

14/02/12: I received the standard response from Northampton bulk dated 12/02/12:

 

"I acknowledge receipt of your defence. A copy is being served on the claimant (or the claimant's solicitor). The claimant may contact you direct to attempt to resolve any dispute. If the dispute cannot be resolved informally, the claimant will inform the court that he wishes to proceed. The court will then inform you of what will happen.

Where he wishes to proceed, the claimant must contact the court within 28 days after receiving a copy of your defence. After that period has elapsed, the claim will be stayed. The only action the claimant can then take will be to apply to a judge for an order lifting the stay."

 

18/02/2012: I received a reply to my CPR31:14 from WCS dated 17/02/12. They claimed my CPR was undated however the date is clearly shown on the top left, plus the file remains unaltered on my PC and the post office recorded the delivery. The gist of their letter is:

 

However, having particular regard to CRP1.1 (1) we will confirm at this early stage that all the information you have requested will not be forthcoming and you should therefore take the necessary action that you believe is appropriate. You may also wish to take independent legal advice from a Solicitor or approach the Citizens Advice Bureau who should be able to assist you free of charge.

 

It is our opinion that all the information you have requested will not be necessary to prove our Case. A Court will consider the facts and evidence and make a fair and reasonable Judgement, which in our opinion will be that the funds claimed are due and owing. Again, you may disagree, and it isn’t really our place to second-guess a decision that will be made but the Trial Judge following the appropriate submissions of evidence by both parties.

 

They also said the file would be put on hold for 14-days?

 

25/02/12: I received an AQ N149 dated 22/02/2012 to be returned by 12/3/2012.

 

02/03/2012: I replied to WCS’s letter of 18/02/12 thus:

 

Thank you for your letter dated 17th February 2012 in which you acknowledge safe receipt of: “your undated letter requesting further documents in accordance with CRP.31.14?”

 

Please be advised that my CPR 31: 14 request has a date clearly shown at the top left of the letter in exactly the same place as in this letter. Be further advised that the file remains unaltered on the PC that it was written on and that I have validation of receipt by Wescot on 30/01/2012.

 

I am dismayed that you say in your letter: “we will confirm at this early stage that all the information that you requested will not be forthcoming.”

 

In an attempt for us not to waste the courts time and to enable me to mount a proper defence I againrequest copies of the information requested in the CPR 31:14 dated 28/01/2012.

 

However I amend:

 

5. The Deed of Assignment from the Original Creditor to prove your legal entitlement to issue this claim.

To:

5. Copies of statements of accounts to show how you have arrived at the sum you are claiming.

 

I also would point out that although your letter states: “We confirm our file has been placed on hold for a period of 14 days” I am operating on the time frame set by HM Courts and Tribunals Service in their letter dated 9th February 2012.

 

04/03/2012: My proposed response via the AQ 149 is thus:

 

The Claimant has consistently refused to provide copies of the documents on which they base their claim, both with their original Particulars of Claim and in response to CPR requests. They are therefore denying the Defendant the opportunity to submit a fully particularised defence.

 

The Claimant has relied on this information as the basis of their claim and it stands to reason that it should be in their possession. However, in a letter dated 18th February 2012, they state that “all the information you have requested will not be forthcoming" and offer no valid reason as to why they either will not or cannot provide the requested copies of:

 

1. The credit agreement.

2. The default notice

3. The termination notice

4. The Notice of Assignment

5. Statements of accounts

 

The Defendant denies all allegations on the Particulars of Claim and puts the Claimant to strict proof thereof. The Defendant respectfully requests a stay in proceedings until such time as the Claimant complies with the requests or until the Court orders its compliance with the same.

[unclebulgaria67]

No expert, looks ok to me. BUT I think I would include dates as to when you have made the CPR requests. You have said consistently refused, but the judge will then ask, about the occasions when you have asked.

[stubumbles]

Good point, many thanks.

[citizenB]

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/contents/parts/part01

 

In their letter dated 18.02.2012 they say..

 

However, having particular regard to CRP1.1 (1) we will confirm at this early stage that all the information you have requested will not be forthcoming and you should therefore take the necessary action that you believe is appropriate. You may also wish to take independent legal advice from a Solicitor or approach the Citizens Advice Bureau who should be able to assist you free of charge.

 

 

In the link above, CPR 1.1 says..

 

1.1

(1) These Rules are a new procedural code with the overriding objective of enabling the court to deal with cases justly.

 

 

(2) Dealing with a case justly includes, so far as is practicable –

(a) ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing;

 

(b) saving expense;

 

© dealing with the case in ways which are proportionate –

(i) to the amount of money involved;

 

(ii) to the importance of the case;

 

(iii) to the complexity of the issues; and

 

(iv) to the financial position of each party;

 

 

(d) ensuring that it is dealt with expeditiously and fairly; and

 

(e) allotting to it an appropriate share of the court’s resources, while taking into account the need to allot resources to other cases.

 

 

 

In which case, I fail to see how Wesclots have any regard for them

 

I would think that 1.3 would be more appropriate and consider IMHO that their actions so far have only created more work for the court as it will now have to look at the inequality of the case due to Wesclotts not having provided the very information that forms the basis of their claim.

 

1.3

Duty of the Parties

 

The Parties are required to help the court to further the over riding objective.

 

That aside, I think the issues here are..

 

Did you ever have a Goldfish card ? When did you stop maintaining the account ?

 

January 2012, Wesclotts are saying they wrote to you in 2007 - you have no knowledge of that letter. What did that letter say - was it an assignment notice ? Wesclotts are refusing to provide a copy of this.

 

You have not received statements from either Goldfish, Barclaycard or Wesclotts since WHEN.. so even if this account is yours, then you have no idea how the monies they are claiming has been assessed.

 

If you read their POC correctly they are claiming s69 from 2002.. What is this date referring to ? If they are claiming that monies have not been paid into the account from that date - then the account is statute barred and that should put an end to things.

.

If that is supposedly the opening date of the account, then why are they claiming s69 on an account where it was being maintained and contractual interest was already paid ?

 

They claim the account was terminated - but they dont say if a Default Notice had been issued ? - They have failed to provide a copy.

 

Their PoC advises that monies are due the claimant in respect of an agreement between the defendant and Goldfish. But the Claimant is Wesclotts, not Goldfish ? There has been provided no Notice of Assignment so is it Wesclott or Goldfish who are the claimant ?

 

So the questions remain - is this account definitely yours - you dont know because they have not provided a copy of the agreement

If it is, how have they arrived at the sum they are claiming - no statement of account has been provided - as they are claiming s69 interest from 2002 then they need to provide statement of account from that date.

They claim the agrement was between you and goldfish, they make no mention of them having been assigned the account - so who is the claimant - wesclott or Goldfish ?

They claim the account was terminated - it could only have been terminated had a compliant Default Notice been issued - they have not provided a copy or proof that one was sent.

 

 

I think this all hinges on when the last payment was made to the account and to whom..

[stubumbles]

Did you ever have a Goldfish card ? When did you stop maintaining the account ?

I don't remember ever owning a Goldfish card. I was in dispute with some other creditors in 2002 and I included a full list of my debts in letters at that time but there is no mention of Goldfish in them. I did start paying WCS for 4-different debts during 2002 and stopped on May 20th 2006 ... I know what 3 of the creditors where for but do not know what the 4th is.

 

January 2012, Wesclotts are saying they wrote to you in 2007 - you have no knowledge of that letter. What did that letter say - was it an assignment notice ? Wesclotts are refusing to provide a copy of this.

 

I've never seen this letter. In their letter of 15/01/2012 they say, "In our letter dated 31st March, we informed you that unless you made a full payment of your outstanding balance or contacted us to agree an acceptable repayment plan we would take legal proceedings against you. As no acceptable repayment was agreed we began legal proceedings on 1st November 2011 ... "

 

 

You have not received statements from either Goldfish, Barclaycard or Wesclotts since WHEN.. so even if this account is yours, then you have no idea how the monies they are claiming has been assessed.

 

Correct - No statements EVER. In fact, the only reason I know I was paying WCS on other debts is from my bank stats and from some threat letters saying to pay or else!

 

If you read their POC correctly they are claiming s69 from 2002.. What is this date referring to ? If they are claiming that monies have not been paid into the account from that date - then the account is statute barred and that should put an end to things.

.

If that is supposedly the opening date of the account, then why are they claiming s69 on an account where it was being maintained and contractual interest was already paid ?

 

They claim the account was terminated - but they dont say if a Default Notice had been issued ? - They have failed to provide a copy.

 

Their PoC advises that monies are due the claimant in respect of an agreement between the defendant and Goldfish. But the Claimant is Wesclotts, not Goldfish ? There has been provided no Notice of Assignment so is it Wesclott or Goldfish who are the claimant ?

 

So the questions remain - is this account definitely yours - you dont know because they have not provided a copy of the agreement

If it is, how have they arrived at the sum they are claiming - no statement of account has been provided - as they are claiming s69 interest from 2002 then they need to provide statement of account from that date.

They claim the agrement was between you and goldfish, they make no mention of them having been assigned the account - so who is the claimant - wesclott or Goldfish ?

They claim the account was terminated - it could only have been terminated had a compliant Default Notice been issued - they have not provided a copy or proof that one was sent.

 

 

I think this all hinges on when the last payment was made to the account and to whom..

 

I assume that the date they refer to is from when they alledge that they took over the account? However, this seems to indicate that the other payments I had to WCS were not connected? I simply don't know?

 

I have absolutely no records/paperwork connected to a Goldfish account. I have checked my checkbook stubs and old bank stats to 2000 and find no reference to Goldfish. I do have records showing that I started making payments to WCS for 4-different debts during 2002 and stopped on May 20th 2006 when I moved house.

[citizenB]

I think that all you can do is to insist that you have no record of ever entering into an agreement with Goldfish and it is the reason the information you have requested is vital. You might want to reword the "Other information" section to include this fact.

 

[stubumbles]

Below is a copy of what WCS have sent to me as a copy of their AQ 149:

 

"The defendant has acknowledged there liability for the debt by making a considerable number of payments to the claimant. Please find attached a statement of account which outlines all payments made by the defendant to the claimant.

 

The claimant request this matter be stayed.

 

The claimant has also indicated their interest in mediation."

 

This seems to mean that 1 of the WCS payments that I was making from 2002-2006 would have been for Goldfish; however I have no record of any debt to Goldfish. Obviously I can’t deny making payments to WCS but I still have received no copies of any of the paperwork that I have requested.

[sillygirl1]

So they want it to be stayed and go to mediation to sort out their own mess.... complete abuse of process.

 

Question for the mediator

 

Why are they claiming interest back to 2002 when clearly an arrangement was in place, this should be completely removed from the claim

 

Where is the back up paperwork that substantiates this was a Goldfish card belonging to the defendant, they could have paid money over in ignorance of the law and in the mistaken belief that they had liability for this debt. without prrof from the claimant.

[stubumbles]

I totally agree SG but I think I have to argue the interst issue when it gets to court? I've added /pm's citizenB who has been a HUGE help and normally I'd PM/add Andyorch but he's stopped responding so I'm going to notify the team that I need some 'expert' legal help.

 

Here's my proposed response.

_______________________________________________________________________

 

The Defendant acknowledges dealing with the Claimant in the past but has no recollection of a debt with Goldfish. He has asked the Claimant to provide evidence but the Claimant refused to provide copies of the documents on which they base their claim. No documents were attached to their original Particulars of Claim, or in response to CPR requests or other letters sent by the Defendant thereby denying the Defendant the opportunity to submit a fully particularised defence.

 

As the Claimant has relied on this information as the basis of their claim, it stands to reason that these documents should be in their possession. However, in a letter dated 18th February 2012,, they state that “all the information you have requested will not be forthcoming" and offer no valid reason as to why they either will not or cannot provide the requested copies of:

 

1. The agreement. 2. The default notices. 3. The termination notices. 4. The Notice of Assignment. 5. Statements of accounts

 

As already stated in his filed defence, the Defendant denies all allegations on the Particulars of Claim and puts the Claimant to strict proof thereof. The Defendant respectfully requests a stay in proceedings until such time as the Claimant complies with the requests or until the Court orders its compliance with the same.

 

As instructed by the “Notes for completing a small claims track allocation questionnaire”, the defendant has not provided any attached information at this stage.

[AndyOrch]

I have not stopped responding Stu I am aware of all the developments via email and pms from yourself and CB.Its just that sometimes we have our own problems to deal with also outside of the forum.I have advised through CB what to do and how to respond further.

 

Andy

[stubumbles]

Hi Andy ... phew, I thought I'd done something to upset you. I hope you get your other issues settled OK. I have to submit by the 12th so, unless anyone can add anything, I'll submit the above via special delivery on Thursday morning. Best regards, Stubumbles

Edited March 6, 2012 by stubumbles

[citizenB]

"The defendant has acknowledged there liability for the debt by making a considerable number of payments to the claimant. Please find attached a statement of account which outlines all payments made by the defendant to the claimant.

 

The claimant request this matter be stayed.

 

The claimant has also indicated their interest in mediation."

 

 

 

I find their statements quite bizarre.. Wesclott are the bliddy claimant.. dingbats !!

 

 

Did they send you a copy of the statement of account ? And can you account for those payments to the other accounts that you were paying toward ?

[AndyOrch]

Grasp of the English grammar is as sharp as their grasp of the CCA " "The defendant has acknowledged there/their liability for the debt ":roll:

Andy

[stubumbles]

The claimant request this matter be stayed.

 

The claimant has also indicated their interest in mediation."

This should be simple for the Judge because it seems we've both asked for a stay? I have also agreed to mediation in my AQ but they can't know that because I've not sent it yet?

 

Did they send you a copy of the statement of account ?

No

 

And can you account for those payments to the other accounts that you were paying toward ?

I've answered this in a PM rather than open a whole new can of worms prior to May.

 

"The defendant has acknowledged there/their liability for the debt "

Yes indeed, this was their spelling as on their original AQ.

[dx100uk]

and how do they not know the 'payments' might even have be made under duress through threats ?

 

dx

[DonkeyB]

You must again demand the documents requested in your CPR.

 

They have supplied documents in their AQ to the court that you have requested and which have not been supplied to you. If there were multiple debts, they need to show what monies were applied to which account and when.

 

If you can record calls, call Wetcloth and ask why they have not complied with CPR still.

 

Statutory interest is limited to one year anyway. If they want contractual interest, they must show the contract.

 

Have they sent any statements since they discovered your address?

 

Personally I would say stuff mediation – you have demanded, and been denied, the evidence on which they base their case. Put the pressure on them.

[stubumbles]

Thanks for responding DonkeyB .

You must again demand the documents requested in your CPR.

I'm doing that again in the latest version of my AQ149 which I have to send by tomorrow at the latest.

They have supplied documents in their aq to the court that you have requested and which have not been supplied to you. If there were multiple debts, they need to show what monies were applied to which account and when.

At the moment it is not seen as a multiple debt and they are only claiming on the one Goldfish account.

If you can record calls, call Wetcloth and ask why they have not complied with CPR still. Statutory interest is limited to one year anyway. If they want contractual interest, they must show the contract.

I can't record calls but will look into it. My understanding was that the time to discuss interest would be at court if I did not get the stay?

Have they sent any statements since they discovered your address?

Nope, Nada, nothing - just a standard letter after I got the CCG claim and another later in response to my CPR.

Personally I would say stuff mediation – you have demanded, and been denied, the evidence on which they base their case. Put the pressure on them.

I understood that the court viewed it kindly if you were willing to mediate? In any event, the only thing I would use it for is, again, to insist that I cannot do anything, negotiate, mediate or defend, without the documents requested.

 

Below is my suggested AQ response ... is this OK to go tomorrow or can you think of any amendments?

 

The Defendant acknowledges dealing with the Claimant over a number of issues in the past but has no record of a debt with Goldfish and is dismayed that the Claimant has refused to provide copies of the documents on which they base their claim.

 

No documents were attached to their original Particulars of Claim. No documents have been sent in response to CPR requests or other letters sent by the Defendant thereby denying the Defendant the opportunity to submit a fully particularised defence.

 

The Claimant has relied on this information as the basis of their claim, so it stands to reason that these documents should be in their possession. However, in a letter dated 18th February 2012, they state that “all the information you have requested will not be forthcoming" and offer no valid reason as to why they either will not or cannot provide them.

 

As already stated in his filed defence, the Defendant denies all allegations on the Particulars of Claim and puts the Claimant to strict proof thereof.

 

The Defendant respectfully requests a stay in proceedings until such time as the Claimant complies with the requests or until the Court orders the Claimants compliance in supplying the Defendant with the requested copies of:

 

1. The agreement. 2. The default notices. 3. The termination notices. 4. The Notice of Assignment. 5. Statements of accounts.

 

The Claimant will then be in a position to file a fully particularised Defence and Counterclaim and will seek the Court’s permission to amend his statement of case accordingly.

 

As instructed by the “Notes for completing a small claims track allocation questionnaire”, the Defendant has not provided any attached information at this stage.

[AndyOrch]

The above is fine for your " other " section Stu , run with that see what response you get.

 

Andy

[stubumbles]

Thanks Andy, I was posting it at about the same time as your comments. Many thanks to everyone.

 

I guess now it's time to wait for the next move. Does anyone know if there ss there anything elese I can be sending to WCS to get them to send the paperwork I require and/or to show the court that I have been trying to get them to do the right thing?

[AndyOrch]

No need to do anything, let the DJ direct now its in your AQ and he will allocate and give further Directions ie disclosure.

 

Andy

[stubumbles]

Hello all. For a recap, the entire case is condensed below. The latest is that I've received an N24, Standing Order for stay for settlement with consent of all parties dated 27th March which is obviously to enable WCS & myself to come to an agreement.

 

My intention is to continue the argument that I cannot come to any agreement or form a defence until WCS provide me with the information previously requested in my CPR and that their statement that " Defendant has acknowledged there liability for the debt by making a considerable number of payments to the Claimant" does not show that the debt is genuine, just that I was paying out of ignorance and fear.

 

I had expected to hear from a mediator by now because the DirectGov site (LINK HERE) states: If you choose to use small claims mediation, the mediator, a member of staff from the court, will contact you and the other side to arrange an appointment."

 

So the question is, what do I do next?

 

Many thanks, Stu.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

17/01/12: Northampton Bulk claim, issue 12/01/12, Wescot **WCS** as claimant:

POC : This claim is 680.00 being monies owing to the Claimant in respect of a credit agreement between Goldfish and the Defendant under account number xxxxxxxxx. The agreement was terminated as the Defendant failed to maintain the agreed terms. In accordance with pre-action protocols the Claimant has attempted to contact the Defendant and agree a repayment plan251658240 . The Defendant has failed to respond or maintain a suitable arrangement. Goldfish has sold and assigned all rights, title and interest251658240 under this agreement to Wescot SPV Limited.

And the Claiment claims interest pursuant to section 69 of the county court251658240 Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum from 10/11/2002 to 11/01/2012 totalling 496.00 and thereafter at a daily rate of 0.15 to date of judgement or sooner.

 

NB: Barclaycard bought Goldfish in 2008 from Discover Financial Services who took over Goldfish in 2006.

 

18/01/2012: Letter from WCS dated 15/01/2012 stating they wrote to me 31/03/2007. I have no knowledge of that letter and my files for 2002 have no paperwork to do with Goldfish or any connecting me to a Goldfish/WCS account. I also checked with both main CRA’s and found no mention of WCS/Goldfish. However I have bank statements that had some payments to WCS (4 in all) which I had stopped paying in May 2006 when I moved home but none connect me to a Goldfish account?

 

25/01/12: I acknowledged service online on 25/01/12.

 

28/01/12: I sent a CPR31:14 special delivery on 28/01/12 and in which I asked for:

1. The agreement. You will appreciate that in an ordinary case and by reason of the provisions of CPR PD 16 para7.3, where a claim is based upon a written agreement, a copy of the contract or documents constituting the agreement should be attached to or served with the particulars of claim and the original(s) should be available at the hearing. Further, that any general conditions incorporated in the contract should also be attached.

2. The default notice

3. The termination notice

4. The Notice of Assignment

5. The Deed of Assignment from the Original Creditor to prove your legal entitlement to issue this claim. I now know that I'm not entitled to this.

 

07/02/2012: As I had not received a reply within the designated time, I sent my defence thus:

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

2. The Claimant’s Particulars of Claim disclose no legal cause of action and they are embarrassing to the Defendant as the Claimant's statement of case is insufficiently particularised and does not comply or even attempt to comply with CPR part 16. 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, has not been served attached to the claim form.

 

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 has not been served attached to the Claim Form.

 

d) No copies of statement of account or statements have been provided that show how the claimant has arrived at the sum they are claiming.

 

3. On receipt of the Claim Form the Defendant sent a CPR 31.14 request for a copy of the agreement and supporting documents which forms the basis of this claim

 

4. The documents requested were, in addition to the agreement as above, a copy of the Default Notice, the Termination Notice and the Notice of Assignment. To date no response has been received from the Claimant.

 

5. It has been confirmed via the Royal Mail Website that the above letter was received and signed for.

 

6. Consequently, I deny all allegations on the Particulars of Claim and put the Claimant to strict proof thereof

 

7. I respectfully request a stay in proceedings until such time as the Claimant complies with the requests outlined in paragraphs 3 and 4 above or until the Court orders its compliance with the same. I will then be in a position to file a fully particularised Defence and Counterclaim and will seek the Court’s permission to amend my statement of case accordingly.

 

14/02/12: I received the standard response from Northampton bulk dated 12/02/12: "I acknowledge receipt of your defence. A copy is being served on the claimant (or the claimant's solicitor). The claimant may contact you direct to attempt to resolve any dispute. If the dispute cannot be resolved informally, the claimant will inform the court that he wishes to proceed. The court will then inform you of what will happen.

Where he wishes to proceed, the claimant must contact the court within 28 days after receiving a copy of your defence. After that period has elapsed, the claim will be stayed. The only action the claimant can then take will be to apply to a judge for an order lifting the stay."

 

18/02/2012: I received a reply to my CPR31:14 from WCS dated 17/02/12. They claimed my CPR was undated however the date is clearly shown on the top left, plus the file remains unaltered on my PC and the post office recorded the delivery. The gist of their letter is: However, having particular regard to CRP1.1 (1) we will confirm at this early stage that all the information you have requested will not be forthcoming and you should therefore take the necessary action that you believe is appropriate. You may also wish to take independent legal advice from a Solicitor or approach the Citizens Advice Bureau who should be able to assist you free of charge.

 

It is our opinion that all the information you have requested will not be necessary to prove our Case. A Court will consider the facts and evidence and make a fair and reasonable Judgement, which in our opinion will be that the funds claimed are due and owing. Again, you may disagree, and it isn’t really our place to second-guess a decision that will be made but the Trial Judge following the appropriate submissions of evidence by both parties. They also said the file would be put on hold for 14-days?

 

25/02/12: I received an AQ N149 dated 22/02/2012 to be returned by 12/3/2012.

 

02/03/2012: I replied to WCS’s letter of 18/02/12 thus: Thank you for your letter dated 17th February 2012 in which you acknowledge safe receipt of: “your undated letter requesting further documents in accordance with CRP.31.14?”

 

Please be advised that my CPR 31: 14 request has a date clearly shown at the top left of the letter in exactly the same place as in this letter. Be further advised that the file remains unaltered on the PC that it was written on and that I have validation of receipt by Wescot on 30/01/2012.

 

I am dismayed that you say in your letter: “we will confirm at this early stage that all the information that you requested will not be forthcoming.”

 

In an attempt for us not to waste the courts time and to enable me to mount a proper defence I again request copies of the information requested in the CPR 31:14 dated 28/01/2012.

 

However I amend:

 

5. The Deed of Assignment from the Original Creditor to prove your legal entitlement to issue this claim.

To:

5. Copies of statements of accounts to show how you have arrived at the sum you are claiming.

 

I also would point out that although your letter states: “We confirm our file has been placed on hold for a period of 14 days” I am operating on the time frame set by HM Courts and Tribunals Service in their letter dated 9th February 2012.

 

07/03/2012: I received a letter/copy of AQ from WCS. They ticked the box for mediation and in ‘other information’, they say: The Defendant has acknowledged there liability for the debt by making a considerable number of payments to the Claimant. Please find attached a Statement of Account which outlines all payments made by the Defendant to the Claimant.

The Claimant request this matter be stayed.

The Claimant has also indicated their interest in mediation.

 

08/03/2012: My response via the AQ 149 was thus: I ticked the mediation box and said: The Claimant has consistently refused to provide copies of the documents on which they base their claim, both The Defendant acknowledges dealing with the Claimant over a number of issues in the past but has no record of a debt with Goldfish and is dismayed that the Claimant has refused to provide copies of the documents on which they base their claim.

 

No documents were attached to their original Particulars of Claim. No documents have been sent in response to CPR requests or other letters sent by the Defendant thereby denying the Defendant the opportunity to submit a fully particularised defence.

 

The Claimant has relied on this information as the basis of their claim, so it stands to reason that these documents should be in their possession. However, in a letter dated 18th February 2012, they state that “all the information you have requested will not be forthcoming" and offer no valid reason as to why they either will not or cannot provide them.

 

As already stated in his filed defence, the Defendant denies all allegations on the Particulars of Claim and puts the Claimant to strict proof thereof.

 

The Defendant respectfully requests a stay in proceedings until such time as the Claimant complies with the requests or until the Court orders the Claimants compliance in supplying the Defendant with the requested copies of:

 

1. The agreement. 2. The default notices. 3. The termination notices. 4. The Notice of Assignment. 5. Statements of accounts.

 

The Defendant will then be in a position to file a fully particularised Defence and Counterclaim and will seek the Court’s permission to amend his statement of case accordingly.

 

As instructed by the “Notes for completing a small claims track allocation questionnaire”, the Defendant has not provided any attached information at this stage.

 

08/03/2012: I wrote to WCS again and asked for the documents already requested in the CPR and subsequent letter.

 

08/03/2012: Received reply from WCS acknowledging my letter of the 1st March and saying that they had “referred this matter for mediation.”

 

31/03/2012: Received a N24, Standing Order for stay for settlement with consent of all parties dated 27th March. It states:

This claim is stayed until 24 April 2012 to enable parties to attempt settlement.

On or before 8 May 2012 one of the following steps must be taken:

either

The claimant must notify the court that the whole of the claim has been settled;

or

The claimant or defendant must write to the court requesting an extension of the stay period, explaining the steps being taken towards settlement and identifying the mediator, expert, or other person helping with the process.

The letter should confirm the agreement of all other parties.

or

all the parties must file a completed allocation questionnaire at the court. Where a settlement of some of the issues in dispute has been reached, a list of those issues should be attached to the completed questionnaire. The list must be agreed with the other parties and must indicate that it has been agreed.

Date 21 March 2012.

Edited April 18, 2012 by stubumbles

[sillygirl1]

You need to contact the court and ask for mediation - it is wrong that you wait for them - take the ball back into your own court before it is too late.

 

You should NOT sign any consent order which might mean you will have to come to a repayment arrangement without you seeing the original contract, payment information and any other information that WCS have stated in their defence.

[stubumbles]

Hi SG, thanks for that. It's a little confusing because both WCS and myself ticked the Mediation box in our AQ's and the N24 has been sent which leads one to believe that the court knows already? I have waited as a direct result of the DirectGov site stating that a mediator will call? My main reason to agreeing to mediation is to be 'seen' to be doing the right things procedurally but I have no intention of agreeing to anything until I have all of the requested paperwork. What would be the best way to contact the court over this?

[AndyOrch]

Hi Stu

 

What date does the Order request you inform the Court by?

 

Andy