Statutory Demand from CapQuest

[Baldyone]

Help !

 

Is there anyone that can help. I have been away from home for a week and arrived home to find a letter from CapQuest on the doormat with a Statutory Demand enclosed.

 

I have been a bit of an idiot over the last couple of years burying my head in the sand trying to get my financial house in order. My thinking was that if I could avoid repaying a debt I ran up with Halifax on my Credit card until I managed to get back on my feet, then that would be good for all concerned.

 

Avoiding letters and phonecalls from debt recovery people seemed a good idea at the time, until now anyway.

 

The credit card with Halifax was first given to me in October 2007. By 2009 I had run up a debt of around £6500 that I could simply not manage.

 

I am still unable to pay back this debt and indeed unable to make anything other than a very small monthly contribution.

 

Bearing in mind I have 18 days to put in to the court for this demand to be set aside and the letter is already dated 11th April, I am in a wee bit of a panic as to what I should do next.

 

Any helpful tips will be gratefully received, as I really don't want to be made Bankrupt.

 

Thank you for your time

 

 

Baldyone

[asokn]

Do you dispute the debt? Bear in mind that a bankruptcy order can be made for a debt of £750 or more which is not disputed on substantial grounds.

Edited April 19, 2012 by asokn

[silverfox1961]

Hi

Capquest have been known to send SDs out as a debt collection tool, not for the intended purpose, a precursor to bankruptcy.

 

Bankruptcy would be an issue for you if you own your own home which is why you should be attempting to get this set aside

Are there any charges on this account that have inflated the balance?

 

What sort of debt is it

[Baldyone]

I can't deny that I ran up the debt, so how can I dispute it ? What possible defence could I use. I do not recollect having received a D/N but that obviously doesn't mean I didn't.

 

The original debt was for around £6,500 and with fees and charges/interest the debt is for £7399.

 

Yes I do own my own home, which is mortgaged. If they knew this would CapQuest simply attach a charge to this property rather than make me bankrupt?

 

Baldy

[42man]

You will find many, many threads on here regarding Capquest........do please have a read and you will come to your own conclusions, if you are happy to appear in front of a judge to fight your corner then setting aside is probably the best option, but if you want some help then please do shout - this one might be a good start for you. - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?345378-CapQuest-threatening-Statutory-Demand&highlight=capquest just type in 'Capquest' in the search box and you will find plenty of threads on these forums...you will also note that hardly any have been lost in court when the defendant does set aside.

 

[Baldyone]

Thank you 42man for the link, I have had a good read of that thread and it seems very similar to my case, indeed the SD letter is almost identical and therefore pointless me scanning my one and attaching to this thread.

 

Yes I am up for the fight so to speak as I certainly don't want to give in to CQ without at the very least giving them a run for their money.

 

From what I have read so far would I be correct in saying that I will need to send off a SAR to both Halifax (the OC) and CQ ? and also send into the courts or if time limits do not allow the post then personally take in to have the SD set aside ?

 

In regard to the SAR do I need to enclose a £1 or £10 postal order ?

 

From what I am reading CQ are once again using the threat of a SD as a means to getting something out of me and at the very least, if I was unwilling to fight my corner would get the Bankrupcy order through?!

 

Baldy

[42man]

£10 for the SAR, but I think it is unecessary to send it to CQ, just send one to the original creditor.....

[Baldyone]

Thank you 42man, I have been reading the thread below, which you have been involved with,

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?346419-Cap-Quest-Statutory-Demand-just-received-Advice-please&highlight=capquest

 

It has in the thread that you would suggest sending a CCA to CQ...what is this and will I need to send a postal order with this also ?

 

In addition the witness statement, a little bit of help with this would be appreciated, I think. Sorry to be a pain.

 

Thank you

 

Baldy

[42man]

CCA request here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?414-CCA-request-letter

 

And yes you will have to enclose a £1 postal order and send it recorded delivery....they have to comply within 14 days.

 

And you're not a pain at all, what is the deadline to submit forms 6.4 and 6.5 ? - Did you see this thread too - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?345378-CapQuest-threatening-Statutory-Demand/page3&highlight=capquest

[Baldyone]

Thank you.

 

The Letter was dated 11th April and I was not at the house until Sunday 15th, when I found the letter. So timescale is getting a wee bit tight, although I am not panicking yet as I would be able to deliver the papers to the Court personally.

 

Baldy

[42man]

You may find this extended version useful too - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?309388-capquest-statutory-demand

[Gaston Grimsdyke]

Point 1: any creditor who posts out statutory demands has no intention of issuing a bankruptcy petition; because to issue a petition the creditor must prove the SD came to your attention, which they cannot do if they simply posted it. So in fact, the worst thing you can do is apply to set aside or otherwise acknowledge receipt as you hand them the evidence of service on a plate.

 

Point 2: you seem to be admitting the debt? If so, and if you can't pay it immediately, you are insolvent and (in the unlikely event they issued a bankruptcy petition) nailed on to be made bankrupt. You cannot make an offer of instalments to a bankruptcy court.

 

In the absence of a defence, your best bet is to try and negotiate a repayment plan with them, or if you can run to it offer them a lump sum settlement. They would prob bite your arm off at 50%.

[Baldyone]

Well that last reply sort of flies in the face of the previous advice given...and leaves me a little nonplussed now...can anyone counter that argument?

 

Thanks

 

 

Baldy

[Gaston Grimsdyke]

The essential point is whether you have a genuine dispute to the debt or not. You said early on that you did not; if that is the case it is a complete waste of time applying to set aside the statutory demand, your application will be dismissed and you will get landed with legal costs. When you say you want to fight your corner, what do you mean? Dispute the debt completely or pay them over time?

[Baldyone]

Well I like many others can't dispute that I ran the debt up and yes I stated that point right from the beginning, of course if possible I do not want to end up bankrupt, however I am also unable to come up with enough to even pay 50% of the debt, although I could offer monthly installments, but bearing in mind my current lack of funds I would not be able to offer much.

 

What I don't quite get at this point, is that CQ are clearly abusing the system to pressure me and all the others into something they don't want to do right now, I need this to be put on hold for the short term to allow me the time to financially get back on to a better position to start repaying my debts. Being made bankrupt is not what I need or want at this time and if I can avoid this then I will try.

 

Baldy

[Gaston Grimsdyke]

I think it highly unlikely they will bankrupt you; they would have made sure you were personally served with the stat demand if that was their intention. It will cost them over 1K to bankrupt you. If they did, however, given what you now say I don't see how you could avoid being made bankrupt. As your objective is to have some time to pay it off, your best option is to negotiate a repayment plan with them as you can't raise a lump sum. Contact them (without admitting that you have the stat demand) and ask them whether they will consider instalments. For sure their answer will be yes, in which case they will probably ask you to complete and income and expenditure form with an offer of payment. The intention of the stat demand was to get some co-operation from you, not to bankrupt you, so I am certain you will be able to agree a repayment plan with them.

[silverfox1961]

IF this went to a bankruptcy hearing, are you prepared to stand up and say, "No, I didn't receive a statutory demand"

Capquest have been sending these out in the past (I will find the link to the cases) where the intention to actually bankrupt the debtor was never in their minds. This was purely to scare the debtor into paying.

If you don't attempt to set this aside, that is the hurdle over for CQ

 

I think it highly unlikely they will bankrupt you

 

Garston, would you like to bet your own money on that statement?

[silverfox1961]

This is one thread where the guy attempted to set it aside and actually lost the case. Capquest didn't even turn up but the judge was having a bad day

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?300010-Capquest-statutory-demand-set-aside-LOST

 

As far as I am aware, that is the only case we have seen on CAG

 

Would you like me to paste the links of how many have been won and set aside?

[Gaston Grimsdyke]

IF this went to a bankruptcy hearing, are you prepared to stand up and say, "No, I didn't receive a statutory demand"

Capquest have been sending these out in the past (I will find the link to the cases) where the intention to actually bankrupt the debtor was never in their minds. This was purely to scare the debtor into paying.

If you don't attempt to set this aside, that is the hurdle over for CQ

 

 

 

Garston, would you like to bet your own money on that statement?

 

Yes, I would. Provided a) the stat demand was not served personally or by the prescribed sub service method and b) the OP does not admit receiving it to them, then name your stake.

[AvengingAngel]

Well that last reply sort of flies in the face of the previous advice given...and leaves me a little nonplussed now...can anyone counter that argument

Baldy

 

You say you own your house. Do you have negative equity in your house? Because if you do, and if you have other debts, you should consider letting CapQuest go to the trouble of making your bankrupt. After one year you will be automatically discharged from bankruptcy and provided you can find about £200 in stages, you will have your house returned to you by the Official Receiver, with all your debts gone. You would have to live with the consequences of being made bankrupt. Are you working? The position alters if you ARE working as your salary will be at risk - for three years if I remember rightly. You can get a bank account with the Co-operative Bank while you are bankrupt, and you can kiss goodbye to your credit record until you have rebuilt it. I successfully defended a Statutory Demand against Amex (thanks to 42Man and the other lovely Site Team members), so the decision is yours.

[Baldyone]

Thank you all for your input.

 

I am more than a little uncertain now as to the best way forward.

 

If I were to try and negotiate something with CQ, what do I ned to do about the SD ? Surely the deadlines are still in place and CQ could follow this through anyway.?

 

If I did decide to apply to have the SD set aside, I will have to attend a court hearing, where I will be at the mercy of the Judge, who mighr be having a very bad day, but the only defence arguments I can appear to offer at this time are that CQ have used an SD in a frivolous and malicious manner which is a gross abuse of process. Having not received any communication from CQ previously, this is being used as a scare tactic. I would state I am currently in dispute to this debt and have recently sent a SAR to Halifax and CCA to CQ, but as this would have only been done in the last few days, would this be a reasonable defence ? and more importantly, what sort of questions is a Judge likely to fire in my direction?

 

Whilst I have not been a pillar of integrity in stacking up these debts that I then struggled paying, I also feel that these companies, especially CQ abuse the system and should be brought to book for it.

 

I would appreciate 42man's view on some of the comments in this thread and his view on my latest comment.

 

Thank you

 

Baldy

[silverfox1961]

Morning,

I will report this post and alert 42man so he can come over. In the meantime, here is a thread for you to read and I hope it will help

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?306581-CapQuest-Statutory-Demand-****WON-COSTS-****

[silverfox1961]

That's done for you.

If you need other threads to read, I have access to loads (all won)

I have no others that have been lost.

 

Can you think of any grounds that this should be set aside

Unlawful Charges?

[Baldyone]

Thank you SF, I appreciate all of your help.

 

As for a defence, all I can say on this is that at no time have I received any notice to say that CQ had been assigned the debt, I never received a default notice either from the OC or from CQ. As yet I cannot put forward a defence regarding the fees and charges on the creditcard as I have only just CCA'd CQ and SAR'd the OC, furthermore once I have received all the papers from them I will know whether they can provide me with a copy of the original agreement....

 

Thats as good as it gets at this point which isn't fantastic

 

Is it looking very shakey..?!

[Gaston Grimsdyke]

Yes, shaky is the word. Whether you received the notice of assignment and default notice or not is neither here nor there - as long as they posted them that is sufficient. And a default notice is not always necessary anyway (for example in relation to any arrears element of the claim). Your other potential defences are entirely speculative at present, so could not amount to a genuine dispute - yet. Your best bet is the CCA request - if your time for compliance with the stat demand expires before their time for compliance with the CCA does, there would be nothing to stop them issuing a petition, but for reasons previously given they won't be doing that. Even if they did, you are still able to oppose a petition and by the time that hearing comes around you will know whether or not you have a proper defence. Trouble is, if you don't have a defence, the hare is already running and it will be difficult to avoid a bankruptcy order then.