Me and MBNA

[Americanmuscle]

After having a good read of the paperwork sent me I decided the best option was to dispute the claim and enter my defence, and thanks to the powers of the internet I was able to do the whole thing on line!

The basis of my defence against MBNA's claim is basically their lack of issuing me what I ask for!

I'm away again next week so should have a reply by time I get back home next Friday!

[Americanmuscle]

A little update....

Returned home from working away yesterday to be greeted by a letter from HM Court Services regarding my MBNA account, it just staes acknowledgement of my defence with a copy being forwarded to the claimant, then goes on to say the claimant may contact me directly to attempt to resolve any dispute, I would imagine from thereMBNA will inform the court they wish to proceed, the court will inform me of this so most likely another letter from them when I return home again at the end of next week!

 

With regards to my account with Barclaycard, I received a letter from a company called 'Apex Credit Management' it reads....

 

Our client has requested we contact you to arrange payment of the full outstanding balance.

We have made enquiries and sources have shown that you are resident at the address on this letter. Our clients have advised that previous attempts to contact you via other agencies have been unsuccessful and this is potentially your last opportunity to arrange payment before further action will be considered.

Our staff are fully trained to assist you with your current situation and have a range of options to help. If you are unable to pay in full and are experiancing financial difficulty, we strongly recommend that you call us to discuss re-payment of your balance.

To prevent this matter becoming unmanageable, please contact our office on 0****** within ten days from the date of this letter.

 

As Cerb posted earlier in this thread, " they are playing pass the parcel!"

another 'account in serious dispute' letter to be printed!

[nicklea]

The basis of my defence against MBNA's claim is basically their lack of issuing me what I ask for!

 

They have replied to your s77/78 request and supplied you with what they are required to supply you with. Just because you ask for something more it doesn't mean that they have to supply it.

 

If that is your only defence then I would suggest that it would be better to admit the claim.

 

You may want to consider if there was any PPI or if the original agreement was enforceable.

[Americanmuscle]

They have replied to your s77/78 request and supplied you with what they are required to supply you with. Just because you ask for something more it doesn't mean that they have to supply it.

 

If that is your only defence then I would suggest that it would be better to admit the claim.

 

You may want to consider if there was any PPI or if the original agreement was enforceable.

 

I am aware they have replied to my s77/78 request but the documents they responded with show the agreement as unenforceable.

[Americanmuscle]

Just a little update.

received a letter today from the court service giving reference to my account with MBNA, it just reads that they are advising me that the case has been reffered to a district judge for consideration and once a decision has been made I will be contacted again with all directions ordered.

Will post back when I hear more.

[Americanmuscle]

Referring back to my posts #174-180 and the paperwork I received from Northampton County Court in respect of MBNA via Restons Solicitors, returned home today after a week working away to be greeted by another letter from Northampton Court, after not receiving any contact from them since post # 180 I open the envelope to be greeted by a 'Judgement for Claiment' (in default) stating.. I have not replied to the claim form, it is therefore ordered that you must pay the claimant £***** for debt + £187 for costs.

With a warning that if I ignore this order my goods may be removed and sold, or other enforcement proceedings may be taken against me, now this latest letter has me confused, do I now have a CCJ against my name? or is this just a court order to pay?

Also, in light of the fact I sent Restons a 'account in serious dispute' letter which they have ignored, what now?

The letter from the court has 'Notes for the defendant' at the bottom which state...If you did reply to the claim form and believe judgement has been entered wrongly in default, you may apply to the court office giving your reasons why the judgement should be set aside.

I will get hold of the application form for that and get that sorted along with the fee!

 

Re: Capital One

Have had a letter from them also regarding my account, it reads...

I am writing to advise you that your account is no longer being managed by the debt collection agency who were acting on behalf of Capital One, your account has now been returned to Capital One. It is important that you continue to make payments..yada yada yada.

 

I thought they would have used the name of the debt collection agency in the letter but I guess they don't know how many times my account has been passed around!?

[cerberusalert]

do I now have a CCJ against my name?

Yes, didn't you reply to the original court papers?

[Americanmuscle]

A little update....

Returned home from working away yesterday to be greeted by a letter from HM Court Services regarding my MBNA account, it just states acknowledgement of my defence with a copy being forwarded to the claimant, then goes on to say the claimant may contact me directly to attempt to resolve any dispute, I would imagine from there MBNA will inform the court they wish to proceed, the court will inform me of this so most likely another letter from them when I return home again at the end of next week!

 

 

 

Yes, didn't you reply to the original court papers?

 

YES! I did, have quoted above what was contained in the last contact I had from the court

[Americanmuscle]

Ok, after a bit of reading on the 'National Debtline' website I found this...

 

 

Default judgment

You may have a default judgment made against you where there was no hearing and you have not sent back the ‘acknowledgment of service’ form to say you intend to put in a defence. You may also have a default judgment made against you if you have not sent in the reply form asking for time to pay within the time limits.

When must the court set aside the judgment?

The court must set aside the default judgment if you:

• have paid the whole amount owed (including any interest and costs) before the date the creditor entered judgment;
  
• sent back the acknowledgment of service form within the time limit;
  
• put in a defence within the time limit; or
  
• sent in the reply form within the time limit asking for more time to pay.
  

The court must set aside the judgment in these circumstances, even if you do not have a defence.

There is no time limit for making an application on these grounds.

 

Well I sent back the 'acknowledgement of service' letter within the time limit as I did it via their online service, I also received a confirmation of my defence!

[cerberusalert]

If you defended the case should have been transferred to your local court.

[Americanmuscle]

If you defended the case should have been transferred to your local court.

I was under the impression that is what would happen!

I have now printed off the relevant form to fill in and send off to the court to have the judgement 'set aside'

[cerberusalert]

Unless you filled the online form incorrectly the court must have messed up.

 

Depending on your circumstances an application for a set-aside can be free. http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=12_how_to_set_aside_a_judgment_in_the_county_court

[Americanmuscle]

Anyone know how quickly the courts work?

The last contact I had from the court is a letter dated 22 November 2010 stating... they acknowledge receipt of my defence with a copy being served on the claimant or their 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 wished to proceed. The court will then inform you of what will happen.

Wgere 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.

 

Looking again at this most recent letter (Judgement for Claimant in default) it is dated Feb 1 2011 which is well over 2 months even if you deduct a couple of weeks for the court to sort out paperwork! It also states..

To the Defendant

You have not replied to the claim form.....

 

Now, considering their last contact was a letter acknowledging my defence I really can't see how they can be saying I have not replied to the claim form!?

I have printed off the relevant forms which will be mailed out first thing in the morning to have the case set aside.

[Americanmuscle]

First thing Monday 14 Feb I posted out to the court form N244 requesting my case be 'stayed', returned home Friday afternoon from working away all week to be greeted by another letter from Northampton Court this I thought would be an acknowledgement letter of my N244, it wasn't, it is a 'Notice of Transfer of Proceedings' stating...

To all parties,

This claim has been transferred to the ****** (local to me) County Court for enforcement.

 

Have checked my bank and as yet the cheque to cover the N244 fee hasn't been cashed, so, is this letter telling me the court local to me is now dealing with the claim?/ court bailiffs will be knocking?/ that they have received my N244 and the claim has been moved to a court local to me for a hearing between myself and the claimant in front of a judge, and I now just wait for a hearing date to be arranged?

[cerberusalert]

You would be best to contact Northampton to see what is happening.

[Americanmuscle]

Ok, have returned home from still working away to be greeted by letters from the local court which reads...

 

The hearing for the defendants application for 'Judgement to be set aside' will take place at **pm on the ** of **** 2011 at **** County Court.

 

The other letter is from Restons Solicitors Ltd which briefly reads....

 

We note you have recently made an application to 'Set aside judgement' on the basis that you filed an acknowlegdement of service on time and submitted a defence.

In response to your application notice we respectfully make the following submissions:-

1, The document exhibited on your application is not a defence; it is a letter

2, The letter dated 20 October 2010 is unsigned and you are fully aware that this firm does not respond to unsigned correspondence, following our letter of 22 July 2010

 

Should you pursue your application, we will seek full costs against you at the hearing on ** *** 2011, including the cost of instructing a barrister to represent our client at that hearing.

We therefore suggest you withdraw your application to avoid increasing your debt to our client. Should you wish to do this, please confirm it in writing to the court and provide us with a copy of your letter.

 

The 'letter' they are referring to from me is the 'Account in serious dispute' letter I sent back in November, checking back through my paperwork they did indeed write to me back in July (see post #122 on this thread) they have however been in correspondance with me since that letter, even issuing me with requeste documents relating to my apparent CCA with MBNA (unenforceable agreements I must add), I will take some time to get the paperwork from them in order along with copies of legal references regarding the signature dispute etc.

All I ever wanted from the start was for them to accept I was/am in financial hardship due to a large salary reduction and for them to freeze any interest and charges and to accept my offer of payment, however, I will have my day in court and will keep you all updated!

 

Last minute thought...

I sent Restons a 'Notice under civil procedure rules' letter (twice) 2nd time in August of last year, would it be a good idea to send it to them again as they have initiated court proceedings?

Edited February 25, 2011 by Americanmuscle

[Americanmuscle]

Update, tomorrow I will be in my local court with regards to the CCJ applied for by Restons Solicitors on behalf of MBNA! I have sat and gone through all the paperwork I have between myself and Restons and on 2 or 3 of their letters to me they have contradicted themselves with regards to the need for a signature! They have a printed name with a single squiggle which I guess purports to be the printed names signature?! (best way to describe the squiggle is an 'X' with a loop joining the top ends, if that makes sence?), also on a copy of a statement which they list as a 'signed statement of account' someone, possibly even the cleaning lady has just written 'Restons Solicitors on behalf of MBNA Bank LTD'. Will post back tomorrow evening with the outcome!.

 

Also last week had a letter marked 'Urgent' from Restons informing me of the 'Service Costs for the upcoming hearing'

I guess another way maybe of getting me to cancel the hearing?!

Edited March 13, 2011 by Americanmuscle

[cerberusalert]

Select committee on Trade and Industry minutes of evidence (1996 Legislative working party)

 

2. The working party looked at the legal issues regarding the terms document, writing, signature, instrument, and records of transactions and originality. The Government's current proposed legislation focuses particularly upon the issue of signature. The working party considered the leading case in English law on signature methods, Goodman -v- J Eban Limited. That decision established that:

 

2.1 mechanical signatures using rubber stamps, printing or typewriting were valid in english law;

2.2 a signature can be by a mark rather than a name as long as evidence can be given to indentify the placer of the mark and the intention to sign; and

2.3 words other than a name can amount to a signature if the necessary intention to sign can be proven

 

Now although this working party was looking into the Electronics Commerce Bill it points to . .

 

Goodman v J Eban Ltd (1954)

 

A solicitor signed a solicitors bill with a rubber stamp which contained the name of the law firm. In the judgment it was determined that the rubber stamp was a valid signature, even theough the Solicitors Act of 1932 required a solicitors bill to be signed; it was established that it is enough to demonstrate that the rubber stamp was affixed by the solicitor with the intention to sign the solicitor's bill.

 

So now taking the highlights above I go to:

 

Interpretations act 1978

 

Schedule 1

 

1973 c.37.

 

"Writing" includes typing, lithograpgy, photography or other modes of representing or reproducing words in a visible form and expressions refering to writing can be construed accordingly

[Americanmuscle]

Cheers Cerb, was just looking for that! the contradiction being that they state they would not acknowledge or reply to my letters unless I signed them, yet they send out letters to me with squiggles!

[cerberusalert]

There are also the ICO guidelines regarding signatures & identity;

 

[/i][/b]

Data Protection Act Good Practice Notes:

 

2. Do you have enough information to be sure of the requester’s identity?

Often you will have no reason to doubt a person’s identity. For example, if a person with whom you have regular contact sends a letter from their known address it may be safe to assume that they are who they say they are. http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/checklist_for_handling_requests_for_personal_information.pdf

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8861&d=1242456802

[wackyone]

i'm wondering how the OP got on in court, have a feeling i will be going the same way eventually

[Americanmuscle]

i'm wondering how the OP got on in court, have a feeling i will be going the same way eventually

Hi all appologies for the very late response, in answer to the above question...

I lost so now have the CCJ against my name, as I pointed out in a letter to Restons I was unable to pay the outstanding amount in full and offered them a monthly instalment, in between my letter winging it's way to them I had a letter winging it's way to me from them informing me they had applied to the court for a charging order to be placed on my property, I have just sat here and typed them (and the court) a letter explaining why they should not go for this as it would give them a serious advantage above other creditors with higher amounts outstanding.

[Americanmuscle]

Dear all,I have received a letter today from MBNA telling me they have sold my credit card debt to MFS Portfolio ltd, this debt has a CCJ and a charge on my house in place and I have an agreement in place with Restons to pay £50 a month, this a standing order and has never been missed.Please advise me on what to expect next and what I should do as there is no phone number to contact MBNA, and when I searched the person I spoke to said nobody could help me till Monday.Thank you.

 

I will be watching this thread with interest!

Today I also received a letter from MBNA informing me they have sold the debt to MFS Portfolio (who I might add I cannot find any info about on the net).

I also have a CCJ and a charging order on my house and an agreement in place with Restons to pay £xx amount per month, as the charging order was applied for by MBNA I'm guessing they cannot pass this over to MFS with the purchased debt?

[Americanmuscle]

My letter from MBNA states....

We've transferred ownership, together with the rights to collection, of your debt in relation to the above credit card account to MFS Portfolio LTD. You should await further information from MFS Portfolio as to what will happen next. Until you receive new payment instructions we'll process any payments made into our bank and transfer them on your behalf.

If you have given us details of your financial circumstances we'll provide this information to MFS Portfolio together with your recent payments (if any).

 

I am also sending MBNA and Reston's a letter asking what happens with the Charging Order as there has been no mention of it.

[DonkeyB]

That's strange - they should be referring to the judgment rather than the credit card account.

 

As said earlier, the new lot are NOT allowed to collect until they are replaced as claimant.