Payday UK - claim form received ***Claim Struck Out***

[Zero Tolerance]

I was just wondering, as the amount in dispute is less than £500, whether it's worth getting a solicitor involved. Looking at their fees it would probably cost more than the debt in dispute.

 

Also complicating matters is the fact that in 2008 I changed my name and gender, but obviously as I've just found out that this dates back to before then I'm replying using my old name and using Mr. Will this have a negative impact on my case? I did have my credit records merged and an alias placed on my credit history and I'm still at the same address so it's not as though I tried to escape a debt that way.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Zero Tolerance

[unclebulgaria67]

Just get the letters sent off for now and acknowledge the claim form being received. You have stated that this debt is not yours as you have never taken out any agreement with the original creditors. This being the case, the info in your last post is not relevant.

[Zero Tolerance]

Before I send the letters I'd like to check that they're all correct and in order. Is it ok to do that here?

Edited September 26, 2012 by Zero Tolerance

[unclebulgaria67]

Before I send the letters I'd like to check that they're all correct and in order. Is it ok to do that here?

 

Yes you post a draft, without any details that might identify you.

[Zero Tolerance]

Dear Sir,

 

Re xxxx v xxxxx Case No: xxxxxx

 

CPR 31.14 Request

 

On xx/xx/xxxx I received the Claim Form in this case issued by you out of the Northampton (CCBC) County Court. I confirm having returned my acknowledgement of service to the court in which I indicate my intention to contest all of your claim.

 

I maintain that I have never entered into an agreement with MEM Consumer Finance or any other names that they trade under. I believe this to be a fraudulent transaction as I have never taken out a payday loan with any company.

 

Prior to the issue of proceedings I had delivered a request for the production of the agreement mentioned in the Claim Form and on which you rely. That request was ignored.

 

Please treat this letter as my request made under CPR 31.14 for the disclosure and the production of a verified and legible copy of [each of the following / the] document(s) mentioned in your Particulars of Claim:

 

1 The agreement. You will appreciate that in an ordinary case and by reason of the provisions of CPR PD 16 para 7.3, 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 assignment.

 

3 The default notice.

 

Although your claim is for a sum which is not more than £5,000.00 and will in all likelihood be allocated to the small claims track for determination upon my delivering a defence, at this moment in time I have not delivered my defence and the case has not been allocated to a track. In consequence the provisions of CPR 27(2) are of no effect and you should not seek to avoid compliance with your CPR 31 duties by claiming otherwise.

 

You should ensure compliance with your CPR 31 duties and ensure that the document(s) I have requested are copied to and received by me within 7 days of receiving this letter. Your CPR 31 duties extend to making a reasonable and proportionate search for the originals of the documents I have requested, the better for you to be able to verify the document's authenticity and to provide me with a legible copy. Further, where I have requested a copy of a document, the original of which is now in the possession of another person, you will have a right to possession of that document if you have mentioned it in your case. You must take immediate steps to recover and preserve it for the purpose of this case.

 

Where I have mentioned a document and there is in your possession more than one version of that same document owing to a modification, obliteration or other marking or feature, each version will be a separate document and you must provide a copy of each version of it to me. Your obligations extend to making a reasonable and proportionate search for any version(s) to include an obligation to recover and preserve such version(s) which are now in the possession of a third party.

 

In accordance with CPR 31.15© I undertake to be responsible for your reasonable copying costs incurred in complying with this CPR 31.14 request.

 

If you require more time in which to comply with this request you must tell me in writing. You must tell me before the time for compliance with this request has expired. In telling me you require more time you must tell me what steps you have taken and propose to take in order to comply with this request and also state a date by when you will comply with this request. In addition your statement must be accompanied with a statement that you agree to an extension of the time for me to file my defence. Your extension of time must be not less than 14 days from the date when you say you will have complied with my request and you must state the new date for filing my defence.

 

If you are unable to comply with this request and believe that you will never be able to comply with this request you must tell me in writing.

 

Please note that if you should fail to comply with this request, fail to request more time or fail to agree to an extension of time for the filing of my defence, I will make an application to the court for an order that the proceedings be struck out or stayed for non-compliance and a summary costs order.

 

I do hope this will not be necessary and look forward to hearing from you.

 

yours faithfully xxxxx

[Zero Tolerance]

Dear Sir

 

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION CPR 18

 

I have received a recent court claim from your organisation. In order to file a defence I require some information. Given that this matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, you are obliged to disclose under the Civil Procedure Rules, the information and documents detailed below.

 

The information must be furnished within fourteen days of the receipt of this letter. If you fail to comply, this will be reported to the Court, a copy of this letter will be provided as evidence to the same and an Order enforcing your compliance will be sought.

 

1. Please confirm the method loan funds were requested from MEM Consumer Finance.

a. If the application was made by phone, is a recording of the phone call available and what phone number was used to make the call?

b. If the application was via the internet please advise the IP address that was used.

c. If the application was in person is a photo or CCTV available?

 

2 Please confirm what checks were made to verify the identify of the person making the loan application by MEM Consumer Finance.

a. If a credit/debit card was used as identification what was the card number, card type, cardholder name and card issuer name?

b. If a utility bill / statement was used as identification is a copy available?

 

3. 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. A true copy of the loan application. 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.

 

3.1 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

 

4. 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 the 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 the account formerly held with MEM Consumer Finance

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.

 

5. Please confirm method loan funds were drawn down;

a. If Cheque, please confirm cheque number, date drawn and name of beneficiary, name of beneficiary account, beneficiary account number, beneficiary account sort code.

b. If Cash, please confirm name of beneficiary, date drawn and method of recording the cash transaction

c. If Bank/electronic transfer, please confirm name of beneficiary, date drawn, name of beneficiary account, beneficiary account number, beneficiary account sort code, beneficiary bank account address.

d. If Other, please confirm method of draw down, date drawn and method of recording transaction.

 

I will require this information within the next fourteen days. I must advise you that if the information is not forthcoming, it will be reported to the Court that you are trying to frustrate proceedings and denying me the opportunity to file a defence.

 

Yours sincerely,

[unclebulgaria67]

Seems ok. Part 18 as I understand it, is asking questions and not for documents. It is a bit wordy and it may be unrealistic to expect them to reply to so many questions with 14 days.

 

Hopefully Mike or one of the others more experienced with this, will look in later and add their comments.

[Mike_hawk]

Hi UB

 

It is a very thorough request

 

ZT..... you need to remove any requests for documents, try making it as concise as possible leave them to answer the verification question without a multiple choice. Ask the basics first and expand on them by requesting disclosure of any subsequently mentioned documents if/when they respond

 

IN THE ................ county court

 

BETWEEN

 

........................ CLAIMANT

 

AND

 

...................... DEFENDANT

 

 

_________________________ ___________________

 

PART 18 REQUEST FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

_________________________ ___________________

 

TO;...................... .......... (CLAIMANT)

 

 

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

 

1. Please confirm the method loan funds were requested from MEM Consumer Finance.

 

a. If the application was made by phone, is a recording of the phone call available and what phone number was used to make the call?

b. If the application was via the internet please advise the IP address that was used.

c. If the application was in person is a photo or CCTV available?

 

2 Please confirm what checks were made to verify the identify of the person making the loan application by MEM Consumer Finance.

 

3. Please confirm method loan funds were drawn down;

 

a. If Cheque, please confirm cheque number, date drawn and name of beneficiary, name of beneficiary account, beneficiary account number, beneficiary account sort code.

b. If Cash, please confirm name of beneficiary, date drawn and method of recording the cash transaction

c. If Bank/electronic transfer, please confirm name of beneficiary, date drawn, name of beneficiary account, beneficiary account number, beneficiary account sort code, beneficiary bank account address.

d. If Other, please confirm method of draw down, date drawn and method of recording transaction.

 

 

TAKE NOTICE THAT YOU ARE REQUIRED TO ANSWER THE ABOVE REQUEST WITHIN 14 DAYS OF SERVICE OF SAME UPON YOU

[Zero Tolerance]

Awesome, thank you very much guys! So my 31.14 letter is ok but my section 18 letter is too wordy? I'll draft a new copy of the section 18 letter taking into consideration Mike's recommendations. I did think it was a bit long and unrealistic.

[Mike_hawk]

No probs ZT, ask first and wait for them to either deny relief [that's something to bring to the courts attention] or refer to other data/docs, if its the latter follow it up with a further part 31 for additional disclosure.

[Mike_hawk]

Oh and, keep an eye on the service date of the claim and date for filing defence.

 

Can you confirm deemed service date, there's usually a sticker on the front of the pack confirming issue and service dates.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Mike_hawk

[Zero Tolerance]

Oh and, keep an eye on the service date of the claim and date for filing defence.

 

Can you confirmed deemed service date, there's usually a sticker on the front of the pack confirming issue and service dates.

 

There was no sticker but the Issue date was 19/09/2012 so day of service was 24/09/2012

[Mike_hawk]

Plenty of time then, ack by 08.10.12 defence by 22.10.12..... may be prudent to ask it to agree an extension of 28 days to give it the opportunity to clarify its claim and ensure it has a case. Remind it that as soon as you enter a defence you will be seeking a costs order when it loses so it should assure itself of its position prior to proceeding further.

[Zero Tolerance]

I'm going to send my letters tomorrow now that I've got them just right. However there are 2 addresses on the court order Claim Form, 'Claimant' and 'Address for sending documents and payments'. I'm assuming I should send to the latter but want to check first.

[Mike_hawk]

Send to the stated service address 'Address for sending documents and payments' ............ is it the same name as the claimant or has it appointed counsel?

[Zero Tolerance]

Send to the stated service address 'Address for sending documents and payments' ............ is it the same name as the claimant or has it appointed counsel?

 

It's not the same as the Claimant, the Address for sending docs, etc. is the same address as the original DCAs address. The claimant address appears to be a sister company that I've only just come across.

[Mike_hawk]

That seems fairly typical with PDL co's, multiple group co names registered against 1 or perhaps 2 CC licences. I'm sure it'll all come out in the wash.

[andydd]

CPR 18 appears not to relate to the track a case is allocated to, it can be argued that once allocated to small track that CPR 31.14 has no effect.

 

I believe CPR 18 CAN be used to request documents, indeed in Practise Direction 1.6 (d) says "where a Request relates to a document, identify that document and (if relevant) the paragraph or words to which it relates,".

 

An important part of CPR 18 is that is used informally first and then if no reply it can be reffered to the court, I assume for some sort of enforcement.

 

Andy

[unclebulgaria67]

CPR 18 appears not to relate to the track a case is allocated to, it can be argued that once allocated to small track that CPR 31.14 has no effect.

 

 

I have seen several cases on CAG where DCA's/solicitors have advised that CPR 31.14 is not relevant to the small claims track, but have then gone on to supply the documents requested anyway.

 

So are you saying for debts under £5k that the defendant need only send the part 18 request, asking for all relevant information, including documents ?

[Mike_hawk]

Part 18 affords the party relief to the name/title of the document. Once disclosed part 31 applies pre allocation [although generally rejected]......... the duty to disclose persists. If allocated to sct part 32.1 applies post allocation. DCA's will not willingly disclose without an order and risk weakening their case at the outset.

[andydd]

All this talk of CPR 18 has reminded me to send one off in my landlord/tenant dispute, Im after dates that inspections/works were carried out, I dont believe there are any specific docs so Im just using CPR 18, although i suppose as its yet to be allocated I could use CPR 31 to request actual docs.

 

Andy

[Mike_hawk]

All this talk of CPR 18 has reminded me to send one off in my landlord/tenant dispute, Im after dates that inspections/works were carried out, I dont believe there are any specific docs so Im just using CPR 18, although i suppose as its yet to be allocated I could use CPR 31 to request actual docs.

 

Andy

 

Hi Andy

 

Not entirely sure for tenancy disputes, although I'm not aware of any rule that doesn't permit the use of parts 18 & 31. I'd assume the disclosure rule applies throughout as tenant/landlord disputes certainly fall within the rules.

 

I suppose you could ask whether a written report were made, date of report, alternatively invoice for works done etc and follow it up with a part 31 if/when they respond. You'd think if either an inspection and/or subsequent works were effected somebody would want paying for the service so there should be a written record if only an invoice with a brief description.

[andydd]

Well..I dont want to hijack the thread, I have most of the info. i need, Im just turning the screws and increasing the pressure on them.

[Zero Tolerance]

So if I get this right I should ask for documents in the CPR 18 letter. I think I'll send them the CPR 31 as well just to be on the safe side.

 

I have also finally managed to contact someone sensible in MEM who is sending me a referral form to take to the Police. Hopefully this will nip things in the bud.

[Mike_hawk]

So if I get this right I should ask for documents in the CPR 18 letter. I think I'll send them the CPR 31 as well just to be on the safe side.

 

I have also finally managed to contact someone sensible in MEM who is sending me a referral form to take to the Police. Hopefully this will nip things in the bud.

 

Information only in the part 18 , documents in the part 31........... depending on its response to the part 18 it may mention additional documents which you can then request inspection of within a subsequent part 31. You can send both now, further disclosure requests can be served as and when necessary.