Limitation act 1980 & bankruptcy petition

[42man]

I would send it to Lowells are they are the original creditor...

[42man]

As they are the assignees of the debt then they HAVE to comply with the request, they cannot avoid it as confirmed in Jones v Link Financial Ltd [2012] EWHC 2402,

[KVF]

Just to clarify, Blackhorse Finance are the original creditors, they sold it to Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd whom are using BW Legal to handle the petition. So the request is sent to Lowell?

[42man]

Yes, I would send it to Lowell...

[unclebulgaria67]

Or send copies to both. My previous experience of Lowell is that they don't appear to deal with correspondence, so BW Legal may be none the wiser, just continuing on.

[KVF]

Or send copies to both. My previous experience of Lowell is that they don't appear to deal with correspondence, so BW Legal may be none the wiser, just continuing on.

 

My understanding is that they cannot enforce whilst they are in default of supplying a copy of the original contract, so writing to Lowell's seems the best option. If they fail to produce then BW Legal can't enforce.

[KVF]

Ok an update. Was in court and their rep came to see me before we went in, referred to my communication back in October that the debt was Statute Barred and wanted to request a 56 day adjournment so they could access the information from the original creditor.

 

The judge certainly paid attention to the fact that no information had been provided in almost two months, and confirmed that a statute defence was worthy, and that I shouldn't be subjected to this sort of action, however because I hadn't replied to the original Statutory Demand, he was minded to allow the petitioner time to get the records from the original creditor. He was not minded to give them 56 days however and it's set for the first available date in the new year (mind that might well be 56 days anyway by the time it comes up). He also told them to 'get their act together' and either produce the documents for the next date or withdraw the application.

 

With hindsight I perhaps should have argued that the petition should be dismissed regardless, since even if it turns out it's not statute barred, the debt was substantially disputed going back to 2002 on a number of grounds and this would require a trial (county court claim) to resolve. My understanding is insolvency procedures are for people who can't or won't pay. My refusal to pay originally stemmed from the original dispute and until a court orders in their favour i'm standing my ground. But the judge was summing up at that point and hindsight is a wonderful thing.

 

I have today however received a letter from Hampton's regarding my CCA request to Lowells's using the template request on this forum. This is dated the same date as the court hearing I just attended and reads:

 

We acknowledge receipt of your recent correspondence (9th November - not very recent) the contents of which have been duly noted.

 

We can confirm that we have contacted the original lender for copies of the agreement and statements for your account.

 

Please note there is no legal obligation that states we must send this information within a certain period and we advise that as we do not hold copies of these documents within our offices we cannot state a time period in which these will be received.

 

Your account is currently held with BW Legal. Please be assured we have contacted them to hold any further action on your account until the requested documents have been provided.

 

We trust this is satisfactory.

 

Any advice in the meantime or simply await the next date and see what they produce?

[unclebulgaria67]

Pretty rubbish trying to make people bankrupt when they don't have the paperwork. Do make the OFT licence review team know that they are taking forward bankruptcy proceedings without being in possession of relevant documents.

[42man]

Can I urge you to report this to the OFT too....they are collating information on anything associated with Lowells....it is REALLY important you do report this...

[KVF]

Can I urge you to report this to the OFT too....they are collating information on anything associated with Lowells....it is REALLY important you do report this...

 

How do I report that?

[Guest]

'you can report businesses that are not complying with consumer and competition legislation...', by tel, email, or by post to their 'enquiries and reporting centre'. see their 'contact us' page. nb. they 'cannot help you with individual disputes and you will not get an individual investigation of your complaint.'

Edited December 6, 2012 by Ford

[42man]

There are occasions when the OFT do get into dialogue with individuals and get them to sign statements.

[KVF]

I've sent the OFT an email.

[KVF]

Your account is currently held with BW Legal. Please be assured we have contacted them to hold any further action on your account until the requested documents have been provided.

 

We trust this is satisfactory.

 

Any suggestion what this might mean? Petition hearing was adjourned until the first date after 4th January but this letter is dated the same date as the hearing...

[unclebulgaria67]

Think this relates to your CCA req to Lowell.

[KVF]

Think this relates to your CCA req to Lowell.

 

Yes it does I believe, however they have said '...to hold any further action on your account until the requested documents have been provided' - now 'action' is in my mind ongoing since I have a bankruptcy petition against me for which the next hearing is January, so should they withdraw the petition in order to hold further action?

[42man]

They won't stop..... they will attempt to offer to graciously 'withdraw' at the court and only if they look like they are going to get a kicking in court....

[42man]

You should continue (report the latest letter from Hamptons to the OFT as it could mislead the uninformed that court action WILL cease) and claim your costs in court.

[KVF]

You should continue (report the latest letter from Hamptons to the OFT as it could mislead the uninformed that court action WILL cease) and claim your costs in court.

 

Can you rephrase that please - not sure what you mean. I have reported the letter to the OFT but should I advise the court of the letter or simply await the next hearing when they may then produce something...

[42man]

If you haven't told the OFT about their latest letter which says 'hold any further action' then please do. Take the letter with you to court to show the judge....

[KVF]

Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the Act)

Complaint Against: Lowell Portfolia I Ltd

Licence No: 544015

 

Thank you for your email received on 11 December 2012.

 

I can confirm that the business you mention holds a consumer credit licence. Under the

Consumer Credit Act, holders of consumer credit licences must be fit and competent

to do so and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has a duty to monitor the fitness and

conduct of all traders who hold such a licence.

 

The OFT has issued guidance to consumer credit licence holders engaged in the debt

collection industry. The guidance is intended to ensure that debt collectors treat

individuals fairly. Non-compliance with this guidance will call into question the fitness

of licence holders and applicants. You can view our guidance at:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/cca/debt-collection

 

We have therefore recorded the details of your complaint, and we will consider this

alongside any other complaints we have received with a view to any consumer credit

licensing or other action we may decide to take. If we do take any action against this

trader we may need to contact you again in the future. Unfortunately, we cannot

disclose any details about any action we may take, due to legal restrictions on the OFT

relating to disclosure of information.

 

While we are very sorry to hear about the difficulties you have been experiencing, the

OFT has no authority to become involved in individual disputes between consumers

and traders so we cannot advise you directly in this matter.

 

The Financial Ombudsman Service can help with most complaints about consumer

credit products and services if the consumer has failed to satisfactorily resolve the

matter directly with the consumer credit licensee itself. The Financial Ombudsman

Service can be contacted at:

 

The Financial Ombudsman Service

South Quay Plaza

183 Marsh Wall

London

E14 9SR

 

Telephone: 0800 0234 567

 

The OFT has published a consumer guide about debt collection which you may find

helpful. The guide can be viewed on the OFT’s website:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/consumer_leaflets/credit/oft1299.pdf

 

Thank you again for writing to us and bringing this matter to our attention.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

 

Danny O’ Sullivan

Enquiries and Reporting Centre

Office of Fair Trading