Bw legal/lowell court claim, JDW Catalogue debt - clueless

[jaytheterrible]

Hi everyone.

 

Just writing in the hope that I could maybe get some advice.

 

A few years back I had an account with JD WILLIAMS for a catalogue.

 

Made some purchases from it, was making repayments as normal etc.

They even sold me some sort of PPI now that I think of it.

 

Thing is,

I lost my job,

split up with the ex wife and

 

now, fast forward a couple of years ahead I have had lowell chasing me for the debt,

which now,

thanks to me being stupid and hiding from it has ended up rocketing to a total of over £4000!!!

 

I know for sure that the majority of this balance is made up of charges and late fees etc.

 

today i received a court summons through my door which was issued on the 10th of february.

 

I know i have only 14 days in which to acknowledge the claim,

 

im not too sure what to do now, as i would like to try and claim back the PPI on the account a

nd try and get back as much charges as possible

so that I can get the balance back to as close to what it was (approx £1000)

and then start repaying the debt.

 

I know full well i should have made more of an effort to do this beforehand but now i just want to fix this mess as best as i can.

 

Could anyone please point me towards the right direction?

 

thanks in advance

Edited February 13, 2014 by citizenB

[unclebulgaria67]

When was this cat account taken out roughly ? Was it pre April 2007.

 

Can you post the particulars of claim, so people can advise what requests you can make to BW Legal.

 

You should send the cat company a Data Protection Subject Access Request asking for copies of all statements of account, a copy of your application and all other data/documentation held for the account.

 

Hopefully you should be able to defend this and go through all the information on the account re PPI/charges. You may be able to negotiate a reduction to the debt to account for PPI/charges, but will end up with a CCJ for the correct amount due.

[citizenB]

Your timeline if the the date of issue is 10 February, is as follows:-

 

Date of issue 10.02.2014 + 5 days for service = 15.02.2014 + 14 days to acknowledge claim = 01.03.2014 + 14 days to submit defence = 15 March 2014.

 

As UncleB has suggested, if you can post up or type up the details on the Particulars of claim, we can advise further.

 

There is a template letter for the Subject Access Request and CCA request in the CAG library, highlighted in green and linked at the top left of the screen.

[jaytheterrible]

Hi Uncle B and Citizen B. Thank you very much for your replies. Unfortunately I am certain the catalogue was taken out on or around november december 2007, possibly even 2008. I have scanned the POC for you all to look at,. I look forward to your responses

[dx100uk]

pers details showing

 

please just type up the PoC box bottom left.

 

dx

[jaytheterrible]

OOOPS! sorry about that... Ok

 

the Particulars of Claim are as follows...

 

The Claimant's Claim is for the sum of £4128.35 being monies due from the Defendant to the Claimant

under a Mail Order Agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974

between the defendant and JD Williams & Company Limited

 

Under Account Reference XXXXXXXXX and assigned to the Claimant on 20/12/2012

notice of which has been given to the Defendant.

 

The Defendant failed to maintain the contractual payment under the terms of the agreement

and a default notice has been served and not complied with.

 

The Claim also includes statutory interest persuant to section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984

at a rate of 8.00% per annum (a daily rate of 0.80)

from the date of assignment of the agreement to the date of issue (07/02/2014)

being an amount of £332.00

[dx100uk]

ok its a cat debt

 

send BWlegal a CCA request

 

send them a cpr 31:14 too

 

even though it COULD take 40 days

i'd be sending JDW an sar by recorded delivery ASAP.

 

Griffin House 40, Lever Street, Manchester, Lancashire, M60 6ES

 

dx

[dx100uk]

have you ack'd the debt by mcol yet?

 

dx

[jaytheterrible]

Thanks for the reply DX. No I havent Ack'd the summons as of yet was planning on doing this tomorrow. What will happen once i send these requests? and what do i do once i get the sar data back to reduce the balance in respect to ppi and charges? Sorry im new to all this lol

[citizenB]

Until you receive the responses to the letters, there isnt much you can do. Obviously if you have any paperwork of your own then you need to dig that out.

 

 

 

At the moment, the most important letter is the CPR 31.14. You can request the following documents.

 

Agreement

Default Notice

Notice of Assignment

Statement of account detailing how the sum they are claiming has accrued to show default/penalty amounts.

 

It is quite possible that BW Legal will say either that they are looking into obtaining the information and it will take time or that they wont be able to obtain it.

 

If you let us know when they do respond, then it might be worth making a request under CPR15.5 for an extension of time.. however until they do respond then we wont know what your next steps should be.

 

It would be good if you were to obtain a response to your SAR fairly swiftly so that you can start work on the PPI / charges reclaim.

[jaytheterrible]

OK Everyone..I have typed up both CPR31.14 and CCA Requests for BW Legal and duplicate requests for Lowell Portfolio. I have also Acknowledged the Claim online and marked it for defense. SAR for JD Williams is also winging its way to them via recorded delivery as well as everything else. Will post again as soon as I get any responses, thanks again for all your help guys, it is really appreciated

[citizenB]

[jaytheterrible]

Hi Again all. Am looking for some more advice if poss please. I acknowledged the claim on 15th feb stating i wanted to defend all of the claim. I also sent of CPR 31.14 requests cca and sar to all relevant parties. All items have been signed for as i have signatures for them all. Thing is its now the 2nd of march and I havent heard a thing. Should i be worried? not quite sure what to do next, and i know time is running out :/

[unclebulgaria67]

Hi Again all. Am looking for some more advice if poss please. I acknowledged the claim on 15th feb stating i wanted to defend all of the claim. I also sent of CPR 31.14 requests cca and sar to all relevant parties. All items have been signed for as i have signatures for them all. Thing is its now the 2nd of march and I havent heard a thing. Should i be worried? not quite sure what to do next, and i know time is running out :/

 

Think you have a bit of time before you need to submit your defence. BW legal would probably have had no documents from JDW when they made the court claim. Following your requests, they would have had to contact JDW and it may not be quick to get hold of the documents.

 

You could suggest to BW legal that they agree to extend the period allowed for the defence to be submitted, so they have more time to get hold of the documents requested. This is covered in this link.

 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part15

 

At the end of the day, if you cannot submit a defence because BW Legal don't provide the documents, you can submit an embarassed defence, saying that you have made official requests to BW Legal for disclosure, which they have not complied with. This should mean that any court hearing cannot go ahead until they are provided and you have the chance to enter a proper defence.

[jaytheterrible]

thanks for the reply uncleb. So in my letter to BW Legal, is there anything i should/shouldnt include in my request for more time? And should i write to the court aswell??? not sure what to do here and am getting anxious as time is running out

[AndyOrch]

All the instructions for requesting an extension (CPR 15.5) are included in the above link .

 

Andy

[jaytheterrible]

All the instructions for requesting an extension (CPR 15.5) are included in the above link .

 

Andy

Is there a template for this on the site anywhere?

[AndyOrch]

Yes its in the Legal Library:-

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?406105-LEGAL-CPR-15.5-Requesting-further-time-to-submit-a-defence.

[jaytheterrible]

CPR 15.5 request being sent in the morning as well as a notification of my intentions to the county court. Will keep you posted on the outcome. Seriously think BW Legal are ignoring my requests though

[jaytheterrible]

Hello again Everyone.

 

Was wondering if anyone could advise me on what to do please?

 

I Sent the SAR to JDW and CCA & CPR requests to BW Legal.

 

I even sent a CPR 15.5 To BW and I still havent heard a thing.

 

I aslo wrote to the court to tell them that I was sending the CPR 15.5 so that i could have more time to prepare my defence.

 

I phoned BW and all they told me was that the account was on hold until they get the documents I requested from their Client

and once they have them and issue them, then the ball will start rolling again.

 

I have email confirmation from them of this. Just dont know what to do now

[unclebulgaria67]

Hello again Everyone. Was wondering if anyone could advise me on what to do please? I Sent the SAR to JDW and CCA & CPR requests to BW Legal. I even sent a CPR 15.5 To BW and I still havent heard a thing. I aslo wrote to the court to tell them that I was sending the CPR 15.5 so that i could have more time to prepare my defence. I phoned BW and all they told me was that the account was on hold until they get the documents I requested from their Client and once they have them and issue them, then the ball will start rolling again. I have email confirmation from them of this. Just dont know what to do now

 

I think you can just submit a defence that the claimant has so far not proved their claim, by replying to CPR requests for the information. You are therefore denying that you owe the claimant any debt and hold them to strict proof.

 

Without the information, I think that is all that you can do. If there is any other points you can make, then you should include them. i.e were significant amounts of excess charges added to the account, is there any chance of it being statuted barred, any disputes raised with JDW, no default notice received from JDW.

[jaytheterrible]

Hi UncleB Thank you for the advice. I dont think there is any hope of it being statute barred as the account dates back from approx 2008 - 2009. So in my defence I just basically state what you have said? I am also still waiting from my SAR from JDW...that is all the info i am waiting for.

[unclebulgaria67]

Hi UncleB Thank you for the advice. I dont think there is any hope of it being statute barred as the account dates back from approx 2008 - 2009. So in my defence I just basically state what you have said? I am also still waiting from my SAR from JDW...that is all the info i am waiting for.

 

You should do your own reading around of threads and tailor your own defence. Others without documents being supplied by the claimant, have included something like this.

 

e.g

 

1. Paragraph 1 is neither admitted or denied with regards to the defendant entering into an agreement referred to in the Particulars of Claim (‘the Agreement’) the Claimant has yet to disclose any such agreement.

 

2. Paragraph 1 is denied with regards to the Defendant owing any monies to the Claimant. The Claimant has failed to provide any evidence of assignment/balance/breach as requested by CPR 31. 14 by First Class Recorded post on February 21st 2014x date and received by The Claimants Solicitors on x date. The defendant has received no reply to the request and the Claimant is put to strict proof to:

 

(a) show how the Defendant has entered into an agreement with the Claimant; and

(b) show how the Defendant has reached the amount claimed for; and

© show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim;

 

3. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4), it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed.

 

4. On the alternative, if the Claimant is an assignee of a debt, it is denied that the Claimant has the right to lay a claim due to contraventions of Section 136 of the Law of Property Act and Section 82A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

5. By reason of the facts and matters set out above, it is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief claimed or any relief.

[jaytheterrible]

Hello everyone,

 

Thank you Uncle B for the Advice.

 

I received a letter from the courts dated the 23rd following the letter i sent them making them aware that i had wrote to BW legal with a CPR 15.5.

 

They have filed this and told me to enter my defence so its in now.

 

Just hope I caught it in time.

 

I signed in online and it doesnt say anything about any judgements so hopefully its ok.

 

Thing is I had a bit of a 2nd thought and wanted to admit part of the debt,

as this would be the balance i originally owed,

 

its just that the rest of it is made up of charges and ppi and i want to get rid of this first.

 

So i read the guidelines concerning whether to enter admission or defence and it said that if i was to admit part of the claim

then i would have to enter a defence first as well as an admission.

 

But now I have completed the defence I cannot submit an admission any longer :/

 

Is it best that I just left the admission alone and had done as advised by CAG or would it have helped my case further to part defend?

[jaytheterrible]

Hi everyone.

 

Received a letter from the courts today acknowledging receipt of my defence. It states as follows:

 

I acknowledge receipt of your defence. A copy is being served on the Claimant (or the Claimant's Solicitors). 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.

 

 

what exactly does this mean? any help would be appreciated

 

thanks in advance

 

Jay